Trust, community, and results
Two months in as Secretary General, I am grateful for the welcome I have received from board, members and partners. Our Winter Conference in Vienna gave me one clear feeling: trust and community are strong in DFA.
This industry is intense.
High tech. Big capital. Tight margins. Uncertainty.
And still, I keep meeting grounded, capable and positive people.
That is why I am here.
To turn our international network into practical value for you.
Knowledge-sharing that saves time.
Connections that open doors.
And advocacy that supports strong, sustainable, competitive businesses.
Together with the board, we have ambitious plans for 2026.
And I bring full energy, a positive mindset, and a clear focus on results.
On behalf of you.
Geopolitics and trade – why DFA is watching this for you
According to two of the DFA Winter Conference speakers, Secretary General Dr. Jürgen Tack and MEP Dr. Jessika van Leeuwen, Europe’s land-based sectors are hit by geopolitics, transitions, and economics. The real brake is uncertainty: farms invest over decades, politics changes in cycles. The answer is predictability, simpler rules, and a shift toward higher-value production. EU farm productivity is slipping behind the US and China. The comeback lever is innovation: faster approvals, better R&D returns, and clear, safe data rules. The policy mood is shifting back toward competitiveness.
Upcoming Webinars
Webinars give you fresh insights and inspiration. If you want to go deeper into real-life farm practice and get confidential peer sparring with people like you, our experience-sharing peer groups are the next step.
WEBINAR: AI in Practice – what already pays off? Do you want to save time, reduce errors, and improve planning and overview?
Expert presenters: Peter Bisgaard Nikolajsen, Product Owner at SEGES Innovation and Pia Hinz, Secretary General at DFA and a strong efficiency seeker – both enthusiastic, hands-on AI users
In this hands-on webinar, we’ll share concrete, everyday AI workflows (emails, meeting notes, summaries, planning, translations, small automation hacks) – and connect it to real-life farming with practical use cases from SEGES Innovation (crops + livestock).
You’ll leave with ideas for where AI delivers the fastest ROI (time, quality, overview) and real examples from SEGES solutions and scenarios.
✅ Online • English • Free • 15/4 • 11-12.00 CET-time • 60 min incl. Q&A
👉 Register via Teams here. You’ll receive the join link and reminders automatically.
💡This topic may also become a track in an upcoming experience-sharing peer group.
Interested? Join the interest list in the next section.
WEBINAR: From Crops to Animal Protein: Navigating China’s Markets
Expert presenters: Adolfo Fontes, Head of Business Intelligence and Feng Ye, Business Intelligence Manager at DSM-Firmenich Market dynamics, decision drivers, practical perspectives. What to watch (risks, opportunities, signals).
✅ Online • English • Free • 23/3 • 10-11.30 CET-time • 90 min incl. Q&A
👉 Register here. You’ll receive the join link and reminders automatically.
WEBINAR & NEW PEER GROUP: The Great Handover - Succession, Exit and Alternative Finance. Who will own, lead, and finance the farm in the next 10 years?
Chaired by Jens Ohnemus, CEO at Blue Harvest S.A., Founder at FarmCompany, former VP/Director at BNP Paribas, Merrill Lynch and UBS.
✅ Online information meeting • Pre-screening of participants • 3/6 • 11-12 CET-time
👉 Interested? Register here. You’ll receive the join link and reminders automatically.
Experience Sharing Peer Groups
Our Experience Sharing Peer Groups give you confidential peer sparring, benchmarking, and practical ROI with people who run businesses like yours.
Small groups. High trust. Twice a year. Real farm/company visits. Real solutions.
What you get:
- 10–12 participants. High trust. Strict confidentiality;
- Peer learning, benchmarking, and practical solutions you can implement fast;
- Stronger network. Clearer priorities. Less standing alone with complex decisions;
- Tailored to your role and hottest challenges & needs;
- Meet twice a year, two days each time, always including farm/company visits.
What’s happening now:
- A few open seats in existing groups (crops – livestock – top management – middle management);
- New groups formed based on member needs and webinar topics;
- Cross-group sessions to bring in fresh perspectives beyond your usual circle.
