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On 7 and 8 September 2022, PotatoEurope, the outdoor exhibition for potato cultivation and machinery, will take place at the Rittergut Bockerode estate in Springe-Mittelrode near Hanover, Germany. The trade fair will see more than 180 exhibitors from across the entire spectrum of breeding, fertilization, crop protection, agricultural technology and processing at the venue for European potato professionals.

Organized by the DLG (German Agricultural Society) together with the German Potato Industry Association (Union der Deutschen Kartoffelwirtschaft e.V. – UNIKA), technology partner CASE IH and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Potato Europe is held in Germany every four years.

Always a highlight for visitors, the practical machinery demonstrations with live commentary at PotatoEurope will this year include the latest technology in the areas of planting, mechanical weed control, and lifting and loading. Mechanical weed control is increasingly becoming a viable alternative for conventional potato growers.

The special feature “On-Farm Potato Processing and Marketing” is all about storing, cleaning, packing, processing and marketing on one’s own farm. Innovative ideas for marketing the farm’s own tubers are presented, including branding and advertising.

The special feature is of interest to exhibiting companies offering on-farm direct sales solutions to potato growers, from sorting and cleaning technology, packaging and processing technology to vending machines and online platforms. The DLG’s technical partner for the special feature is the Vereinigung Norddeutscher Direktvermarkter e.V. (NordHöfe – an association of North German farms selling directly to the consumer).

The “Smart Potato Farming” special feature will present to visitors the digital and autonomous solutions that they can expect to see in potato production over the next few years. Market-ready innovations will be presented, as well as products that have successfully completed initial field tests.

Offering the opportunity to discuss future techniques and solutions with experts, the Smart Potato Farming special feature will explore the automatic control of machine parts and autonomous working machines, as well as software that regulates the transfer of data to the machine and manages  inter-machine communication. DLG’s partners for this special feature are DKE-Data GmbH and the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture.

Aimed at potato growers exploring catch crops and greening between harvest of the previous crops and the planting, the special feature “Intercropping and greening of furrow dikes in potato production” will present suitable intercrop strategies as well as solutions for CAP-compliancy while still operating profitably.

Exhibitors offering catch crop varieties along with technical support during cultivation, as well as manufacturers of machinery and equipment for intercropping will be presenting in this area.

Suitable types and varieties of catch crops and different types of tillage methods will be presented on trial fields alongside cross dams with and without greening. The special feature, which focuses on erosion prevention and biodiversity, is supported by the Gesellschaft für konservierende Bodenbearbeitung e.V. (GKB – The Society for Conservation Tillage) as a specialist partner.

Located some 30 km southwest of the center of Hanover, the estate of Rittergut Bockerode has also hosted PotatoEurope in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. The international airport Hanover-Langenhagen and the ICE train station, Hannover-Hauptbahnhof, are both directly connected with the local train via a shuttle and thus offer convenient travel options, also from outside Germany.

PotatoEurope 2022 will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 7 and 8 September 2022. A day ticket purchased at the fair ground is priced at 24 Euros with online tickets purchased in advance cost 19 Euros, a reduction of 12 Euros. Children aged 12 and below enter for free. Further information on admission, including groups, DLG members is available at https://www.potatoeurope.de/en/visit/tickets.

Information about PotatoEurope 2022: https://www.potatoeurope.de/en/

For specialist information, please contact Dr. Wilfried Wolf on [email protected]