Also, the soil could be conserved because this system prolonged the period when the soil was covered by crops. The introduction of livestock and legume forage also improved the fertility of the soil. In the village of Juehnde, a population of 770 people in 200 households farms 1,200 hectares, with 9 households practising dairy farming and raising about 400 head of cattle. The core of this concept is (1) supplying electric power and heat produced through cogeneration by biogas facilities, with the fuel obtained from energy crops cultivated on fallow land and night soil from livestock in the village, and (2) providing a regional heating resource by supplying woody biomass mainly for use as a supply of heat in the winter, with the fuel for this process obtained as thinned wood and pruned branches collected in the village.