Agricultural head says that Danes don’t understand farmers

Danes say Denmark needs to take the lead in environmental protection, farmers say that they already are

Recent polls show that 61 percent of Danes want Denmark to take the lead in requiring stringent environmental requirements for industries like agriculture.

Lars-Ole Hjorth-Larsen, head of the agricultural agency Bornholms Landbrug, said that Danes need to understand how far ahead the farming industry in Denmark already is.

“Danes do not know how far the agriculture industry has already come environmentally,”  Hjorth-Larsen told DR Nyheder. “We in the sector have been bad at getting that message out.”

Farmers in the lead
Hjorth-Larsen said that farmers are naturally environmentally conscious.

“We want to use as few pesticides as possible, because they are expensive,” said Hjorth-Larsen. “But we have to keep things in proportion. If you want a great agricultural production, there needs to be assistance.”

READ MORE: Farmers to reap severe consequences for illegal pesticides

Jørgen Butzbach, the Bornholm president of the Danish nature conservancy, Danmarks Naturfredning, welcomed the interest in the environment.

“This shows that Danes are very clear that we need to take care of our environment,” Butzbach said.