Brandenburg farmer in the final: Ceres Award for sustainable milk production!

Brandenburg farmer in the final: Ceres Award for sustainable milk production!

In the fascinating world of agriculture, Marcel Schallmea from Drehm (Spree-Neiße) is the only finalist from Brandenburg at the renowned Ceres Award 2025. This competition, organized by Deutsche Agricultural publisher , has received over 200 applications this year. From these, 21 finalists were selected, which are celebrated for their outstanding achievements in the areas of sustainability, animal welfare and innovative strength.

The highlight for Schallmea was the presentation of his “Spreewald-Alm” company in front of the jury on Tuesday. His company holds the biggest dairy farm of Tyrolean gray cattle in Germany, a breed that he discovered in the Alps during his time. Although this cows remain behind conventional breeds in the milk yield, their high -quality ingredients ensure excellent cheese production. A real treasure for the cheese lovers!

sustainability at the center of

In addition to the quality of the milk, the longevity of the cows is also an important feature of its company. While conventional dairy cows often only live for 5 to 6 years, Schallmea's animals achieve a proud age of up to 15 years. This speaks not only for good animal welfare, but also for intelligent breeding decisions.

The products of the "Spreewald-Alm"-cheese, curd cheese and yogurt-are marketed directly at weekly markets, events and in catering. The jury will visit the 21 nominated finalists by the end of August and the winners will be announced on October 29 in Berlin. The Ceres Award, which has been awarded since 2014, is endowed with a total of 27,000 euros.

The competition does not sleep

and Marcel Schallmea is not the only one who is in the race for the title “Farmer or Agriculture of 2025”. Austrian agriculture also has strong representatives to offer. So Lisa Zanker from Bruck a. d. Leitha in the young farmer category. Their operation was almost completely converted to organic standards and is particularly characterized by the farm's own slaughter and direct marketing of "Jahner's suckling pigs".

Lisa Zanker and her husband have taken over the shops of the Aussiedlerhof Jahner since 2022 and manage around 40 sows, with 90% of the feed coming from their own operation. Their innovative strength and sustainable management, just like at Schallmea, are the key factors for their nomination for prestigious Ceres Award. It is also evaluated by the jury on site before the winners are announced.

The winners of the Ceres Awards 2025, which is awarded in its twelfth edition, are therefore faced with an exciting challenge. The demanding criteria for the evaluation - sustainability, animal welfare and economic stability - are not only an incentive, but also a responsibility for the future orientation of agriculture in German -speaking countries. We can be excited to see who can accept the awards in Berlin on October 29th!