A Word From Pia
If there is one thing the recent weeks have reminded us, it’s that navigating international agriculture right now requires real-time insight from the people on the ground.
In this issue, you will find exactly that: peer learning, field updates, market insights, AI inspiration, study tours, leadership development and new opportunities to connect.
My hope is simple:
That you read something here that saves you time, sharpens a decision, inspires a conversation – or reminds you to reach out to another member.
Because in international agriculture, none of us has the full picture alone.
And one more thing: our new DFA website is now live – built to make it easier for you and your colleagues to find activities, groups, reports, vacancies and member opportunities.
Pia Hinz, Secretary General
This Issue at a Glance
⚡ Peer Group Openings: Match into a group before the autumn cycle begins.
🤖 AI for Busy Farm Leaders: Part 2 details and registration for September 2
🍇 France & Belgium Tour: Secure your seat (15 already signed up).
🚜 Field Status Update: Exclusive May reports from Poland and Ukraine.
🐖 ERFA Lithuania & Lohne: Practical benchmarking takeaways from our latest trips.
⚠️ On Our Radar: Crucial updates on ASF risks, fertilizer pricing, and PtX revenue.
🤝 New Members: Meet the latest companies joining the DFA network.
DFA OPERATIONS
Experience Sharing Peer Groups
Matchings open for the autumn cycle
Ground rules are simple: Same leadership level. Farms with similar complexity. Strict confidentiality. Real benchmarking. Real takeaways you deploy the following week. Current autumn matchings open for:
🐷 Pig production – all management levels
🌾 Crop farming
📊 Top management
👥 HR & People operations
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Webinar: AI for Busy Farm Leaders – Part 2
Practical workflows for farm owners, CEOs and managers
Co-hosted with Lars Drescher (CEO, Premium Pork / DCH International), we skip the software hype and look at a real executive application:
- Automated board preparation workflows
- Cross-border reporting and localized translation loops
- Executive communication and weekly operational planning
✅2 September 2026 | 11:00-12:00 CET | Online (Teams) | Free
👉 Click here to register instantly via Teams
France & Belgium Study Tour
25–31 October 2026
Agriculture, markets and EU policy from the inside.
Join DFA for a focused study tour through Paris, Beauce/Chartres, Normandie/Rouen, Senlis, Champagne and Bruxelles. We will explore large-scale crop production, land access, grain markets, pig production, biogas, conservation agriculture, EU agricultural policy and food security — with strong peer dialogue along the way.
For whom: DFA members and specially invited guests
Indicative price: approx. EUR 2,500–2,900 pp. depending on group size
Registration: Open now
Ready to register?
Send participant name(s), company and full invoice details to ph@danishfarmersabroad.dk.
Download full programme
DFA Global Agriculture Leadership Conference
28–29 January 2027 | Copenhagen
A closed forum for owners, CEOs and leaders in international agriculture. Round-table format. Chatham House rules. No sales pitches, no trade fair noise – just strategic intelligence shared among peers managing operations at your scale.
Day 1: The big-picture forces reshaping farming – geopolitics, EU policy, AI leadership and value-chain margin shifts.
Day 2 brings the big-picture forces down to earth through real DFA member cases and practical strategic choices for future-proof farming businesses.
➔ Download Calendar Invite (.ics)
Full programme and registration to follow.
Professional Development
Developing Stronger Managers
Great mid-level leaders are developed, not born. Help your team step up.
Crop Manager Programme 2026–27
Practical leadership and production management training for mid-level crop managers – developed with Dalum Academy of Agricultural Business.
- The format: 6 physical training days in Denmark, Romania and Slovakia, supported by online follow-up sessions, farm workshops, peer exchange and real-case project work.
- Timeline: Starts 9–10 November 2026 in Odense, Denmark.
- Application deadline: 1 August 2026. — however, seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and we expect the cohort to fill before the deadline.
➔ Download the course leaflet and/or reserve a seat for your team here.
MEMBER INTEL
May 2026 Field Status Update
Exclusive field-level reporting from Central & Eastern Europe
Compiled two to three times a year directly from our network, this report covers real decisions made under real conditions. The May edition details severe drought impacts and frost damage to rapeseed across Ukraine and Northern Poland.
🔒 DFA MEMBERS ONLY ➔ Request Your Field Report Copy
ERFA Lithuania: Five Days. Three Farms.
Our pig production group spent last week auditing Idavang operations in the Baltics. Key highlights included analyzing next-level biosecurity footprints (including zero-odor air scrubbing units) and a raw, private strategic history with co-owner Claus Baltsersen. Raw, personal, and full of insight.
