Riswick House
Haus Riswick is a teaching and research institute of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture. In addition to Landshut, there is also an eco-school here. This has been based on Riswick since 1996.
Location
Haus Riswick is located east of the city of Kleve in the district of Kellen. The soil points vary between 40 and 75. The soil type is sandy to clayey loam.
history
One of the first milking schools in Germany was built on Gut ten Berge in 1920. At that time, the main goals were to achieve higher levels of hygiene, ensure livestock health and make stable work easier. The landlord Robert Hortmann made the old farmhouse on his estate available to ten Berge. Until the end of the 1950s it was mainly professional milkers who took block lessons there. However, after collectively agreed wages rose and the mechanization of milking progressed, the profession of milking became insignificant, so that mainly agricultural apprentices were trained there. A short time after the establishment of the first milk control rings , milk controllers were also trained there. The investigation of husbandry methods, animal species, feed, breeding methods and mechanization became increasingly important. This made it necessary to run a company in-house. In 1956 the neighboring Riswick estate was initially leased and later acquired by the Rhineland Chamber of Agriculture . Since 1975, the Haus Riwick Agricultural Research Institute has had around 220 hectares of arable and pasture land available through leasing. Informing consumers became increasingly important. With the new Vocational Training Act in the 1970s and the obligation for inter-company training, there was major construction activity on Haus Riswick. In order to provide both visitors and employees with an overview and good access to the stables, the various stalls were arranged oval to one another in the shape of a chicken egg. The 400-year-old stable hall of the former keeper's house, the residence of the pasture supervisor of the Bedburg monastery, is still used today as a reception and event room (op de Dääl) at the head end of the information ring. In the meantime, information events with around 20,000 visitors a year take place at Haus Riswick. Riswick was the first company in Germany to use a cow calendar, which provides a simple overview of calving dates. In the criticism of animal rights activists, the term animal research institute is sometimes used , in the course of which forms of husbandry are tested on Haus Riswick in order to improve the welfare of the animals. In order to test the quality of compound feed, unannounced samples are taken and checked for Riswick in the mutton test. The inter-company training has meanwhile been shifted to Haus Düsse in Westphalia .
Dairy barn built in 2011
A new dairy barn was inaugurated in 2011. In addition to a 4-row cubicle stall with six feeding groups for 24 animals each, it also includes a transit stall on straw, which offers space for 25 cows during the near-birth period. Both feed and water consumption are measured individually for each animal using weighing troughs. The manure store is located under the barn, two thirds of the barn will have slatted floors and one third will have a solid floor. The cellars under the paved groups are managed separately and thus offer the opportunity to examine the quantity and quality of the liquid manure there. Milking takes place in a 32 mm outdoor milking carousel . The animal traffic of up to seven different animal groups is directed by a sophisticated multi-way selection.
Climate gas measurement
In scientific cooperation with the University of Bonn and through the support of the agricultural pension bank, questions about the occurrence of climate-relevant gases in dairy farming are processed. For this purpose, the barn is divided into three air spaces in the transverse axis by means of a clad grating and blinds and equipped with measurement technology for recording various gases. In this way, the influence of feeding and keeping on the excretion of climate-relevant gases such as methane, ammonia and nitrous oxide can be investigated.
Attitude and wellbeing
Cow comfort is an essential element in maintaining the health of high-performing herds, which is why all stall areas are equipped with comfortable cubicles, fans, technology for cleaning the walking surfaces, additional light sources and cow brushes. A stable compartment in stable R3 serves as a "living" building training show in which various stable facilities are demonstrated in practical use. The installation of innovative technology and the testing of products contribute to the implementation of new developments in practice.
The nursery for our cows of tomorrow
The calves are kept in individual huts and igloos in the first week of life. In this phase they are intensively supplied with colostrum and whole milk via the teat bucket. From the second week of life, the switch to group housing takes place. From now on the calves are housed either in the open-front barn or in large group igloos. The milk drink and concentrate intake takes place individually for each animal via machines. In the first six months of life, the focus is on the development of a stable immune system and rapid development to become a ruminant. The female young are all raised for the purpose of supplementing their own stocks or for sales of breeding cattle. The young cattle calve for the first time on average when they are 25 months old and thus become dairy cows.
Ecological operation
Area and animal equipment:
27 hectares of grassland 39 hectares of arable land 45 dairy cows + female offspring
The model project “ecological dairy farming and forage production” was set up in 1999 with financial support from the Ministry for the Environment, Regional Planning and Agriculture of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The stables, which are open to the south-east, consist of
- Free stall stalls for dairy cows with littered cubicles and paved walkways,
- Young cattle barn with littered lying area and paved walkway (Norman manure barn) and
- Calf barn with littered lying area and exercise area.
The cows produce around 8,000 liters of milk per year with an average of 4.3% fat and 3.2% protein.
Conventional operation
Area and animal equipment:
- 140 hectares of grassland
- 90 hectares of arable land
- 230 dairy cows + female offspring,
- 1 stud bull
- 120 ewes + offspring,
- 3 deck blocks
- 90 mutton
- 25 dams + offspring,
- 2 deck deer "Neumühle-Riswicker Hirsch"
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 47 ′ 14 " N , 6 ° 10 ′ 15" E