Susliving-Gurteen Agricultural College – Travel Bursary 2014 Report

Introduction

The Susliving-Gurteen Agricultural College Travel Bursary was introduced in 2013 for students

taking the second-year Sustainable Farming module. The Travel Bursary provides the means for

students to experience sustainable farming practices in an insightful and inspiring setting, meeting

pioneers from across the spectrum of European sustainable agriculture, and seeing the cutting edge

of a diverse and changing market.

While maintaining a balance of academic as well as practical interest, the three bursary winners

were selected from the class of 2013, with the proviso that travel would take place in 2014. The

inaugural trip took place on the 14th – 18th July 2014, with graduates Melissa White, Colm Mc

Clafferty and Philip Serviss, under the coordination of Susliving Mentor Zaki Mahfoud.

Selection of trip locations

This being the first time that the Travel Bursary has been offered, it presented a clean slate to

sample a number of locations. Recognising that each student has different interests and farming

backgrounds, the trip aimed to accommodate individual preferences while making use of the shared

learning experience. Each student put forward a number of areas of interest, from which several

common themes emerged. These are described as follows:

- Renewable energy on the farm. All three students were keen to see renewable energy on the farm,

including biomass (such as coppiced crops) for heat-from-wood, as well as more hi-tech solutions

such as solar panels and biodigestion.

- Livestock and new markets for meat. Looking for new opportunities to market livestock, amid

some uncertainty in the livestock market, the students also shared this area of interest.

- Reducing costs on the farm. With costs of conventional farming increasing, and a desire to make

their operations both ecologically and economically sustainable, the students were interested in

identifying means of achieving this.

Having established the focus points for the group, a number of potential hosts were contacted in

Germany and Austria, with the aim of identifying suitable partners between which a workable

programme of events could be established. This being the first year that the bursary was run,

identifying and establishing contact with hosts in Europe was a more drawn-out process than

expected. Nevertheless, three host locations, fitting the individual and collective interests of the

students were selected, and a very manageable travel itinerary put together.

Synopsis of itinerary

Leaving on the afternoon of Monday 14th July, the group travelled via Hannover, Germany before

moving onward to Braunschweig to stay overnight. On Tuesday the group was met by Clemens von

Koenig of Agraligna, who provided extensive information on the use of short-rotation-coppice and a

tour around several cropping sites in the area around the village of Beuchte. Traveling south by

train, the group stayed overnight in Munich. Wednesday morning took the group to Ebenhofen in

Bavaria, to meet organic dairy and beef farmer Andy Fichtl and see his farming setup and

renewable energy systems. Wednesday evening the group travelled to the third and final

demonstration site: Ramingstein in the Austrian Alps. On Thursday the group spent a full day

touring the world-renowned permaculture farm Krameterhof, guided by Josef Holzer. On Friday the

group travelled back to Munich via Salzburg, and safely arrived back in Dublin on Friday night. A

more detailed description and discussion of each host site is included below.

The learning process

As part of the learning process, the students engaged in discussion before and after going to each

location. Prior to each session the students were asked to consider their particular interests in that

location, to focus and enhance the learning experience. Following each session, the group engaged

in a thorough debrief, recording their experience under the headings of (i) a description of each host

location, (ii) a summary of the advantages of the setup, (iii) any drawbacks or limitations of the

operation, and finally (iv) how this could be implemented back home (that is, in Ireland) and what

further information or other factors would be needed to make this successful. Additionally, the

group discussed the stand-out points from the trip, the main contributions to the sustainable

successes of the farms visited, and how these could be replicated at home.

Heat-from-wood – Agraligna

Agraligna is a company which develops heat-from-wood agriculture using short rotation coppice

(SRC). They have projects within Germany and Eastern Europe, and are experienced in both the

agricultural production, marketing of wood and generation of heat for sale. Partner in the firm,

Clemens von Koenig, is a farmer-entrepreneur himself, and maintains a small tillage operation in

addition to his biofuel and renewable energy projects. Centred around the village of Beuchte,

Agraligna maintains its plantations for source material, lands in active SRC use, and facilities for

processing and burning wood for fuel.

The plantations for source material formed the first port of call, where Mr. Von Koenig showed the

narrow, densely-planted rows of poplar that are cut annually to provide the 30 centimetre rods

which are used in commercial plantings for SRC. In addition to using a number of tried and tested

varieties of poplar and willow, selected for high yields and resistance to disease, Agraligna and their

research partners have a number of newer varieties also under trial.

Densely-planted poplar plantation used as source material for Agraligna's production.

