At each site, crop rotation can be adjusted to achieve optimum yields and soil conservation with energy crops such as rapeseed. Rapeseed can only be grown on the same area every three to four year – the risk of monocultures is therefore precluded.

When energy crops are grown for biogas and biofuels it is also necessary to comply with the cross compliance requirements of the EU. These specify a range of sustainability criteria which each farmer who receives funds from the EU must comply with. Therefore, an excessive proportion of maize in the crop rotation is already prevented today. According to German specifications, a range of agricultural law provisions must be adhered to within the scope of "good agricultural practice e.g. the Plant Protection Law, the Federal Soil Conservation Law and the Fertiliser Regulations.

These guidelines and the necessary crop rotation forbid the permanent cultivation of the same crop variety. Out of their own economic and ecological interests alone a farmer would not endanger their most valuable possession – high-yield soil – through improper cultivation.

As interest in cultivation for bioenergy increases, innovative cultivation systems particularly sensible in ecological terms are also spreading, e.g.

• Mixed crop cultivation: Energy crops such as maize and sunflowers are simultaneously grown in the same area, for use in the biogas plant.

• Two-crop systems: A winter and a summer crop are grown during a year, e.g. winter triticale and sweet sorghum, with which a maximum biomass yield is achieved. At the same time, herbicides and soil erosion can be avoided.

Example of cereal-biased crop rotation in North Germany each with annual crops

2011 barley

·         Bread and brewing grain

·         Feedstuffs

·         Biogas production

 2010 rapeseed

·         Vegetable oil

·         Biodiesel

·         Feedstuffs

Rapeseed encourages humus synthesis, improves the soil structure (carrying capacity, oxygen content), fixes nitrogen and prevents plant diseases in cereals.

2011 wheat

·         Feedstuff

·         Bread grain

·         Bioethanol