Agricultural Experiment Station

Click on the play button to watch the video about the experiment station on the university’s YouTube channel.

The Agricultural Experiment Station provides a center for practical, regional, and international cutting-edge research. The 773-hectare network of 3 locations with a total of 7 sites forms a realistic representation of the ecosystems in Baden-Württemberg. The Experiment Station is a huge real-world laboratory where research, development, and testing are carried out under scientific conditions that can be quickly applied in agricultural practice, industry, and society.

The Agricultural Experiment Station includes:

  • Biorefinery pilot plant
  • Biogas research plant
  • Land-atmosphere feedback observatory
  • Long-term field experiments
  • Numerous animal breeding facilities

Hohenheim location with the sites:

Meiereihof
  • 95 ha in size
  • altitude 395 m above sea level
  • long-term precipitation of 685 mm
  • average annual temperature of 8.8° C
  • focuses on high-yield dairy herd with 63 cubicles for cows to lie down
Heidfeldhof
  • 110 ha in size
  • altitude of 400 m above sea level
  • long-term precipitation of 685 mm
  • average annual temperature of 8.8° C
  • focuses on carrying out plot trials with cereals, maize, sunflowers, leguminous plants, and forage crops
Kleinhohenheim
  • 61 ha in size
  • 435 m above sea level
  • long-term precipitation of 685 mm
  • average annual temperature of 8.8° C
  • used exclusively for research and teaching in organic farming
  • member of Bioland and Naturland (organic certification organizations)

Eckartsweier site

  • 42 ha in size
  • 141 m above sea level
  • long-term precipitation of 726 mm
  • average annual temperature of 9.9° C
  • favorable climatic conditions facilitate intensive research activities on maize, sunflowers, and soybeans

Lindenhöfe location with the sites:

Unterer Lindenhof
  • 104 ha in size
  • altitude of 694 m–755 m above sea level
  • long-term precipitation of 941 mm
  • average annual temperature of 6.8° C
Oberer Lindenhof
  • 110 ha in size
  • altitude of 470 m–558 m above sea level
  • long-term precipitation of 765 mm
  • average annual temperature of 7.5° C

The two farms provide a central research infrastructure for livestock sciences (cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry), plant sciences, and bioenergy research.


Ihinger Hof site

  • 251 ha in size
  • altitude of 460 m–520 m above sea level
  • long-term precipitation of 690 mm
    from April until September 423 mm precipitation
  • average annual temperature of 7.9° C
    average annual temperature of 13.1° C
  • developing tomorrow’s agriculture in the context of global competition: researchers at Ihinger Hof use smart farming to test the efficiency and environmental friendliness of crop cultivation
  • Focuses on projects in crop science and agricultural engineering

Further information can be found on the website of the Agricultural Experiment Station.