The DLG-Feldtage, which took place from 12-14 June at the DLG's International Crop Production Center at Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt, was once again a showcase for new and modern crop production. The outdoor exhibition was organized by the DLG together with partners: Saxony-Anhalt's Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Energy and Allianz (Munich). Professional partners were Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (Agency for Renewable Resources), Union zur Förderung der Öl- und Proteinpflanzen (Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants) and Nordzucker AG.
“With more than 20,000 visitors, 1,800 of whom were from outside Germany, we were able to achieve a good result,” said the DLG's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Reinhard Grandke. The visitors, who were surveyed by an independent and specialized market research agency, were equally distributed from all regions of Germany: About a third of them were from the eastern federal states, a third from the north and west Germany and a third from the south and southwest Germany. The visitors from outside Germany came from 16 countries according to the independent survey, Poland was best represented, with farmers also travelling from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, Lithuania and Austria.
The main theme of this year's trade fair was “Crop production 2030 – Productivity. Innovations. Strategies.” Products and solutions from exhibitors and partners were presented under this theme that offered farmers guidance on their future production strategies. At present, farmers have to contend with a number of issues including resistance to pesticides and new regulations that prohibit the use of certain substances, as well as problems with limited crop rotations that employ too few different crops, biodiversity issues, and concerns about water and soil conservation. The 400 exhibitors from 20 countries offered visitors a range of options that will enable farmers to respond to these challenges.
The digital advances in precision farming presented by exhibitors, as well as state-of-the-art processes that bring a new dimension of predictability to agriculture – such as planning machine paths and row crop patterns, accurate locations of sown row crops and precise mechanical weeding solutions – support farmers by improving existing procedures, making them easier to control and more precise, faster and safer.
The visitors also expressed great interest in the machinery demonstrations at DLG-Feldtage 2018, particularly this year's new mechanical weed control section that featured machines that offer mechanical methods to control weeds. These could, in future, contribute to reducing the use of chemical treatments.
The special feature on organic farming that premiered at this year's DLG-Feldtage was also appreciated by those attending the event. The preliminary visitor survey showed that nearly 25 percent of visitors were interested in this part of the exhibition.
The survey results of visitors and exhibitors also show the DLG-Feldtage has confirmed its position as the top meeting place for crop production farmers in Germany and neighboring countries.
The next DLG-Feldtage takes place from 16-18 June 2020 on the Brockhof Estate in Erwitte/Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia.
