A start-up from Langerringen could effectively protect agriculture from crows. The Ministry of the Environment is now to be informed.
Schwabmünchen/Lks. Augsburg The Bavarian Ministry of the Environment has established a pilot project in Bavarian Swabia. The reason for this was the huge number of rooks, which triggered great discussions. With a signature campaign supported by 1200 citizens, it was pointed out that the population of crows in this area should be reduced.
The parliamentary manager of the Free Voters parliamentary group, Dr. Fabian Mehring now reports that he has successfully campaigned for solutions to the rook problem. A pilot project by the Ministry of the Environment has been established.
In the course of this, as the member of parliament informed, an adjustment of the historically grown protection status of the animals to their population, which has meanwhile exploded again, is to be checked and research is to be carried out into how damage to agriculture, municipalities and local residents can be avoided.
A young company from the district of Augsburg, which Dr. Mehring therefore visited the company headquarters in Langerringen. There he was received by founder and managing director Christian Matthesius to report first-hand on his observations of the plant strengthener "Promos" sold by his company Arvalus. As an organic part-time farmer, Matthesius had been looking for a preparation for a long time that would protect maize, which is also important for organic crop rotation, and strengthen its development.
A solution found
The former hobby brewer found what he was looking for in hop extract. This promotes the general health and vitality of the maize plants - and, according to the organic farmers using it, shows a welcome side benefit compared to crows, pheasants, cranes, pigeons and other animals that threaten the farmers' harvest.
"Since the 'Mesurol' seed dressing was banned two years ago, countless conventional farmers have been struggling with the effects of the crow plague on their fields, just as organic farms have been for years. The Korit stain is still a functioning tool for conventional farmers to keep the damage under control, but it cannot be used for organic farms as a chemical-synthetic substance," explained Matthesius. Korit will also lose its approval in two to three years at the latest, "a practicable solution must be found by then," demands Matthesius.
For two years now, the farmer has observed that his organic corn areas treated with Promos are visited far less by the crows than the corn around him. With the help of his partner, the chemist Dr. Stefan Wolf, Matthesius wants to have revealed the secret of this desired side effect: "The concentration of the hop extract promotes the development of the corn and thus makes it less interesting for crows more quickly. This keeps the crows from plundering the fields on a purely natural basis - without any chemicals or unwanted pollution," explains Matthesius.
Make wire to ministry
Mehring is enthusiastic about the innovation and promised political support for the young company. "Being able to reduce the sometimes enormous damage to our domestic agriculture on an organic basis would be a great step forward for the urgently needed crow management. That's why I'm happy to act as a door opener, establish a direct line to the Ministry of the Environment and accompany the ongoing approval process in Brussels," says Mehring, who is convinced of the invention's potential.
Those: https://www.wochenblatt-dlv.de/regionen/schwaben/kraehenplage-schutzstatus-ueberprueft-566389