These Öko-Feldtage were once again very special. FiBL Projekte GmbH, in close cooperation with the Grieshaber & Schmid farm, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Food, Rural Areas and Consumer Protection (MLR) and SÖL, showed that such a large-scale event can also run smoothly on a private farm. Paulina Gundlach and Carsten Veller report on the details in an interview.
Paulina Gundlach, Project Lead – Communications & Human Resources
Carsten Veller, Project Lead – Program & Network
Matthias Saathoff, Project Lead – Event Operations & Procurement (on parental leave)
There were quite a few innovations in 2023: The first time a private farm and not an experimental farm, the first time in Baden-Württemberg. Was that a risk?
Carsten Veller: We were convinced that it could work. How good, we were simply thrilled! This was only possible thanks to the excellent cooperation and full commitment of the Grieshaber & Schmid farm and the MLR. As a team, we presented the main topics of the farm and the state of Baden-Württemberg with regard to organic farming in many attractive offers for our predominantly regional visitors. Whether irrigation, agrophotovoltaics, robotics in chopping technology or modern management in dairy farming: the Öko-Feldtage offered pure practice. Visitors were also able to obtain comprehensive information from almost 350 exhibitors, including all the important associations, university departments and project presentations.
Keyword changeover: Have the current market turbulence and its consequences been felt, i.e. has there been less interest in changeover offers?
Paulina Gundlach: At the Öko-Feldtage, there was often talk of the slow growth in conversion figures. However, with a positive view to the future and the vision: we can do it. This was the subject of heated discussion on the stage at the “Market and Politics” forum. In times that are not easy for organic farming, the Öko-Feldtage thus had a very important function: they showed 350 exhibitors and 12,000 visitors that they are on the right track with organic farming, even if the upward trend is not always steep. A third of our visitors, who are also farmers, farm conventionally. Even if not all of them want to switch to organic for a long time: They are interested in environmentally friendly methods. Those interested in converting found a huge information platform at the Öko-Feldtage and many offers from associations and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ökologischer Landbau, which were actively used.
What were the thematic highlights from your point of view?
Carsten Veller : The heavy rainfall events and heat waves this summer once again showed the effects of the climate crisis, which was a recurring theme throughout many of the events at the Öko-Feldtage 2023. Farmers are looking for solutions, many of which they were able to see in condensed form at the Öko-Feldtage. Once again, the special area where hoes had to prove their skills in a celery crop, even on sloping terrain, was a crowd puller. Around 100 guided tours on topics ranging from agroforestry to soil fertility, special crops such as poppies, chickpeas and millet to organic breeding were sometimes so full that some visitors had to be put off until the next event. There was always a large crowd in the barn, where Reinhard Grieshaber and other experts presented the farm’s cattle husbandry, including preparation for grazing.
Are you satisfied with the outcome of the Öko-Feldtage 2023?
Carsten Veller: We are very satisfied with the further development of the Öko-Feldtage, with the numbers of exhibitors and visitors and the very special atmosphere. The feedback we received from the MLR was positive. This first event in Baden-Württemberg was a great source of inspiration and a kind of lighthouse project for organic farming, but also for agriculture as a whole in the state. The optimal cooperation with the private farm Grieshaber & Schmid at the new location could only work because three generations and three families run the farm together and thus the responsibility and integration of the Öko-Feldtage into everyday farm life rested on many shoulders. This close connection to practice made the Öko-Feldtage 2023 new and special.
Paulina Gundlach: The evaluation shows that exhibitors (72%) and visitors (91%) were (completely) satisfied with the event and are very likely to return in two years’ time. 81% of exhibitors were (very) satisfied with the exchange and discussions with visitors. We were particularly pleased to see that a large number of young people attended the Öko-Feldtage, including pupils, students and young farmers, who used the Öko-Feldtage as a welcome platform for networking. The same applies to women in agriculture.
What do you take away for the planning of the Öko-Feldtage 2025?
Paulina Gundlach: Our basic concept of the Öko-Feldtage has proven itself: The farm where they take place is always closely interwoven with the main focus of the event. In 2025 in Saxony, everything at Wassergut Canitz will revolve around water and agriculture. The farm has been a subsidiary of Leipziger Wasserwerke since 1994 and aims to protect the drinking water resources in the waterworks’ catchment area. We can never transfer the experience we have gained at previous Öko-Feldtage 1:1. However, they help enormously in creatively implementing the new topics at the new location. And we definitely need to preserve the wonderful festival atmosphere of the Öko-Feldtage. We are looking forward to the implementation!