New North American expert network targets transatlantic machinery and technology exchange

7th October 2026 webmaster

A new expert network is being established to strengthen links between agricultural businesses, machinery and technology specialists in Europe and North America.

The German Agricultural Society (DLG) has formally established its Regional Expert Committee North America, bringing together farmers, agribusiness representatives and specialists in markets and digitalisation from Germany, the United States and Canada.

The voluntary committee was officially approved by the DLG Management Board on 31 August 2026. It is chaired by farm digitalisation adviser Konrad Harbort, with support from DLG’s Head of Farm Management Erik Guttulsröd and Ulrike Schmidt-Machinek, Managing Director of DLG Markets North America.

The initiative is intended to provide a permanent platform for transatlantic exchange, identifying developments in agriculture on both sides of the Atlantic and considering how emerging technologies and management approaches can be applied across different markets.

DLG says the initiative reflects the growing importance of North America to its international activities, following the establishment of DLG Markets North America and its expansion into Canadian and US agricultural events.

Machinery and digitalisation in focus

The committee’s discussions are expected to cover developments across both crop and livestock production, with particular attention to digital technologies, artificial intelligence and precision agriculture.

Its third meeting, held in Chicago in May 2026 before the committee was formally established, considered farm management during a period of geopolitical uncertainty. Rising input and energy costs, machinery prices, supply-chain disruption and changing market conditions were among the issues discussed.

As part of the meeting, delegates visited the John Deere Urban Headquarters in Chicago to examine future developments in agricultural machinery digitalisation, as well as the Chicago Board of Trade and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Center for Digital Agriculture.

DLG says the discussions highlighted similarities between European and North American agriculture despite differences in farm size, market structures and regulatory frameworks.

Improving the efficiency of fertiliser and crop protection inputs, together with greater use of digital technologies, artificial intelligence and precision agriculture, were identified as potential responses to increasing market volatility and resource pressures.

Next meeting at EuroTier

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled to take place during EuroTier 2026 in Hanover from 10–13 November.

The theme will be “Intelligence in Animal Farming – How AI Is Transforming Livestock Production in North America and Europe”, reflecting the increasing focus on artificial intelligence and data-driven technologies in livestock production.

The initiative forms part of DLG’s wider expansion in North America. DLG Markets North America was established in Ontario in July 2024, following the acquisition of Canadian Dairy XPO. It has subsequently expanded its activities to include the Canadian Dairy Business Summit and American Dairy XPO in the United States.