Dr. Zoltán Gergácz

I have been working in agriculture for 33 years, 20 of them in animal nutrition and digestion. I have often asked myself the question: if this crop that has made animals sick is not going to the feed mill, but to the mill, what happens to the human body?!

Managing thousands of hectares of farms, I have had to recognise that our tillage, nutrient management and crop protection technologies are rapidly degrading our farmland. These damaging processes are exacerbated by increasing climatic anomalies (heat waves, droughts, gale-force winds, torrential rains, etc.). That's why I started using PM and regenerative crop production, data- and lab-based decision making, precision technologies, in a large-scale farm. We have been able to dramatically increase the number of crops grown, in line with market opportunities. 17 crops were harvested in 2024.

My observations and experience are in line with the literature that human health is also strongly affected by soil degradation. I report this in three areas: 1) the decline in the nutritional value of the crops we grow, 2) the depletion of the human microbiome through the destruction of soil microorganisms, and 3) mycotoxicoses, which have serious consequences for humans and animals. The latter is particularly relevant in view of the aflatoxin contamination of the 2024 maize crop.

We are looking for new ways in applied technologies, in market processes, searching for ways of economic survival through the production of healthy food. Meanwhile, we make mistakes, like everyone else! But I am happy to share my experiences, good and bad, with anyone, and I would expect others to do the same. That is how we will learn and move forward!

The production of food is a matter of trust, which cannot be overridden by the profit motive, but farmers and their companies still have to make a living. This is what makes this challenge difficult, and at the same time beautiful, by valuing the PROFESSIONAL.

Dr. Zoltán Gergácz, Agricultural Engineer, PhD, MBA