Christoph Denzel
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Christoph Denzel - Diploma I and MSc Organic Agriculture, graduated in 2008.
Currently: Consultant for organic fruit growing, Ravensburg
Organic fruit growing advice
I work as a consultant for organic fruit growing at the Beratungsdienst Ökologischer Obstbau eV (BÖO), and I've actually been doing this since the end of my studies in 2008. To be more precise, I took a few months' parental leave after finishing my studies, while my wife Katrin was already working at the aforementioned advisory service. Due to a parental leave replacement at BÖO (namely that of my wife) and the resignation of a colleague, I almost accidentally slipped into fruit growing, a discipline that receives little attention in Witzenhausen, as it is part of horticulture.
The BÖO is an association run by organic fruit growers on a voluntary basis with the aim of offering independent advice that is committed to organic fruit growers. Together with a colleague, I am responsible for advising BÖO members on Lake Constance, one of the most important fruit-growing regions in Germany. And anyone who has ever spent a vacation there knows: there are (almost) only apples.
Expert advice and trade journals
We are called upon to offer and further develop broad-based, production-oriented advice with a clear focus on plant health, one could also say "plant protection". This focus is flanked by many other cultivation issues, such as fertilization, variety selection, training, biodiversity, soil cultivation and much more.
We offer members individual consultation appointments on the farm to convey this content. You will receive a consultation letter and can contact us at any time with any questions on the phone. In addition, we organize group meetings in order to use the exchange of experiences between farmers as a format for advice and to offer a framework for general collegial exchange for members.
In addition, we advisors are entrusted with the day-to-day management of the association, a striking symbol of the special relationship of trust between the board, members and advisors. And we are (co-)responsible for editing the content of the trade journal "Öko-Obstbau". In this function, but also as an advisor who wants to know everything, I call out to the students: "Read trade journals!"
Now the question arises as to what an agricultural scientist has to say about organic fruit growing. And yes, I had to familiarize myself intensively and for a long time with a field that was completely unknown to me at the time. Nevertheless, I maintain that I, who had no agricultural background, would also have had to familiarize myself intensively with agricultural consulting, for example the highly specialized consultants in potato cultivation.
Tools and methodological qualification
Witzenhausen gave me the essential tools for this, namely the ability to constructively take on unfamiliar contexts and new challenges with a solid professional and methodological qualification. I completed my time in Witzenhausen with a Master's degree in "Organic Agriculture", having previously obtained Diploma 1 for the associated "Organic Agriculture" course in Witzenhausen, but actually studied the first three semesters in Göttingen first.
But how do you teach something that is beyond the reach of lectures and credits? I'm thinking of the teaching format of the tutorial on compost with Christian Schüler or the excursions abroad with Holger Mittelstraß and the diverse conferences. I'm thinking of the internship at FiBL Switzerland, which was actually a bridge to my professional work, and the Erasmus semester in Aberystwyth, Wales. And I think of seminars such as the phytopathology field course with Maria Finckh, the nutrient cycles with Jürgen Heß and the lecture there by Sepp Braun, or the policy field of organic farming in the EU with Christian Henschke. It was all a totally exciting mixture of sound basic knowledge, an always respectful interest in the practical work of farmers, the invitation to think outside the box and the desire to experiment with unconventional formats.