Publisher portrait

About us

Passion for agriculture, food and country life! That is our claim and that is what the three major divisions of our publishing house stand for. With more than 40 media offerings and services, we support professionals who produce, process and market food. In addition, we inspire people who feel a special connection to life and people in the countryside.

Our core business includes

  • Trade media and services for agriculture,
  • consumer magazines, events and other offerings for all people who like to live well, eat well, drink well or otherwise enjoy rural life.

Among the most important companies of the group are

  • Landwirtschaftsverlag publishing house in Münster,
  • Deutsche Medien Manufaktur in Münster and Hamburg,
  • Polish Agricultural Publishing House in Poznan and Warsaw,
  • dbv network in Berlin (participation),
  • Lebensmittel Praxis Verlag in Neuwied and Münster with subsidiaries in Vienna and Warsaw,
  • and LV Digital in Münster.

With our more than 900 employees, we generate annual group sales of more than 115 million euros. This makes us one of the 100 largest media companies and, in terms of gross advertising revenues, one of the ten largest trade publishers in Germany.

This is also our home market. We are also active primarily in Poland, Austria and Switzerland, and have a presence in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Netherlands, the Baltic States and Hungary, as well as Greece and Turkey, via licensed businesses.

Our shareholders

Landwirtschaftsverlag has three shareholders, each holding one third of the share capital.

Westfälisch-Lippischer Landwirtschaftsverband

The Westphalian-Lippe Farmers' Association has represented the interests of around 40,000 farmers and their families in Westphalia-Lippe since 1947. In 19 district associations and around 520 local associations, it looks after its members in the areas of agricultural, economic and social policy, legal, tax and social policy, as well as education and cultural policy.

Raiffeisenverband Westfalen-Lippe

As of 2014, more than 60 commodity and livestock cooperatives are organized in the Raiffeisenverband Westfalen-Lippe, which together generate more than three billion euros in annual sales. The main revenue drivers are the production and trade of animal feed, the trade of agricultural products as well as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, and livestock and slaughter cattle.

Foundation Westfälische Landschaft

The Westphalian Landscape Foundation was founded in 1987 and emerged from WL Bank AG Westfälische Landschaft Bodenkreditbank. According to its articles of association, the purpose of the foundation is "to serve the welfare and efficiency of rural areas and, in doing so, to promote the general interests of agriculture and forestry that benefit the general public."

Management and Supervisory Board

Dr. Ludger
Schulze Pals

Managing Director of the Agricultural Division

Malte Schwerdtfeger

Managing Director of the Rural Life Division

Friedrich Steinmann

Stiftung Westfälische Landschaft

Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Hubertus Beringmeier

Westfälisch-Lippischer Landwirtschafts­verband (President)

Johann
Prümers

Raiffeisenverband Westfalen-Lippe e.V.