The economic potential of organic production for stockless arable farms importing biogas digestate: A case study analysis for western Germany

CONTEXT: Most stockless organic farms depend on the import of organic nitrogen. Biogas digestates offer an interesting solution to address this need for flexible nitrogen fertilizers. Their application could support the conversion of specialized arable farms, contributing to the politically targeted expansion of organic production. However, various regulations on the use of off-farm biogas digestates exist, which differ considerably in allowed N imports. Despite the growing interest in the application of biogas digestates in stockless organic farming in practice and research, its impacts on the economic potential of converting from conventional to organic farming have not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the economic potential of organic production for specialized arable farms without taking up animal production based on cooperating with a conventional biogas plant. The study considers the impacts of different regulations on importing off-farm biogas digestates. METHODS: The assessment employs the bio-economic farm model FarmDyn to evaluate multiple economic performance indicators for three stockless arable case study farms with varying cropping patterns under con-ventional and organic production. The German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia serves as the case study

Automated summary

This study assesses the economic potential of specialized arable farms without animal production that cooperate with a conventional biogas plant to engage in organic production. The impacts of different regulations on importing off-farm biogas digestates are considered.