Invitation to an evening lecture on October 29, 2025: Climate change in agriculture and society – solutions for sustainable agriculture

Where? State Library Center, Otto-Mayer-Str. 9, 67346 Speyer

When? Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at 6 p.m.

Speaker: Dr. Markus Weinmann (LUFA Speyer)

Panel discussion: 

• Eberhard Hartelt (President of the Rhineland-Palatinate South Farmers' and Winegrowers' Association)
• Herbert Ritthaler (Operations Manager at Ritthalers Grüne Insel GmbH, member of the Saarland/Rhineland-Palatinate Horticultural Association)
• Dr. Markus Weinmann (LUFA Speyer)

As part of the public lecture series “A Bouquet of Agriculture, Environmental Protection, and Consumer Protection,” which we are organizing in cooperation with the Rhineland-Palatinate State Library Center to mark our 150th anniversary, Dr. Markus Weinmann, head of our field trials and seed testing department, will give a presentation. In a panel discussion following the lecture, the vision of “good agriculture” between cultural heritage and high-tech will be discussed.

About the lecture: Modern agriculture owes its efficiency to decisive scientific innovations: Justus von Liebig's mineral-based approach, the Haber-Bosch process for ammonia synthesis, chemical plant protection, high-yield varieties, and mechanization shaped the path to the “Green Revolution.” These advances enabled enormous increases in yields, but their inappropriate application also had serious consequences for global ecosystems: exceeding planetary boundaries, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, and nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses due to the decoupling of crop production and animal husbandry. At the same time, regional developments show how differentiated the situation must be viewed—the 2024 Soil Protection Award went to Rhineland-Palatinate.

Today, genetic engineering, precision farming, AI, GPS, and sensor technology are opening up new opportunities for more resource-efficient production. At the same time, global trade structures, the future of farms compared to industrialized “Agriculture 4.0,” and, last but not least, ethical issues are coming to the fore.