1. October 1987
Call for Professorship for Organic Agriculture (C3) at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, Bonn

1988
Call for Professorship for ‘Biological Production Systems’ (C4) at the Justus-Liebig-University, Gießen

1989
Denial of the offered professorship for ‘Biological Production Systems’ (C4) at the Justus-Liebig-University, Gießen. Creation and Extension of ‘Organic Agriculture’ at the University of Bonn. Developing ‘Wiesengut’, Experimental farm for Organic Agriculture in Hennef, North-Rhine-Westfalia, Germany.

Juni 1992
Denial of the offered Professorship of ‘Agronomy’ (C4) at the Georg-August-University, Göttingen. Foundation of the ‘Institute of Organic Agriculture’ at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, Bonn and Director of the same. Intensified third-party-fundraising: annual amount approx. 450.000-700.00 DM (230.000-358.000 €).

Intensified research activities: e.g. DFG-researcher group ‘Optimizing Strategies in Organic Farming’, OSIOL (6/94 to 6/2000), EU concerted action European ‘Network for Scientific Research Co-ordination in Organic Farming’ (94-99), EU-project ‘Strategies of Weed Control in Organic Farming’, WECOF (10/00 bis 10/04)

History of the Institute of Organic Agriculture

1985

Creating the research center ‘Inter-Departmental Center of Sustainable Agriculture’ (USL) at the Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn. Purchase of the agricultural farmstead Wiesengut/Hennef with funds of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, supported by the Minister of Environment, Regional Planning and Agriculture Klaus Matthiesen (†).

1986

Offering a Professorship for Organic Agriculture (C3) at the Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn.