On 11th November in the afternoon, the German steering group met for its final meeting. After a long stretch of virtual encounters, the steering group was able to meet in Berlin. The steering group member present were Yvonne Rottmann, Dr. Beate Bajorat, Dr. Carl Dohme, Petra Bentkämper and Dr. Wolf Lorleberg (FHS). Further, all German project partners participated in the meeting, including Mara Walz and Miriam Rueger from BDL (German young farmers association), as well as Dr. Bernd Pölling, Ann-Kathrin Steinmann and Simon Stork from FHS (University of applied sciences South Westphalia Soest).
The agenda started out with a brief overview on the project status quo. After reporting, the steering group discussed ways in which to disseminate the pedagogical materials (https://fh-swf.sciebo.de/s/PxaH2ZugsXuZAlz) prepared by FHS and the German toolkit on direct marketing (https://newbie-direktvermarktung.de/) prepared by BDL and FHS jointly.
Additionally to the regular agenda, Newbie award winner Julian Engelmann from Grow Up Salicornia (https://www.saline-food.de/) gave a brief and insightful presentation on the business idea he pursued with his partner Ken Dormann. He went into detail how they were able to put this plan to reality through an adequate funding opportunity. The steering group then discussed the advantages and disadvantages of different project funding opportunities together with Julian Engelmann along the preliminary results of the Newbie survey.
After a brief coffee break, the steering group evaluated the project and each member assessed what the Newbie project has given to their organisations and themselves. Most members were inspired by the different innovative business models that are out there throughout Europe. They all agreed that the entrepreneurial spirit of new entrants should be supported and that the farming sector needs to become more creative and diversified in order to be sustainable in the long-term.
