TPI Germany Travel Diary

By Allie Shriver

There's truly something magical about traveling to another country to immerse yourself in the culture and learn the history; TPI members were lucky to do just that with our most recent trip to Germany. With the help of European Turfgrass Producers (ETP) President and TPI Board Member Albrecht Knigge, we embarked on an excursion throughout the Lower Saxony region of Germany to visit local turfgrass producers and historical enterprises.

ETP Expo

Every two or three years, ETP gathers from across Europe for a large field day and networking. TPI was excited to bring this group to this year's event in Pattensen, Germany, at Albrecht's farm, Rasenland Pattensener. The group has finally arrived in Hanover, Germany, just in time to join the opening reception for ETP's Expo. Eager to start our journey, we descended on the hotel lobby with glee. We enjoyed dinner and drinks with fellow turfgrass producers and industry peers late into the evening.

Fighting heavy jetlag, the group woke early to enjoy breakfast together before heading to the farm for a day of heavy machine demos and comradery. We arrived as the gates opened to a gracious and welcoming ETP staff.

Many TPI members headed straight for the equipment outside the gates to kick some tires while the rest headed straight for the coffee. We wandered around a bit, getting the lay of the land before the equipment demonstrations began.

We stood in awe as we watched demos of new harvesters and mowers. The technology in Europe is incredible. We saw several TPI supplier members take the "stage" to show off the latest equipment they brought with them.

It was an excellent display and a great reminder that we could once again connect in person. Throughout the day, many TPI members connected with old friends and made new ones.

Local Enterprise Visits

We had the pleasure of visiting four local enterprises in the Lower Saxony region—a castle, two farms, and a forestry operation. We were welcomed with open arms at each location and given a grand tour of all four operations. As we explored each site, one thing was abundantly clear; in Germany, the family is above all. Each owner expressed to us the importance of setting the next generations up for success in their current family ventures.

Schloss Hämelschenburg We had the most beautiful tour of this family-owned castle. The Hämelschenburg manor has been owned by the von Klencke family since 1437. The castle was built about 150 years later and is wholly preserved today. Lucky for us, the current von Klencke, who owns the castle, asked his mother, an American, to give us a tour. We thoroughly enjoyed her knowledge of the property and of her husband's family.

BOFERA's roots have been in agriculture for centuries. This family-run operation has specialized in the production of rolled turfgrass for over ten years. Based on the latest knowledge and with the latest special technology, they can produce turfgrass on clay. We had the opportunity to see their fields and test the clay they grow on. They also sell their seed and fertilizer to locals.

Ruheforst and Knigge Family Farm The Ruheforst is a new way to say goodbye to your loved ones. The Knigge family rents trees from their medieval forest as a final resting place for local citizens. Here you can share a tree with your family. This peaceful location is maintained to high standards for up to 99 years after ashes are buried at the base. We enjoyed our stroll through the peaceful location, and Albrecht explained in other regions of the forest, they can cut old trees for logging practices. However, unlike in other parts of the world, clear-cutting is not allowed, and they must go into the forest and remove trees based on strict criteria one at a time.

Albrecht also led us on a tour of the family farming operation, where a wide range of crops are grown.

Matthies is a traditional family business. They have been farming in Wenzendorf, just outside Hamburg, for over 400 years. Today, they are the nineteenth and twentieth generation of farmers in their families. We had the distinct pleasure of meeting everyone, including the youngest addition at just four months old! The Matthies family drove us around their property to show us their turfgrass, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, and Christmas Tree fields! A unique portion of their business they shared with us was wildflowers seeds. They are currently the largest distributor of seeds in their region.

Turfgrass Producers International truly prides itself on being an international organization. This trip allowed some U.S. and Canadian members to see how our industry peers thrive in a different part of the world. We had the best time connecting with members from all over Europe during the ETP Expo. We couldn’t have asked for a better host than Albrecht Knigge and the wonderful families that opened their lives to us.

We look forward to the next opportunity to travel abroad!

Allie Shriver is membership and marketing manager for Turfgrass Producers International. Photo Credit: All photos by Allie Shriver.