Cultivating the digital field

Issue 1/2015
The BayWa AG Magazine
Cultivating
the digital field
Modern technology is changing
agriculture and our lives.
Freshly tapped
Craft beer brings
new flavours to the world.
Travelling far and wide
How scholarships contribute to
cultural exchange.
CONTENTS
03
EDITORIAL
0 4 JUST A MOMENT
A look inside fibre-optic cables.
0 6 NEWS
News and events from the company
and the world of BayWa.
IN FOCUS
0 8Digital farming. New technologies
are changing agriculture, offering up
numerous opportunities.
08
13On all channels.
An interview with Prof. Klaus
Josef Lutz.
MARKETS
14Thirsty for beer: How craft beer is
bringing new flavours to the world.
16A grid full of opportunities: The Internet of Things and the energy sector.
18 INTERVIEW
Prof. Dr. Gunther Hirschfelder
on the latest food trends and feeding
the world.
2 0 BEYOND BUSINESS
Scholarships create room to learn.
2 2 LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Q&A and cartoon.
Contact/Publication information,
image credits.
Did you spot it? The cover picture displays
a digital map that shows the properties of
agricultural areas.
14
02
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
20
18
E D I TO R I A L
Dear readers,
Do you know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow or how your shares
are doing at the moment? If so, then you have probably already used the Internet
today. Whether it is ordering dinner, turning on the lights at home or meeting
friends, all this can be done online anytime and anywhere.
Digitisation is changing our lives both in a personal and professional sphere.
New technology is sweeping across all industries and experts are calling this
mega­trend the fourth industrial revolution. And it is a revolution that naturally
opens up many opportunities for BayWa too. Digitisation is therefore the focus
of the first 2015 issue of the BayWa magazine 75|60°. ‘Smart farming’ is a buzzword at the moment, meaning the intelligent networking of all business areas in
agricultural production for sustainable and resource-efficient operation.
Find out about the modern technologies being used to work the fields as precisely as possible and how they help to protect the environment. The topics of networking, increased efficiency and the careful handling of resources are explored
in detail throughout this issue.
Discover what the Internet of Things and the decentralised supply of renewable energy have to do with each other and the ideology behind our eating and
drinking habits. 75° north | 60° south: The range of action at BayWa is as wide as
the range of topics covered in this issue. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Prof. Klaus Josef Lutz
CEO of BayWa AG
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
03
JUST A MOMENT
04
75 60° 1/ 2 0 1 5
Waves of innovation
Fibre-optic cables are sparking a firework of innovation. They are the stuff that digitisation is made of because they
help create high-speed data highways. The global information network is becoming ever more densely connected
by fibre-optic cables. Lithuania is the European leader in terms of fibre-optic technology, where more than 20 per
cent of households are supplied with high-speed Internet. In Germany this figure is currently still less than one per
cent. Fibre-optic cables transfer information via a series of light waves that can bend around corners. As fibre-optic
cables are becoming increasingly common, there has been an increased effort in discovering new recycling methods.
Specialists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg, Germany, are developing a process that
enables the creation of ultra white glass from old glass. The ultra-white glass enables maximum translucency, making
it perfect for data transmission. 75 60° 1/ 2 0 1 5
05
NEWS
CONTEST
Test your knowledge and win an action
camera from Garmin.
Here is our question:
Take a guess ... At what height do satellites for
the GPS navigation system orbit the earth?
Write to us by
15 March 2015:
BayWa AG, Redaktion 75|60°,
81918 Munich, Germany
Expanding agricultural trade
in Southern Europe
BayWa AG, acting as BayWa Agrar International B.V., has established new trading
companies in Spain and Italy in order to provide customers from the food and ani­
mal feed industry in Southern Europe with agricultural raw materials. With this move,
the company is expanding its international agricultural raw materials business into
Southern Europe.
“By tapping into new markets in Europe, we are underlining our claim to be the
leading European company in the areas of agricultural trade, distribution and logis­
tics,” says Klaus Josef Lutz, CEO of BayWa AG. “We see potential target markets all
over Europe,” continues Lutz.
Cefetra S.p.A., based in Rome, Italy, and Cefetra Iberica S.L., based in Madrid,
Spain, supply the Italian market as well as logistically connected markets in the Medi­
terranean region, including customers in Spain and Portugal, with agricultural raw
materials such as soy meal for animal feed and grain for food. Or send an e-mail to: [email protected],
subject: Contest
Open-minded about renewable energy and
modern architecture: Malmö in Sweden –
the picture shows the Turning Torso.
Water-proof
Garmin Virb Elite
HD action camera,
with GPS functions
for recording speed
and altitude as well
as Wi-Fi and wire­
less ANT+ technology.
When submitting your entry, please include your telephone
number or e-mail address.