In the course of discussing the benefits of SRC as a sustainable crop, Mr. Von Koenig was keen to

emphasise the low maintenance requirements of willow and poplar, with neither needing or greatly

benefiting from fertiliser application; self-control of weeds by way of their dense and vigorous

growth; excellent drought and flood resistance once established; and no requirement for pesticide

application except in the case of severe pest infestation.

While regulations in Germany do not permit the growing of biomass crops on prime agricultural

land and/or large fields, its applicability in poorer soils and smaller, irregular fields was

demonstrated at several plantations around Beuchte. From very shallow, stony soils to very heavy

clays, to sandy soils, Mr. Von Koenig explained the suitability of using SRC rather than other tillage

or grazing, supporting this with figures of crop yields for the variety used in each location. Yields

ranged from 6-8 tons dry matter per hectare per year on the poorest sites, to 16-18 tons in the more

productive areas, and a new variety 'Dragau' has shown yields of over 20 tons. Recognising the

higher rainfall levels and longer growing season in Ireland, Mr. Von Koenig suggested that even

higher yields would be expected in Irish conditions.

Having seen several SRC plantations, the group then travelled to Agraligna's processing facility in

Beuchte, where wood is chipped, dried and burned. Here, Mr. Von Koenig led a walk-through of the

machinery used for planting and harvesting the SRC crops, with both a dedicated cutter and a maize

header being used for this purpose. The company is in the process of developing a new chipper, that

cuts a larger, more uniform wood chip, thereby facilitating drying and reducing waste of very small

chips. The chip is dried using an air source heat pump and underfloor blower, as well as being

container dried using waste heat from a nearby biogas plant.

Map of Agraligna's hot water network in the village of Beuchte, with piping marked in black and

expansion points marked in red.

To complete the chain from grower to consumer, Agraligna burns its wood chip on-site, in a tandem

high-efficiency burner setup (similar to Gurteen College's current setup), and supplies water to 65

houses in the village of Beuchte through an expanding district hot water network, installed with the

assistance of official funding. Agraligna also supply heat to a school, and Mr. Von Koenig was keen

to emphasise the use of buildings with high heat demands, such as schools, nursing homes and

swimming pools as ideal candidates for conversion to a wood chip setup, as they frequently have a

fossil-fuel boiler already in place. In addition, this business model benefits from the reduced

complexity of negotiating a long-term contract with a single consumer rather than a multitude of

low-demand customers. Bearing in mind the feasibility limitations of installing a district hot water

network in Ireland, single high-demand users make for more appropriate applications of the fuel.

In addition to the wood chip operation, all of Agraligna's drying barns have solar photovoltaic

panels on their south-facing roofs, generating approximately 200kWh peak production, which is

sold to the grid. The solar panels were installed over a number of years, spreading the capital costs

and making use of higher efficiency newer panels. A biodigestion plant is also currently in

construction on Agraligna's site, due to come on-line in the next year, and the company also

provides split logs for residential customers. This was the group's first exposure to what would be a

recurring theme over the course of the trip: the importance of diversity in the operation to facilitate

and ensure the sustainability from both an economic and ecological point of view.

Organic beef and dairy, and regenerative energies – Biohof Fichtl

The Fichtl family farm is located in Ebenhofen, in the state of Bavaria. Having converted to organic

agriculture in the 1970s, Herbert and his son Andy produce organic meat and milk, and in latter

years have invested in on-farm regenerative energy projects. Travelling to the farm on Wednesday

morning, the group met Andy Fichtl, who provided a comprehensive tour of the farm.

Beginning in the slatted shed, where the 100-strong dairy herd and calves are kept, Mr. Fichtl

explained the production setup. Employing a zero-grazing model, livestock are fed grass, hay, silage

and grass pellets (produced with their own grass at a nearby factory), and organic concentrates.

Comprising a mix of three breeds: Swiss brown, Fleckvieh and Holstein, the herd produce an

average of 9,400 litres per year, in comparison with an average of 5,000 litres for organic farms.

Each animal is electronically tagged for recording individual milk yields, and are removed from

milk production when yield drops. In spite of the added costs of organic farming, Mr. Fichtl

explained that the premium for organic milk more than made up for the higher production cost, to

the point where organic farming is currently more profitable than moving to conventional farming.

Slatted shed for zero grazing at Biohof Fichtl, with electronically tagged Brown Swiss and Holstein

cows. The shed comprises feeding area, beds and milk parlour.

With a considerable amount of slurry being produced in the shed, the family decided to invest in a

biodigester over a decade ago. By building the digester and power generation structures themselves,

at a time when electricity grid feed-in tariffs were very favourable, the Fichtl family developed a

means to profit from the farm waste, in addition to using it as their sole permissible organic

fertiliser. Using a stepped tank beneath that slats that requires no agitation, the slurry is pumped to

the digestion tanks, where it is mixed with silage and heated to ferment and produce biogas.

