Spared -harvest 2025: High season ends with challenges and fears of the future!

Spared -harvest 2025: High season ends with challenges and fears of the future!

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the asparagus season 2025 is coming to an end, because on 24. June traditionally ends with the popular spring vegetables. The area for asparagus in the region has dropped dramatically in recent years - from 182 hectares to about 140 hectares. One reason for this could be the economic challenges with which many farmers including Sebastian Böckmann from the family business sabö in Nantrow and Tieplitz, which has been conducted for generations, have to fight like NDR reported.

The asparagus harvest began at the end of March and Böckmann takes a mixed balance: While the quality of the harvest is good, the companies are in the cross -fire of high production costs. The prices for asparagus are up to 15 euros per kilo, which is comparable to the previous year. However, the high costs of personnel and energy make business increasingly difficult, especially with regard to the planned increase in the minimum wage to up to 15 euros per hour next year, which could continue to burden the situation.

under pressure in asparagus production

agricultural minister dr. Till Backhaus expressed itself optimistically about the current asparagus season, despite the declines in the acreage. He and the district administrator Sebastian Constien stake together the first asparagus at the Sabö-Hof in Gülzow-Sk. "It is important to support local companies," Backhaus appealed to consumers to buy regional asparagus.

The numbers speak for themselves: In 2024, 696 tons asparagus were harvested in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on 139 hectares, which is a slight increase compared to the previous year. The average yield was 5.0 tons per hectare, and there are a total of 14 active asparagus companies in the region that have achieved one of the best harvests in recent years. Nevertheless, the cultivation space has decreased by around 35 percent in the past ten years, while the nationwide decline was only 4 percent, such as Mueritzportal emphasized.

challenges from the shortage of labor

A central problem for the asparagus harvest is the dependence on workers from Eastern Europe. Böckmann emphasizes the difficulties of finding enough harvest helpers and sees the need to improve the framework conditions for asparagus production to prevent the acreage from further decline. This harvest requires manual work because machines would damage the sensitive asparagus rods, which also complicates the situation.

A look at the Germany-wide situation shows that the per capita consumption in 2024 was at 1.2 kg fresh asparagus. The harvest time in Germany traditionally begins at the end of April and ends on June 24th. Asparagus is not only considered a culinary pleasure, but also a healthy food, rich in vitamins and minerals, such as Agriculture.de performed.

With a range of 60 hectares of asparagus and 20 hectares of strawberries and 17 stalls in the region, the SABÖ-Hof has established itself as a fixed size. In addition to the fresh asparagus, there are also regional strawberries and a court café that is known far beyond the borders of the community. But the challenges remain-and the industry faces decisive questions of how to grow asparagus in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.