Ludwig-Wilhelm Ries

Ludwig-Wilhelm Ries (born January 23, 1891 on the island of Mainau / Bodensee , † March 31, 1974 in Gießen ) was a German agricultural scientist . He is considered the founder and pioneer of work theory in agriculture.

Life

Ries, son of a grand ducal economics council and domain administrator, studied agriculture in Hohenheim and received his doctorate there in 1922 under Friedrich Aereboe with a thesis on the systematics and application of wage calculation methods in agriculture. In the winter semester of 1912/13, Ries joined the Landsmannschaft Württembergia student union in Hohenheim.

In 1923 he was appointed head of the agricultural school in Landsberg an der Warthe and the administration of the associated experimental farm. From 1927 to 1945 he was director of the Prussian experimental and research institute for agricultural work in Potsdam- Bornim. Here he developed new ergonomically favorable working methods that quickly found their way into agricultural practice.

After 1945 he worked as a specialist teacher for business and industrial sciences at the agricultural school in Michelstadt (Odenwald). After his retirement, he held lectures as an honorary professor at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen for many years .

Research achievements and honors

Close cooperation between crop scientists, agricultural technicians and business economists has always been a basic requirement for Ries when developing new working methods. This integrative approach became the guiding principle of his agricultural labor theory and determined his thinking and acting in science and in practice. Ries always endeavored to learn from others and to make "unused" empirical knowledge usable for agriculture.

Ries is the author of over 40 books and independent writings. His most important work is the book “ Die Arbeit in der Landwirtschaft. Basics and main features of work technology and work management in the agricultural business ". His memoirs, published in 1969, “ When the farmer still had no machines ... ” are noteworthy for agricultural history .

Ries enjoyed a high reputation among farmers. The honorary title of “farmer professor” assigned to him was the most beautiful award for him. In 1957 he received the Justus von Liebig Prize . The agricultural faculty of the University of Giessen awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1961. To commemorate his life's work, the "Ludwig Wilhelm Ries Prize" was donated in 1982 by the former Society for Labor Sciences in Agriculture and the Ries family. It is awarded every three to five years for outstanding achievements in the field of ergonomics in agriculture.

Fonts (selection)

• Work in agriculture. Basics and basics of work technology and work management of the agricultural enterprise. Reichsnährstandsverlag Berlin 1942. 2nd edition: Ulmer, Stuttgart 1950. 3rd edition together with Gerhardt Preuschen 1956.
• Business theory of the German family farm. Ulm Stuttgart, 1947. 2nd edition 1948.
• More performance and less effort in agriculture. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1952. 2nd edition 1956.
• Pareys Agriculture Lexicon. Seventh edition in two volumes. With the participation of numerous employees, edited by Prof. Dr. LW Ries. Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1956/1957.
• The farmer's wife. Tasks and position of rural women in the family and in the company. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1957.
• This is how you help yourself. Wave for manual work on the farm. Parey, Berlin and Hamburg 1958.
• When the farmer didn't have any machines. Farm life around the turn of the century. Experienced and listened to. Neureuter, Wolfratshausen 1969. 2nd edition DLG, Frankfurt am Main 1985.

literature

• Professor Dr. Dr. hc Ludwig-Wilhelm Ries † . In: Landtechnik. Vol. 29, 1974, p. 181 (with picture).

Web links

• Literature by and about Ludwig-Wilhelm Ries in the catalog of the German National Library