The EuroTier and EnergyDecentral 2024 trade fairs that took place in Hanover, Germany, 12-15 November, have made a strong impression, providing relevant key drivers for business in the global livestock farming and energy sectors. A powerhouse of innovations at the highest level, the world’s leading trade fair for professional livestock farming and the leading trade fair for decentralized energy, this week played host to 2,193 exhibitors from 51 countries with the latest solutions and technologies for the livestock and the renewable energy sector. Some 120,000 investment-ready visitors from 149 countries took advantage of the international industry meeting place, underlining the leading role of both trade fairs for animal welfare, sustainability, digitalization and AI. The trade fairs offered more than 500 professional events and conferences. Exhibitors and visitors expressed high satisfaction.
Under the guiding theme “We innovate animal farming”, EuroTier 2024 provided strong drivers for the national and international livestock farming industry. With its broad exhibition and technical program, the DLG (German Agricultural Society) as organizer presented technical innovations that combine productivity, animal welfare and sustainability – from digitalization, robotics and AI to modern solutions for animal housing and health management. Complementing EuroTier, EnergyDecentral offered technologies relating to solar energy, biogas and biofuels, while the new “Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Show” highlighted new approaches in feed and food production.
“EuroTier and EnergyDecentral 2024 have impressively demonstrated how the drive for innovation and productivity can go hand in hand. Here in Hanover, we have seen an array of forward-looking solutions for animal husbandry and renewable energies that promote competitiveness, on the one hand, and animal welfare and sustainability, on the other. In times of global challenges, this year’s trade fairs have proven that the industry is making the right adjustments and that our exhibitors have the right answers to the entrepreneurial challenges facing the industry,” says Freya von Czettritz, CEO of DLG Holding GmbH.
High level of satisfaction among trade visitors from Germany and abroad
“Visitors were extremely satisfied with the range of exhibits and the technical program at EuroTier, EnergyDecentral and Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Show and the specialist topics. This was confirmed by 95 percent in the on-site visitor survey. Particular interest was noted in the topics of management and feeding technology, milking and cooling technology, animal housing and hall construction, feed and genetics as well as current offers for decentralized energy production and alternative feed and food production,” said Ines Rathke, Project Manager of EuroTier.
Some 42 percent of visitors came from outside Germany, including many from Austria, Belgium, China, Italy, Netherlands, France, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. Buyer groups from the Middle east and Asia looking for technical solutions were also noted. More than 60 registered delegations included representatives from Canada; Iceland; Mexico; Thailand; Ukraine; and the UK. Representatives from governments and agricultural ministries were also in attendance: The agricultural ministries of the Philippines; Moldova; the State of Nebraska; UK; and Vietnam among others. In addition, 600 journalists from 46 countries used EuroTier and EnergyDecentral to explore the latest trends and innovations.
Great interest in the World Poultry Show
The World Poultry Show at EuroTier once again lived up to its role as a global hub for the poultry industry: breeders, producers and processors took advantage of the opportunity to both identify innovative solutions and explore in-depth the positive market opportunities. As a business platform and professional forum, the World Poultry Show impressed with a high proportion of international visitors and trade visitors of high quality with investment intentions. 97 percent of the professional visitors expressed high satisfaction with their visit. A key focus of the World Poultry Show and the International Poultry Conference, which preceeded EuroTier, was on the topic of artificial intelligence in poultry farming.
500 International events, including conferences on China, Philippines, Ukraine and Moldova
As a leading future platform and think tank for the livestock sector, EuroTier, organized by the DLG together with numerous partners from industry, science and consulting, offered a comprehensive technical program with more than 500 individual events. The focus was on automation, robotics, AI, animal welfare, sustainability and climate protection in the context of maintaining high production efficiency. The innovation awards for animal husbandry technology and decentralized energy generation presented during the trade fairs highlighted the innovation capability of the exhibiting companies. The Young Farmers Day, including a sold-out young farmer’s party housing 2,000 farming professionals, was once again a popular meeting place for young farmers and students with networking, career planning and future-proof animal husbandry at the center.
Hosting several high profile events focusing on livestock issues in Ukraine, Moldova, China and the Philippines, EuroTier offered an international platform for in-depth discussions at high level for the international animal production industry.
