PotatoEurope 2022 will be held on the Rittergut Bockerode estate near Hanover from September 7 to 8. Over 220 exhibitors from Germany and abroad will be on hand to inform visitors about the latest technology and innovations.

The event will be focusing on relevant topics such as ‘Smart Potato Farming’, ‘Intercropping and Greening of Furrow Dykes in Potato Production’, or ‘On-Farm Potato Processing and Marketing’, for example. Make use of this opportunity to extend your know-how for successful potato production.

Dazzling Visitors with Machinery Demonstrations

Four different cultivars planting machines, six mechanical weed control machines (hoes and harrows), thirteen potato harvesters, five loading lines, and six manufacturers with trailers and dumpers for transport will be seen in action during PotatoEurope 2022.

The range of machines and technology on display at the grounds includes everything required for successful potato cultivation, from preparation for cultivation, planting, and care technology – whether mechanical or the most recent crop protection technology – to harvesting, processing, and storage.

The following manufacturers will be taking part in the machinery demonstrations (status on August 8):

Potato planting machines:
•ALL-IN-ONE GmbH (3 machines)
•Imants B.V. Landbouwmachinefabriek

Mechanical weed control:
•APV Kompetenz-Center Nord GmbH
•AVR bvba
•Einböck GmbH
•Grimme Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG
•LEMKEN GmbH & Co.KG
•Vegniek BV

Potato harvesters:
•AVR bvba (4 machines)
•DEWULF NV (3 machines)
•Grimme Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG (3 machines)
•ROPA Fahrzeug- u. Maschinenbau GmbH (3 machines)

Loading:
•AVR bvba
•Bijsma Herkules
•DEWULF NV
•Grimme Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG
•Grünhagen Lohnunternehmen GmbH & Co KG

Transport:
•Josef Brettmeister Metall- und Fahrzeugbau
•JOSKIN S.A.
•Krampe Fahrzeugbau GmbH
•Maschinenfabrik Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG

•Peter Kröger GmbH
•Rudolph & Sohn GmbH Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau

Over 245 exhibitors from 15 countries have registered to attend PotatoEurope 2022 in the areas of breeding, fertilization, crop protection, agricultural machinery, and processing. As a result, exhibitor numbers are comparable to the all-time high set in 2018.

Focus on Direct Farm Sales

In collaboration with its expert partner Vereinigung Norddeutscher Direktvermarkter (VND; Association of Northern German Direct Marketers) e.V., the event organizer’s focus this year will be on direct farm sales with the special feature ‘On-Farm Processing and Marketing.’

The ‘On-Farm Processing and Marketing’ special feature will cover essential know-how for selling produce directly from the farm: storage, cleaning, packaging, further processing, and marketing.

Innovative ideas for selling and marketing the farm’s potatoes, as well as branding and advertising tips, will be presented. The 2022 special feature has already drawn a large number of companies eager to present their farm solutions, which range from sorting and cleaning technology to packaging and processing technology, vending machines, and online sales platforms.

DLG’s special feature at PotatoEurope 2022 will act as a face-to-face venue for expert dialogue among farmers engaged in farm retailing. The Vereinigung Norddeutscher Direktvermarkter e. V. (VND) member farms will be on hand to provide interested visitors with advice.

More success stories and practical tips on getting the farm shop off to a good start await interested visitors at the DLG-Special ‘On-Farm Processing and Marketing’, tent hall Z, stand A24.

Smart Potato Farming

The Special Smart Potato Farming held at Stand GE08 and stand GE14 shows the variety of digital and technical innovations at different places of the PotatoEurope 2022 exhibition. Once at the partners DKE (agrirouter) – stand GE08 and at the stand of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture – stand on grass (GE14) with two plots. Furthermore, “smart” technologies and services will be presented at many exhibitor stands.

In the joint tent GE08 experts from our partner, DKE (agrirouter), and other technology companies are waiting for your questions about future technologies and will discuss practical solutions for agronomic issues with the visitors.

