Betriebsbeschreibung

Farm Description

The Relliehausen experimental farm is located in the Solling region near Dassel and specializes in livestock farming and biogas production. All operational branches of the experimental farm are available to the university’s institutions for research and teaching purposes. The main focus of the experimental activities lies in conducting research projects for the Department of Animal Sciences. In addition, grassland management and forage production at the interface with crop production have been a long-standing focus of interdisciplinary research. Since the early 1980s, research activities have concentrated on the development of animal-friendly housing systems and environmentally sustainable farming systems.

The following operational areas are available:

Biogas and District Heating Production
1060 kW flexible biogas plant with a district heating network
Feedstocks include maize, maize straw, whole-crop rye silage, sugar beets, straw, straw pellets, extensive grassland cuttings, manure, and slurry

Cattle Farming
120 suckler cows of the Fleckvieh cattle breed
Housed in single- and double-space straw-bedded barns during winter
Managed on rotational grazing pastures during summer
Winter and spring calving

Aquaculture
10-ton fish farming facility with trout, char, and grayling
Hatchery

Fish rearing system with 10 ponds, 3 flow channels, and 20 circular tanks
Research department
Water supply via inlet systems, well water, and recirculation systems

Sheep Farming
180 breeding ewes of the Blackhead and Leineschaf breeds

Breeding of rare lines to preserve traditional domestic sheep breeds
Pig Farming – Minipigs

Göttingen Minipig
Breeding facility with 65 sows and 30 boars

Pig Farming – Fattening Pigs
650 fattening pigs
Fattening barn with structured pens meeting the housing standards of the German “Initiative Tierwohl” animal welfare program

Arable Farming
165 hectares with soil quality ratings between 60 and 75 points
Crops include winter wheat, winter barley, sugar beets, early and late silage maize, winter rye as a cover crop, deer grass, and forage grass

Grassland Management
160 hectares
Located at various elevations between 180 m and 500 m
Includes meadows, pastures, meadow pastures, and traditional orchard meadows
Managed on different soil types such as peat, sandy clay, and loam
Different management intensities are investigated in long-term studies