Premiere for FarmRobotix and Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Show
The new FarmRobotix platform for robotics, digitalization, automation and AI in animal husbandry celebrated its premiere. Digital systems and solutions are increasingly employed in cattle, pig and poultry housing. Providing farmers with smart decision-making aids and assistance to further optimize work processes to produce more efficiently, the systems promote animal welfare and help reduce workload. This year’s “Barn Robot Event” was dedicated to this topic with presentations on the automatic pushing of feed in dairy housing.
For the first time, the “Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Show” platform at EuroTier presented innovative solutions from indoor and vertical farming, including the production of alternative proteins from insects, aquaculture or algae. Visitors were able to sample snacks made from insects as well as algae smoothies while pitches from start-ups and other inspiring discussions and events took place live at the various stages. The Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Show makes one thing clear: Controlled Environment Agriculture, key to new agricultural production systems in the context of global food security, is one of the main tasks of the future.
Exhibitors increase by 25 percent reflecting international trend
The proportion of international exhibitors increased compared to the previous event and amounted to around 65 percent. The total number of exhibiting companies has increased by 25 percent compared to the last event. After Germany, most exhibitors came from China, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Denmark, Belgium and the UK. Exhibitors from the Arab region, such as Egypt, Morocco and Algeria, in addition to India were also represented. The number of international pavilions also increased. This year, 25 national pavilions were represented at EuroTier 2024 from three continents, including Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia Finland France Spain, US and the UK. 37 start-ups from 16 countries presented their innovative concepts and inventions at EuroTier.
The next EuroTier, EnergyDecentral and Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Show will take place in Hanover, Germany, from November 10 to 13, 2026. Already now, more than 700 companies have already registered as exhibitors for the next event.
Exhibitor statements
“The great interest shown by the high-caliber and, particularly, international visitors has made the four days of the trade fair a complete success. The demand from farmers and decision-makers for the wide range of solutions for the future has been enormous. The trade fair offers important impetus when the entire industry comes together on its largest and most important platform. The broad range, the focus on business, the technical program and the many networking opportunities are unique and strengthen its global status as a fixed date in the industry calendar.”
Bernd Meerpohl, Chairman of the Board of Big Dutchman International, Chairman of the EuroTier Exhibitor Advisory Board
“EuroTier is the ideal meeting place in order to shape the sustainable, animal welfare-oriented and efficient dairy farming of the future. In Hanover, we met up with a range of relevant stakeholders from all over the world to network with them and present our answers to the industry’s pressing questions.”
Gregor Beckmann, Managing Director, Lely Germany
“For us, the trade fair has been very positive. The industry has made significant progress in recent years, including in the area of animal welfare. We noticed this particularly when interacting with visitors at our stand. We also remarked the high level of international participation at our stand throughout the trade fair.”
Karl Heinz Denk, Sales and Marketing Manager, Schauer Agrotronic
“The trade fair participation at EuroTier 2024 was a complete success for the Vilofoss team. The high quality of visitors enabled us to present our innovations to top-class industry professionals from all over the world. The interest in our solutions for healthy animal nutrition and sustainable feeding concepts exceeded our expectations.”
Dr. Annabell Hardinghaus, Managing Director, Vilofoss Germanny
“For us, EuroTier is clearly the gateway to the world. Our export share is 60 percent. We have achieved this through this trade fair. This makes EuroTier the most important marketing tool for us – since 1998.”
Wolfgang Meier, Managing Director, Meier-Brakenberg
“Photovoltaics is on everyone’s lips. Here at EnergyDecentral 2024, too, the trade fair for decentralized energy supply is a high-quality industry meeting place for us with many professional contacts and expert discussions.”
Niko Mack, Managing Director, Actensys
“As a leading biogas all-rounder, we are closely networked with the agricultural sector. EnergyDecentral 2024 offers us an important platform both for our networking activities and for our customers, with whom we are actively tackling the energy supply of tomorrow. The response to our showcase here shows that we are on the right track.”
Maurice Markerink, Managing Director, EnviTec Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG
“The Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Show 2024 is very important for us, as it allows us to interact directly with farmers. There was a lot of interest in our system, which allows marine fish aquaculture directly on the farm.”
Carolin Ackermann, CEO, Seawater Cubes