‘Welfare for the rich’: how farm subsidies wrecked Europe’s landscapes

Sheep look for water in a dry pond in Sicily, Italy. The richness and abundance of European nature is under threat. Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

The Rhine overflowed last winter, covering fields miles from the river and in some places leaving just the tops of trees visible.

But Thomas Bollig, who farms just a few miles from the banks of the Rhine, was not worried. Even as floods inundated the fields of his neighbours, making sowing impossible, his holdings were largely unaffected. Bollig farms organically, and the natural methods he uses to improve his soil allow his fields to hold more water when it rains, and release it gradually, coping well with floods and droughts.