Areas of investment over the next twelve months
In the latest Agrifuture Insights survey, participating farmers were asked in which areas they plan to invest over the next 12 months. Soil cultivation and field preparation technology ranks highest among respondents in terms of planned investments at 47%, surpassing even the purchase of tractors.
- Even though traditional technology still dominates, new technologies are gaining ground in investment planning. Agricultural software and automated solutions are already among the top priorities, with a clear upward trend.
- The increasing shortage of skilled workers and rising labor costs are driving demand for robotics and automation. Agricultural software and automated solutions not only make work processes more efficient, but also enable resources such as fertilizers and pesticides to be used in a more targeted and economical manner. However, implementing automated solutions is not as easy as one might think and often only makes sense for certain crops.
- An example: Using drones to sow catch crops can reduce CO₂ emissions. Sowing is faster than with conventional tractor-based methods, and catch crops can be sown before the main crop is harvested, which generates a longer growth phase under good conditions.
- Currently, there are still various obstacles slowing down digitization in agriculture. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular see the often high investment costs as a barrier to entry. Data protection and data sovereignty, interface issues, lack of user-friendliness, and a lack of IT expertise are other frequently cited barriers to acceptance.
- In order to successfully shape the digital transformation in agriculture, the necessary framework conditions must be created to achieve acceptance. This can include establishing financial incentive systems as well as the inter-company use of digital technology in the form of machine cooperatives. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen the digital skills of farmers with appropriate consulting, training, and continuing education opportunities so that they can fully utilize the advantages of rapidly developing digital technologies.
- The Digital Farm Center at Agritechnica 2025 offers agricultural practitioners—farm owners and contractors alike—the opportunity to learn about the latest digital solutions and receive first-hand advice on their potential for optimizing processes and resources.
- Given the increasingly uneven availability of water—with regional surpluses and shortages—irrigation and drainage technology is also becoming more relevant. This is reflected in investment plans: 11% of farmers want to invest in such systems.
DLG-Agrifuture Insights – a comprehensive view on agricultural development
DLG-Agrifuture Insights is the DLG knowledge brand and platform for international trend analyses in the agricultural sector. It examines the business environment in agriculture in Germany and worldwide. For this purpose, farmers and people from agribusiness, science and consulting are surveyed annually on their assessments of the economic situation and development of agricultural businesses, as well as technology trends and innovations in the individual business sectors. A total of 2,184 people took part in the current survey in spring 2025.