Gut Hülsenberg combines practical experience, research and communication under one roof. Over the course of several decades, the estate has become an internationally renowned research and communication centre.

On this page you will find videos from Gut Hülsenberg. Learn more about cattle husbandry and feeding concepts, gras harvest and about Gut Hülsenberg itself.

Learn more  in our videos about cattle husbandry and feeding concepts as well as grass silage at Gut Hülsenberg.

Would you like to visit Gut Hülsenberg? You will find all the necessary information on this page.

Gut Hülsenberg has always been a very popular destination for visits by clients, scientists, business partners and Group employees wishing to experience first-hand how our research and practical farm work are done.

Gut Hülsenberg provides an ideal forum for testing directly whether new methods and innovative products can be usefully transferred to practice. Visitors gain insights into the working environment of a modern farm, which they can then apply together with their employees and customers.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to organise a visit.

When H. Wilhelm Schaumann bought Gut Hülsenberg, his primary goal was to promote the close interaction between research and practice. Gut Hülsenberg was a typical value-adding operation with relatively poor soils and a high livestock density and therefore offered ideal conditions for the development of effective feed concepts. Over several decades, the estate was gradually developed into an internationally renowned research and communication centre. Gut Hülsenberg also serves as a venue for seminars and training events that allows participants to gain direct insight into the operating conditions on a working farm.

At Gut Hülsenberg, optimal conditions for animal welfare have created the ideal conditions for maximum performance. The 222 dairy cows produce an impressive 13,686 kg of milk per cow. With four Lely A5 milking robots, Gut Hülsenberg is at the cutting edge of technology. The stables for dry cows, young cattle and calves have also been modernised.
The outdoor farm at Gut Hülsenberg supplies the livestock and is responsible for stable disposal, feed, manure and repairs.

Since 2012, Gut Hülsenberg has been continuously improving the climate footprint of its milk production. Through efficient fodder production, the use of liquid manure in biogas plants, and high lifetime productivity of its cows, the farm has reduced greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of milk by another 5%. With healthy animals, soil-friendly cultivation, and closed nutrient cycles, sustainability is put into practice – while new potential for even greater climate protection remains in focus.

When H. Wilhelm Schaumann bought Gut Hülsenberg, his primary goal was to promote the close interaction between research and practice.

Gut Hülsenberg was a typical value-adding operation with relatively poor soils and a high livestock density and therefore offered ideal conditions for the development of effective feed concepts.

Over several decades, the estate was gradually developed into an internationally renowned research and communication centre.

Learn more about calves, young stock and dairy cows.

The Gut Hülsenberg GmbH biogas power plant
Wiesenweg 32
23812 Wahlstedt
Field 1, Plot 24/4
is subject to the twelfth ordinance for the implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act as a lower class operating area. In accordance with Section 7, Paragraph 1, the notification was submitted to the responsible authority on the 11/09/2017.

Gut Hülsenberg GmbH
Wiesenweg 32
23812 Wahlstedt
Tel. 04554-9993-200
info@guthuelsenberg.de

You can find more information about the environmentally-friendly production of biogas on Gut Hülsenberg under

The maize harvest on Gut Hülsenberg started on 9 October 2017. Poor weather with more than 100 mm of rain had delayed the harvest by a good two weeks.

526 kW power output/250 kW power output via a satellite CHP plant

Gut Hülsenberg comprises a 776 kW field test biogas plant in order to be able to test whether the results of model trials can be applied to practical biogas production.

Two identical fermentation streams allow one trial variant each to be compared with a control variant on a practically viable scale.

Auf Gut Hülsenberg wurde das mehrtägig gute Wetter genutzt, um den 3. Schnitt einzufahren und die Wintergerste zu ernten.

Gut Hülsenberg comprises a 776 kW field test biogas plant as well as a second, 75 kW research biogas plant solely for fermenting liquid cattle manure in order to be able to test whether the results of model trials can be applied to practical biogas production.

As a positive side effect of our research on the efficient operation of biogas plants, Gut Hülsenberg now produces sufficient climate-neutral electricity to cover virtually all of the power needs of the Schaumann plants.

Solely for fermenting liquid cattle manure

In December 2013, a second research biogas plant with an installed power output of 75 kW was commissioned solely for fermenting liquid cattle manure.

The key features of this plant include a system for recovering heat from spent slurry and the installation of special non-woven mats in the fermenter’s gas holder to implement a desulphurisation system.

On May 17 and 18, the first harvest was harvested at Hülsenberg Estate under optimal conditions. Since the silage was to be reopened after just two weeks, bonsilage SPEED G was used as a silage additive.

This page presents the two biogas plants at Gut Hülsenberg.

