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Many farmers are farmers with heart and soul. But many farms are in trouble: globalization is making life difficult for them, and the financial pressure of the market seems merciless. Dairy farms have been hit particularly hard in recent years, with many having to give up due to the low price of milk: in 2016 alone, 4,100 farms disappeared in Germany. Critics blame the EU agricultural policy (CAP) for this development - it relies too much on mass production, is one-sidedly oriented towards the global market and neglects the smaller farms in particular, which are of enormous importance for the preservation of rural areas. Conservationists complain that the current EU agricultural policy is leading to a threat to biodiversity and are calling for new, stricter rules to protect land in view of the reform of the CAP from 2020. Meanwhile, some farmers are taking new paths, turning away from traditional farming, focusing on organic and farm marketing, and keeping goats instead of cows. In the phoenix issue, reporter Hans-Werner Fittkau accompanies farmers during the harvest and talks to them about their concerns in light of changing EU policy. Conservationists talk about threats to biodiversity, which they attribute to the use of chemicals in agriculture; a farm in the Bergisches Land organizes its farming according to strict ecological criteria.