The digester consumes 10,000 litres of slurry, 14 tons of grass silage and 1.5 tons of maize silage

per day. The majority of the silage comes from the Fichtl's farm, while the remainder and the maize

silage come from a neighbouring farm. Heated to 50 C with waste heat from the generation units,

the mixture produces methane which is dried, cleaned and burned to produce electricity. The system

employs two gas turbines to produce electricity for about 500 houses, which is sold to two nearby

towns through the existing electric grid. The residual material in the digester is pumped to a holding

tank, for later spreading on the land as fertiliser.

Commenting on the finances of the operation, Mr. Fichtl explained how each feedstock and method

of generation receives its own particular feed-in tariff. Having built the first biodigester over ten

years ago, and another a few years after, they benefited from a higher feed-in tariff than is available

today. The high initial value of the electricity produced contributed to recouping the investment

costs and ensures they can operate the biodigester profitably as feed-in tariffs continue to drop.

With Ebenhofen being one of the sunniest locations in Germany, the Fichtl's have invested heavily

in solar photovoltaic panels or all south-facing roofs. Beginning in 2001 and adding further panels

every one or two years, the farm now produces about 250 kWh peak production of electricity.

Starting with a very favourable feed-in tariff of €0.50/kWh (although this has dropped to €0.12-

€0.16 now), the capital expenditure on the first panels has already been recouped, half-way into the

expected life-span of the panels. The diversity of the operation was a key factor in the Fictl's

decision to add regenerative energies on their farm. By combining organic beef, dairy, solar and

biodigester energy production on the farm they have reduced the financial risk of any single

component, while maintaining a high degree of both ecological and economic sustainability.

Bursary group with farmer Andy Fichtl (second from right). Solar panel installation in background.

Permaculture and integrated farming – Krameterhof

Krameterhof, has been farmed for generations by the Holzer family, situated in the Austrian Alps,

the farm garnered its fame following the efforts of pioneer Sepp Holzer to increase the diversity of

produce – and the income that comes with it – while maintaining strong principles of ecological

sustainability. The farm is now known as a centre for permaculture and polyculture – growing a

diversity of crops with a high degree of ecological interconnectivity – and provides education in

these practices in addition to the farming operations.

Sepp Holzer's son, Josef now runs the farm, and led the day-long tour. He began by explaining the

history of the farm, the difficulties of farming in such an isolated area, with a long and cold winter,

and a short summer with mild temperatures owing to the elevation of 1000-1,400 metres. With its

origin as a self-sufficient farm, Krameterhof has always produced a wide variety of crops. In

addition to more commonly grown crops, both Sepp and Josef have tried new and different animals

and crops, as a means of creating a new and potentially more profitable market for their produce.

The very high diversity of produce, grown without the use of synthetic biocide or fertiliser has

established Krameterhof as a centre for sustainable agricultural practice.

Josef Hozler explains the finer points of farming in mountainous regions.

Using a number of established techniques, including regular mulching and inter-cropping, the

Holzers have maintained the fertility of the farm without the input of synthetic fertiliser, and have

made use of solar gain, water ponds and terraces to increase the amount of cultivable land on the

mountainside.

Mr. Holzer developed on the principles that have made Krameterhof a success, while emphasising

the importance of identifying solutions applicable to one's own environment. He detailed how much

of the success of Krameterhof has been down to working with what is available on the farm, and

making the best use of it. Taking the example of planting fruit trees on the farm, Mr. Holzer

demonstrated how grafting is far more effective than planting bought-in trees. By using commonly

found rootstocks – such as the ubiquitous Crataegus sp. – grafts require less manual labour than

digging holes for trees, will fruit sooner on the established rootstock, and benefit from a rootstock

that is already thriving in the local climate. The process saves time and money, shortens the years to

fruiting maturity and produces trees that thrive in the climate of the farm. The abundance of fruiting

grafted trees in Krameterhof bore testament to the potential of this method.

Situated at between 1,000 and 1,400 metres elevation, Krameterhof's fruiting crops do not all ripen

at the same time. Mr. Holzer detailed how the delay in fruiting at the cooler, higher slopes of the

farm was in fact a benefit, rather than what might initially be seen as a drawback. The farm is able

to supply organic cherries to market at a time when low-land producers have already finished their

cherry harvest, thus benefitting from better prices for the crop.

