Facts
The case concerns the cultivation and planned feeding of hemp to livestock by a farmer. In 2005, the farmer reported the cultivation of hemp on his field, with the aim of having the hemp plants processed into feed cubes in a drying plant after the harvest and feeding them to his own livestock. However, the hemp plants were seized and destroyed by the authorities before the harvest.
In 2006, the farmer reported the cultivation of hemp on the same field again, and the hemp plants were this time harvested and processed into feed cubes before being seized.
The farmer was convicted in both cases for violations of the Agriculture Act (LwG). The public prosecutor's office appealed against the farmer's acquittal for the conduct in 2005.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirms the farmer's acquittal for the conduct in 2005. It states that the cultivation and planned feeding of hemp to his own livestock, although in violation of a prohibition in the Animal Feed Ordinance, cannot be classified as a punishable attempt to market unauthorized production means without authorization under the Agriculture Act.
However, the farmer could have made himself criminally liable under…