Autumn 2023 EN

ENGLISH ISSUE
BIOGAS JOURNAL | AUTUMN_2023
For Christian Rohne,
managing director
of the agricultural
company Demsin,
and employee Jan
Brückner, the Novag
T-ForcePlus 650 is
the key machine in
agriculture.
“The profitability of
milk production was
steadily declining. Therefore,
we decided to discontinue
livestock farming”
Karl-Heinz Jäger
Karl-Heinz Jäger has
transformed the former
LPG into a GmbH
(limited liability
company) and shares
the management with
Christian Rohne.
halt. Until spring 2022, these buildings housed 170
dairy cows. “The profitability of milk production was
steadily declining. Therefore, we decided to discontinue
livestock farming. In May, the last of the animals
were taken off the farm,” explains 69-year-old Karl-
Heinz Jäger. He is in the process of handing
over the management of the operation
to Christian Rohne, who already
acts as the managing director
and makes all the agricultural
decisions.
Despite discontinuing
dairy farming, the agricultural
company in Kleindemsin is not solely focused
on cash crops. It still has an important source of revenue
through the production and direct marketing of
electricity and heat. The biogas plant indispensable
for this purpose went into operation in 2007, initially
with a CHP unit (537 kW e
). The first expansion took
place in 2010 with the construction of an energy station,
including satellite cogeneration units (250 kW e
)
and a heat distribution container. It is connected to the
biogas plant located approximately 500 meters away
via gas and heat pipelines. This precautionary measure
ensures the continuous supply of heat to 48 residential
units, as well as the kindergarten, community center,
and fire department in Kleinwusterwitz, all of which
are connected to the station through an underground
district heating grid.
The efficiency of the biogas plant was further improved
by commissioning the drying system in 2015 by utilizing
the heat bonus. Contract drying, which is in good
demand, also boosts revenue. In 2018/19, the operator
took advantage of the flexibilization program to make
further investments. As part of this program, a cogeneration
unit with a capacity of 350 kW e
and 530 kW e
was added at both the satellite site and the main plant
location, in addition to the existing units.
Conserve soil water
In crop production, the farmers in Kleindemsin cultivate
approximately 900 hectares of arable land and
350 hectares of meadows. Market crops include maize,
cereals, rapeseed, and occasionally peas, lupins, and
faba beans to diversify the crop rotation. The decision
to adopt no-till cultivation for over 16 years to reduce
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