VDL

What VDL does

VDL-Berufsverband Agrar, Ernährung, Umwelt e.V. is Germany's largest registered professional association (eingetragener Verein) for academically trained professionals in the 'green' sector — agriculture, nutrition, horticulture, and environment — operating continuously since its 1919 founding as Reichsbund akademisch gebildeter Landwirte e.V. The association maintains a federated structure comprising a Bundesgeschäftsstelle in Berlin (Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7), ten regional state associations (Landesverbände/Landesgruppen) covering all major German regions, the VEG-Geisenheim Alumni Association as a Dachverband, and eight corporate 'fördernde Mitglieder' (supporting members). Across this network it serves more than 10,000 members spanning students, young professionals, public-sector employees (Beamte and Angestellte), academic researchers, agribusiness managers, and association executives.

The product surface is primarily membership-driven and event-driven. Core 'products' are the annual Mitgliederversammlung and Jahrestagung, the Parlamentarischer Abend co-hosted with BHGL, the Berlin-Seminar providing direct Bundestag and ministry access, the Grüne-Woche-Exkursion at Messe Berlin, the Bundesnetzwerktreffen, the Nachwuchsschmiede career platform, and a VDL-Akademie continuing-education curriculum (Rhetorik, KI, leadership). Member-facing technology is intentionally lightweight: a WordPress-based web portal (vdl.de) with member login, monthly VDL-Newsletter, VDL-Journal, and member self-service. Sector thought leadership is delivered through commissioned studies such as 'Frauen in Führungspositionen' (2021, 853 participants, funded by Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank).

The business model is a non-profit membership association. Revenue is generated from (i) annual membership dues differentiated across Student, Young Professional, Regular, and corporate supporting tiers; (ii) event participation fees with significant member discounts (e.g., Berlin-Seminar €89–€459, Grüne Woche €86–€307 by tier); and (iii) sponsorship and grants — most notably from Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank — for flagship studies and events. Distribution is multi-channel: direct via the Berlin Bundesgeschäftsstelle, through the ten state associations, via dual membership in dbb beamtenbund und ULA (which gives civil-service members TV-L collective-bargaining access), and through flagship political events. Leadership is stable: Markus W. Ebel-Waldmann (President since 2006, re-elected May 2024) supported by Vice-President Peter Jung and Bundesgeschäftsführer Tobias Dammeier (since 1 July 2022).

Name

VDL

Legal name

VDL-Berufsverband Agrar, Ernährung, Umwelt e.V.

Website

https://vdl.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1919

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VDL-Berufsverband Agrar, Ernährung, Umwelt e.V. is Germany's largest non-profit professional association for academically trained professionals in agriculture, nutrition, and environment, serving 10,000+ members via 10 regional state associations, annual membership dues, and flagship political-education events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Agricultural sector advocacy
• Member networking events
• Career development programs
• Public sector representation

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Core revenue stream: annual membership subscriptions from individual members (students, young professionals, regular members) and corporate/fördernde Mitglieder (supporting members). Pricing tiers differ by member category and state association.
2. Event Participation Fees: Differentiated participation fees for events (Berlin-Seminar, Grüne Woche excursion, Bundesnetzwerktreffen, Jahrestagung, Rhetorik/KI seminars). Example: Grüne Woche excursion 2026 priced €86 (student members), €99 (Young Professional members), €117 (members), €307 (non-members). Berlin-Seminar 2025 priced €89–€459 depending on member status and accommodation.
3. Sponsorship and Grants: Income from corporate sponsors (e.g., for the 100-year gala in 2019) and project grants from the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, which funds flagship events and research studies such as the Berlin-Seminar and the women's leadership study.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

