Because apples don't grow on store shelves: learning at the adventure farm

The cluster in front of the action wheel is getting bigger and bigger. The children were just asked to guess how many living creatures live in a liter of soil and learned that it is not 300, but over ten billion. “Can we turn it again?” asks a little girl, looking wide-eyed at Erwin Koster, who explains what she can do to ensure that as little food as possible ends up in the trash. Erwin Koster has been coming to Grüne Woche for 29 years, formerly as a vocational school teacher for farmers, and since 2020 as an AgrarScout. “Our goal is to inform. The trick is to break down difficult issues in such a way that they are not forgotten,” he says.

AgrarScouts celebrate their 10th anniversary

This year, AgrarScouts are celebrating their tenth anniversary at the ErlebnisBauernhof (adventure farm) in Hall 3.2. “Without the highly motivated farmers who have been engaging with people for years, openly explaining and contextualizing, it wouldn't be possible,” said Lea Fließ. The managing director of the Forum for Modern Agriculture brought the AgrarScouts onto the stage during the grand opening of the Erlebnisbauernhof. She also announced that there is another key figure: “The United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of Women in Agriculture. Women are taking on responsibility with confidence, and these personalities are the focus of the Erlebnisbauernhof.”

Women as the backbone of agriculture

Lea Fließ presented ten portraits of female farm managers, officials, and employees on stage at the ErlebnisBauernhof (adventure farm), including Marianne Albersmeier, farm manager at Hof Albersmeier, who says: “We women are often referred to as the backbone of agriculture. It's time we were given a face and that true equality was achieved.” Marianne Albersmeier is also an AgrarScout – just like Charlotte Schlichting, who grew up on her parents' Vorwiesenhof farm in Lübeck and plans to take it over with her brother. Her portrait is also included in the presentation, which will be shown on stage in Hall 3.2 between program items throughout the entire trade fair. “I was delighted to receive the request because it's about making women more visible,” says Charlotte Schlichting. She has 12,600 followers on Instagram, and there is a report about her country life on YouTube under “NDR auf'm Land.”

No Grüne Woche without ErlebnisBauernhof

Johanna Bensch from the German Phytomedical Society is also working to raise awareness. The prospective doctoral student is currently explaining to a family what happens and what it looks like when a cucumber or sugar beet is infected by a virus. She provides information on the background to the use of plant protection products and also on alternatives such as crop rotation, mixed cultivation, and pruning. “I want to inform people and raise awareness of plant protection measures and give them a picture that goes beyond what they see in the media,” she says.

Understanding and adapting to agriculture is the motto of the ErlebnisBauernhof (Adventure Farm), a joint project of the Forum Moderne Landwirtschaft (Modern Agriculture Forum) with more than 70 partners from the agricultural and food industry. They all invite you to Hall 3.2 to discover agriculture in a playful way with interactive stations, hands-on activities, and practical offerings related to prevention, safety, and education for the green industry. “I can't imagine Berlin without the Grüne Woche, and I can't imagine the Grüne Woche without the ErlebnisBauernhof. We city dwellers, and especially children, should know that apples grow on trees and not on shelves,” said Governing Mayor Kai Wegner.