MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - The Bavarian Administrative Court (BayVGH) will decide on Thursday in several test cases on farmers' complaints against the Bavarian Fertilizer Ordinance. According to the ordinance, farmers may only use 80 percent of the amount of fertilizer required by the plants on fields designated as "red areas" due to excessive nitrate levels. The Free State is thus implementing EU and federal requirements for water and groundwater protection. Too much nitrate damages the environment and poses health risks for people.

Farmers complain about the demarcation of the affected areas. Even huge areas of arable land fall completely under the Fertilizer Ordinance as soon as 20 percent of it extends into a red area. The plaintiffs see another problem in the fact that only the highest value of the measurements counts. The regular functional testing of the measuring points is also the subject of the proceedings.

According to the chairwoman, the senate had not yet reached a unanimous opinion at the oral hearing at the end of January. Two years ago, an urgent appeal was initially rejected by the Administrative Court and the Fertilizer Ordinance was thus provisionally confirmed. The restrictions did not violate the fundamental rights of the plaintiffs, according to the administrative judges at the time. Courts in Baden-Württemberg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have overturned the fertilizer ordinances of these states./tre/DP/zb