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Renewable and sustainable energy production is important in Germany. However, renewable energy production often depends on the variability of weather. Therefore, the flexibility of energy consumption is required. In dairy farming this flexibility can be realized by automation and sensor-based management of the working processes. For this, it is necessary to utilize storage capacities and shifting potential, especially since modern dairy farms can produce renewable energy themselves. The combination of these aspects may lead to a more flexible energy consumption or provision in the farm energy balance. Aim of this research is to identify and evaluate the potential of energy storage technologies in the dairy production processes. Subsequently these storage technologies are evaluated regarding the energy consumption. Additionally, the consequences of an autonomous energy and production management system for dairy farms are discussed. Due to the particular production processes, the energy forms—electricity, air pressure, hot water, and iced water —affect the applicability of different storage technologies. The storage of electrical energy shows the advantage of a more flexible transformability into other energy forms and bidirectional use. However, handling these flexible energy systems is very complex; thus, an integrated on-farm energy management system must consider all the relevant aspects.

Students in Germany often admonish the fact that their study programs focus too much on theory. This coincides with the observation of different scientists who are of the opinion that lectures, which normally only pass on theoretical knowledge, sometimes are not up to date anymore. Students in agricultural sciences proceed to work in multiple disciplines after their graduation, starting from microbiology up to farm management in practice. However, their knowledge about digital skills like data collection and management is not up to the tasks they encounter after their studies. To prepare them for a wide range of topics required for their future success, their study program follows a systemic and universal approach. The chair of Agricultural Systems Engineering started facing these problems and developed the lecture “Smart Farming” with a holistic view on digitally transformed farms and agricultural data mining. To meet the needs of today's students, different types of lectures and seminars as mentioned in science were taken into consideration. Therefore, also a research farm of the Technical University of Munich has been implemented as a pilot plant for digital transformation in agriculture, where scientific research and teaching will go hand in hand.

The environmental impacts of biogas systems are dependent on technical concepts and conditions of use. During a process chain, energy is consumed and greenhouse gases (GHGs) are emitted. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biogas production is influenced by different factors, such as supplement of substrate, biogas production, and biogas and digestate utilization pathways. The goal of the study was to assess environmental impacts of biogas production in small scale in a South American country like Colombia. To calculate the specific GHG emissions of biogas production, the standardized methodology of LCA was followed, using the GaBi 6.0 tool (Thinkstep AG, Germany) with Ecoinvent database, while the ISO 14040 was used as standard for the LCA. The chosen substrates for the biogas production in small scale in Colombia represent common waste products of Latin American rural households. Most Colombian farmers own cows, therefore choosing cow manure as a basic substrate is a logic consequence. This substrate can either be directly taken out of the stable, if there is one, or must be collected from the pasture land and then be mixed with water to obtain a homogenous matter to feed the biogas digester. Where people cook, waste is produced, thus here we are taking a look at average medium-fat kitchen waste as an input option for the fermenter. A more specific waste product from daily cooking is potato peel because the potato counts as a staple food not only in Colombia but also in many South American countries. The co-substrate for the third scenario is the maize plant after the cob is harvested. The results show that the biogas scenarios are all a lot less climate-damaging than fossil reference systems which lead to clear recommendations to improve the management option by the biogas plant in Colombia.