On 3 and 4 September 2014 the international potato sector will be on show in Germany for the third time after 2006 and 2010. The top event for potato professionals, PotatoEurope 2014, is once again being held at the Rittergut Bockerode Estate in Springe-Mittelrode near Hanover.
It is being organized by DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – German Agricultural Society) in cooperation with Union der Deutschen Kartoffelwirtschaft (UNIKA), Germany’s potato organization.
Booking figures are excellent with so far 170 exhibitors from twelve countries already registered. This number is around ten percent above the comparable level last time round in 2010. All the prominent companies in the fields of breeding, fertilizing, plant protection and machinery and equipment for production and processing and for trade will be offering a unique information programme covering all aspects of the potato on an area covering altogether 35 ha.
The strong international participation in PotatoEurope 2014 is most encouraging. Nearly 70 exhibitors and thus around 40 percent come from outside Germany, with the largest contingent hailing from the Netherlands (34). Companies from Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom and the USA will also be represented. The excellent stand booking figures confirm the ambition of this special event to be this year’s international platform for the entire potato sector. Important impulses for modern potato production and processing will be generated at PotatoEurope 2014.
Ideas, impulses and innovations – Platform for the international potato experts
PotatoEurope 2014 will be the international information platform for the “potato” value chain, including potato breeders, producers of farm inputs, farmers, consultants and extension workers, and traders. Under the slogan “Ideas, Impulses and Innovations”, potato farmers will find the latest information for producing high-grade products at first hand. They will also be given powerful impetus for advancing the position of potatoes with consumers and unlocking new sales potential. Potato cultivation is marked by a high level of intensity in production, processing and marketing. The producers of table and industrial potatoes move in free markets so that competiveness is determined solely by supply and demand.
Concept “Open-air exhibition with trial plots, machinery demonstrations and discussion forums”
The concept of PotatoEurope 2014 as a special event revolves around the entire world of the potato with trial plots, exhibition stands on grass and in the tent hall, and machinery demonstrations. Topical varieties and refined fertilizer and plant protection strategies will be shown on the trial plots. This will give farmers key recommendations for potato cropping in the coming years. On the campus site the programme will be rounded off by stands on the grass and in a large tent hall where exhibitors will be showing the full range of products and services, from breeding through production and processing, right up to marketing.
The industry, academic and research institutions, agricultural organizations and associations will all be represented there and provide information about varieties, cultivation methods, cultivation advisory services, potato treatment and storage, as well as questions of management, marketing and other services.
Machinery demonstrations focus on planting, lifting and loading
The heart of this year’s PotatoEurope will be the machinery demonstrations. In view of the strong interest shown by visitors, DLG has enlarged the demonstration area to almost 30 hectares, nearly twice the size of the space allocated at the last event in 2010. The machinery being demonstrated by machinery and equipment suppliers also covers a wide range.
The equipment being shown in practical use comprises:
- 9 planting machines
- 14 single, double and four-row potato harvesters, both self-propelled and trailed lifters, with a focus on “gentle tuber treatment and lifting performance”
- loading lines from various manufacturers in a live comparison
Potato field that will be used for the harvesting demonstrations (end of June)
Information Centre “Crate handling and storage logistics”
How can you optimize labour and business management procedures in potato storage intake? What practicable and forward-looking solutions are there to the issue of traceability? Answers to these and many other questions will be given at the Information Centre that DLG is organizing jointly with exhibitors at PotatoEurope 2014.
The Information Centre will also be presenting innovative technical solutions for process management:
- from product acceptance,
- crate filling and storage intake,
- through logistic systems and warehouse management systems,
- right up to retrieval from storage.
“Getting to grips with marketing – Risk management in practice”
This is the title of a lecture event at PotatoEurope 2014 with top-flight speakers from the industry who will be talking about:
- global trends in potato production
- initial forecast for the market development for Germany in 2014
- options for risk management and securing incomes
- Attendance is free of charge for visitors at PotatoEurope 2014.
Event venue
The Rittergut Bockerode estate where PotatoEurope was held already in 2006 and 2010 is located near Springe, about 30 km south-west of Hanover‘s city centre. The Hanover-Langenhagen international airport and Hanover Central Station with ICE train services allow fast travel to the site, from outside Germany too. Potatoes for industrial use are cultivated on loess soils at the site.
Visitors from all over the world expected
In September the Bockerode estate will once again be the international forum and platform for “the potato industry”. In 2010 around one in three of the altogether 8,200 visitors came from outside Germany. DLG is currently registering keen interest shown by potato professionals from all over the world. For example, numerous delegations from many countries have already announced their intention to visit the event. DLG is expecting altogether some 10,000 visitors on the two days of PotatoEurope 2014.
