Review of 2013

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In the winter semester 2013/14, 1014 students were enrolled in the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences. They were distributed across the individual degree programs as follows:

  • Bachelor of Organic Agriculture: 597
  • Master's in Organic Agriculture: 135
  • Sustainable International Agriculture (SIA, cooperation with the University of Göttingen): 138
  • International Food Business and Consumer Studies (IFBC, cooperation with Fulda University of Applied Sciences): 81
  • Exchange students: 7
  • Doctoral students: 55

As part of the Event Management module, students organized the 21st Witzenhausen Conference from 3 - 7 December with 120 participants, this year with the title "How round is the organic egg - challenges of laying hen husbandry".

In cooperation with the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad Pakistan, the Department of Agricultural Engineering organized the international conference "Renewable Energy Technologies in Pakistan" from 1 - 3 October. Larger excursions took place to Thailand (Sustainable International Agriculture course), Israel (Organic Agriculture course) and Turkey (International Food Business and Consumer Studies course).

In 2013, the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences raised € 6.5 million in third-party funding.
Over 100 articles from our department were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals in 2013 (see websites of the individual departments). A total of 29 doctorates were completed.
Of the large number of research projects carried out last year, the projects with several scientific cooperation partners that were completed or started in 2013 are listed here as examples.

Completed cooperation projects:

  • Increasing the added value of organically grown cash crops by optimizing the management of soil fertility (BLE)
  • A Comprehensive Analysis of Subsurface Irrigation in SSA for an Optimization and Adaptation of an Environmentally friendly Irrigation Practice (ERA, ARD)
  • Pilot project on a coordinated European Animal Welfare Network (EU)
  • Global Learning in the Botanical Garden (DBU)
  • Urban Food (VW Foundation)
  • Effects of transformation processes in 'Jubraka' agroforestry systems in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, on plant diversity and nutrient flows (DFG)
  • Expansion of organic soybean cultivation in Germany through breeding adaptation and crop optimization (BLE)
  • PROGRASS - Preservation of nature conservation grassland through decentralized energy recovery (EU)

Cooperation projects started:

  • Coordinating Organic Plant Breeding Activities for Diversity - COBRA (EU)
  • Reduction of Post Harvest Losses and Value Addition in East African Food Value Chains - RELOAD (BMBF)
  • Optimization of haymaking technology (BLE)
  • Development of a health monitoring system for bee colonies (ICR-AGRI)
  • Greenfood - GREENFOODS Towards Zero fossil CO2 emission in the European food & beverage industry (EU)
  • RE4Food - Renewable Energy for Food Processing (DIFD)
  • Utilization of organic residues from agriculture for energy production
  • Investigations and development of an efficient auto-regulative irrigation system with membrane material (BMBF, DLR)
  • Acoustic pest detection (BLE)
  • Healthy Minor Cereals - An integrated approach to diversify the genetic base, improve stress resistance, agronomic management and nutritional/processing quality of minor cereal crops for human nutrition in Europe. (EU)
  • Orientation framework for global development in North Hesse, implementation of global learning in teacher training (BMZ)
  • Orientation framework for global development at model schools (BMZ)
  • Biogas plants in organic farming (FNR)
  • Urban Food Plus (BMBF)
  • Organic inspection competence: Structured analysis of requirements and development of sector-wide coordinated training and further education concepts for organic inspectors (Konkom) (BLE)
  • COMBINE - Converting Organic Matters from European urban and natural areas into storable bio-Energy (EU)
  • Cultivation of energy maize in mixed cultivation with runner beans Development and optimization of the cultivation system (FNR, BMELV)
  • KURZUM II - Dynamics of soil C-fractions and plant productivity during the conversion of short rotation coppice (SRC) to arable and grassland use - short rotation coppice conversion. (HMUELV)
  • Collaborative project EVA III - Energy supply by means of biogas and ethanol including by-product utilization in an organic farm without livestock (ÖKOVERS) (BMELV)
  • "FOR 1806 - The forgotten part of carbon cycling: Organic matter storage and turnover in subsoils (SUBSOM)" (DFG)

The following members or projects of the department have received awards:

  • Dr. Jochen Ebert (Agricultural History): Main prize of the academic award "Hessian History and Regional Studies 2013" of the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art for the doctoral thesis "Domänengüter im Fürstenstaat. The estates of the landgraves and electors of Hesse (16th-19th century). Inventory - Types - Functions"
  • Luise Merbach: second prize from the Claas Foundation for her Bachelor's thesis "Feasibility study of a system for knife condition detection", which the student from Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences wrote in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Engineering.
  • Denise Knop: Hans Martin Prize for Labor Sciences for her internship thesis "Workload during milking" at the Department of Agricultural Engineering.
  • Dr. Anne Schiborra (Department of Livestock Farming in the Tropics and Subtropics): Teaching award of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences Göttingen for outstanding teaching performance in summer semester 2013
  • Huttenplatz project (Department of Organic Agriculture and Plant Production as part of the DOCUMENTA activities in Kassel): Health Prize of the City of Kassel

The following members were appointed or elected to specialist committees in 2013:

  • Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hamm is the spokesperson for the new Organic Farming specialist group in the German Agricultural Research Alliance (DAFA).
  • Prof. Dr. Detlev Möller was appointed to the General Committee of the German Agricultural Society.
  • Prof. Dr. Rainer Georg Jörgensen has become a member of the Editorial Board of Biology and Fertiliy of Soils and an Independent Expert of the European Research Council.
  • Prof. Dr. Bernard Ludwig has become a member of the Editorial Board of Geoderma.

The department conducted a large number of guided tours and information events for visitor groups. Larger events were held in 2013:

  • Faculty Day for Agricultural Sciences and Ecotrophology in Witzenhausen, January 24-25, 2013.
  • Lectures and information stand at the Biofach, February 13-16, 2013.
  • The Agricultural Economics Doctoral College of the German Agricultural Faculties "Principles and Practices of Survey Research: Designing and Conducting Surveys" took place from April 8-12, 2013
  • National Workshop of the Education for Sustainable Development Leadership Program, Engagement global. April 22-23.
  • Plant market on April 28, 2013 with approx. 2,500 guests.
  • 35th Biomass Day from June 03 - 07, 2013.
  • Action day on organically produced and fair-trade coffee at the Hessentag in Kassel on June 23, 2013.
  • Legumes field day at the Frankenhausen domain with around 90 participants on June 26, 2013.
  • Conference Renewable Energy in Agriculture, October 01-03, 2013.
  • Summer School "Agricultural Engineering in Developing Countries", November 03-14, 2013.
  • The department was represented at Agritechnika from November 12-17, 2013 in Hanover.
  • Conference of the Dachverband Kulturpflanzen-und Nutztiervielfalt e.V. from November 31 - December 1, 2013.
  • University day on the topic of "Soil fertility" with around 110 participants on December 2, 2013.

In 2013, 19 professors worked at our department together with a total of around 200 scientific and administrative/technical staff. One professorship (Prof. Dr. Eva Schlecht, Department of Farm Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics) belongs equally to the University of Göttingen and the University of Kassel.
Prof. Dr. Gunter Backes has started as Head of the Department of Organic Plant Breeding and Agricultural Biodiversity. New members of the Dean's Office are Tamara Thielemann as Dean's Secretary, Dr. Sonja Biewer as contact person for the Incubator Start-up Consultancy and Dr. Christin Schipmann-Schwarze as deputy to the departmental advisor. Dr. Reinhold Stülpnagel retired as a long-standing research assistant.