Prof. Dr. Guido Recke Landwirtschaftliche Betriebslehre

5G Agrar

The agricultural sector is changing. Especially animal-based production must face many challenges from sustainable production over transparency in the supply chain to the question how to treat animals appropriate. Therefor the project founded on the 5G innovation plan by the federal ministry for digital and transport faces these targets scientifically. The main target is to implement and explore a network of supply chain participants based on digital technology. Through the focus to identify explicit values given by the 5G technology and the exchange of complex data between the participants the project will increase animal health, sustainability, animal welfare and transparency in the supply chain. The development of actions for prevention and forecasting using AI-based camera detection which allows a real time analysis of animal’s behavior and the correlation with environmental parameters is the path to reach the targets. In this project an interdisciplinary group of Universities, farmers and industrial producers work together in order to gain the best knowledge and to develop and transfer technology for the supply chain’s daily business.

Agro-Nordwest

The priority of the current Agro-Nordwest project (2020 - 2022) is applied-oriented research, in collaboration with regional farmers and agricultural engineering companies. The goal of the project is the implementation of existing, innovative, digital technology in farmers' field operations. In this context, the focus of the department of Farm Management is on the economic evaluation of measures in plant protection, fertilizer application and data management. Subsequent subprojects are:

• site-specific mineral fertilizer application in winter cereals using satellite data;
• crop protection through chopping technology in corn;
• underfoot fertilization in potato cultivation;
• digital recording of energy and material flows in potato cultivation;
• use of cover crops in rapeseed cultivation;
• drone flight and preparation of application maps to reduce the use of pesticides;
• efficient slurry application in wheat and corn by supporting near-infrared spectroscopy to determine essential nutrient elements.

This essentially involves determining the required costs for implementing the measures and recording possible additional benefits.(Background)

GülleBest

In the ongoing GülleBest research project (2018 - 2021), ammonia (NH₃) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission-reducing application techniques of slurry were analyzed. Slot injection and the addition of sulfuric acid and nitrification inhibitors to slurry will be evaluated in field experiments in winter wheat and grassland in 2019 and 2020. In addition to NH₃ and N₂O emissions, crop yield and protein content will be quantified. As the economic partner of the project, the department of Farm Management is assessing the economic feasibility of measures to reduce N₂O and NH₃. First results based on field experiments indicate lower NH₃ emissions for slot injection than the use of sulfuric acid. In contrast, the use of slot injection is associated with lower costs, therefore more economical and has lower abatement costs for NH₃. Apart from the additional investment costs in technology for acid application, the amount of sulfuric acid required is a key cost factor. However, the addition of sulfur as a fertilizer, the reduction of nitrogen losses and potential phosphorus mobilization provides added economic value. (Background)

Bioökonomie 2.0

In the past research project Bioeconomy 2.0 (2016 - 2019), the focus was on the biotechnological utilization of by-products from the agricultural and food industries. Potato peels, sugar beet pulp and rapeseed press cake were grinded and treated with enzymes to produce chemicals. Pilot products within the project were the smoke flavor 4-vinylguaiacol (4-VG) and arginyl dipeptides, which enhance the salty taste of food. In addition to fundamental research in the biotechnological field, the project was accompanied by social sciences. Here, the department of Farm Management analyzed in a review of 22 research articles the economic viability of second-generation biorefineries providing chemicals by processing agricultural residues and food waste. Second-generation biorefineries proves to be economically feasible with an average rate of return and a return on investment of 20 % and a payback period of 6 years. The cost share of feedstock in biorefineries is between 0–50 %. The price of the end product and the fermentation yields have the most impact on profitability. The processing of food waste that has industrial and municipal origins appears more economical than the processing of agricultural residues. In a separate research study, a bioeconomic analysis of by-products from potato processing to produce 4-VG was carried out. The calculated substrate costs of potato peelings and offcuts were analyzed. The calculated substrate costs of potato by-products are mainly dependent on possible utilization alternatives (e.g. animal feed or biogas substrate) and the chemical components from which the smoke flavor is produced.