👉 Interested? Fill in the 30-second form and we will match you to a group or help shape a new one.
Cross-group event spotlight: Pig Production ERFA Deep Dive (Germany)
27–29 April | Lohne, Germany
Four DFA pig production experience sharing groups meet for two days of deep dives and peer benchmarking – kindly sponsored by TripleA and Jyga.
Program highlights:
- Benchmarking + performance review across herds;
- Production and health: what is working right now, and why;
- Feed, efficiency, and margins: practical levers that move results;
- People and routines: leadership habits that reduce errors and turnover;
- Farm/company visit + supplier insights with TripleA and Jyga.
Study Trips
Sometimes you need to see it in real life to make the right decisions.
DFA study trips bring you hands-on insights, owner-level conversations, and practical takeaways you can bring home and apply fast – together with a strong network of peers.
DFA’s Canada study trip focuses on Conservation Agriculture and no-till. We’ll visit two different large-scale farms per day – mostly crop producers, but also a swine production operation and a machinery supplier – so you’ll get both the agronomy and the real-world logistics behind making it work at scale.
Our route includes farm visits across the Calgary region, with drives from Winnipeg via places such as Taber, Lloydminster, and Grande Prairie.
✅ Dates: 10-17 June 2026. Limited number of seats.
👉 Interested? Express interest DFA Secretariat
Training Opportunities
If you want stronger managers on the farm this season – people who take ownership, lead teams well, and improve results – these two practical training options are built for exactly that (with clear takeaways you can apply immediately).
Practical Management & Leadership Training Program
For mid-level managers in pig production, customised with Dalum Agricultural College. For more information contact Pia Hinz, +45 30 51 41 43, ph@danishfarmersabroad.dk
Training Course for Mid-Level Crop Managers
Production management plus people leadership, with workshops, farm visits, and real-case project work. For more information, please contact Povl Nørgaard on povl@povlnorgaard.dk, +45 31 72 01 45
On Our Radar: Next Topics We’ll Cover
If you have wishes or urgent needs, send them to us here.
We will find the right format. Webinar. Short briefing. Expert Q&A. Peer exchange.
We’re hearing strong interest in a few topics we will cover next:
- African swine fever in Spain:
Risk picture, practical biosecurity lessons, what to watch - EU postponement of carbon requirements on imports (e.g. fertiliser):
What it may mean for costs and planning - Power-to-X: turning on-farm energy, biomass, and manure into green fuels and fertiliser inputs, creating new revenue streams and lowering energy and input risk.
DFA Activity Plan
See an overview of actual DFA Activities first half of 2026 on our website and remember to follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook!
DFA Winter Conference, Vienna 22–23 January 2026
Almost 100 participants. 9 speakers. 11 exhibitors. Strong questions. Real networking in sessions, at dinner, and later in the bar. Two days. Two lenses. One shared theme: decisions under uncertainty.
- Day 1: Execution under pressure
Disease prevention. Efficiency. License to operate. Leadership and succession. Words that kept returning: Leadership. Meaning. Ownership. Communication. Collaboration. - Day 2: The wider playing field
Long farm investment cycles are colliding with short policy cycles. Predictability and simpler rules matter. So does moving toward higher-value production. Innovation was highlighted as the main lever to rebuild competitiveness. - See speaker presentations and key takeaways on our website
Winter Conference Vienna 2026. Takeaways, presentations, photos, and short video clips. - General Assembly 23 January 2026:
Accounts and budget approved. Statutes update approved unanimously. Next step: Final adoption at an Extraordinary General Assembly on 3 March 2026 at 14:00 (due to attendance rules). Board and governance updates: Hans Damgaard Poulsen re-elected and nominated Vice-Chairman. Morten Egekvist and Peter Munk Laursen elected. Partner Revision continues as auditor. Extended review not considered necessary. Thank you to all participants!
Members Highlights
Short interviews with selected DFA members – real stories, decisions, and lessons learned you can apply in your own business.
Curious about DFA membership
If you want to learn what you get from being part of this strong community, see membership options here. Despite the name, DFA is for Danish-owned and international farm businesses and partners, both abroad and in Denmark.
Questions any of the above? Contact the DFA Secretariat here.