Dairy farming on the Danish island of Samsø
(Jørgen Tranberg with cows and wind turbine)
On the Danish island Samsø the two dairy farmers, Jørgen Tranberg and Erik Koch Andersen, have been very successful implementing sustainable solutions. Thanks to them and all the other islanders they now produce more energy than they consume. The people of Samsø once were the producers of more than 45,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year - about 11 tonnes a head. Through projects like these, they have cut that figure to -15,000, which equals -3.7 ton per person and year (the surplus power is sold to the mainland).
Mr Tranberg owns a Bonus 1 MW wind turbine on his property and half an offshore wind turbine rated at 2.3 MW, all to an investment of 19 million Danish crowns (approx. €2.5 million).
Although he is earning more on his wind turbines than his dairy production he still considers cow comfort important. For instance he has redesigned his cowshed so it requires little straw for bedding for his cattle. Each cow now has its own natty mattress. The demand for straw on the island has increased, and so have the prices as it is sold to the local district heating plant.
- I have no problems with mastitis since I decreased the usage of straw and at the same time the heating plant pays a higher price for the straw than the cows do, so it’s a good deal for everyone, says Jørgen Tranberg.
Besides his own 1 mega watt wind turbine four more stand beside it on his farm land. Each device is either owned by a neighboring farmer or by a collective of locals. In addition the people of Samsø have invested in 10 wind turbines à 2,3 megawatt based offshore.
- I am the chairman of the board in the shareholder company that owns these sea based turbines and I have been very involved throughout the entire process. Some people might think it’s difficult for a dairy farmer to be engaged in such a big project outside his ordinary duties at the farm but thanks to professional consultants and skilled staff it has been possible for me to do both.
If there was such a thing as an Ivy League contest in sustainable dairy farming Mr Andersen would most likely qualify. At his farm he has thermal and PV (photovoltaic) solar collectors, wood-fired central heating using the farm’s wood. A Canola oil mill produces canola oil (rapeseed oil) for the family station car and farm tractors. The rest-product is used as protein food for his 16 cows. The product has a delicious taste, like fresh hassle nuts and is used for cooking as well. On top of this he also own shares in land and offshore wind turbines.
How has the economics of renewable energy influenced your involvement in these questions?
JT: I have all along expected a reasonable return. Once we had a gear breakdown that cost a million crowns to replace, so there are ups and downs that cannot be foreseen, but in the longrun the investment has been profitable.
EKA: It’s had no bearing on these decisions whatsoever. I haven’t done the maths and can only say that it has been both interesting and enjoyable to help extract energy from nature without digging for it. It’s been a very gratifying process.
Do you have good advice to others who might like to invest in similar domestic heating systems?
JT: Go for whatever you find gratifying – if you believe it is feasible. But don’t stake your entire pension plan in one field like renewable energy. Markets and subsidies can change overnight. When we started no one was interested in CO2, now we’re updated on climactic change ten times a day. Everyone seems to have acknowledged that the temperature is rising, except those buying seaside building lots. Make sure you have good people, professional staff and good advisors, assisting you.
EKA: I’d like to see more joint ventures, at the local level! It’s expensive to do things on your own. For example, my seed mill for pressing rapeseed should be something several people could develop together. Other than that, we just have to roll up our sleeves and get at it.
Would you have done things differently if you had to start over?
JT: Not especially, nothing major anyways.
EKA: No, but there have been some problems with my rapeseed fuelled tractors because we didn’t have an expert on the island.
And it should also be noted that the island's transformation has come at a price: roughly 420m kroner - about €56m - that includes money from the Danish government, the EU, local businessmen and individual members of collectives. Thus the Samsø revolution cost around €11,000 per islander, and a good chunk has come from each person's own pockets.
Milk production facts Jørgen Tranberg:
Number of dairy cows and breed: 150 Holstein
Total milk produced per year? 1.45 mn tonnes
Average yield per cow and year? 9546 l/cow
% of fat and protein? Fat 4.35% and protein 3.32%
Somatic cell count, SCC? 150 000
What do you grow? Corn, pumpkins, grass and spring onions
Number of acres / hectares? 120 hectare
Milk production facts Erik Koch Andersen:
Number of dairy cows and breed: 16
What do you grow? Rapeseed
Number of acres / hectares? 4
(Erik Koch Andersen with his Canola oil mill)
Read about other farms in the Sustainability section>>
|