Farm rules put Danish agricultural suppliers under pressure

New agricultural regulations are cutting work for Danish farm suppliers, with companies reporting falling revenue and possible layoffs, DR reports.

Illerhede Kloak- og Spuleservice, a drainage specialist in Sdr. Felding south of Herning, says demand dropped almost overnight after the Green Tripartite and fertiliser law meant fewer fields would be cultivated.

Owner Michael Pagaard says the company has lost about 30 per cent of its revenue, or around 1.3 million kroner, over six months. The firm has 17 employees, including Pagaard, and he expects some may have to be laid off within a month or two.

A temporary halt to construction of pig barns is also affecting Aco Funki, a Herning company that makes equipment for livestock buildings, mainly pig barns. Managing director Lene Bryde estimates the company will lose between 60 million and 80 million kroner in revenue on the Danish market.

Aco Funki has 120 employees, 100 of them in Denmark. Bryde says new orders have stopped coming in and the company will also have to lay off staff. More than half of its barn-equipment sales are exports.

The company may find new opportunities in Germany and Poland if Denmark stops exporting piglets and those countries begin producing more themselves, Bryde says. But she does not expect that to prevent layoffs altogether.

The Green Tripartite is also creating work for Illerhede Kloak- og Spuleservice through increased tree planting. The company has taken on soil work and maintenance for newly planted forests, covering about 80 hectares this year. Pagaard expects that figure to double next year and says the business will have to adapt.