Lower thirds:

00:03 Report by / Josephine Günther & Oliver Pieper
00:39 Andreas Marx / Climate Scientist
01:47 Andreas Marx / Climate Scientist
02:23 Hermann Zeller / Farmer
02:44 Lorenz Kottmann / Agricultural Scientist
03:19 Hermann Zeller / Farmer

Script:

0:01
This is Evelyn -- born today -- the youngest of the Zeller family’s 60 cows. One new calf has arrived, but the farm is being forced to shrink its herd. They’ve sold several cows and slaughtered others prematurely. The reason? There simply isn’t enough feed — and buying more is getting expensive.  

0:18
Tanja and Hermann Zeller have been farming organically for 35 years. Alongside the dairy operation, they grow vegetables on their 115 hectares. Normally, that includes several varieties of pumpkin. But this year, most of the seeds didn’t germinate. There simply wasn’t enough water. And drought isn’t the only problem German farmers are facing. 

0:38
+++SOT ANDREAS MARX, CLIMATE SCIENTIST+++ 
“They are being affected by the war in the Middle East, because it has changed fertilizer prices. It has also led to higher diesel prices and rising transport costs. The second issue is the dryness of the soil.” 

0:52
There has been almost no rainfall here since mid-June. Experts aren’t calling this a catastrophic harvest year — but they say the trend is worrying as climate changes. 

1:04
Germany's farmers’ association is calling for government aid, including a further reduction in the tax on diesel. The Agriculture Minister wants to wait for the final harvest figures to assess the losses, but has already promised farmers assistance. 

1:18
Quotecard: “We already have targeted measures in place, such as our €200 million liquidity assistance program with the specialized agricultural bank. And we are working at full speed to ensure that EU fertilizer aid reaches farms quickly, with minimal bureaucracy and where it is needed most.” (Alois Rainer, German Agriculture Minister) 

1:37
Financial assistance for drought-hit farmers is one thing. But experts see room for improvement in water management. 

1:46
+++SOT ANDREAS MARX, CLIMATE SCIENTIST+++ 
“In the past, the focus was always on getting water out of agricultural land and the wider landscape as quickly as possible, because too much water is a problem not only during floods; standing water in fields can also have negative effects. But now we are facing a new situation, with very dry periods occurring more frequently. That means we need to make sure that water is not constantly drained away.” 

2:09
The Zellers are already adapting. This spring, they built a reservoir to irrigate fields during dry spells. It came too late for the pumpkins, but it’s a first step in adapting to climate change. And they have more ideas. 

2:22
+++SOT HERMANN ZELLER, FARMER+++ 
“One adaptation is to lease additional land so that we can produce more feed. The other is to try growing varieties of grain, as well as forage crops that can cope better with drought.” 

2:34
Agricultural scientists like Lorenz Kottmann are working on more drought-resistant crops. But that doesn’t always mean farmers will grow them. 

2:43
+++SOT LORENZ KOTTMANN, AGRICULTURAL SCIENTIST+++ 
“The crops grown in Germany are primarily those that can be sold successfully and for which there is a strong market. Important crops such as wheat, barley, rapeseed and maize will certainly continue to play a major role. But I expect that more crops will be added to the mix, that there will be more experimentation, and that some of these new crops will certainly prove very successful.”

3:07
Markus Zeller plans to take over the family farm. And he’s already thinking about crops that might once have seemed unlikely here. 

3:17
+++SOT MARKUS ZELLER, FARMER+++ 
“I think we may be able to grow kiwis here in the future. But of course, that also comes with a certain risk, because we don’t just have the increasingly hot and dry summers; we still have relatively harsh winters."

3:29
Evelyn's life on on the Zeller family’s farm is just beginning. But one thing is already clear: If droughts continue, cows like her may find less and less to eat on these dry fields. And for Germany’s farmers, adapting to a changing climate isn't a question for the future. It’s already happening. 

END