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By November it should be clear whether the beet acreage of 38,000 hectares in Austria will be reached. In the end it was only 26,200 hectares. According to the head of Agrana, Johann Marihart, around 20,000 hectares of beet growing area are required to fully utilize a sugar factory. Therefore, about 40,000 hectares are needed for the two Agrana sugar factories in Tulln and Leopoldsdorf.
Furthermore, beet growers were promised that in the future there will also be emergency approvals for pesticides from the neonicotinoid group. The existing bee monitoring will continue. So far, no neonicotinoid residues have been found.
If enough farmers have signed contracts with Agrana for growing beets before the end of the year, the Leopoldsdorf site will be secured for the next three years. The contracts have a duration of three years.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Elisabeth Köstinger, a million euros will be spent in obtaining varieties that are better adapted to changing climatic conditions. Climate change has increased pest pressure. The minister promised that the first results should be available in 2021. There are also large losses in beet cultivation in other EU countries such as Germany and France.
The Leopoldsdorf factory has about 150 jobs and it is about self-sufficiency with sugar in Austria. Avoid importing sugar from abroad in the future, is the message from Stephan Pernkopf, Lower Austria Regional Councilor for Agriculture.