Krameterhof's most profitable crops are those which are unique to it in the region. Recognising the

abundance of trout farmers in Austria, the Holzers switched to farming freshwater crayfish in the

rainwater ponds of Krameterhof. This fast-reproducing shellfish commands a high market price,

and Krameterhof also supplies juvenile crayfish to other fish farmers in the region. Requiring no

feeding or maintenance, the crayfish are a low cost, high value product. Mr. Holzer also spoke on

the importance of marketing produce that commands a premium price. The key to this, he noted,

was to have a different product to what is widely available on the market, giving the example of

particular varieties of vegetables that are grown at Krameterhof, but which are not otherwise

available. Finally, with the diversity of crops grown on the farm, Mr. Holzer emphasised the

importance of quality, and of picking and marketing the crops that are most productive in a season,

while diverting costly labour from crops that have not done well that year.

Mr. Holzer again emphasised the importance of diversity as fundamental in Krameterhof's success.

In terms of production, the farm produces many varieties of fruit, vegetable and animal, comprising

a mixture of traditional crops and more unique produce. As well as selling produce for retail, the

farm also supplies restaurants, and produces seed to supply other farms. The global reputation of the

farm brings in additional income from tours and learning courses, providing employment for

additional teaching staff.

The travel bursary group at the gates of Krameterhof, Austria (l-r P. Serviss, M. White, C.

McClafferty, Z. Mahfoud).

Summary of learning outcomes

The sites visited over the course of the trip presented some of the varied possibilities of making a

more sustainable agricultural system. In spite of the differences between the three locations, a

number of common themes arose, namely the importance of diversity in operation, the benefits or

drawbacks of local conditions on the success of any of the sustainable farming measures, and the

importance of a profitable market for produce. These are summarised below.

- All three locations demonstrated a wide diversity in operations. The owner was therefore not

reliant on a single enterprise as their sole source of income. This provided each with a degree of

insulation from price or supply fluctuations, and increasing the stability of the overall farm

operation.

- Recognising the unique climatic and economic factors at play in each visited location, the hosts

also pointed out the need to use techniques suitable to one's own farm location. For example, that

short-rotation-coppice could be more effective in Ireland (with its abundance of rainfall and long

growing season) than in Germany, while solar photovoltaic would be much less effective (owing to

the much lower intensity and duration of sunshine in Ireland).

- Following on from the above point, the farms visited demonstrated how the success of their

operation was dependent on identifying and using a method of sustainable farming that had access

to a profitable market. Examples seen of this included providing late-fruiting crop to market at a

time when other suppliers had reached the end of their fruiting season (at Krameterhof), supplying

premium priced organic milk (Biohof Fichtl), or negotiating long-term contracts to provide heat-

from-wood to high-demand users (Agraligna).

Feedback and future outlook

A number of points of feedback are summarised below.

- The travel bursary received very positive interest and feedback from both the graduates and hosts.

All three hosts expressed their interested in taking part in future runs of the travel bursary. They

demonstrated a great willingness to share their knowledge and experience with the visiting group,

and provided frank insight to both the day-to-day operation and overall outlook of the business.

- Reaction from the graduates was also very positive, with good engagement with the hosts during

the trip. They noted that the organic dairy farm of Biohof Fichtl was of most interest to them, being

as it is a setup most similar to what they are familiar with, and can therefore relate to. It will be

noted to allow for more time to visit Biohof Fichtl in future trips, should students have an interest in

this setup.

- Seeing the opportunities for growing short-rotation-coppice as demonstrated by Agraligna, the

graduates remarked that they would have liked more exposure to the willow plantation in Gurteen

during their studies, and recommended that current students be given more opportunity to learn

about the use of short-rotation-coppice in Gurteen.

- The trip demonstrated a number of new ideas that the three graduates had no previous knowledge

or experience of. The success of these at each of the host locations was strongly linked to the

entrepreneurial nature of each of the host farmers, and a willingness try something new. Replicating

these successes in Ireland requires a similarly enterprising spirit, especially noting the current lack

of development in sustainable farming in Ireland. It is recommended that pioneering spirit be more

heavily weighted in the selection of future travel bursary participants.

- The trip presented a new opportunity to forge links with practitioners of sustainable farming in

Europe, which can be used in future for the development of sustainable farming in Gurteen College.

As future interests dictate, a number of other hosts may become involved in the bursary program,

thereby extending the network of contacts between Susliving-Gurteen and sustainable farmers in

Europe.

Conclusion

The 2014 Travel Bursary Program presented a new and exciting opportunity for graduates of

Gurteen Agricultural College to experience best practice in sustainable farming in Europe. The

inaugural running of the trip provided a diverse mix of locations visited, with a number of valuable

learning outcomes. With a very positive reaction from hosts and graduates, the trip was deemed a

success, and provides a solid basis for future runs of the Travel Bursary.

Zaki Mahfoud

2014