Purple Ash 'Raywood' - Fraxinus angustifolia 'Raywood'
State Institute for Agriculture: Its tasks are as diverse as its similarities with the HSWT
The Bavarian State Institute for Agriculture (LfL) is the knowledge and service centre for agriculture in Bavaria. It is directly subordinate to the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry. It develops decision-making bases for farmers and advisors, as well as for politics and administration.
The LfL comprises nine institutes and four departments with an overall 1,000 employees at 14 locations in Bavaria. They cover the agricultural fields of plants, animals, technology and economics. Specifically, they deal, for example, with plant protection or animal welfare, digitalisation, nature conservation or climate protection.
Stephan Sedlmayer has led the LfL as president since November 2020. Since 2021, he has also been a member of the HSWT's university council. His office at the LfL headquarters is located on the Weihenstephan campus - in other words, near the arboretum, where the LfL sponsors a purple ash tree (Fraxinus angustifolia "Raywood"). "Trees mean home," says Sedlmayer. For him, the delicate leaves of the ash symbolise the diverse ramifications of research and teaching at the University of Applied Sciences in almost all areas of life. "With its beautiful autumn colouring, this tree will be a visible sign of the special partnership between HSWT and LfL," said the 57-year-old from Munich. Altogether, nine of his employees gave lectures at the University of Applied Sciences, and, at the moment, there were 15 joint research projects. One of them is about optimising potato breeding for use as chips. "The focus is on practical benefits for the consumer," explains the LfL president, who himself studied Agriculture at the HSWT before his career in the civil service - among other things as Bavarian representative - of the agricultural department in Berlin.
The topics of the LfL are also diverse. Therefore, it is particularly relevant for him to participate in the dialogue and to tie the threads together, says Sedlmayer. "The best part of my job is to connect the specialised knowledge of our institutes - in a holistic and systemic approach," says the agricultural expert. The focus generally lies on sustainability: the LfL is to become a think tank for sustainability that keeps people, animals and the environment in mind. Sedlmayer says: "We have to think ahead about sustainability and be further ahead than practice - especially in fields like agriculture and food." That is precisely what the LfL does in its application- and problem-oriented research work and broad networking with other institutions, science and industry. The main goal is to be able to answer practical and future questions and to provide competent advice to farmers. The tasks of the LfL also include so-called sovereign enforcement. That means that the LfL ensures that laws are observed and can be implemented in agriculture. In education, the LfL coordinates training and further education of green professions. All fields of activity support sustainable and resource-conserving agriculture and a diverse cultural landscape.
The functions of the LfL are as green, future-oriented and multifaceted as the topics of the University of Applied Sciences. The slogan "research, promote, educate" sums them up entirely - and the content coincides 100 per cent with the goals of the HSWT.
Distribution
Southern Europe, North Africa and West Asia
Size
15 to 18 metres high and 10 to 12 metres wide
Leaves
deciduous, opposite, pinnate, 12 to 25 cm long, purple-red colour in autumn
Fruits
fruitless
