Wednesday, May 24th, Arrival and teambuilding day

Arrival and get-to-know-day! Wednesday was the beginning of an eventful seminar, where we met new people, followed Roman traces and experienced the agricultural sector in the Eifel region. Details will follow later on. Firstly, our participants were welcomed by. Afterwards, we drove all together to Prüm, a very beautiful place in Rhineland-Palatinate. Our accommodation for the next few days was a tipi campsite, which was perfect for bonfire nights among friends, workshops and collective dinner. Once we moved into our tipis, the bonding time started. Some people had long and deep conversations, while others prepared dinner or relaxed after the journey to Prüm. Especially our teambuilding games in the evening were perfect get to know each other quickly. 

Thursday, May 25th, Dairy farming on a small scale

On Thursday morning, we brought off our self-organized workshop about dairy farming.

We invited a counsellor for dairy farms in the area as an expert. The main topics were animal welfare and food safety- two of the most discussed topics in the dairy industry at the moment. The participants were highly motivated to improve their skills concerning these two topics. After this productive forenoon, we walked to a nearby dairy farm in the afternoon. There we got a tour around the farm by one of their owners, who is also studying in Bonn. He showed and explained every aspect of his farm and we were able to discover a lot of things which we had discussed earlier that day. For instance, we got to know the farmers new and very animal friendly calf barn or the modern cooling system in the main stable. In the evening, everyone was busy preparing for our trade fair, where every participant prepares some food and drinks being typical for his or her country.

Friday, May 26th, Dairy farming on a large scale

Friday morning we drove through the beautiful landscape of Eifel region and along the river Mosel to visit the dairy factory Hochwald. We were warmly welcomed by one of their managers who gave us an interesting presentation about where this dairy factory came from and where it is headed to in future. While we listened, we were able to try a part of Hochwald’s range of products. Afterwards it got even more interesting as we entered their production site and saw the giant tank and tubes system and the impressingly fast filling system. After visiting this factory, we arrived at another dairy farm, which has its own little dairy factory. One third of their milk produced by about 120 dairy cows is sold directly to stores and super-markets. It was very interesting to learn about the challenges they took in order to make this happen.

Later this day, we drove to one of Eifel’s famous lakes, a Maar, which accrued on the top of old volcanoes. There, we enjoyed the sun as well as the cold water of the lake while reflecting about the impressions of the day. During the last two days the participants got to now a representative amount of dairy farms as well as large dairy companies and now are able to form their own opinion about their strategies who lead to success in dairy farming and industry.

Saturday, May 27th, Cultural explorations

On another sunny day, we went on a trip to Bitburg for a brewery inspection. What is this place famous for? Right, for one of the most popular German beer: Bitburger. At the arrival, we were welcomed by a guide in a very modern building. The guided tour through the museum was clearly illustrated and well understandable by its visual and aurally presentation of history, ingredients and processes. We got insights into who to grow hop plants up to the manufacturing of the final product beer. Subsequently, we were invited to taste some beer in the Bitburger Premium Lounge.

To continue the cultural programme, we went to Trier, the oldest city north of the Alps. The crowded but nice city has numerous old roman monuments such as the amphitheatre, thermal bath, basilica or Porta Nigra. At first we visited Porta Nigra. The impressive monument has three floors, where old statues and scripts are shown. Inside this building we learned a lot about the history and municipal structure of Trier. Additionally, we organised a city tour and visited the Liebfrauen-church and basilica.

After all these cultural impressions the participants were happy to top the seminar off with bonfire and BBQ.

Sunday, May 28th, Feedback and depature

Time runs by so fast and so it did this week. After having breakfast all together and reviewing our seminar, it was time to say goodbye. The trip back home was full of good memories and exchange about new gained experiences.

At this point, we would like to say thank you to our sponsors and participants, who made this great event happen.