A new barn providing space for 100 calves in three different sections was built in 2013. Calf rearing on Gut Hülsenberg follows the clearly defined goal of providing intensive feeding to fully utilise the animals’ substantial growth potential and promote their resistance to disease.

The 134 cubicles in our heifer barn, which was renovated in 2012, provide optimum conditions for rearing healthy heifers from about seven months of age.

Heifer rearing management and feed basis determine the age at which heifers first calve and the milk yield they achieve throughout the subsequent years of their productive life.
Intensive feeding in the early months of a calf’s life in particular establishes a solid basis for high lifetime yield and fitness. As heifers transition to the second year of rearing, the intensity of the feeding strategy is adjusted to support them optimally through to their first calving, which is the decisive factor for long-term operating profits.

Field work includes animal husbandry, management of barn waste and responsibility for feeding, liquid manure and repairs. All works except forage harvesting and crop protection are completed under our own management with our own fleet.

Gut Hülsenberg operates and manages 700 ha agricultural land, comprising silage maize, catch crops, permanent pasture, ley and winter rye. The estate additionally has 30 ha landscape features and set-aside land. The soils are partially peaty mineral, light to loamy sandy soils with 18-35 soil rating points

A new barn providing space for 100 calves in three different sections was built in 2013:

• Newborn calves are kept in single boxes organised in units of three until they are 14 days old. These boxes, which can be moved around on rollers, are located at the outside of the barn.
• At 15 days of age, calves are transferred to group pens with straw bedding. 
• They are then transferred to a cubicle section with rubber mat flooring. The cubicles are always stocked using an all-in/all-out approach for hygienic reasons. From 7 months of age, the heifers are finally moved to the freestall system for our cows.

Appropriate care for newborn calves with high-quality colostrum is essential for successful calf rearing. Calves are weaned early and provided with highest-quality dairy-based raw materials during the first eight weeks of their lives. Calf rearing on Gut Hülsenberg follows the clearly defined goal of providing intensive feeding to fully utilise the animals’ substantial growth potential and promote their resistance to disease.

The import of Holstein Friesian cows in 1966 was a true milestone in the company’s history, which also revolutionised Holstein breeding in Germany.

The foundation of the SCHAUMANN feed consultancy service and the establishment of the Hülsenberger Gespräche in 1965, which have since developed into an international, interdisciplinary specialist forum for progressive agriculture, also constituted important developments.

Other significant milestones include decisive contributions to the development of caesarean sections for the production of SPF piglets and artificial insemination as well as a wide range of product innovations, from the Phosphoral minerals concentrate to complex active agents for animal nutrition.

The core of the estate's dairy operations is the dairy herd consisting of 222 cows producing 12,989 kg per animal with 944 kg of fat and protein.

With an output of almost 46,709 kg and a lifetime productivity of 23.7 kg, Gut Hülsenberg is one of the top farms in Schleswig-Holstein.

Dairy cows are kept in two open-design freestall systems with insulated roofs and horizontal ventilation controlled via blinds. Another single/two-row freestall system, which was modernised in 2012, comprises 105 beds and three large calving boxes with deep litter.

Since the expansion in 2019, the dairy cows are kept in a two-row system with 250 cubicles. The cubicle system consists of raised cubicles equipped with appropriate comfort mattresses and is regularly covered with straw-lime mixed bedding.

All columns are equipped with rubber mat flooring and partly with emission-reducing columns. The columns are cleaned every 2 hours by two column robots.

Since October 2023, the young animals, dry cows and lactating cows have been fed with a fully automatic feeding system, the Lely Vector.

The conversion to milking with 4 milking robots took place in 2019 in connection with a comprehensive expansion. 
Milking is performed with 4 Lely Astronaut A5 milking robots. A new fresh cow area for approx. 30 animals was also created. The animals are under constant observation via video surveillance.

Since the introduction of robots, dairy cows have been fed with a partially mixed ration. In total, a maximum of 40% concentrate of the total dry matter intake of 24.5 kg per animal is fed per day. 4 kg of concentrate plus 250 g of TIRSANA AMS in the robot are distributed among the 3.1 - 3.3 milkings per day. 

The core of the estate's dairy operations is the dairy herd consisting of 220 cows. The conversion to milking with 4 milking robots took place in 2019 in connection with a comprehensive expansion. Milking is performed with 4 Lely Astronaut A5 milking robots. A new fresh cow area for approx. 30 animals was also created.

The primary goal of H. Wilhelm Schaumann's acquisition of the Hülsenberg estate was to promote the practical relevance of research work.

As a typical breeding location with relatively poor soil and high livestock density, the estate was ideally suited for the development of effective feeding concepts.

Over the decades, it has been expanded into an internationally recognised research and communication centre.