In a few days, on July 3 and 4, the second nationwide Organic Field Days will open their doors at the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen near Kassel. On the field, in the barn and in specialist forums, they will show what organic farming has to offer and where it is heading.
The second nationwide Organic Field Days surpassed the premiere by far: 25 percent more exhibitors, 100 percent more innovations, machine demonstrations and forum program: “This great response shows the enormous strength of the organic sector and its growth course,” says Hessian Minister of Agriculture Priska Hinz and adds: “They fit perfectly with our goal of increasing the organic cultivation area in Hesse to 25 percent by 2025.”
“The trial and demo areas have recovered from the extremely cool May and are now virtually exploding. Work is being done on every nook and cranny. The team is eagerly awaiting the starting signal,” says Prof. Jürgen Heß, Scientific Director of the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen, adding: “The Organic Field Days are a central meeting point for all those involved in agriculture to gather and exchange information about the current state of organic farming.”
Dr. Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein is enthusiastic about the appeal that the Organic Field Days are developing: “Central topics of the Organic Field Days such as organic breeding and nutrient management, animal husbandry or agricultural technology show farmers possible building blocks to make their own farms suitable for grandchildren. Researchers can find out what practice really needs from them. And politicians can see both: what opportunities organic farming offers and what organic farming needs to develop its potential,” says the Chairman of the Board of the German Federation of Organic Food Producers (BÖLW).
You can find the detailed program for the Organic Field Days at:
www.oeko-feldtage.de/programm2019/
More information
The Eco-Field Days take place at the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen in 34393 Grebenstein near Kassel (Kassel Wilhelmshöhe railroad station). In the mornings and evenings there is a half-hourly bus service to the Eco-Field Days with a stop in Frankenhausen.
Diverse program
The program of the Organic Field Days presents a mixture of practice and research and all the latest innovations in organic farming. For example, visitors can get an impression of the latest agricultural technology in over 50 machine demonstrations of hoeing, harrowing, raking, GPS and camera-guided machines. Many examples of innovation will show prototypes and new developments such as weeding robots, a solar-powered weeding plane and an electric-powered tractor.
The latest findings on challenges such as the climate crisis, organic breeding and animal welfare will be covered in forums and discussed by scientists and practitioners. On 1,200 demo plots, companies, breeders and consultants will also present over 70 crops from field beans to sugar beet and inputs for organic farming.
Animal husbandry is another focus of the Organic Field Days: there are many animal-related exhibitors, a specialist forum on barn talks and two tents where scientists and consultants will present their projects. In addition, the breeders’ conference on German black and white lowland cattle with an integrated animal show will take place as part of the Öko-Feldtage.
Domäne Frankenhausen: The ideal event location
The Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen is the teaching and experimental farm of the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel/Witzenhausen. The organic farm is centrally located just outside Kassel. It has extensive covered building capacities, 250 hectares of arable land, 40 hectares of grassland and modern animal husbandry. The domain is a teaching, research and transfer center for organic farming and sustainable regional development, but it is also a commercial enterprise: for example, it markets milk, eggs and meat from farm animals as well as carrots and potatoes. The farm is the focal point of the Organic Field Days. Visitors can view the farm’s land and methods. Modern animal husbandry is also demonstrated using the example of dairy farming and the keeping of laying hens in a mobile barn.
Organization & organizer
The strong team of partners is organizing the 2019 event in proven cooperation. FiBL Projekte GmbH is the organizer. Co-organizers are the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture and the University of Kassel with the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen and the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences, the State Agency for Agriculture of Hesse and the Foundation for Ecology and Agriculture. The BÖLW is the patron of the event. The Hessian Ministry of Agriculture is once again supporting the event financially in 2019 as part of the Eco Action Plan. The company dennree is a gold sponsor of the Öko-Feldtage 2019. Interested parties can find more information on the website: www.oeko-feldtage.de
In addition to machine demonstrations, the innovation show and animal husbandry, the demo plots will once again play an important role in 2019.