Tears in the Rain

Farmers’ Uprising Against the Ardo Plant Closure

Anxious glances from little Johannes—Magdalena Wachter-Karpfinger fears for her son’s very survival. Like many others, she fears for her own.(Bild: Krone-Collage/Attila Molnar (2))

A frosty atmosphere prevails in front of the frozen-food factory in Groß-Enzersdorf, Lower Austria: Dozens of farmers with their tractors, young mothers and their children—all filled with anxiety about the future—protested in front of the Ardo plant against its “heartless” closure.

Rain pelted the roofs of the tractors lined up in front of the Ardo plant. Windshield wipers battled the raindrops, engines sputtered, and the tires were caked with mud from the wet Marchfeld soil. But behind the steering wheels are not men who simply want to vent their anger. They are farmers who fear for what they have built up over generations—for their fields, their farms, and a future that suddenly threatens to plummet into the abyss.

Outside the gates of the frozen-food giant, amid the gray skies, you can feel just how deeply the news of the plant’s closure has struck. This is no longer just about a company that wants to shut down production. This is about families whose daily lives and incomes have been closely tied to vegetable production for years. It’s about a region where work in the fields doesn’t simply vanish with the stroke of a pen—but the market for their produce, on which many have built their livelihoods, certainly does.

I am stunned by how heartlessly the corporation is treating our farmers. Behind this closure lie people’s lives. 

Johann Blatt (Verein Tiefkühlgemüse)

Bild: Attila Molnar

It’s going to be very difficult. But we’ll continue to do everything we can to secure the livelihoods of the roughly 500 farmers in the Marchfeld region. 

Agrar-Landesrat Stephan Pernkopf

Bild: NLK Burchhart

“Can’t simply switch to another product at the push of a button”
Behind these valuable peas lie loans, machinery, and ongoing costs. “Those who grow frozen vegetables can’t just switch to another product at the push of a button. And they certainly can’t find new buyers overnight,” says farmer Norbert Mayer from Schönau. For mothers who run the farm alongside their partners, this uncertainty weighs even heavier because of the children.

The Marchfeld region is considered Austria’s vegetable basket. Here, crops are sown, tended, and harvested—with a great deal of experience, dedication, and the knowledge that nature sets its own rules. Drought, heavy rain, and rising costs are already taking their toll on farmers. Now, with the loss of a major industrial buyer, another burden looms.

A “farmers’ revolt” against the shutdown of production: On Saturday, they blocked the Ardo plant.(Bild: Attila Molnar)

The tractors in front of the plant are more than just a protest. They represent the people behind the food that ends up on our plates every day. They stand for farms that don’t thrive on headlines, but on the certainty that their harvest can be reliably processed and sold. The rain shows no sign of letting up. Drops glisten on the tractors; the farmers’ faces show tension, but also a determination to fight. 

Obmann über die Tragweite des Konzernbeschlusses

„Unsere uralte Kulturlandschaft stürzt jetzt ins Bodenlose“

“We need broad solidarity—from farmers, agricultural representatives, potential investors, the retail sector, and even the Minister of Economic Affairs, who hasn’t said a word yet,” says Richard Kriegl, chairman of the Frozen Vegetable Producers’ Organization (ETG). “And we need a crisis summit, too!” adds fellow advocate Johann Blatt. After all, the seeds for winter spinach are already in the cellar.

As reported, the corporation had coldly rejected all of the government’s offers. The managers are able to act this way because they had not received any public subsidies. Their uncompromising refusal to continue operations also precludes any political safety net. As a result, the fields will remain bare both now in late fall and in the spring.

“The seeds would have been sown in the fields by now. Instead, they’re sitting in the basement,” Chairman Kriegl laments in an interview with “Krone” editor Mark Perry.(Bild: Attila Molnar)

“No grace period or reprieve”
Kriegl: “We were given neither a grace period nor a reprieve for our 3,000 hectares. This affects spinach in every form—including leaf spinach, creamed spinach, and pureed spinach in frozen form.” These products would disappear just as surely as frozen red cabbage. That’s because there is no other processing line in Austria for any of these products besides the one in Marchfeld. Despite takeover offers, the agricultural giant has no intention of selling, leasing, or allowing any other form of reuse. Kriegl: “The Belgian conglomerate’s sole goal is to flood our shelves with its own products from abroad.”

The closure will not only plunge farmers—who invested large sums in new irrigation systems due to the drought—into ruin, but also agricultural equipment dealers, repair shops, transportation companies, and others. Kriegl estimates that hundreds of jobs are at risk. His appeal to consumers: “Stock up on Iglo products still on the shelves, and then stop buying Ardo products.”

Biowaste Processing Plant
And yet there is a glimmer of hope on the Marchfeld horizon. Spar has come forward with a purchase offer that can cover a small portion of the demand. In addition—as reported—a facility is to be built here that converts organic waste into energy for cooling and electricity. That, at least, will make the region less dependent on gas and electricity prices.