Andechser Scheitz initiates climate farmer project

In Germany the Andechser Scheitz dairy is following the global goals of carbon reduction, in which carbon emissions are avoided as far as possible and additionally carbon reduction is bound regionally, visibly and within the value chain. The KlimaBauer (climate farmer) project been initiated, where organic dairy farmers, with the support of the Andechser Scheitz dairy, develop and implement measures to avoid producing and to bind carbon dioxide.

“As a sustainably committed company we are investing with the pilot project in a visible compensation of carbon emissions in our own value chain, which will be accessible to the entire economy in the future,” says managing director Barbara Scheitz.

The organic dairy uses the latest technology with the help of an energy management system. Structural developments such as the high-bay warehouse with administration building (2015) and the new milk tanking system (2019) were implemented according to the latest technical standards with an efficient energy-saving concept. A compressed air cogeneration plant and a combined heat and power plant (2020) enable further significant energy and carbon savings. Additionally electricity has been 100% green since 2008.

When it comes to compensation, the Andechs dairy has decided to be active within its own value chain and in the region. In an ‘Andechs climate pact’ between the Andechser Scheitz dairy (as the initiator) and the Andechser Natur organic dairy farmers selected for the pilot phase as ‘climate farmers’, the goal of carbon compensation in the value chain is recorded. In concrete terms, this means that, at all stages of production, both in the dairy and at the local organic dairy farms, the avoidance of the release and the binding of carbon dioxide are developed and tested.

At the beginning, the number of tonnes of carbon emissions that can be saved, is estimated. On this basis, Andechser Scheitz dairy pays each climate farmer an annual advance. After two years an expert estimate of what has actually been achieved in the company, is made on the basis of the operating data and also at the end of the five-year term.

The Andechser Molkerei Scheitz supports the work of the climate farmers by paying €10 for every ton of carbon emissions that are stored or avoided. The most important measure in the context of ecological management is the build-up of humus, which on the one hand guarantees fertile soil and on the other hand offers valuable carbon storage potential for additional and permanent carbon emissions binding in the soil.

“We want to show that social and ecological services and challenges are closely linked in agriculture too. Organic farming is part of the solution for climate protection. With the regional carbon dioxide compensation as part of our Andechs Climate Pact, we are proving in a pilot project that it is possible to bind carbon in our own value chain,” Scheitz says.

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