30 September and 1 October at the Congress Centre Hamburg - Around 250 visionaries, experts and practitioners discussed cutting-edge business models for the agricultural and food value chain.
With a strong start and lively international participation, the Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Convention 2025 celebrated a successful premiere. The Business Conference with foyer exhibition organised by the DLG (German Agricultural Society) took place on 30 September and 1 October 2025 at the Congress Centre Hamburg. Around 250 trade visitors from over nine countries underscored the strong international interest and growing global relevance of innovative business models for the agricultural and food value chain. The Inhouse Farming Convention focused on cutting-edge production approaches in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). These included indoor and vertical farming, indoor aquaculture, insect farming and cellular agriculture. Closely linked to agricultural practice, the event offered technical information, innovations and a broad range of networking opportunities. During the opening ceremony, DLG President Hubertus Paetow emphasised that the Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Convention was a milestone in establishing the new understanding of progress in sustainable productivity enhancement across the agricultural and food industries.
In a total of 20 sessions and workshops, experts from science, business and politics met to discuss the future of innovative business models in the agricultural and food industry. The focus was on in-house farming systems in various areas, alternative protein sources and the circular economy – key components for sustainable food production in the future. "Changes in eating habits, structural change in agriculture, new consumer expectations – all of these trends present us with challenges. And we are happy to accept these challenges," said DLG President Hubertus Paetow at the opening of the event. There he referred to innovative market segments ranging from aquaculture and insect farming to cellular agriculture, which were the focus of the convention. The Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Convention is a milestone in further embedding the new DLG mission statement of "sustainable productivity growth", which considers growth and resource conservation as a single entity, within the industry, politics and society.
The numerous events at the Inhouse Farming Convention provided ample opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange, controversial discussions and practical inspiration. The focus was on technological innovations such as automation and artificial intelligence, new value chains, and social and regulatory frameworks – topics that were examined from different perspectives. It became clear that the transformation of the agricultural and food industry has long been in full swing. It requires bold ideas, cross-sector thinking and new forms of collaboration – all of which found fertile ground at the Inhouse Farming Convention.
Rapid Fire Start-up Pitch
One highlight was the Rapid Fire Start- Up Pitch on the second day of the Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Convention. There was a palpable sense of optimism at the start-up competition and the format attracted considerable interest among the expert audience. MySpirulina from Kiel emerged as the winner, with the start-up successfully beating six other innovative young companies. The competition, which was organised in cooperation with Rootcamp as co-organiser and Rentenbank as co-sponsor, was held under the motto "Shaping the future of nutrition – with innovations in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) & alternative proteins". During his three-minute presentation, Ben Schwedhelm from MySpirulina convinced the expert audience in live voting about the super food spirulina – and about the cultivation system for algae in a smart home farm. Second place went to Bluu Seafood, a producer of cultured fish from Hamburg, followed by Revoja from Bad Vilbel, a supplier of innovative soy products.
Foyer exhibition
The numerous specialist sessions were accompanied by companies presenting market-ready solutions as exhibits in a foyer exhibition. Visitors took advantage of the opportunity to experience the latest technologies in a practical setting, talk directly with suppliers, and gain valuable insights for implementation in their own businesses. The Novel Food tasting was also very popular among trade visitors.
Expectations exceeded
The DLG, as the organiser, was extremely satisfied with the premiere of the Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Convention. "The response has exceeded our expectations. The high level of internationality and quality of the trade visitors confirms that in-house farming is no longer a niche topic, but a central component of tomorrow's food systems," summarises Marcus Vagt, DLG Division Manager for Energy, Inhouse Farming and New Foods. This is also the reason why the DLG is dedicating a separate event to the field of in-house farming, complementing the special exhibition area at EuroTier, the world's leading trade fair for professional animal farmers: "Unlike a trade fair, the convention provides space for in-depth discussions in a relaxed atmosphere – a format that has been very well received by participants," says Vagt.
Comments from exhibitors and visitors
Exhibitors and visitors alike were also very satisfied with the first edition of the Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Convention. "An all-round successful kick-off event that even exceeded our expectations. The sessions were impressive in their diversity and quality. We were particularly pleased with the intensive discussions we had at our stand with experts and interested parties, as well as the numerous new contacts we made, especially those from the Hamburg region. We will definitely be back next time!" said Dr Jan-Gerd Frerichs, Head of Future Farming at technology provider Körber Technologies GmbH, which supported the convention with a booth and a keynote speech.
"A sensational start to an event that I believe has great potential. The convention format is appealing: It creates space and time for genuine conversations. The breaks between sessions were specifically used for exchange and networking," said Tom Zoellner, Secretary General of the European ag-tech association FarmTech Society, which also had a booth at the convention and supported the programme. "For future editions of the convention, I would like to see even more international participation – even though nine nations were already represented at the start. The organisation and location were absolutely first-class," added Zoellner.
Visitors from the agricultural sector were impressed by the ideas for innovative business areas: "I took away a lot of inspiration and ideas from the Inhouse Farming Convention, which are being developed here for the agriculture of tomorrow," said Andreas Kaiser, a farmer from Rotenburg (Wümme) in Lower Saxony, Germany.
The successful launch in Hamburg has laid the foundation for the convention to become a long-term fixture. In future, it will take place every two years, alternating with the Inhouse Farming Feed & Food Show at EuroTier in Hanover. The next edition of the convention is already being planned for 2027.
For further information and impressions of the event, please visit: www.inhouse-farming.de.
DLG. Progress and sustainability in agriculture and the food industry
The DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft e.V. - German Agricultural Society), founded in 1885 by Max Eyth, stands for productivity and resource conservation in a sustainable and innovation-friendly agricultural and food value chain. The goal of the DLG is to promote progress through the transfer of knowledge, quality and tech-nology. The DLG has more than 31,000 members, is a non-profit organisation, politically independent and interna-tionally networked.
As one of the leading organisations in its industry, the DLG organises trade fairs and events in the fields of agri-culture and food technology and tests food, agricultural machinery and farm inputs. With its Competence Center Agriculture and Food and the media of the DLG publishers, the DLG stands for independent know-how transfer. In addition, the DLG works in numerous national and international expert committees to develop solutions for the challenges facing the agricultural, agri-food and food industries.
www.dlg.org
