Autumn 2023 EN

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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 18
BIOGAS JOURNAL | AUTUMN_2023 ENGLISH ISSUE evaporation losses was caused by difficult production conditions. These conditions are marked by light soils and low average soil values of around 40 base saturation percentage (BP) and below-average rainfall amounts, averaging 470 mm. In dry years, the rainfall can even drop to as low as 300 mm. The negative impacts of the rainfall deficit are exacerbated by pronounced pre-summer drought. “This was evident even in an otherwise average year like 2022. The yields of barley and rapeseed were reasonably good by our standards. However, the wheat harvest was disappointing, with only 5 tons per hectare, as the dry period coincided exactly with the grain filling phase,” explains Rohne. The top priority is to retain every drop of water that comes down in the soil! Initially, one approach was seen in providing continuous cover and shading of the surface through the cultivation of catch crops immediately after the main crop. “For this purpose, we set the discs of the preceding disc harrow slightly lower on our longutilized Horsch Pronto seeder, allowing the seeding units to plant a catch crop mixture directly into the cereal stubble,” Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor CSTR Stainless steel tanks from Stallkamp are ideally suited for use in biogas plants. | pump | store | agitate | separate The sowing coulters (blades) that are angled at the end are located to the right and left of the serrated cutting disc of the sowing unit. The seed or fertilizer is placed over them. View more information ! The serrated cutting disc of the seed rag runs 6 cm below the T-SlotPlus coulters mounted on both sides for placement in a horizontal slot. 19 www.stallkamp.de
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Autumn 2023 EN

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