Contest rules: Operator of this contest is BayWa AG, Arabellastrasse 4, 81925 Munich, Germany. The winner will receive
a Garmin Virb Elite HD action camera. The deadline for submissions (date postmarked or date sent by e-mail) is 15 March
2015. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. Participants
are limited to one entry per person. Employees of BayWa AG
and its subsidiaries and holding companies and the families of
these employees may not enter. The winner is determined by
lottery and be informed. Cash payment, exchange or transfer of
prize to a third party is not possible. All decisions are final.
Here’s the correct answer to the last contest: The average
height of players in the German Beko Basketball League during
the 2013/2014 season was 197.2 centimetre.
The winner is Anja H. from Munich.
06
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
BayWa r.e. intensifies northern
energy operations
There is strong impetus for renewable energies in Northern Europe. BayWa r.e.
entered the Scandinavian market by purchasing 76 per cent of the shares in Swedish
project developer HS Kraft AB. The company also opened up a new branch in Edin­
burgh, Scotland.
“Purchasing the majority share in HS Kraft AB opens up new potential for BayWa
r.e. in the European market. It’s an important step towards internationalisation of our
project business,” says Matthias Taft, Chairman of the Management Board at BayWa
r.e. Due to the favourable wind conditions and the stable political and regulatory situa­
tion in Scandinavia, he expects to be able to develop sustainable business in the region.
The team in Edinburgh is committed to developing wind projects and the techni­
cal operational management of wind and solar parks in the United Kingdom. To date,
BayWa r.e. has implemented wind and solar parks with a capacity of over 140 mega­
watts in the UK. Parks with a capacity of over 300 megawatts are in the pipeline.
Cooperatives on the
World Heritage List
The urban chicken trend
It is doubtful whether Coco felt comfortable in an evening gown and fancy necklace
gliding down the red carpet of an awards show in Los Angeles. Coco, the gentle
chicken belonging to Hollywood actress Tori Spelling, would surely have preferred to
spend the evening in the fields with her fellow chickens, pecking at grain and earth­
worms. But Coco is an extreme example of a new trend. Chickens have found their
way into Hollywood. Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, Gisele Bündchen and Reese
Witherspoon are some of the celebrities who own their own chicken coops. All of
them own large estates and even farms to keep them occupied between film shoots.
Unlike Coco, the animals there likely feel pretty good. Keeping chickens is not only
‘in’ in Hollywood. You can now find urban farmers in many cities from Berlin to New
York. There are some 10,000 chickens and other poultry registered in Cologne alone.
Since chickens are considered small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs, people
in Germany are permitted to keep them in residential areas. However, the require­
ment to be considerate to neighbours must be observed. A sufficient amount of space
is also a must, as is a coop and a fenced-in area in the garden or courtyard. There is no
single answer when it comes to assessing how much space a chicken requires. Com­
mercial organic farming in Germany allows farmers to keep six animals per square
metre in the coop and four per square metre in the exercise area. They also need
space for scratching and a dust bath area. In order to feel secure, chickens require
a coop with high perches for sleeping and of course, a nest for laying eggs. In the
meantime, the luxury U.S. department store chain Neiman Marcus now offers a coop
suitable for Hollywood chickens. For US$100,000, you can be the proud owner of a
coop in the style of the Palace of Versailles for between three and ten chickens, who
can make themselves comfortable in the miniature palace, which includes a sanctuary
for breeding with chandeliers. What an individual person cannot achieve, a
group can. This is the idea at the heart of coopera­
tives. Germany has nominated the cooperative
movement for inclusion on the list of intangible
cultural heritage of humanity and will submit the
suggestion to UNESCO in March 2015. The first
cooperatives were established in the mid-19th
century in Germany in order to arrange cost-ef­
fective loans for cash-strapped farmers and
small entrepreneurs. The self-help principle has
become a global success story. There are 800
million cooperative members around the world.
To date, such a type of economic self-or­
ganisation has never appeared on a UNESCO
list. Examples of intangible cultural heritage
included in the UNESCO lists include Ca trù,
a complex form of sung poetry from Vietnam,
Croatian Ojkanje singing and Chinese printing
with wooden movable type. UNESCO will decide
whether the cooperative movement deserves a
spot on the list of the intangible cultural heritage
of humanity in 2016. LARGEST HOPS-GROWING
REGION S IN THE WORLD
in hectares (ha)
EU28 27,000 ha
GERMANY* 17,000 ha
U.S.A. 16,000 ha
CHINA 2,500 ha
* The Hallertau region in Bavaria is the largest single
hops-growing area in the world covering some 14,000
hectares of land.
Source: International Hop Growers’ Convention, 2014.
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
07
Digital farming
Drones circle over fields, satellite images supply stock analyses, and machines
perform precision work down to a few square centimetres. This is no longer the
stuff of science fiction. Farmers today are automatically provided with information
about the amount of nitrogen the wheat needs and the size of the harvest from the
maize field. The agriculture industry is experiencing a DIGITAL REVOLUTION .
