One in Six Inspected German Farms Found Holding Banned Pesticides
Inspections in Germany in 2025 found pesticides requiring disposal at 16% of the farms checked. Farmers face fines of up to 50,000 euros as well as cuts to EU direct payments.
During nationwide plant protection inspections in Germany in 2025, officials found old stocks that had to be disposed of at roughly one in six farms, or 16% of those checked, according to the agricultural outlet agrarheute. These are products that may no longer be used anywhere in the EU. Farmers can end up paying twice for the same violation: once through a penalty and again through lost farm support.
What the law requires
Section 15 of Germany's Plant Protection Act (PflSchG) states that once a full ban on an active substance takes effect or its EU approval expires, the affected products must be removed from storage immediately and disposed of properly. Many farm managers assume it is enough to stop applying expired products, but that is a misconception. Merely keeping them can bring sanctions.
The outlet lists propiconazole (EU approval revoked in 2019, grace period ended March 2020), dimethomorph (revoked by BVL, the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, in November 2024, grace period ended May 2025) and mancozeb (revoked 2021, grace period ended January 2022) among the most common finds. Thiacloprid and metiram are also named, with grace periods that expired in 2021 and 2024. Disposal receipts must be kept, and after a violation is detected they must be sent to the supervising authority.
Two kinds of penalties
For failing to dispose of such products, plant protection services can impose an administrative fine of up to 50,000 euros under Section 68 PflSchG. In especially serious cases, Section 69 allows prison sentences of up to five years.
In addition, according to BVL, the authorities pass violations on to the paying agency that handles agricultural subsidies. Under cross-compliance rules, a breach of requirement 7, which covers proper use of plant protection products, can lead to cuts in EU direct payments. A first negligent offence typically means a 3–5% deduction, repeat offences up to 15%, and where intent is assumed, the entire payment can be lost.
Germany's Basic Law prohibits punishing the same act more than once, but BVL explains that a subsidy cut is not a second criminal penalty. It is an administrative sanction for failing to meet the conditions for support. No court rulings on current cases exist.
