Institutes

The institute is the central institution for agro-ecology, organic farming, soil management, plant nutrition and landscaping of the countryside.
At least half of the Bavarian territory is arable land, the cultural landscape is above all a working place for agriculture. Beyond that it is the habitat for biota, essential for the formation of ground water and fresh water as well as an important carbon dioxide reservoir for the atmosphere.

The institute is the information and competence center for crop science in Bavaria. It develops proposals for the Bavarian government, recommendation for the state counselling offices, plant breeding companies and industry. The institute is also involved in sovereign functions.

Plant breeding is the main target for biodiversity and it acts as a basis for a competitive plant production. The issues in crop science are being able to adapt to climate change, sustainable production systems and healthy food production.

Safe and high quality food production is not possible without well-directed plant protection. Our target is the integrated pest management, which taps into the full potential of all agronomic methods and uses chemical, biological and biotechnical treatments. We develop modern strategies and methods to protect crops and agricultural commodities. As part of our sovereign functions we control the methods used for pesticide application to protect humans, biota and the environment.

Most of the Bavarian family farms rely on the income of animal husbandry. The typical Bavarian identity and scenery is strongly related to all different types of animal farms. The Bavarian animal breeding supports local breeds and a close connection between farmers and organizational structures. In order to meet the challenges of globalization the Bavarian breeding strategy uses simultaneously innovative and sustainable methods to improve genetics.

Forage and animal feeding cause most of the costs in food production. The main target in animal nutrition is an adequate supply with energy, nutrients, minerals and trace elements. This leads to healthy, and highly productive livestock farming. The benefit is safe and high-quality food production which has a low impact on our environment and guarantees competitive animal husbandry.

Inland fisheries in the Federal State of Bavaria includes river and lake fisheries as well as aquaculture production. The sustainable management of natural and man-made waterbodies is carried out in accordance to the state’s fisheries legislation, which aims at conserving the abundance of species and providing for stable and well-adapted fish-populations. Based on this, aquatic systems can provide stable natural yields for business and recreational purposes in the long run. In specifically adapted production systems a wide array of species is produced for either direct human consumption or stocking of (natural) water bodies (aquatic systems). Special attention is paid to aspects of breeding and larval rearing of endangered species.

Based on these activities, professional fishermen as well as anglers can harvest natural yields.

Different fish species are cultured in carp pond aquacultures, rainbow trout flow through systems and other intensive systems. Fishes are produced either for human consumption or restocking to open waters.

Bavaria is the most prominent federal state in Germany for inland fisheries. More than thousand farms and several thousand fishermen provide one third of the German carp and rainbow trout production. The yield in commercial fisheries and angling accounts for around 35 % of German fish production.

Efficient production systems are the basis for a competitive and sustainable agriculture in Bavaria. This is generally true for all types of agriculture, either for food production, feed management or renewable energy. The institute is involved in modern and efficient systems for crop production and animal husbandry which provide safe and quality food and raw materials and protect natural resources. This means that the economic efficiency is just as important as environmental aspects and social conditions under which people live and work.

The issues of the Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Animal Husbandry are production systems for different crops as well as livestock farming and environmental engineering in the fields of biogas and emissions/imissions.

The Institute of Agro-Economy engages in the development of rural areas and the opportunities for increasing farm income. It works with the basics and systems of econometrics. The issue of work is also the evaluation of economic efficiency in all fields of agricultural production including plants, animals and renewable energy. This involves both, conventional and organic production.
The institute contributes to ensuring farmers´ livelihood, to adapting to changing political or socio-economic conditions using the results of applied research. It is also responsible for recommending developments concerning the changing rural infrastructure.

The Institute for Food Economy and Markets (IEM) mainly deals with agricultural markets. Besides that it deals with sovereign functions for the food industry and agricultural business. Target groups are farmers and related associations, the State Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, the state counselling offices and last not least the entire Bavarian food industry. The institute consists of six working groups.