Germany: finding beauty in legumes

In the second of our blog series focusing on our distributors and partners around the world, we head to Germany. Fabian Beesten has been sharing the benefits of Legume Technology inoculants and knowledge with German growers – and those further afield – since 2017.

“Historically, there was significant pulse production in Germany, through ‘alternative’ crops such as soybeans, lupins and other protein crops,” notes Fabian, “but since the 1950s it declined as authorities saw fit to exclude leguminous crops from the subsidy regime.

“This also meant that there was little breeding activity. In the absence of any good varieties, it’s no wonder that few farmers grew these big-grain protein crops. And unfortunately, a lot of knowledge was lost.”

But the situation began to change in the early 2010s, when government programmes began to demand a base percentage of domestically grown protein. Consumers also began to give voice, concerned about imported soy, and farmers responded.

“Now, there’s a German Soybean Association, which provides a great growing resource, monitoring seed quality and sharing advice on agronomy, weed control and so on,” Fabian explains.

“It’s led to the soy acreage increasing to around 50,000ha. It’s an impressive figure, given the history, but with Germany’s climate and soils we should be able to push that several times higher: many people, me included, believe we could grow as much as 500,000ha.”

So, what’s stopping German farmers from realising that potential?

“Soy’s novel crop status remains something of a stumbling block,” says Fabian. “Many farmers simply haven’t grown it before. It’s new to them, they make mistakes, they get put off.

Fabian Beesten explains inoculation to growers on a soya field day in Bavaria.

“You can’t go from novice soy grower to expert in just one season! Growers don’t take enough time to get to know the crop before deciding it’s not for them.”

As if to emphasise the point, Fabian says that for those unfamiliar with the crop, this season has certainly provided unwanted drama and uncertainty. “Poor conditions at and after planting meant that emerging crops were gappy. They didn’t look good, plant density was low and weed pressure was high.

“But things came good. Rains came in August, at just the right time for pod development and fill. That meant more pods per plant, and bigger kernels.

“Then, of course, the rain didn’t stop, presenting quite a challenge to bring in the harvest. Again, things turned out well and growers are now very happy with a 10 or even 20% higher-than-average yield, perhaps the best ever.”

It’s good news for the industry, enthuses Fabian, demonstrating the potential for soy yields when grown well.

“There’s been a steady increase in the number of growers who know how to grow soy,” he continues. “It’s rare, for example, to hear of farmers who don’t know, or don’t bother, to inoculate soybeans or lupins.

“That said, there are still bad products out there, so educating them on product choice remains important, as do the inherent idiosyncrasies of the soybean crop: it’s temperamental at planting, can be weak in germination, gets fussy about combine adjustment. To be fair, just like any other crop, it has finer details that a grower needs to appreciate.

“Then there’s the pressure on growers. Industry labelling schemes have done so much to create awareness of German-grown soy, so it’s always in demand: growers don’t want to miss their market.

Optimizing inoculant application: this technically talented grower sprays his LIQUIFiX inoculant into the furrow, along with 50 litres of non-chlorinated water per hectare. Results are excellent – but the technology has to be precise and well-managed.

“But there’s a lot of new technologies that are helping. We’ve got better headers now, for example, which means fewer harvest losses and at least a five per cent uplift in yields as a result.”

So it’s no surprise that acreage is slowly creeping upward. While Bavaria’s growers were first out of the blocks, 20 or 30 years ago, Fabian says soybeans are now found as far north as Lower Saxony and have enjoyed a significant push east, where climate and big tracts of land have favoured their expansion.

“Most home-grown soy goes into the feed market,” Fabian points out, “but there’s steady interest in it as a high quality, traceable raw material for food products too, especially amongst the food start-ups. There’s every reason to think that some of these will be successful, increasing demand further.”

It’s not just soy that’s growing in popularity. Chickpeas have emerged from nowhere – indeed, Fabian says ten years ago ‘no-one would have dared’ grow them, but new varieties and adventurous growers in eastern Germany’s warmer, dryer regions have seen a 1,000ha (and increasing) annual crop, all of which has found a home with food processors keen to use domestically grown (and often organic) produce.

“Many of these legumes also have great environmental credentials, which makes them popular with consumers, and farmers proud and happy to establish such crops – especially when they’re value-added like this.”

Farmers’ increasing interest in these crops sits uncomfortably with the legume ‘knowledge gap’. Addressing that gap has been Fabian’s objective. First came Gartensoja, where the primary focus was on edamame seed and supply. Now, realising the demand for not just inoculants but all associated legume agronomic advice, Fabian has established LegumiN as a sister company.

“Nice nodulation on a new chickpea field inoculated with LEGUMEFiX near Magdeburg, Germany,” points out Fabian.

“It’s a play on German words, but it works in English too!” he laughs. “It positions us well as a one-stop shop. Legume growers now come from as far as Sweden and Portugal, and the website’s in German, French and English, to buy products, read up on our trials and discover our resources. And we’re delighted to be able to share this knowledge, with everyone from farmers and agronomists to academics and researchers.

“My ambition for LegumiN is to be the European specialist capable of answering any question about legume agronomy, and then being able to supply customers with the right products, at the right price. Whether that’s a farmer in eastern Germany wanting inoculants for 100ha of soybeans, or the research scientists wanting three units of inoculant for a new trials project, we’ll be able to supply the appropriate Legume Technology product.’

Fabian says he’s bold about his ambition: to contribute to the success of legume production in Europe.

“I’m convinced legumes provide answers to some of the key questions in farming, environment and nutrition,” he says excitedly.

“Growing legumes is a challenge, but it is also rewarding in so many ways.

“And they’re beautiful!”

 

LegumiN can be found at www.legumin.de

Good first-time chickpea success, inoculated with LEGUMEFiX, near Vienna, Austria.