Comment – Planes, trains and automobiles

I managed to combine several of my favourite things this week, a train, some planes and some driving.

Attending the DLG Feldtage in Germany has been on my professional bucket list for quite some time, and this week, with an industry colleague, we managed to tick it off.

The DLG should be congratulated for their efforts. Despite German agriculture languishing in the doldrums in terms of profitability, and facing similar input headwinds and a less than optimal political climate, the mood was surprisingly upbeat.

One of my tasks was to act as a judge for the Field Robot Event, which, for the uninitiated, is an international student competition, which has been running for over 20 years now. This was a great opportunity to see how young people are immersed in technology, and despite being in competing teams can work together to achieve a common goal. Have a look here for more details.

The Feldtage organisers reckoned that over the course of three days (gates open at 7am mind),  the final attendance was around 13,400 trade visitors from 48 countries over the three-day event (16–18 June 2026).

DLG also reported more than 1,800 exhibitor, partner and industry representatives per day from 341 exhibiting organisations across 21 countries. The international share of visitors exceeded 11%. It worth noting that the 2024 edition attracted over 20,000 visitors. This is a sign of the times.

As a reluctant participant in numerous slow moving traffic lanes to UK events, I can say that we sailed into the car park at full speed. Very slick.

Elsewhere, and now that the fertiliser has been purchased and the red diesel tank is full, the fuel price is finally dropping.Thank goodness.

Have a good week.

Andy