Adjacent to the joint stand is a demo area. There, discussion rounds with demonstrations take place 3 times a day – 11.00 AM, 1.00 PM, and 3.00 PM onwards. The focus is on two topics – potato harvesting without a driver and smart crop protection techniques.

Harvey.one will be presented in one section of the demo area, which is a semi-autonomous machine designed for harvesting sensitive root crops. It is a self-driving, single-row harvesting unit that navigates independently on the field using a combination of GPS information and optical sensors.

The machine concept is already used for harvesting seed potatoes and sweet potatoes and is continuously developed and expanded. As part of a research project, several units are connected to build a robot swarm. The harvesters will then communicate with each other and efficiently split the tasks of a harvesting scenario amongst themselves.

Smart crop protection technologies will be presented in the second sub-area. Crop protection technology has developed rapidly in recent years. Various sensor technologies, spot spraying, or multiple nozzle carriers are mentioned as examples in this context.

A winter wheat field with potato overgrowth is shown, which is becoming an increasingly frequent arable farming problem due to climate change. Many potato farmers know the problem from their own experience.

Furthermore, there are the first crop protection sprayers that can recognize and differentiate plants on their own. This makes it possible to distinguish between crops and weeds while driving and also to treat them precisely. Both methods require a suitable herbicide, of course, whose prospects are significantly improved by the new technologies.

“Sustainable potato production with Smart Farming” is the focus of the joint booth of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, the Dethlingen Experimental Station, and the Seed Producers Association in Lower Saxony. Potato-growing farms are facing enormous challenges. Society’s demands on agriculture have changed, as has the trade. The farms have to adapt to the new conditions.

The use of pesticides and fertilizers is to be reduced, areas are to be increasingly used for biotope and species protection. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to recruit workers.

New -digital- techniques and a deeper understanding of biological interrelationships provide solutions for these requirements and must be rapidly introduced into practice. The entire production chain from variety selection, fertilization, and plant protection to storage and marketing must be considered. The individual building blocks must be combined to form a coherent overall system for the potato as a foodstuff.

Intercropping and Greening of Furrow Dikes in Potato Production

At the GC50 stand, all potato growers who are interested in intercropping and greening before and after potato harvesting and who are looking for solutions to grow their potatoes CAP-compliant and still profitable can find interesting information.

Suitable types and varieties of intermediate crops and different varieties of incorporation are shown in trial fields (opposite the booth GC50). Furthermore, we show the furrow dikes with and without vegetation. The Society for Conservation Tillage (GKB – Gesellschaft für konservierende Bodenbearbeitung e.V.) supports us as a specialized partner.

Protecting the soil places high demands on the potato farmer because the tuber wants to grow undisturbed and be harvested without damage. This often requires a great deal of soil preparation, which compromises the natural resilience of the soil and increases its vulnerability. Erosion, nutrient and water losses, and consequently reduced soil fertility can be the result.

This is where intercrops come in, as they provide a soil cover between the harvest of the previous crop and the planting of the potatoes and can therefore limit the above-mentioned risk potential. They can also be used specifically for biological plant protection (e.g. nematode trapping).

Over 220 companies from the areas of breeding, fertilization, crop protection, agricultural machinery, and processing have signed up to exhibit at the venue for European potato professionals. DLG is organizing the 2022 open-air trade fair together with the Union der Deutschen Kartoffelwirtschaft (UNIKA: German Potato Industry Association), its technology partner CASE IH and the Lower Saxony Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.

PotatoEurope 2022 will be open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM on 7 and 8 September 2022. A day ticket purchased at the fairground is priced at EUR24 with online tickets purchased in advance priced at EUR19, a reduction of EUR12. Children aged 12 and below enter for free. Further admission information, including groups, and DLG members is available at https://www.potatoeurope.de/en/visit/tickets.