International Study Seminar – Day 4
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
– written by Mike Shane, Ruth Zeldenrust, & Rodney Phelps – Presiding Fellows
We gathered early in the morning and boarded the bus headed for Berlin. We had several hours of travel ahead of us with a few farms visits along the way. Our first break came at a German roadhouse – otherwise known as a rest area – along the highway. Much to our surprise, public restrooms cost 70 (Euro) cents to use! (the equivalent of $1 USD) For payment you do receive a 50 Euro-cent coupon to use in the store to purchase a snack or quick cup of coffee. As we continued on the drive to Berlin, we passed over into the former East Germany territory. We were reminded of communist history as we saw the old watch tower and government buildings where citizens were checked for passports, visas, and other permits needed to cross the border.
Our lunch stop and first farm visit of the day was located at Agro Bördegrün in Niederndodeleben, Germany. The Managing Director of this farm, Ron Westphal, was very proud of the facilities and community involvement. We had lunch in the canteen (small cafeteria), which prepares food for the farm employees as well as school children and retirees in the community. Agro Bördegrün is a rather large farm operation, with over 3600 hectares (9400 acres) farmed. They grow crops such as wheat, barley, oats, corn and rapeseed. There are 80 people employed by the farm organization. Additionally, Agro Bördegrün owns a gas station in town and a biogas plant that generates methane gas – which is cleaned and sold into the natural gas pipeline. Energy subsidies become a big issue for farmers. They can use the manure and corn silage to supply these mini energy plants while collecting a subsidy for the biogas created. Agro Bördegrün was clearly well-run, and provided a great lunch-stop where we could learn about a large German farm as well.
After leaving Agro Bördegrün, we made our way to a nearby livestock farm, which was organized similarly to Agro Bördegrün. Thomas Seeger was the operating manager at this facility and showed us his way of producing beef. He uses bulls purchased from other places, and brings them in to feed out. Thomas explained his diligence in keeping the farm and barn gates shut, as animal rights activists have a tendency to let out cattle. He also discussed the likelihood of regulations getting tougher, so he built his new shed above and beyond current regulations in order to be ready for changes to come. This also qualified him for a large credit, for building above regulation. In addition to managing the farm, Thomas is involved in the local community. Promptly after finishing our tour and discussions, he left to present a generous sponsorship to the local youth soccer team. The generosity of Thomas’ time and dedication to help us learn more about his farm was appreciated by all.
Prior to our final departure, we thanked our new friends from CaseIH for their gracious hospitality in Germany. Sarah and Alfred, and other members of the CaseIH Agriculture team in Germany, were instrumental in assisting IALF after the change in travel plans. The farms we were able to visit and the people we met were important additions to our drive from Frankfurt to Berlin.
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