The winners of the CeresAwards 2021 are optimistic about the new year. What do Farmer of the Year, Christoph Leiders, and the other winners expect for 2022?
Wishes, resolutions and brilliant ideas – the best farmers in Germany are starting the New Year full of confidence. agrarheute, the leading source of information on German agriculture from dlv Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag, surveyed farmers who were awarded the prestigious CeresAward this year.
Farmer of the year 2021: Christoph Leiders
Christoph Leiders is Farmer of the Year 2021 and comes from Willich-Anrath ( North Rhine-Westphalia). He says: “The trend reversal in society towards regional and sustainable food products is great. This shows that organic farming is held in high regard and we hope that it is not just an advertising campaign by the large retail chains, but sustainable development ”. He is looking forward to the next year: “I not only enjoy working in the fields or in the stables, but also daily encounters with people. Many a work process also has something meditative about it through calmness and harmony – it clears my head ”.
Entrepreneur of the year: Maren Jänsch
Maren Jänsch from Springe ( Lower Saxony ), Entrepreneur of the Year at the CeresAward, and her team will continue to endeavor to familiarize consumers with agriculture with their own events and participation in the open farm day in autumn. She would like the new Minister of Agriculture for the further development of her business to be “reliable so that she can plan and shape over the long term”. She is also happy in her job: “Be it growing my arable crops or marketing my products. I’m proud of what I do with my own hands, ”says Jänsch.
Energy Farmer of the Year: Thomas Karle
Thomas Karle, the energy farmer of the year 2021 from Kupferzell (Baden-Württemberg), would also like to further develop and optimize the new projects he has initiated in the new year – for example, nutrient recovery or the creation and establishment of new fertilizer products. He emphasizes that for him the greatest job is a farmer, “because I have an extremely high degree of creative possibilities and creativity. I can live out my innovative spirit and also do something very meaningful and sustainable in and through my job ”.
Young Farmer of the Year: Johannes Müller
For young farmer Johannes Müller from Göttingen (Lower Saxony) the special thing about his job is that he can grasp and taste what he has created directly with his hands. “I can try the confirmation of my work right afterwards in the field or at the shop counter,” says the category winner young farmers in the CeresAward 2021. Müller, who grows vegetables on his Bioland farm, wants to invest in the next year to further develop his business. A new vegetable processing hall is planned, which should be fully operational in a year from Christmas.
Farmer of the year: Jochen Buß
Jochen Buß, farmer from Odenbach in Rhineland-Palatinate, is the winner in the “Arable farmer” category.
For the Farmer of the Year, Jochen Buß from Odenbach (Rhineland-Palatinate), “Farmer is simply a great job – he combines so many facets in one. You work outside, in the office, with animals and technology, but you are often at home with family and friends, ”he says. There will be a lot to do in the next year as well. “I always work hard to manage as sustainably as possible through soil-conserving cultivation and four-tier crop rotation.” But since his job is a passion for him, he looks forward to the challenge.
Business idea of the year: Markus Zott
Markus Zott is a dairy farmer from Ustersbach near Augsburg. With his business idea “Bayernglück”, an oat drink made from purely Bavarian ingredients, he won the CeresAward 2021 in the “Business Idea” category. Farmer Markus Zott from Ustersbach (Bavaria), the winner of the CeresAward in the business idea category, produces oat drinks under the brand name “Bayernglück” and wants to further expand sales and the range in 2022. For him, a farmer is a versatile and varied profession. “As a young farmer, I feel obliged to provide my fellow human beings with healthy, natural and resource-saving food. We farmers have a very great responsibility for people, animals and the environment. That drives me, ”explains the young farmer.
Organic farmer of the year: Bernhard Hänni
Bernhard Hänni from Switzerland, the winner in the organic farmer category, emphasizes the great importance of agriculture for society and looks just as confidently into the new year: “No other profession is so diverse and has such a strong impact on all levels. We design landscapes, feed the population and should preserve the livelihood of people and all living beings ”. He has set himself the goal for the new year of “growing a huge range of organic vegetables again and making the company even more sustainable with additional permaculture elements”.
What is the CeresAward?
The CeresAward, in which the “Farmer of the Year” and 10 category winners are chosen, is given every year by agrarheute to farmers in German-speaking countries. The award goes to farmers who manage their business with exceptional commitment and who do great things for people, the environment and animals. “With the CeresAward we want to honor people from the agricultural sector who dare to go new, innovative ways and who have a lot of patience to overcome difficult stretches,” says agrarheute editor-in-chief Simon Michel-Berger, describing the concept of the competition.
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