By a Komet employee who survived Agritechnica - and will absolutely go again
There’s an unspoken truth that unites everyone who has ever braved a major trade fair. We never admit it, but it bonds us far more than any glossy brochure.
Trade fairs…
Yes, the big stuff: the world-leading innovations, the “big wheels” (as my son calls them), the robotics, automation, and every flavor of “smart efficiency.” Agritechnica in Germany 2025: 2,800 exhibitors, nearly half a million visitors, seven days of pure ag-tech spectacle. And DLG? Impeccable. They run the show with clockwork accuracy and genuine purpose.
But then… there’s everything else. The things no one warns you about.
Like discovering that while Agritechnica is in Hanover, the entire surrounding region sells out years in advance. So, you land up in a village so tiny even the local’s shrug. Mine was a petrol-station truckers’ motel. “Rustic charm,” I told myself.
After one too many hours of travel, I arrived at a train station with one exit and iffy Google recognition. No roaming. Midnight. Cold. Lost. And still a 20-minute walk to whatever barn-like “manger” I was booked into. Fortunately, being South African (where resilience is a standard setting), I flagged down a startled family who kindly rescued me from the darkness and delivered me to my motel. I’ve never been so grateful.
Then came the true shock: German trains.
Germany is known for precision and punctuality, until you try commuting to Agritechnica. Suddenly, it feels less like Berlin Hauptbahnhof and more Mumbai-at-rush-hour. Platforms change randomly. Carriages split and shoot off in different directions (ask me and my colleague Alvaro, one minute side by side, the next, he’s halfway to the Alps). Every confused international traveler becomes an instant friend as we swap stories, irrigation ideas, and survival tactics.
And let’s not forget the cardboard sandwiches priced like luxury goods. I have never been so delighted to eat one, having had no breakfast at my charming petrol-station abode. Ditto for the first coffee of the morning, rain dripping off your hood while you pray the queue moves.
But the real magic starts when you finally enter the hall and spot your team, sharp, smiling, each carrying their own misadventure. Those stories spill-out later over dinner in a restaurant booked sometime in the Bronze Age, miles from anywhere, reached via a heroic taxi journey that costs more than the food (and the motel).
And this, the conversations, the insights, the customers, the unexpected new ideas, is the whole point. It’s where talk of sprinklers, pivots, performance, and precision engineering turns into real relationships. For Komet, trade fairs aren’t just business; they’re how we help growers irrigate better, more efficiently, for better yields and profitability.
DLG doesn’t just host an event, they create the stage where the global agricultural world meets, debates, innovates, and lifts the whole industry forward. And yes, the economic ripple is real: packed hotels, overflowing restaurants, and drinks like Coca-Cola mixed with Fanta (thank you, Kathrin, I did not know this was a thing).
Leaving Agritechnica, one truth stood out: human connection still drives our industry. Farmers do business with people they trust. And working for a company that values those relationships makes every train delay, soggy sandwiches, and late-night misadventure worth it.
Trade fairs. They’re chaos. They’re magic. And they’re ours!
Read more about Komet : Komet - Innovative Irrigation
Read more about Agritechnica : Home - AGRITECHNICA 2025
