Christian Kluge-Sammer has always been a Vogtlandian agriculturist at heart eventhough he studied far away and lived in the outskirts for a while.

The fog lays like a big cotton ball on the “Hohe Wache” close to Schönlind, the wind blows icy over the gently sloping hillsides. “That hardens you here”, says Christian Kluge-Sammer with a mischievious smile at the frozen faces of the city dwellers. Originally he wanted to show us the Burgstein area, in good weather you can see all the way to Plauen. And you can see his business, the Milchwirtschaft Dehles e.G. from the hilltop – it would have been a nice view. The 34 year old grew up in Schönlind. When he thinks about his homeland this beautiful view comes to his mind.

We talk about his experiences in New Zealand on the way back to the spacious stable complex. The agricultural work there is not as regulated as here in Germany. The qualified agricultural economist spent 9 months there as part of a trainee program by the German National Farmers’ Union. “It really is as beautiful as people say. When you get to stay longer, you can observe behind the scenes and notice that tourism and commercialization have entered this unspoiled nature.” Christian Kluge-Sammer spent a lot of time outside during his stay. Grain, corn and peas are cultivated, a large grassland and a seed treatment plant is maintained at the farm he worked on. About 300 red deer were grazing on the surrounding terrain.

You would think it was difficult to leave this much-praised part of the world. “That was never really a question”, replies the young agriculturist. “You do not have a social environment like here. I also had an interesting job offer from Dresden. But it was good for me to puddle in the mud for a while after studying. There I did not have any status attached to my degrees. In this respect I experienced it as my personal purification. That grounded me.” Back in Saxony in 2004 he took a job as director of a crop managing agricultural cooperative close to Radeberg. He was responsible for half of all the employees. Who knows how his future would have unfolded if the homeland did not call him back.

Christian practically inherited the peasant life: his father was manager at the agricultural production in Reuth. That is where Christian went to school and sometimes had to help in the afternoons, where he completed his civilian service and where he was able to maneuver the tractor being 11 years old. Growing up so rooted, you do not loose contact with friends and acquaintances. He found out about the vacant position of the managing director in Dehles just a stone’s throw from his hometown. “Then it all came together. I met my wife in 2007, she is from Plauen.”

It would be over-the-top to claim that Christian suffered from a constant home sickness while he was far away. Being an agriculturist he has a pragmatic view on life. “It is nice though to be back home”, he admits. “I used to play soccer in Weischlitz until 1999 – I started playing again last year. You get to see people from your adolescence and it doesn’t take long before you are an established part of the team again. And last fall I tried to cook my grandmother’s elderberry soup. It was close, but she must have prepared some details differently…”

About the Milchwirtschaft Dehles e.G.

Founded in 1991 as a successor farm to the LPG by Helmut Just, the cooperative currently employs 35 workers for the production of milk, plants and renewable energy. The associated 850 hectares of farmland is tilled with grain, corn and grass to feed the animals. The herd counts about 2,200 animals, half of them dairy cows. In 1999 operations at the biogas plant commenced which reaches an energy output of 2 million kWh per year with a fermenter volume of 1,800 m³ (exclusively their own cattle slurry) and thanks to the installed 250 kW thermal power station. The Milchwirtschaft Dehles maintains a canteen with freshly prepared, inexpensive home-style cooking for breakfast and lunch.

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