With around 850 participants and an exceptionally wide range of topics, this year's LAND.TECHNIK congress provided numerous impulses for the further development of sustainable agricultural technology. Directly afterwards, AGRITECHNICA 2025, the world's leading trade fair for agricultural technology, brought together almost half a million visitors. ATB was represented at both events in a variety of ways - with presentations, exhibits and international collaborations.
Landtechnik Congress: Strong response, clear future topics
"This year's Landtechnik Congress impressively demonstrated how the industry is moving between the conflicting priorities of larger, more powerful machines and smaller, more flexible robotic solutions, as well as the requirements of increasing biological and technical diversification," says Prof. Dr Cornelia Weltzien, head of department at ATB and chair of the conference programme committee. "Automation remains a central topic - at the same time, the importance of holistic solutions is growing. The conference was a great success. The variety of topics and the intensive discussion show how future-orientated agricultural technology can be and how research can contribute to this". As usual, ATB participated with a wide range of presentations.
A special highlight of the conference was the Young Professionals Network Event, which was co-organised and run by the two young ATB scientists Harsh Sahu and Tuany Hoffmann. ATB was also heavily involved in the organisation: Director Prof. Dr Barbara Sturm opened the conference in her role as Immediate Past President of EurAgEng, and Prof. Dr Cornelia Weltzien took over the chair of the programme committee for the first time - further evidence of ATB's close involvement in the agricultural engineering scientific community.
Agritechnica 2025: Innovations, dialogue and international visibility
In Hall 24 of Agritechnica, ATB presented current research work ranging from weed robotics and peatland strategies to precise soil management at a joint stand with the agricultural engineering department of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg:
- JaetRobi: Automated, herbicide-free weed control using image recognition and energy-saving laser technology.
- Paludiculture / WetNetBB: Paths to sustainable, rewetted peatland utilisation - with model and demonstration projects, biomass paths and regional value creation.
- I4S - Intelligence for SOIL: Integrated system for site-specific control of soil fertility - including new soil sensor technology, multi-sensor platforms and decision support systems.
- Data Science in ATB: AI-supported approaches from pest detection to data-based models for crop production and bioeconomy.
International cooperation strengthened: MoU with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
A highlight was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between ATB and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on 10 November - in the presence of Federal Minister Alois Rainer.
Well networked in Hall 24
Also in Hall 24, with the Science Campus and the DLG Expert Stage, numerous partner institutions of the ATB presented themselves - including universities, resort research institutions and players from the Agrotech Valley in Lower Saxony. This demonstrates ATB's close integration into the innovation landscape of agricultural technology. Joint initiatives with the University of Osnabrück, such as the JointLab KI & DS, were very well received at Agritechnica and emphasise the importance of networked research and cooperation for the further development of digital, circular and sustainable bioeconomic systems.