This week, MIDAS partners are in Germany for our General Assembly, hosted by the team at the Biobased Resources in the Bioeconomy – University of Hohenheim. It’s a pivotal moment as we review our progress and strategize for the final months of the project. While the meeting rooms are buzzing with discussions, yesterday’s highlight was our trip to the university’s agricultural research station in the Swabian Alb. At this site the project is successfully demonstrating strip cropping as an innovative cropping system suited for marginal land, here charachterized by stony and wet soil. It was really inspiring to see industrial hemp growing alongside a blooming stand of melilot (sweet clover).

This plant is being tested and demonstrated as a source of biomass for farm-scale biogas and potentially for biobased products. But its benefits don’t stop there:
✅ It’s a nitrogen-fixing crop.
✅ It grows over winter, protecting the soil in the wet seasons.
✅ It’s a haven for pollinators and other beneficial insects. 🐝
✅ It diversifies the rural landscape with beautiful patches of color.
We also had the chance to see an innovative farm-scale biorefinery pilot plant that can produce high-value products from proteins extracted from grass.

This is where our research truly connects with practice, demonstrating how marginal lands can be at the heart of a thriving regenerative agriculture and bioeconomy. A huge thank you to our hosts Iris Lewandowski, Valentin Schlecht, Moritz von Cossel and all the team at University of Hohenheim for their great work and commitment!