Overview

• The European Commission’s draft 2028–2034 budget would cap agricultural payments at roughly €300 billion, a more than 20 percent reduction and merger of farm funds with other policy areas.
• Agriculture Minister Hanka Mittelstädt has arranged meetings in Brussels with East German counterparts to demand revisions to the proposed financing plan.
• More than 100 applications have been submitted by Brandenburg farms for state subsidies to convert livestock stalls for enhanced animal welfare.
• Brandenburg has launched a coalition-agreed overhaul of its livestock strategy designed to stabilize or increase herd sizes after cattle numbers fell to their lowest level since 1990.
• Mittelstädt has called on food retailers to support the stall conversion program by marketing the region’s improved animal welfare standards.