Christoph Gröblinghoff (Chairman of the Fendt Management Board) opened the 2nd Fendt Sustainability Forum
Extreme weather events such as hailstorms, drought and heavy rainfall hit numerous regions across Germany in 2023. The result: destroyed fields and crop losses. It is precisely these weather extremes that will increase in the future and pose considerable challenges for farmers.
"So far, 2023 has been the warmest year since weather recordings began, and even a cold December won't change that," said Christoph Gröblinghoff, Chairman of the Fendt Management Board. "Farmers have been living with changing weather for centuries and will have to adapt to more extreme conditions. And we will be able to cope with that," he continued.
(from left) Wolfgang von Wolff-Metternich, Robert Schulz, Bernd Günther and Verena Hußmann report on the consequences of weather changes
Summer, sun, lost harvests
At this year's Fendt Sustainability Forum, farmers from different regions of Germany and technology experts reported on their solutions for dealing with weather changes and weather extremes, be it through new crops, different cultivation methods or adjustments to technology. This led to exciting discussions with the audience.
Meike Näkel runs the Meyer-Näkel winery in the Ahr valley together with her sister
When vines float away
Winemaker Meike Näkel gave an emotional account of the consequences of the flood in 2021 for her winery in the Ahr Valley: "In the end, we didn't even have a bucket or a pair of pruning shears left. Everything was lost and destroyed. The buildings were just ruins. We were cut off from the world for days, without water and electricity for weeks." With entrepreneurial courage and spirit, she reported on the reconstruction of the Ahr Valley and especially her vineyard, now at a higher altitude.
"Don't rely on old farming proverbs"
Jörg Kachelmann (weather expert) asked the audience about well-known farming proverbs about the weather
Weather expert Jörg Kachelmann chose an entertaining introduction to his keynote speech on the possibilities of modern forecasting methods by disproving old farming proverbs about weather. Together with the specialised insurance company Vereinigte Hagel, he is currently building up a denser network of measuring stations in order to record data precisely and locally and thus refine forecasts. The 1,000th of these measuring stations is now located on the Fendt factory premises.
More about the new weather station: Inhouse weather station for Fendt
Impressions from the Fendt Sustainability Forum 2023