Modern technology intelligently links data, creating the basis for more efficient
and sustainable operation. Digital farming is the future.
08
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
IN FOCUS
I
n Finland, when it comes to making
decisions about the future, there has to
be a sauna involved somewhere along
the way. At Startup Sauna, though,
the emphasis is not on joint sweating
sessions. The Helsinki-based organisation
supports budding entrepreneurs. The company uses competitions to seek out the best
business ideas and winners are rewarded
with a ticket to Silicon Valley, the home of
digital innovation. During their time in California, the founders can see how startups in
the U.S. operate. Finns have a high affinity for
the Internet. They are masters of digitisation.
According to a recent study by the World
Economic Forum, over 90 per cent of Finns
use the Internet. The Finns were also at the
forefront when automated milking systems
ushered in a new era in the cattle stalls. Scandinavia’s role in automated milking and feeding systems made it a leading region in the
digitisation of the dairy industry. The North
Europeans were also among the first to test
precision farming in the field.
EYES IN THE SKY
Digitisation and an abundance of data:
Drones have overtaken automated milking
systems as a symbol for increased efficiency
in agriculture. They are being used in a
range of civil applications in Germany. In the
Bavarian Forest National Park, unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones in
military jargon, equipped with multispectral
cameras take pictures of treetops that allow
conclusions to be drawn regarding the supply of nutrients to and the activities of bark
beetles. The ‘eyes in the sky’ are opening a
lot of doors in agriculture. Experts expect
that UAVs will soon be regularly soaring over
test fields and plant cultivation areas. When
it comes to compiling digital maps, drones
also provide a lower cost, flexible addition to
satellite images.
Digital maps that show different
surfaces in colour are an important tool
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
09
IN FOCUS
HIGH PRECISION
Powerful measuring probes record
plant nutrient levels within a fraction
of a second.
in smart farming. Scientists do not accept
the term smart farming. They talk about
precision farming when it comes to arable
operations and precision livestock farming
when it involves livestock (see 75|60°, Issue
2/2014, pp. 21-23). But, in everyday parlance, the term is closely tied to digitisation
in agriculture.
AUSTRALIA IS LEADING THE WAY
Australia is a global leader in precision farming. Controlled traffic farming (CTF) digitally
creates traffic lanes in the field which are
used on a recurring and consistent basis
using GPS-guided vehicles. The system is
“Perfect strips are the
key to success.”
DR. WILFRIED HERMANN
used on around 15 per cent of cereal growing
areas in Australia according to Don Yule from
the Australian Controlled Traffic Farming
Association. As a result, it is easier to manage
extreme weather conditions such as drought
or heavy rainfall.
CTF was discovered by chance as a result
of a climate-related event at the beginning
of the 21st century. Farmers in Queensland
10
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
struggling with seven years of drought found
that when water is sparse, wheat, barley, millet and maize do better where a raised bed
farming system is used. Here, crops are
planted on raised beds and tended to from
lower lying traffic lanes. Furthermore, during
heavy rainfall, water that the hard Australian
ground cannot absorb flows into these tracks
and subsequently into drainage channels at
the edge of the fields. In short, it is a type of
natural drainage system. This method began
making inroads in Australia at the end of the
1990s. The highly accurate positioning of
vehicles thanks to civilian use of GPS formed
the technological foundation.
GPS is also the basis for the
strip-till method of cultivation,
which is primarily used for crops
such as maize. “Researchers and
practitioners have been exploring the issues of permanent
tracks and strip cultivation for
decades, both in North America
and Bavaria. We now have the
technologies necessary to implement this in
practice,” says Dr. Markus Demmel from the
Bavarian Regional Office for Agriculture.
“Perfect strips are the key to success,”
says Dr. Wilfried Hermann, Head of the Trial
Station for the strip-till method at the University of Hohenheim. These perfect strips can
only be found again using automatic steering
systems based on GPS. With the traditional
strip-till method, the soil is only worked and
cleared of crop residues where crops will be
sown, either at the same time or in a second
pass. The space between the rows is covered
with straw or crop residues. This protects
against soil erosion. A tractor with an automatic steering system is required in order
to precisely locate the strips in the individual processing stages. There are additional
benefits besides protection against erosion
and increased yields. “Strip tilling can reduce
the number of times the ground has to be
worked and can save up to ten litres of diesel
per hectare,” adds Dr. Hermann.
SAVING RESOURCES
Methods such as CTF and strip tilling work
to counter soil erosion. Subplot cultivation,
or in other words, the farming of individual
areas of arable land, and the application of
fertilizers and pesticides precisely adapted
to the soil conditions ensures that crops do
not receive too much or too little. Precise
steering systems guarantee that no crops are
missed and that no areas are covered twice.
On average, digital steering systems deliver
work-time savings of up to 12 per cent and
resource savings of five to ten per cent in
comparison with manual control methods.
