On February 14th and 15th, the Fruit Growing Experimental Association of Altes Land e.V. hosted its annual Fruit Growing Days in Jork. At the heart of Altes Land, around 200 exhibitors met with fruit growers and other interested parties from the industry. Despite the omnipresent challenges in German and European fruit growing, the mood during the two-day professional event was quite uplifting.
Keen interest at the Palm Landtechnik booth. The Jork-based company was represented as a sub-exhibitor at a joint booth.
Increased interest in automation
On Wednesday in particular, the first day of the fair, the exhibitor space was, as usual, full. Overall, visitor numbers were estimated to be on par with last year. On Thursday, German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir was present: He spoke with exhibitors and visitors after a tour of the grounds. "There was good interest in innovations and existing machines, and we had some good conversations. At our booth, the new defoliation device model 555-F Butterfly by OLMI srl was particularly introduced. The device removes leaves from the trees, thereby allowing more light to reach the fruits, resulting in redder apples," says Palm Landmaschinen.
Due to cost increases, many fruit producers are currently uncertain, the management of Palm Landmaschinen has observed. "A major issue is the shortage of skilled workers and automation to counteract this shortage. Accordingly, we note a keen interest in automation. After all, automation is supposed to take over the tasks for which there are currently no or insufficient workers."
André van der Wiel (l) and a colleague from Fruit Security
'Fruit growing industry looks forward positively'
In addition to numerous visitors from the surrounding Altes Land and Schleswig-Holstein, representatives from the Netherlands and Scandinavia were present in Jork as well. "The first day was noticeably better attended than last year. The second day, on the other hand, was significantly quieter," says André van der Wiel of Fruit Security, an internationally active industry supplier in the field of protection solutions for fruit growing. "We had many interesting discussions about fruit tree materials and various covering solutions. Thus, the mood was predominantly positive, and it is noticeable that many producers are willing to make investments or have already invested."
Right: Jork-based company A&P Service hosted a machine demonstration at its headquarters.
Despite increases in pear and cherry production, the apple remains the flagship of local agriculture in Altes Land, Van der Wiel reports. "Outdoor demonstrations in agricultural technology, machines, and accessories were ongoing. Personally, the open and family character continues to define the North German Fruit Growing Days. That's why we are already looking forward to the next edition on February 12th and 13th, 2025."
The booth of fruit growing supplier VOEN Vöhringer
'An uncertain future'
Contrary to his colleagues, Rainer Weiß from the South German fruit growing supplier VOEN Vöhringer sees the situation differently. "In my opinion, there were fewer visitors this year compared to last year. The conclusion of the present exhibitors was accordingly mixed: Some were partially satisfied, but some were not. There were also slightly fewer exhibitors and accordingly a few empty gaps in the tent. In the outdoor area, tent 6 was completely missing. Otherwise, a lot revolves around an uncertain future for fruit growing operations, although prices last year were not so bad overall."
For more information:
www.palm-landmaschinen.de
www.fruitsecurityholland.com/de
www.voencoveringsystems.com
www.ap-service.de