Technical symposium and field day in Suderburg on May 30 and 31, 2024
Climatic changes and the social debate surrounding the use of water as a resource pose new challenges for field irrigation. Around 100 representatives from agriculture, science, politics and business accepted the invitation of a broad alliance of various organizations to discuss the future of field irrigation in Suderburg on 30 and 31 May 2024. The changing political and legal framework conditions played just as much a role as the results of the trials and technical innovations to use water even more efficiently in arable farming.
The event kicked off with a symposium at the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences. In their welcoming addresses, Manfred Tannen, Vice President of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, and Henning Gottschalk, board member of the Fachverband Feldberegnung e.V., emphasized the importance of irrigation and the careful use of water as a resource. District Administrator Dr. Heiko Blume emphasized: "Water is the basis of all life. In moderation, water ensures good harvests and thus provides people with food. However, too much or too little precipitation can cause us humans considerable problems - from flooding to drought. Climate change is exacerbating these phenomena, as extreme weather conditions are becoming more frequent. This is forcing us to take a closer look at the issue of agricultural irrigation." In the specialist presentations, participants were able to find out about the current status of irrigation in arable farming, its importance and its future prospects. It became clear that the demand for water for field irrigation will increase in the long term and that other regions of Lower Saxony are also increasingly dependent on irrigation. Furthermore, current test results on field irrigation were presented and the possibilities and limitations of digitalization and automation were discussed. The "5GLa" project, which is being implemented under the leadership of the district of Uelzen, was also presented. A panel discussion at the symposium also dealt with the question of what answers
the question of what answers agriculture can provide to the increasing
to the increasing social skepticism regarding the use of water to irrigate
the use of water to irrigate agricultural crops.
The second day was spent "out in the field". First, the employees of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture reported on the results of optimized field irrigation on the trial fields at the Hamerstorf site. They clearly show that irrigation stabilizes yields and ensures quality. The efficiency of nitrogen use also improves on irrigated areas. Research associations and companies presented digital and technical innovations on the test fields of the AGRAVIS Future Farm. Whether irrigation robots, field sensors, the use of drones or drip irrigation - all measures serve the goal of making field irrigation more efficient and therefore more sustainable.
The symposium was organized in cooperation with the district of Uelzen, the Faculty of Building-Water-Soil of the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, the Institute for Sustainable Irrigation and Water Management in Rural Areas (INBW), AGRAVIS Future Farm, the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, the Fachverband Feldberegnung e.V. and the Netzwerk Ackerbau Niedersachsen e.V. (NAN) with the Ackerbauzentrum Niedersachsen.