Laura Kulow

The lecturers were committed and passionate about their subject areas, and I found the interaction with the students to be cooperative and respectful. It was possible to discuss with the lecturers and to present your own - sometimes specific - opinions, which were discussed objectively and not ridiculed. Today, I see this as a great human achievement and essential for the development of new, progressive, forward-looking ideas for our agriculture.

The contact with my fellow students was also exciting and enriching, as we met a wide variety of people who had already had contact with agricultural issues in many different ways. Political and social discussions were always closely linked to (organic) agriculture, environmental protection and resource conservation.

After two intensive years, I moved back to my parents' business for the birth of my second son, which until then had been run by my father Carsten Niemann as a sole proprietorship. Together we then also founded a GbR. Since then, we have been supported in the farm transfer process by our valued advisor Dirk Werner and the socio-economic advisor Dr. Marianne Nobelmann.

Our farm is located in the small village of Ritzleben in north-western Saxony-Anhalt. My parents came here in 1991 and converted the land directly, and in July 2021 we will also be celebrating 30 years of organic farming. The gradual transfer of operational tasks to me was suspended for a few months at a time due to the births of my daughters and my father took care of the day-to-day business again. Fortunately, we were able to overcome these phases as a team with great employees.

Today, we farm around 430 hectares of arable land and 80 hectares of grassland. The main focus of the farm is potatoes, with around 70 to 80 hectares under cultivation, but we also grow spring oats, spelt, winter wheat, winter rye, spring barley, maize, blue and white lupins, field beans and various catch crops.

Twenty years ago, my father and five other farmers founded "Bio Kartoffel GmbH Nord & Co. KG", which organizes the marketing of our potatoes and has also been producing potato flakes and starch in addition to edible products for several years. Our long-standing marketing partners also include "Bauck GmbH & Co. KG" in Rosche and "Bohlsener Mühle".

For me, the most important result of my time in Witzenhausen to date is the broadening of my own horizons on various levels. I find this very valuable and important, as it gives me a lot of flexibility in my current position, but also security. According to the motto: "If there is a need for operational adjustments, studying in Witzenhausen has given me a colorful bouquet of meadow flowers full of forward-looking possibilities and ideas to take with me on my way." I am still very grateful for that today!

Finally, I would like to congratulate "my" university and all those involved on their anniversaries and wish them all the best for the future!