The advantages of precision farming are
that the farmer can work more efficiently,
increase yields, reduce the use of inputs
and conserve resources. Precision
SMART FARMIN G
CONVENIENT
Know when the cow needs milking: Precision
livestock farming offers clear advantages in
regards to animal welfare.
ACCURATE TO THE
NEAREST CENTIMETRE
Precisely loca ting the strips again
during the individual process stages
is important when using the strip-till
method.
All of the work steps in the value-added chain of agricultural production are
optimised with intelligent management tools. Precise data collection
and analysis forms the basis for smart
farming. The data is cross-linked and
used intelligently to increase efficiency. People often talk about Agriculture 4.0 in connection with the
generic term smart farming.
P RECISION FARMING
Large areas of farmland display differences in soil quality, nutritional makeup etc. Precision farming is a
systematic approach to the site-specific management of fields. It includes
all of the steps from precise capture
of position data to data processing
right through to the individual work
steps based on the evaluation of the
data. The key element here is the
combination of satellite-based positioning and geo information systems
such as GPS and new developments
in sensor technology and machine
control.
There have been similar developments in livestock farming and the
dairy industry, grouped together under the term precision livestock
farming.
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
11
IN FOCUS
farming is also highly advanced outside
Australia, particularly in the U.S. This is due
to extremely large farming areas as well as a
shortage of skilled professionals in agriculture and structural changes in the industry.
In the Mid-West, for example, many fields
are leased, so there is particularly strong
demand for precise information on the quality of individual areas of farmland, or the
fields. And the larger the individual fields, the
more urgent the need for subplot cultivation,
as larger fields can display more differences
in the quality in the soil. This precise information on large fields is particularly interesting
for farms in Eastern Germany, as many fields
changed hands after reunification.
FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Precision farming, precision livestock farming, smart farming: Both in the barns and on
the fields, an abundance of data fuels innovation, just like in industry. Many people say
that this will be nothing less than the fourth
industrial revolution. 6.04
12
5.97
DIGITAL
Tractors nowadays are equipped with
state-of-the-art displays and steering
mechanisms.
N ETWORKED
READIN ESS IN DEX
The World Economic Forum publishes the
‘Networked Readiness Index’, which assesses
to what extent a country exploits the opportunities of digitisation. Finland took first place in
the 2014 index. The index comprises 54 different indicators that range from technological infrastructure and political conditions to user
behaviour in relation to the Internet. A total of
148 countries were recorded in the index.
5.93
5.79
5.70
5.50
Finland
Singapur
Sweden
Netherlands
Norway
Germany
Rank 1
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
Rank 5
Rank 12
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
On all
channels
New products, new services: Digitisation is fundamentally
changing our world. CEO P ROF. KLAUS JOSEF LUTZ
explains how BayWa is positioning itself within the framework
of Industry 4.0 and Agriculture 4.0.
It is predicted that some 50 billion devices across
the globe will be connected to the Internet by
2020. Generation Gaming is going from strength
to strength. How is BayWa keeping pace?
Prof. Lutz: We are pursuing a range of strategies. Take
the successful development of the renewable energies
business as an example. Here, BayWa r.e. renewable
energy GmbH is now involved in a one-off, cross-industry
joint venture under the name BEEGY GmbH, which is
focused on the future of energy – renewable, decentralised and smart. The ‘BEEGY’ brand bundles energy
production, services and IT. The company develops
end-to-end solutions and services for private customers,
trade, commerce and industry. The central theme here
is that more and more households and companies are
acting as producers and consumers of green energy at
the same time.
We are seeing digitisation in all areas, from pre­
cision farming through to nutrition apps. How is
BayWa approaching this?
We are working very hard in this area. The trade of agricultural engineering parts is running successfully via
TecParts, and the ab-auction auction platform, where
top-quality used machinery is traded online, is a hit. The
BayWa online shop, which covers a wide range from animal supplies to wood pellets right through to power tools,
allows us to reach new customers who we never would
have found on traditional channels. For me, it’s not about
playing brick-and-mortar retailing and Internet retailing
against each other. Only by cleverly combining these
two methods will we be able to acquire customers on a
continu­ing basis.
You mention a combination of the real and the vir­
tual. Can you provide us with an example?
Take precision farming. The abundance of new data and
technological options are only effective when integrated
with the experience of the farmer and trained personnel.
BayWa provides support when it comes to harnessing
the full potential of precision farming methods – and of
course, this means that we have to bring our consulting
expertise to the digital world, too. One starting point was
the Agri-Check app, which already has around 41,000
users.
Key data regarding the farmer’s assets and arable
land is in the cloud. Many people have issues with
data protection and data security in the cloud.
Data privacy is central to our activities. Our digitisation
strategy goes hand in hand with technical data protection
and sensitive handling of information. I believe that the
openness of each individual to new opportunities and
awareness for online security are inextricably linked. One
thing is clear: Digitisation is just like globalisation – we
have no choice, as a company, whether to opt in or out.
