Well meant, badly done? Three years after the “Save the Bees” referendum, farmers in the district of Munich, like Nikolaus Kraus, see themselves as massively burdened by the law. The initiators draw a mixed balance.
Nikolaus Kraus’ farm is located in the northern district of Munich, in the heart of Ismaning. He grows potatoes and white cabbage, pumpkins and corn, depending on the season. He used to have dairy cows too, but that, says the farmer, was a long time ago. The industry is in constant change. Kraus, who took over his parents’ farm 30 years ago and has also been a member of the Free Voters’ parliamentary group in the state parliament since 2013, knows this all too well. The Ismaninger Krautbauer is all the more critical of any legal restrictions on his work. “It’s often well intentioned,” says Kraus, “but poorly implemented.”