As part of the current Agrifuture Insights survey, farmers were asked from April to the end of May 2025 which measures are best suited to ensure successful farm development.
All participants agreed that expansion and conversion at the current location (63%) and production optimization in terms of efficiency (61%) are the best measures for successful business development.
Optimized efficiency in production saves resources such as working time and improves productivity. It is interesting to note that efficiency is attributed slightly less important compared to the survey at the turn of the year 2023/24 (66%).
On average across all responses, company cooperation is in third place with 31%, e.g. in the form of a machine pool. This can also lead to greater efficiency and thus increase productivity.
Looking at the individual farm sectors separately, livestock farmers see the expansion and conversion of their current location as the most suitable measure for successful farm development. For arable farmers, optimizing production by improving efficiency is the top priority.
When it comes to optimizing production with a view to improving animal welfare, it is noticeable that, compared to the last survey (41%), dairy farmers currently attach greater importance to this option (50%). Pig farmers, on the other hand, currently see fewer opportunities for successful farm development by investing in greater animal welfare (32%) than in the last survey (37%).
Pig farms see opportunities in giving up unprofitable branches of the business (29%) and establishing new mainstays and business areas (35%). In particular, the introduction or expansion of renewable energies (37%) is mentioned here.
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.