Demonstration farms for organic farming
The demonstration farms for organic farming are a network of 240 organic farms in Germany that have been selected by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture as model farms for organic farming . These are agricultural, horticultural, fruit-growing and wine-growing businesses in all landscape areas that work certified according to the criteria of the EU organic regulation . Most of them are also members of one of the German organic associations that represent the concerns and interests of the companies and monitor compliance with the stricter association guidelines.
history
The network of demonstration farms has existed since 2002 and was a project of the Federal Organic Farming Program , which was founded by the Federal Government under the leadership of Consumer Protection Minister Renate Künast as a funding program for organically produced food. On the basis of a resolution by the German Bundestag on November 26, 2010, the federal program for other forms of sustainable agriculture (BÖLN) has opened. The federal program is implemented by the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food in Bonn.
activities
The events of the demonstration companies are mostly public and are aimed primarily at consumers with tours of the farm, open days , children's programs and special events. In addition, the demonstration farms are the point of contact for farmers who practice organic farming under similar conditions or who strive to do so.
Coordination office
The network of demonstration farms created the coordination office for demonstration farms for organic farming to make the dates and activities of the demonstration farms manageable and to support the farms in their public relations work. The bidding consortium m & p: public relations GmbH and FiBL Projekte GmbH is currently commissioned to do this. The coordination office sees itself as a planning, support and control unit for the public relations work of the entire network. It acts as an information exchange for interested parties, for example when selecting a suitable company for visitor groups and takes on support and advisory tasks for the affiliated companies at events.
Member companies
The following facilities are among the around 200 demonstration companies (selection):