During the European ACE-EX – Agriculture Circular Economy Expert meeting, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, we spoke with František Zvěřina in Brno. He serves as president and head of crop production at ZD Dešov, an agricultural cooperative based in the Třebíč district of the Czech Republic. His story offers a vivid example of how farming can move towards more sustainable and innovative practices.
ZD Dešov manages over 1,500 hectares of arable land and 155 hectares of permanent grassland, producing cereals, rapeseed, poppies, maize, soybeans and forage, alongside cattle farming for both milk and meat. The cooperative made a significant step towards a circular economy by installing a biogas plant. This strategic investment reduced energy dependence, converted livestock and crop waste into resources, and created a production cycle that reuses everything.
Zvěřina explained how the biogas plant sits at the centre of an innovative system for managing resources. They feed crop leftovers and waste from cattle sheds into the plant to produce electricity and heat. This approach provides the cooperative with solid energy self-sufficiency, lowers operating costs, and reduces overall emissions, demonstrating how waste can become a valuable asset.
The ACE-EX project, which highlights stories like Dešov’s, aims to disseminate these practices by training a new kind of professional: an expert in circular economy processes for agriculture.