Alternative Ways of Land Usage

Semi-open pasture landscape in Jahrstedt-Steimke on the Germenauer Heuweg

The creation of the “semi-open pasture landscape on the Germenauer Heuweg” was included in the LEADER funding as a model project for alternative land use options under the natural conditions of the lowland moor region. The project was confirmed some time ago by the “Rund um den Drömling” LEADER action group. It was finally brought to life in the summer of 2019 on the basis of the grant decision made by the regional administration office. Horses of an appropriate size and stature graze extensively on the pasture within the project area all year round.

The project is being funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the state of Saxony-Anhalt as part of its Rural Development Program for 2014–2020 (RDP) in line with the “Community Led Local Development (CLLD)” measure under the priority area of “Promoting local development in rural areas”. Under this programme, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) contributes up to 90 per cent of the eligible public expenditure.

Roewitz Semi-Open Pasture Landscape

The impressive heck cattle kept there graze all year round on an area of approx. 24 hectares. The pasture landscape was established in 2012. The cultivation is in the hands of a local farmer. The low grazing density practised there shall enable so-called self-dynamic processes. This means that nature is left to its own devices within certain limits. The cattle are allowed to bite any kind of woody plants, for example, because in other areas with less grazed areas it is possible to grow other plants again. These processes can be controlled by grazing load, i. e. the number of animals kept on the area. This means that natural processes are permitted on this area, which would otherwise hardly be possible in the open landscape.