Both are happening, and BayWa wants to play a creative
role in shaping this change. 75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
13
Thirsty for beer
Dry, with a hint of mandarin, and a geranium finish – it sounds
like a good red wine. But this is not a wine connoisseur talking,
it is someone holding an iconically styled beer bottle.
CRAFT BEER is a trend that is inspiring young brewers around
the world to produce high-quality beers.
14
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
MARKETS
T
CRAFT BEER:
BREWERIES AROUN D
THE WORLD
USA: 2,500
ITALY: 800
BRAZIL: 600
SWITZERLAN D: 400
JAPAN: 200
he breweries have names like
Evil Twin, Störtebeker and
Wildwuchs. While the products
of global brewing companies
are becoming more similar in
terms of taste, so called micro breweries are
increasingly focusing on individuality, quality
and regionality. And business is fruitful – craft
beer is booming. Names like No War, Soundwave and Dogma have been embraced. It is
all about attitude to life. “In the U.S., the home
of craft beer, the market share is now eight
per cent,” says Dr. Werner Glossner, Managing Director of the Association of Independent Breweries in Bavaria. Earlier this year,
the Boston Brewing Company – a pioneer in
the craft beer movement – was among the
winners of the association’s Bavarian Order
of Beer for best beer. The market share for
craft beer is currently one per cent, both in
Germany and globally, and is growing rapidly.
RECIPES AVAILABLE ONLINE
With a citrus or honey flavour, or a refreshing
kick like a fruit drop, beer crafters want ingredients, regional flavours and the history of the
product to shine through. Brewers post their
recipes online for beer lovers to discuss and
brew themselves. “Beer can quickly polarise
people. The brewers are breaking down conceptual barriers,” says Dr. Glossner.
The German Purity Law often sets limits
on experimenting, even internationally. But
within this framework, brewers can fine-tune
what is made from hops, malt and water.
There are 700 flavouring agents. “The entire
spectrum of 150 varieties of hops and 40 varieties of malt are used,” says Dr. Glossner. The
hops determines the character. The alpha
acids in the hops provide the bitter notes
and brewers are prepared to spend more for
higher quality hops. It is a similar situa­tion with
malt, which is usually made from spring barley. Brewers in southern Germany add generous amounts to get their individual flavours,
often up to 34 kilograms per 100 litres –
almost twice as much as in conventional
beers.
The higher amount of quality hops and the
close to double the amount of malt is good
for the markets that are developing positively
for special varieties. In search for something
unique, older varieties of hops are increasingly
finding their way into the brewing vats. They
are often added as pure hops rather than the
usual pellet form. Hallertauer Mittelfrüh and
Tettnanger would have almost died out if not
for the new demand. Both varieties originate
from Germany, the largest producer of hops
with a global market share of over 40 per cent.
In 2014, this amounted to close to 38,000 tons
of 94,000 tons produced worldwide. Around
80 per cent of German hops comes from the
Hallertau area in Bavaria.
The U.S. produces close to 35 per cent of
the world’s hops, and there are large growing
areas in the Czech Republic and China. Moving on to barley, European malting barley is
in demand all over the world. 50 per cent of
the global market is based in Europe. France,
the UK, Germany and Denmark produce the
largest quantities. As one of the world’s largest producers of malt, Germany has to import
additional barley.
It is important to new brewers where
ingredients come from. The Great American
Beer Festival in Denver is a global competition with 300 micro breweries taking part
every year and over one thousand beers
on hand to sample. First prize: The Boston
Brewing Company, the initiator of the festival, includes the winning beer in its seasonal
range for one year. It is a telling example of
how the new generation of brewers ticks. BayWa trades hops and malting barley from the
German growing areas and places great value on
long-term partnerships with breweries and malting plants. As an international corporation,
BayWa monitors global developments and supports customers when it comes to variety development, for example.
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
15
A grid full of
opportunities
The power still comes from the plug socket, but more and more
consumers are playing a part in EN ERGY P RODUCTION . We
are becoming prosumers.
16
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
MARKETS
B
attery 1 in the hybrid tractor
works hard during the wheat
harvest. Battery 2 is at home
in the yard, being charged with
surplus energy from the grid. It
steps in when the photovoltaic system in the
field does not produce enough power. And if
ever the wind turbine in the yard stops rotating, the vegetable oil generator can switch
on, just in case. This is a vision that can be
realised on any scale – for a farm, a whole
village or even an entire region. “This is how
we can create the largest and most intelligent back-up power stations in the world.
When we talk about the energy transition, it
all comes down to rural areas, because that’s
where we are building the wind turbines
and the large photovoltaic systems,” says
Ludwig Karg, Managing Director at B.A.U.M.
Consult GmbH, which provides consulting services on all aspects of the switch to
renewables.