VDL-Berufsverband Agrar, Ernährung, Umwelt e.V. is Germany's largest academic professional association for the agriculture, nutrition and environment sectors, founded in 1919. It sells tiered individual and corporate membership (Student / Young Professional / Regular / Fördernde Mitglieder), runs an annual conference (Jahrestagung), a Berlin political-education seminar, a career-entry program (Nachwuchsschmiede), an Internationale Grüne Woche excursion, continuing-education seminars (VDL-Akademie) and a mentor program, while delivering political representation through dbb beamtenbund and ULA collective-bargaining access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VDL Membership (Student / Young Professional / Regular / Fördernde Mitglieder) Tiered annual membership in Germany's largest academic professional association for the agriculture, nutrition and environment sectors, available to individual students, young professionals, regular members and corporate supporting members (Fördernde Mitglieder); includes discounted event pricing, access to the Mitgliederservice portal, and political representation via dbb beamtenbund and ULA.
• VDL-Jahrestagung (Annual Federal Conference) Recurring multi-day annual conference combining the federal member assembly, division meetings, sector excursions and a parliamentary evening; 2026 edition held 7–9 May in Offenburg. Open to members and non-members at differentiated participation fees.
• VDL-Nachwuchsschmiede (Career-Entry Program) Targeted career-entry platform connecting students and young professionals in the 'green' sector with agribusiness employers and institutions; third edition held 6 May 2026 in Offenburg alongside the VDL-Jahrestagung.
• VDL Berlin-Seminar (Political-Education Program) Multi-day political-education seminar in Berlin providing first-hand insight into German agri-food policy, including visits to the Deutscher Bundestag, BMLEH/Bundeskanzleramt, AGRA Europe and the VDL Parlamentarischer Abend; editions held in 2024 and 2025.
• VDL-Exkursion zur Internationalen Grünen Woche Berlin Recurring guided excursion to the Internationale Grüne Woche (International Green Week) in Berlin with thematic tours and Bundesland evenings; 2026 edition held 16–20 January 2026 at €86–€307 depending on member status.
• VDL-Akademie (Continuing Education) Continuing-education program offering professional-development seminars on topics such as AI-driven knowledge management, rhetoric and leadership, delivered in cooperation with dbb akademie and other partners.
• VDL Mentoren Program Mentoring program pairing members with experienced sector professionals for one-to-one career guidance in agriculture, nutrition and environment careers.
• VDL-Studien (Sector Research Studies) Commissioned sector research studies on topics such as women's representation in agribusiness leadership (2021, 853 participants) and graduate career outcomes (2012); conducted with university partners such as Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel and funded by Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ members in the VDL network
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• dbb beamtenbund und tarifunionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing federal membership of VDL in the dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion gives public-sector members access to collective-bargaining machinery (TV-L negotiations with TdL), gewerkschaftliche services, and policy influence. VDL Bundesgeschäftsführer and Spartensprecher Öffentlicher Dienst Dr. Juhl Jörgensen regularly participate in dbb Bundestarifkommission. Joint seminars with dbb akademie (Rhetorik, KI, Authentisch zum Erfolg).
• ULA (Deutscher Führungskräfteverband)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVDL is a member of ULA; VDL-Präsident Markus W. Ebel-Waldmann has served as Vice-President of ULA since 2010 and as a member of its Bundesvorstand since 2017. Provides leadership representation for academic professionals in management roles.
• VEG-Geisenheim Alumni Association e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVEG-Geisenheim is a member under the VDL-Bundesverband as Dachverband; regular strategy meetings (most recent 21 April 2022) align berufspolitische Vertretung, with VEG-Präsident Robert Lönarz and VDL-Präsident Markus W. Ebel-Waldmann.
• BHGL (Bundesverband der Hochschulabsolventen/Ingenieure Gartenbau und Landschaftsarchitektur e.V.)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Parlamentarischer Abend with BHGL since at least 2012 (14th edition held in October 2019, originally hosted by BHGL-Präsident Prof. Uwe Schmidt and now Marc-Guido Megies), positioning both associations as 'Transferzentren' between academia, research, politics and the green sector.
• dbb akademiecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCooperates with VDL to deliver professional-development seminars (e.g., 'Authentisch zum Erfolg' at dbb forum siebengebirge in Königswinter 2020; Rhetorik seminar in Hannover 2023; 'Intelligentes Wissensmanagement mit KI' in Hannover 8–10 February 2026 with dbb-Dozent Nils-Michael Becker).
• Ministerium für Ernährung, Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz Baden-WürttembergcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState ministry represented at VDL Jahrestagung 2026 (Dr. Konrad Rühl, Leiter Abteilung Landwirtschaft) and at VDL-Nachwuchsschmiede 2026 (Carla Schied presented career paths in Agrarverwaltung); cooperation on green-sector policy.
• Botschaft der Vereinigten Staaten in DeutschlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerU.S. Embassy Berlin participated in VDL Berlin-Seminar 2025 (Botschaftsrat Nicolas Rubio and Antonia Rudolf, Foreign Agricultural Service) on German-U.S. agricultural policy dialogue.
• Deutscher Raiffeisenverband (DRV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeter Jung (Leitung Lebensmittelwirtschaft) represented DRV at the VDL-Nachwuchsschmiede 2026 in Offenburg and has been elected Vice-President of VDL Bundesverband. Jörg Migende, Hauptgeschäftsführer des Deutschen Raiffeisenverbandes e.V., co-authored a Welt supplement with VDL-Präsident Ebel-Waldmann.
• AGRA Europe (Hauptstadtredaktion)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAGRA Europe hosted VDL Berlin-Seminar participants for a Fachgespräch on the work of the leading news service for the green sector (2024 and 2025 editions).
• German AgriFood SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted a session at VDL Berlin-Seminar 2025 on agrar start-ups in Germany (with Lars Abraham and two start-up founders).
• Messe Berlin (Internationale Grüne Woche)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVDL hosts recurring 'Exkursion zur Grünen Woche' with guided tours and Bundesland evenings (Hessen-Abend etc.), exemplified by 2025 (17–21 Jan) and 2026 (16–20 Jan) editions; programme 2026 listed 'Exklusiver Besuch des Hessen-Abends'.
• Agora AgrarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted a Fachgespräch at the VDL Berlin-Seminar 2024 (Dr. Christine Chemnitz and Prof. Dr. Harald Grethe, both Directors of Agora Agrar) on concepts for a future-oriented food and agriculture sector.
• Deutscher Bauernverband e.V. (DBV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint statements with VDL-Präsident Ebel-Waldmann and DBV-Präsident Joachim Ruckwied in Welt 'Die starke Landwirtschaft' (March 2024) and Handelsblatt 'Zukunft Agrarwirtschaft' (July 2023) supplements — political-coalition cooperation on agricultural-policy advocacy.
• Vereinigte Hagelversicherung VVaG (Gießen)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted the 20. Netzwerkabend 2025 of VDL Hessen at its headquarters in Gießen (13 November 2025) — venue and content partner for the Hessen state-association network event.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BHGL (Bundesverband der Hochschulabsolventen/Ingenieure Gartenbau und Landschaftsarchitektur e.V.): Academic professional association for horticulture and landscape architecture graduates. Co-hosts the Parlamentarischer Abend with VDL since 2012 and serves a closely overlapping green-sector academic constituency, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU): Trade union for agriculture, construction, and environment workers. Overlaps VDL's constituency for blue- and white-collar agricultural workers and competes for relevance in representing sector interests to policymakers, though VDL focuses on the academic professional cohort.
• ULA (Deutscher Führungskräfteverband): German association for executive and leadership professionals. VDL is a ULA member and VDL-Präsident Ebel-Waldmann serves as ULA Vice-President, making it a directly comparable umbrella leadership association for academic professionals.

