5 Innovative Agriculture, Viticulture Projects Launched

Luxembourg's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture has announced five innovative projects following a call for projects in which farmers were invited to submit their innovative ideas together with advice as a pilot project; in the spring, five projects were selected for funding.

These projects represent innovative and practical solutions that were developed by farmers, winegrowers and producers in cooperation with partners from science. The ministry is promoting these innovative application solutions with the aim of making the knowledge from the projects available across the entire agricultural sector. The areas of application sought included the development of new production or value-added branches, technical or ecological improvements in the production process, adaptation to climate change, and the expansion of cooperation networks.

Minister Martine Hansen stressed that the solutions must come "from the farmer for the farmer" in order to be practical. "Innovative ideas in agriculture already exist! In our call for projects, we were looking for farmers who are willing to implement and test new solutions. I am looking forward to the start of these five projects."

The five new projects are as follows:

Maxi-Cover: Maximizing soil cover through catch crops and innovative sowing techniques in times of climate change

Cover crops offer many advantages, but growing them is often difficult and requires a lot of knowledge and adaptability from farmers. Using different cultivation methods (drones, mulch and direct sowing) as well as catch crop mixtures, this project shows how site-adapted catch crop cultivation can succeed in times of climate change without affecting the profitability of the main crops.
Project sponsor: LWK
Companies: Ben Klein, Pol Wagner
Project duration: 1 May 2024 - 30 April 2025

Viti-Forst: Effects of Viti-Forst on the existing climate, soil water balance and vine physiology

Planting trees in the previous monoculture of viticulture (VitiForst) could represent an effective adaptation strategy to climate change and help to preserve the typicality of the wines of the Luxembourg Moselle. By monitoring an existing VitiForst plantation with grey alders, field maples and cultivated pears and in exchange with other VitiForst projects in the region, the aim is to investigate how the trees affect the vineyard system.
Project sponsor: LIST
Company: Domaine L&R Kox
Project duration: 01 January 2025 - 31 December 2026

"Fläschegeescht 2.0": Establishing a value chain to produce a regional beer made from 100% Mëllerdaller Geescht

Brewing barley requires little fertilization because beer needs a low protein content in the grain, which makes it ideal for the Mëllerdall region, which is self-sufficient in drinking water. In 2022, brewing barley was grown here for the first time for the regional beer "De Flälschegeescht". The follow-up project aims to establish a sustainable value chain.
Project sponsor: Nature & Geopark Mëllerdall
Companies: agricultural. Kooperatioun Mëllerdall
Project duration: two years (start autumn 2024)

Biochar: Production and use of biochar in wine-growing operations

The pyrolysis process can be used to convert annual quantities of wood, hedge trimmings and cleared vine trunks into biochar. This method enables the company to keep carbon in the cycle and integrate it into compost production. The project is investigating and supporting further possible uses.
Project sponsor: IBLA
Companies: Jeff Urbany, Jeff Hans, Serge Raus, Domaine Schramm, Domaine KrierWelbes
Project duration: 1 July 2024 - 30 June 2026

Grape seed oil: Local utilization of wine pomace with grape seed oil as the lead product

Wine production produces a lot of unused pomace. This project aims to investigate the economic potential of pomace utilization with a focus on local grape seed oil production from the perspective of a wine-growing company.
Project sponsor: LIST
Companies: Domaine L&R Kox, Norbert Eilenbecker
Project duration: May 2024 to April 2025