OWN ENERGY MIX
What is on your list? A new sofa and a few tea
lights – and a solar module for the roof. Even
IKEA now sells self-assembly kits for private
solar power plants. The trend is moving more
towards consumers becoming prosumers. In
other words, energy consumers are increasingly producing their own energy. By producing their own solar power, homeowners gain
a degree of independence and companies
lease PV systems in order to make the electricity mix greener and more regional (see
box).
These are two examples of the energy
transition from the bottom up. It is necessary to improve the extent to which power
distribution in the network is automated,
among other things, in order to better offset fluctuating feed-in volumes from wind
and solar energy. This is a key issue on the
road towards developing a comprehensive
smart grid that optimally regulates the communicative networking and controlling of
energy producers, storage, distribution and
consumption. A network like this would be
able to cope with millions of prosumers.
NEW MARKETS
Online energy management is central in this
respect. In order to make a quantum leap
towards a decentralised and sustainable
supply of energy, “we need new electronic
markets where private individuals and energy
companies can trade innovative and regional
energy products and system services,”
says Ludwig Karg. Karg is Head of Ancillary
Research for the ‘E-Energy – Smart Energy
made in Germany’ technology programme
operated by the German Ministry of Economics. The programme used six model regions
to further develop and explore the Internet of
Energy, or in other words, digital options to
sustainably manage the supply of energy.
The Internet of Energy is part of the
Internet of Things. It is predicted that some
50 billion devices across the globe will be
connected to the Internet by 2020. This will
for example include devices like printers that
can independently order colour cartridges
online.
The Internet of Things also directly
addresses energy supply. Some countries
already use smart meters. These are clever
metering devices for home energy management that provide fundamental data, enabling
users to run the washing machine with low
cost green energy, for example. OUTLOOK
Focussing on innovative services
and products for intelligent, decentralised energy management,
BEEGY GmbH is a unique crossindustry joint venture established
by BayWa r.e. renewable energy
GmbH together with its partners.
BEEGY is a provider of complete
solutions and system integration
options. The company bundles decentralised energy production from
renewables, services and IT components (see interview on page 13).
LEASING MODELS
Installing a photovoltaic unit without
any investment costs for the user of
the solar energy: This is currently
happening on European roofs.
Leasing is the key word here. One
example is BayWa r.e. renewable
energy GmbH’s cooperation with
the public utilities in Stuttgart and
the energy provider Energie Südbayern (ESB) in order to lease solar
energy units to detached and
semi-detached houses. A PV unit
provided and leased by BayWa r.e.
is providing energy for tractor production on the roof of the AGCO/
Fendt tractor factory in the Bavarian
town of Marktoberdorf.
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
17
INTERVIEW
Tell me about
what you eat ...
Are you an ovo-lacto vegetarian, a vegan, or a flexitarian? It is all the rage to
take a more conscious approach to food, and not just in the world’s metropolises. Are we seeing a new attitude to eating? An interview with historian and
cultural scientist P ROF. GUNTHER HIRSCHFELDER about food trends
and nutrition ideologies.
Vegetarian snacks, luxury vegan restaurants, and
curated menus are popular in German-speaking
countries. Is this a sign of a new attitude to eating?
It’s difficult to say exactly. We’re experiencing a time of
rapid change. In affluent societies, this also applies to food.
Take a moment and think back to the beginnings of organic
production. Brands like Demeter and Bioland are still out
there, but they have declined in significance. That being
said, organic quality is now widespread, just in a slightly
weaker form. You can find organic products in all discount
supermarkets. This twist in the organic sector is continuing
in some parts of the world. Other trends here in Germany
such as bubble tea and perhaps also smoothies could be
classified as short-lived novelties. The sustainability of
trends lies in individual motivation. Wanting to eat healthily
or save the planet, in other words, to act ethically, which is
often the case with those who do not eat meat, provides
stronger motivation than following fads when it comes to
individual self-image.
A German sausage, a bagel, or sushi: What value
does food have in Berlin and New York, Tel Aviv
and Shanghai?
Although there are close to two billion people around the
world who still have barely enough food to provide adequate nutrition, eating is increasingly becoming a lifestyle
in affluent societies. The food that we eat defines our identity. In this day and age, you can go to any party and find
people to chat with about how to make roast seitan tastier –
a meat substitute made from wheat protein. People are
often more interested in food than politics. We no longer
ask questions like: Were you in the Army? We’re more like
18
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
to ask: What do you like to eat? Veganism, regional cuisine,
and ethnic food are the new ideologies of affluence.
Will we all be eating the same thing some day?
No, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. We eat more regional
food than we think. The new ideology also means we want
to be different, to stand out from the crowd and be individual. Regional cuisine plays an important role in this respect.
Besides, our brains are hardwired for change. Let me
give you an example. Some years ago, I discovered what
“Veganism, regional cuisine,
and ethnic food are the new
ideologies of affluence.”
