DLG (German Agricultural Society) will be one of the partners supporting the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Annual Congress, which takes place this year in Germany. The event alternates between IFAJ member countries, and takes on a theme chosen by the host nation. The focus at this year's Congress, which will be based in Bonn and takes place from 13th – 17th July, is Agriculture Made in Germany, with an emphasis on sustainability.

The 2016 Congress, which will gather agricultural journalists from more than 40 countries, will start with a pre-congress tour taking participants to the German capital of Berlin and the surrounding region. Following various presentations on bioenergy, the participants will visit DLG's International Crop Production Center (IPZ) in Bernburg-Strenzfeld, about 65 km north-west of Leipzig, in Saxony-Anhalt.

Covering around 650 hectares, this DLG facility conducts applied research on various trial plots, and is currently carrying out experiments on irrigation, tillage, crop rotations and fertilizer management. The focus areas of the center address the central challenges faced by agriculture and play a key role in sustainable, forward-looking and competitive agriculture – supporting DLG's mandate, which is to promote progress in farming.

Congress participants will then travel onto Bonn and the formal part of the event, which begins with a day of high-level presentations addressing the topic “Sustainable Agriculture made in Germany”. Expected speakers include: Germany's Federal Agriculture Minister, Christian Schmidt; the CEO of Bayer CropScience, Dr. Helmut Schramm; the Chairman of the Federal Organic Food Industry (BÖLW), Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein; the Chairman of the DLG-Test Center for Technology and Farm Inputs, and Vice President of DLG e.V., Hubertus Paetow; and Professor Dr. Ralf Pude from the University of Bonn and Hanka Mittelstädt, Business farmer. Dr. Schulze Pals, Editor of Top Agrar, will be moderating the discussions.

The following two days feature a choice of farm visits that will provide participants with an up-close and personal view of the region's agricultural economy. The journalists will be taken to typical mountain regions in and around Bonn and Cologne, as well as visiting farms in the Münsterland, Rhineland-Palatinate and both sides of the Rhine River.

Representatives from the DLG will be in attendance throughout the five-day 2016 IFAJ event, which will end with a choice of post-congress tours that will show participants even more aspects of Germany's agricultural industry.