Freedom, Meat Jelly, & a Whole Lotta Bull(s)

After a two hour train ride out of Berlin yesterday, we arrived at our new home for a couple of days, Neubrandenburg, and met our new host, Ralf. Ralf works for the Bauernverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which is one of the federal organizations of the DVB. After a late dinner that followed a long day, it was time to call it a night as we had an early day full of German agriculture.

Our first stop was a dairy just outside of Neubrandenburg to see milk production along with bioenergy production. While we were no longer in Berlin, we were still most definitely in the old East Germany. This you could tell, by the architecture of the old dairy buildings which we built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The dairy housed over 1200 cows and calves on site with about 900 of those producing milk. As we first entered it was nice to see a good sized area that they used to separate out sick animals to maintain herd health.

Dairy barns built by the old German Democratic Republic.

New expansion onto old barn.

Now we have all seen dairy buildings before, but due to how these barns were built, it is not possible to drive a tractor with a wagon to feed all of the cows. So, how were they fed? Simply look up and you will see a network of conveyor belts with angling blocks that direct the control of feed hung from the ceiling that delivered feed right to the cows feed bunk. The feed ration was mixed outside of the barn in a pit to the specific nutritional needs of the group of animals and then sent along its way.

Begining of feed conveyror belt system that feed cattle throughout the barn.

Belt above that drops feed into bunk. Mmmm, tasty.

On our way to learn about biogas, we passed by the dairy calf care center. Here the dairy had provided smaller pens full of fluffy bedding for young calves to grow. And to make sure they were eating their fair share, each calf had a radio frequency (rf) collar on that register when it drank milk and how much. Even when sorted by age, their cuteness never diminished.

Hello!

We then made it to the biogas production site. This is where the dairy waste was gathered and mixed with different strains of bacteria. As the bacteria go to work and start munching down on the waste, they produce methane. This methane is then captured so it can be used to generate electricity, which is then distributed on the grid. This dairy had built the digester in two phases and is now able to generate more than 750kW per day. This dairy also goes one step further by piping the engine coolant over to an apartment building complex that contract for the heat, helping to lower energy bills in the winter months. This was built as a result of a push for more renewable energy in Germany and Europe. A guaranteed price helped guarantee that a return on an investment could be seen and many German farmers have benefitted from this, but not without the cost of electricity going up.

Biogas facility.

After our dairy tour, we all headed to a milk processing plant owned by one of Germany's largest dairies. It was the dairy of Deutsches Milchkontor where they primarily make milk into cheese. As we went along we saw the start of milk heading into the process come out as blocks of cheese before taking a float in brine water for aging. After aging in the brine, the blocks head off to be cut, sliced and packaged for shipment for the people of Germany to enjoy.

We then headed off to meet Torney Milch, who would talk to us next about meat processing, potato cultivation and direct marketing, but first, lunch. We were treated to a traditional German staple, sausage and bread. And it was quite a spread. They had regular cooked sausages that were similar to hotdogs along with smoked liverwurst, smoked liverwurst with herbs, smoked garlic sausage, and mettwurst. The last on the list, the mettwurst, was actually raw. Yes, as in uncooked or as the label stated, "frische." The last five types we learned were spread on bread or rolls, as opposed to eaten directly so we dubbed them "meat jelly," which our German friends had a good chuckle over.

A nice spread of German sausage that we all learned was actually spread onto bread.

During the lunch, of which we were eating the products being discussed, Torney talked about how he markets his products directly to consumers through the local grocery markets. Of his working staff of around 145, the biggest segment of them were the ones working to get his products into those grocery markets. Eventually, this conversation lead into the discussion on the difficulty finding labor, especially young labor, interested in being a butcher and how securing credit when he started his business was so difficult due to the reunification (the 25th anniversary is Oct. 3rd) of Germany and the difference in farm structure and culture West Germany had compared to the East; with no West German banks willing to provide the loan needed to operate due mainly to his farm's size.

After a very delicious and filling lunch, we were on our way to Torney Milch's farm. It was here that our collective minds were blown. We walked into the barn where the cattle (mostly Fleckvieh & Pinzgauer)  was being finished before heading to market. Then we saw a bull. Then another and another and another and another.... To say the least we were a tad bit on the confused side of things. It turns out that this is what Torney said grows faster and meets the demands of the German market. I don't think you would have seen ag kids more stunned ever. Ever. It just goes to show you that there can be more than one way of doing things that works. We finished up Torney's farm taking a look at his equipment that is used in raising crops, how they store wheat and seed potatoes.

Yes, I'm a bull. What's it to ya? Punk!

We finished up the day at the Bauernverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern talking with Dr. Martin Piehl. The Bauernverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is much like a state farm bureau in the United State. It is comprised of volunteer farmer members, in regional groups. We had the opportunity to learn not just about the Bauernverband, its organization and its membership. We also talked about the agriculture in Federal State and discussed its similarities and differences with the ag in our home state. The history of the area, being in the former East German state, was a particularly interesting in comparing how ag was run under the GDR compared to today. It all seemed to be summed up in Dr. Piehl's statement, "Freedom, it is a good thing."

 

There has been a tremendous amount we have learned on this journey and we are still in the beginning with much more to go, Tomorrow we head out to to see a sugar plant, see a wind energy operation and discuss organic farming in Germany as well. Should be another great day! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

Nick Colglazier