Broad incumbents

• Deutscher Bauernverband (DBV): Germany's main farmers' association representing agricultural interests across the value chain. Issues joint statements with VDL (Welt 'Die starke Landwirtschaft', Handelsblatt 'Zukunft Agrarwirtschaft') and serves overlapping but broader constituency than VDL's academic focus.
• Zentralverband Gartenbau (ZVG): Germany's central horticultural industry association. Covers VDL's horticulture and garden science professional territory from an industry-trade perspective rather than academic professional association angle, making it a broad incumbent peer.
• Deutscher Raiffeisenverband (DRV): Federal association of German Raiffeisen cooperatives in agribusiness. Interlocks with VDL through shared leadership (Peter Jung, VDL Vice-President, heads Food Industry at DRV) and operates in the same green-sector professional space from a cooperative-industry angle.
• dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion: German civil-service federation and trade-union umbrella in which VDL holds membership. Represents VDL's public-sector members in TV-L collective bargaining and is the closest analogue to VDL's lobbying/collective-bargaining functions at a much larger scale.

Emerging players

• VEG-Geisenheim Alumni Association e.V. Alumni association of Geisenheim University's wine/agronomy graduates. Operates as a member under VDL-Bundesverband as Dachverband and represents a focused sub-constituency of VDL's green-sector academic network, making it an emerging player within VDL's federated structure.

Regional players

• Bund der Deutschen Landjugend (BDL): German rural youth organization. Overlaps VDL's Nachwuchsschmiede and student/YP recruitment mission for a younger demographic, but operates primarily through regional Landjugend chapters rather than as a national academic professional association.

Others

• Verband der Landwirtschaftskammern: Federation of German agricultural chambers. Provides an institutional counterpart to VDL's public-sector member base working in Landwirtschaftskammern and ministries, and is a key institutional employer of VDL's public-sector members.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VDL