➔ Interested in joining an Experience Sharing Group? Contact Pia
Pig Production cross-group event
27–29 April | Lohne, Germany
33 DFA members from several pig production groups. Three valuable days of professional exchange and benchmarking.
What stood out:
- Daily routines still drive results — more than technology or scale
- Health, feed efficiency, and leadership remain the top-of-agenda items across herds
- A major talking point was how tweaking ventilation curves and water flow post-ZnO-free weaning dropped medicine costs by over €1 per piglet in some herds. If you missed the benchmarking data, you missed the real margins.
Thank you to DFA member companies Jyga Technologies and Triple A for planning, hosting, and sponsoring the event. The evening dinners also built social bonds that strengthened the professional exchange across groups.
Webinar debrief: China’s Restructuring vs. Your Input Costs
Co-hosted with Adolfo Fontes and Feng Ye from DSM-Firmenich
The Chinese market has shifted dramatically:
- Consolidation: Farms with >500 hogs now command nearly 70% of Chinese production.
- Vulnerability: China still imports over 80% of its soybeans, making global feed costs highly sensitive to South American supply shocks.
- The Export Window: Premium European pork access is narrowing and becoming hyper-selective.
🔒 DFA MEMBERS ONLY
📬 Want the full strategic report emailed to you? ➔ Request full strategic report copy
Webinar debrief: AI in Practice — Part 1
Hosted with Peter Bisgaard Nikolajsen, SEGES Innovation and Pia Hinz, DFA
Missed the live session? Two high-utility takeaways from Peter Bisgaard Nikolajsen (SEGES Innovation) and Pia Hinz:
- No-Code Tools: Peter built a fully operational slurry logistics web app in hours using Lovable—no software engineers required.
- Voice Workflows: Pia dictates meeting briefs into ChatGPT while driving, receiving concise 150-word action summaries before reaching the office.
➔ Request Part 1 Video Recording
➔ Sign up for AI for Busy Farm Leaders – Part 2 here
MARKET TRACKER
On Our Radar
African Swine Fever (ASF)
The Data: EFSA’s May 2026 report shows domestic herd outbreaks surged 76% year-over-year; wild boar outbreaks rose 44%. 14 EU states are actively affected, including new cases in Spain.
Action: Order an unannounced audit of your truck-wash and change stations this week to beat protocol fatigue.
Fertilisers & CBAM
The Data: Nitrogen prices hit 71% above 2024 averages in April due to Hormuz supply constraints. The EU launched its Fertilizer Action Plan on 19 May 2026, keeping CBAM strictly in place.
Action: Review late-year cash-flow models against potential IMERA “crisis-relevant goods” status adjustments.
Power-to-X
The Data: Commercial scaling is live. The HØST green ammonia plant in Esbjerg concludes construction this year, with DLG and Danish Crown locked in as offtakers.
Action: Biogas operators should evaluate their current technical infrastructure for capturing and monetizing biogenic CO2 emissions.
THE NETWORK
New Member Welcomes
We are pleased to welcome our newest companies to the peer network this month. You can view their professional specialties and connect with their leadership teams via our recent LinkedIn & Facebook posts.
Choose Your Door Into DFA:
🚜 For Farm Owners & Ag Companies
Clear peer matching, absolute confidentiality, structural benchmarking, and field reports. Full team access.
– Investment: From DKK 3.000 / year
➔ Download the DFA Farmers Leaflet
💼 For Industry Suppliers & Service Providers
Direct access to decision-makers managing land and capital. Skip the exhibition booths for real boardroom conversations.
– Investment: From DKK 6.000 / year.
➔ Download the DFA Supplier Leaflet
Looking For Your Next Trainee Or Hire?
At a recent visit to Bygholm Agricultural College with Martin Thorsen, COO at Pigagro, one message stood out clearly: students interested in traineeships abroad often dream of Canada, New Zealand and the USA.
Crop production is their strongest interest, followed by dairy and cattle. But dreams are one thing – distance from family and everyday life abroad are another. Useful input for member companies thinking about future trainees and recruitment.
Vacant traineeship positions can be sent to Bygholm Agricultural College: info@bygholm.dk / kher@bygholm.dk
Check Our Latest Vacancies
DFA members are actively recruiting. This week we have shared a selection of vacant positions from member companies – check it out on DFA’s Facebook side. If you have a position to promote, send it to ph@danishfarmersabroad.dk.
The New DFA Website Is Live
We have made it easier to find what DFA offers: activities, webinars, study tours, experience sharing groups, member news, vacancies and membership benefits.
Have a look — and feel free to share it with colleagues who could benefit from the DFA network.
And with that, I will round off this newsletter.
Before harvest, holidays, and summer logistics take over, I wish you and your teams a very good summer.
May it bring a little rest, good energy – and hopefully just the right amount of rain and sunshine.
Warm regards,
Pia Hinz | Secretary General
ph@danishfarmersabroad.dk | +45 30 51 41 43
www.danishfarmersabroad.com