News

When: March 20, 2025, 16:00-18:00

What is it about?

Efficient and sustainable fertilization is essential for agricultural businesses. It promotes soil fertility, ensures stable yields and must be applied with high utilization efficiency for ecological and economic reasons. While nutrients are added in a targeted manner for optimum yields and quality in conventional farming, organic farming tends to use nutrients that act slowly via the soil.

Which proven and new methods lead to higher yields in organic farming? What technical innovations and requirements are necessary to use farm manure particularly efficiently - are there promising combinations with purchased fertilizers? How can the supply of nutrients be organized in such a way that it both builds up the soil and protects the environment and climate? How can nutrient cycles be optimized and losses minimized?

We will discuss these and other questions together with farmers, advisors and scientists. This time, Katharina Matull (consultant, Naturland), Morten Möller (research assistant, University of Kassel) and Thomas Bouwmann (farm manager, Gut Winterbüren) will provide input. The moderator will be Christian Bruns, University of Kassel.

Frankenhausen expert talks

In the new series of events Frankenhäuser Fachgespräche, farmers, scientists and consultants will present their perspectives on current challenges in organic farming. We invite you to the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen, the teaching, research and transfer center for organic agriculture and regional development of the University of Kassel. Here, on over 320 hectares, work and research is carried out on future concepts for plant cultivation, animal husbandry, biodiversity promotion and resource management - on the farm and with a range of scientific approaches including long-term trials and practical research networks.

Further key topics and dates in 2025:

24.04.2025, 16.00-18.00: Between drought and heavy rain: Can digital solutions help with irrigation?

03.07.2025 Focus: Climate change - problems and potential in organic farming (all-day field day)

Further topics and dates are planned for the second half of the year.

As part of a student project, a very watchable short film about the domain was created.

"The common good economy establishes an ethical economic model.
The well-being of people and the environment becomes the primary goal of economic activity."

As part of a student project, a common good balance sheet has been drawn up for the Frankenhausen domain.
In a balance sheet for the common good, the economic success of a company is examined and evaluated according to more comprehensive criteria than monetary ones: ethical aspects as well as social cooperation in a company, fair economic and trade relations along the entire value chain, and the ecological sustainability of economic activity play a major role in the evaluation.

Based on this common good balance sheet, it is now possible to continuously work on improvement processes towards the common good at the domain.
Since 2020, the domain has been a member of Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie e.V. and thus supports the establishment of an ethical and sustainable economic model.

At the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen, carrot cultivation is an important mainstay of agricultural production. For the marketing initiative "Bio mit Gesicht" (Organic with a Face), Ines Reinisch made a film that accompanies carrot cultivation from sowing to harvesting, storage and marketing.