P R O F. G U N T H E R H I R S C H F E L D E R
I thought was going to be my favourite white wine. It was
a lovely one from the Moselle region. I thought to myself,
“This is going to be my house wine”. I rarely drink it now. We
all have stories like this.
Right now, two billion people around the world are
suffering from hunger. Are these new food trends just
mocking this fact?
You could certainly view it that way. But to the credit of
people who are conscious about what they eat, at least
FEELING GOOD
Finding the time to enjoy food:
Prof. Gunther Hirschfelder
BIO
they are thinking about it. For example, they are asking
themselves whether buying Fair Trade products really
helps farmers in Bolivia or if it would be better if those
farmers used their fields to grow food for themselves.
People today are better informed than they used to be.
They are well aware that resource scarcity and hunger
are more and more likely to lead to conflict. Over twothirds of the world’s population have been completely
left behind and have few opportunities to improve their
lives in the short term.
If people in affluent societies were more conscious about food, would it change anything?
Only to a very small extent. But people who eat consciously often have a basic need for fairness and they
want to act. Put simply: I’m not eating meat and as a
result, I’m fighting against hunger and climate change.
Food is the new ideology in affluent societies and often
replaces political action. The allegation that we cannot
feed the current population of the planet with organic
products without sacrificing the amount of meat we
consume is irrelevant here.
Organic, meat-free, seasonal, and regional: To
what extent do trends influence agriculture?
Agriculture is planned for the long term. Short-lived
trends have little impact here. The more sustainable
the development, the more it can change farming. The
increased number of organic farms in German-speaking countries is a good example. The influence of meatfree diets is rather weak, as meat is traded globally and
we’re seeing an increased level of demand around the
Prof. Dr. Gunther Hirschfelder teaches
comparative cultural studies at the University of Regensburg. As a historian,
he deals extensively with nutrition and
has stimulated debate on the right food
to eat with his books Pure Enjoyment?
Water as a Drink, a Product and a Cultural Object; The Future on the Table;
and his latest publication What Humans
are Allowed to Eat.
world. Nevertheless, there is a paradigm shift towards
more sustainability in farming. But this is due to climate
change and subsequent natural disasters, soil erosion,
water shortages and resource conflicts. According to
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), crop
yields will rise with an average temperature increase of
up to 2.5°C, and then drop sharply.
What is your own approach to food?
I keep it varied. It goes without saying that it includes a
lot of organic food, but sometimes I find myself talking
about food all day and then I end up grabbing a burger
at the motorway services at two o’clock in the morning.
But I still find the time to enjoy what I eat. We shouldn’t
be so obstinate when it comes to food. We should feel
good about what we eat. 75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
19
B EYO N D B U S I N E S S
ACTIVE
Markus Lechner working
on the building site of the new
school in Lusaka, Zambia.
Room to learn
A SCHOLARSHIP provides students with financial flexibility for their
studies and an incentive
to look beyond the
boundaries of their area
of study. We have gathered some highlights for
you here.
20
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
H
ow many people do you think
live in Lusaka?” 30 hands
shoot up. “500,000,” says one
child. “One million,” shouts
another. “It’s even more than
that. The population is actually 1.4 million,”
says the teacher, pointing to an aerial photograph of the city. “Would you have thought
that so many people lived here?” “No,”
laugh 30 children in full agreement. There
is a cheerful atmosphere in the classrooms
at the new school in Lusaka, the capital of
Zambia. In the past, lessons were cancelled
when it rained. Now, though, the children
have a lovely place to learn. They can take
advantage of three bright classrooms with
comfortable indoor temperatures and sound
insulation. At break time, the boys and girls
have lots of space to play in. A school garden
is still being built. The Technical University
of Munich worked together with students
from Zambia to develop and implement the
school.
‘SECOND-CHANCE’ EDUCATION
“I imagine I’ll get involved in another project in Africa when I’ve finished my Masters
degree,” says Markus Lechner. He spent
one month working on the building site in
Zambia in the autumn of 2013. This commitment fits the profile of a recipient of the
Germany Scholarship, which is supported
by the BayWa Foundation. Lechner, a master carpenter and certified construction
technician, came to university via the Master
Craftsman training programme, i.e., through
The BayWa Foundation has been
promoting education projects in nutrition and renewable energy since
1998. It has been involved in the
Germany Scholarship project since
its launch in 2011. Every year, the
Germany Scholarship supports around 100 students
from the Technical University of Munich, the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, the
University of Hohenheim and the Nürtingen-Geislingen University. The recipients receive €300 per
month, half of which is pledged by the BayWa Foundation, the other half comes from the Federal
Government.
Scan the QR code for more information on the Germany Scholarship.
OUTGOING
Justinas Pupeikis from Lithuania is currently studying in
Barcelona – and he feels right
at home in the city.
