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Agricultural amour propre Text & photos by Tobias Nicolai

Seges, a knowledge and innovation institution under Landbrug & Fødevarer, estimate that danish agriculture will suffer losses in the harrowing range from six to seven billions this year. The crisis is a perfect storm that has gathered power since the financial crisis back in 2009, gained strength with Russia's boycott of European foodstuff in 2014 as well as the repeal of milk quotas in 2015 and now culminating with the historical drought in 2018. This has huge consequences for many smaller and medium-sized plant-, pig-, or cattle farmers that go bankrupt and are forced to shut down. In a not so distant future the consequences of Brexit can dig danish agriculture even deeper down the ongoing crisis.

But you can’t feel all this at Agromek. The ideas and hardware to streamline farms as never before are sold in abundance at Northern Europe's largest agricultural expo. Everything from the latest in robotic clover recognition to the finest milk cattle bred in the kingdom are showcased here.

The booths vary in size. Combine harvesters weighing 25 tonnes harvesting 12,5 metre crops at a time, occupy more space in the numerous expo halls than the booths with only a folding table and posters. How they allure the visitors with coffee, sweets and free stuff unites them. A simple recipe with the desired effect. The line at the poster-girl at Väderstad is ever present. The agricultural version of idol pop posters with huge cultivators are a prized possession here.

Men outnumber women by many lengths, and they roam the expo halls with their hands securely pocketed. The hands are up and about as soon as they walk past one of the huge farming machines. Fingers running smoothly over shiny metal painted in bright colors not yet ruined by muddy, ploughed fields. They turn to little kids when crawling the narrow ladder to the comfortable leather seat in the drivers cab of a machine worth millions. “Who could just be driving this back home on the farm”. The dream lives and the crisis is parked outside in the cold.

Agromek is Northern Europe's largest agricultural expo. It is held every second year at Messecenter Herning and had 40.214 visitors this year.

The green magic hole

The PGII 28 slurry vehicle is Samsons flagship. It is compact, and the exceptionnel wheel pull makes entering the field pure joy. The salesman lifts his arms like a soaring eagle, when talking about the 36-metre sensor-controlled beam thats spreads slurry as never before. An eighth wonder. The manufacturer has even installed af slurry porthole in one end. Like a watering hole on the savannah it has a magnetic force of attraction on passers-by.

Created By
Tobias Nicolai
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Credits:

Tobias Nicolai

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