Farmers are not happy with the potato harvest

In Luxembourg, the year 2025 posed an unexpected problem for farmers - a record harvest was a source of logistical and financial difficulties rather than profit. Marc Nicolay, the country's largest potato grower, harvested about 18,000 tonnes, but was only able to sell 16,000 - those that had been pre-contracted. The remaining two tonnes - "extra", as he put it - were left in storage.

The reason for overproduction lies in unusually favourable weather conditions. Unlike previous years, 2025 brought neither droughts nor extreme heat, and the rains came as ordered. Potatoes, which are extremely sensitive to temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius, received ideal conditions for growth. As a result, yields grew 10-20 per cent above the national average. For a country with about 50 active potato farms, this meant a systemic oversupply.

Amid rumours that entire hectares of potatoes in the Ardennes were allegedly destroyed due to surpluses, Democratic Party (DP) MPs André Bauler and Luc Emering made an official request. However, Agriculture Minister Martine Hansen was unable to confirm such information.

So what happens to the "extra" potatoes? Mark Nicolai claims that he did not destroy anything. He sorted his harvest with extra care: he separated the spoiled tubers, which he sent for methanisation, a process of oxygen-free fermentation that produces biogas from organic waste. And some of the potatoes were used for cattle feed - other farmers came to collect them.

We don't earn anything from it," admits Nikolay. - But everything goes into business.