PROTOTYPE
The new school in Lusaka has
been welcomed with open
arms by the children. Students
from the Technical University of
Munich worked together with
pupils from Zambia to develop
a school building that can be
set up at other locations too.
‘second-chance’ education. The 27-year old
is currently in the third semester of a Masters
degree in civil engineering and works as an
academic assistant in the structural design
and construction faculty. The money from
the scholarship “is a significant part of my
budget. If I didn’t have it, I would have to work
a lot more on the side.” Germany Scholarship
recipients must demonstrate a level of social
commitment beyond their studies. Lechner was an engineering mechanics tutor,
was heavily involved in architecture and a
member of the Volunteer Fire Brigade in his
home town of Kay in the German state of
Bavaria. Students from all participating universities can apply for the Germany Scholarship, regardless of their background. The
EU offers cross-border funding through the
Erasmus programme, the world’s largest
support programme for studying abroad at
universities.
SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL AID
A separate programme run by the European
Commission, the Erasmus Mundus excellence programme, makes it possible for
Justinas Pupeikis from Dusetos in Lithuania
to study for his Masters degree in optical
physics at four different universities. After
spending one semester in Marseille, France,
and one in Karlsruhe, Germany, he is now
studying in Barcelona. “Without the monthly
€500 from the scholarship, I wouldn’t be
able to attend the top-class Masters semi­
nars in Spain. Being here also gives me a
chance to come out of my shell,” beams the
23-year old, who is thinking about taking his
final semester in Tokyo. He has also already
completed internships in Vilnius and Vienna
and studied abroad in Scotland.
A recent EU study on the Erasmus programme highlights the importance of studying and working abroad. In 2013, 64 per cent
of employers indicated that international
experience was a key recruitment criterion,
compared with just 37 per cent in 2006. Biographies like those of Justinas Pupeikis and
Markus Lechner are no longer anything out
of the ordinary. According to the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), around 4.5 million young people currently spend a period of their studies
outside their countries of origin. 75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
21
Q&A
The Internet has become ubiquitous. It allows us to buy tickets for the underground,
perform banking transactions and interact with friends on social networks.
Digitisation is changing our lives. We spoke to ILSE AIGN ER , Bavarian Minister of
Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology, and ALEXAN DER HUBER ,
extreme mountaineer, about how digital trends influence their lives.
Do you use apps? If so, which
one is your favourite?
ILSE AIGNER
Of course I use apps, I am Minister of Media after all! Almost
everyone has a smartphone
these days. PeakFinder Earth is
my favourite app at the moment.
It uses the camera to identify
mountain peaks and it shows the
names. I love using this app, as I
go climbing all the time.
In your eyes, what is never
going to get digitised?
I really appreciate personal letters. I would like to continue
receiving paper letters in the
future. I like having something
solid, and they’re much easier to
keep.
Working and shopping everywhere, being available around
the clock. In what ways has
digitisation changed your daily routine?
Digitisation has definitely
changed my everyday life for the
better. I’m on the go quite a lot.
It’s so valuable and helpful for me
to be able to quickly access information, no matter where I am.
Minister
How do you keep yourself informed about the latest news:
printed press, radio, TV, or
Internet?
I listen to the radio and read the
newspaper and Der Spiegel
magazine. However, the Internet
wins hands-down when it comes
to weather reports.
ALEXANDER
HUBER
Extreme mountaineer
22
75 60° 1 / 2 0 1 5
In your eyes, what is never
going to get digitised?
It will never be possible to digitise
emotions and life in general. The
original is just far better.
Working and shopping everywhere, being available around
the clock. In what ways has
digitisation changed your daily routine?
Having a mobile phone has
helped me become better organised, particularly when I’m on a
lecture tour. Apart from that, I live
my life the same way as before.
L AST B U T N OT L E AST
"These cowbells are driving
me crazy. If they want to
track us, they should just
give us smartphones."
IMAGE CREDITS
CONTACT/PUBLICATION INFORMATION
ACTIVE WORLDWIDE
Cover: Farmade.com/Reed Business Information Limited; p. 2: Horsch Maschinen GmbH,
© iStock.com/Silvrshootr, Prof. Dr. Gunther
Hirschfelder, Charlotte Reith; p. 3: Wolf Heider-Sawall; p. 4/5: © Shutterstock.com/
Kladej; p. 6/7: Garmin, © Shutterstock/Ivonne
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p. 13: Thomas Dashuber; p. 14/15: © iStock.
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vectorstock.com/ecelop, Smoki, shai_halud,
aleksander1, © iStock.com/rhoon;
p. 18/19: Prof. Dr. Gunther Hirschfelder;
p. 20/21: Charlotte Reith, Matthias Kestel, Indrė Pupeikytė; p. 22: Christian Brecheis, Franz
Hinterbrandner; p. 23: Cartoonstock.com/
Larry Lambert.
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