N.U. Agrar GmbH

What N.U. Agrar GmbH does

N.U. Agrar GmbH is a German independent agricultural consulting firm founded in 1986 in Flensburg as a spin-off from Nordische Universität e.V., now headquartered in Schackenthal, Saxony-Anhalt. The company delivers independent, scientifically-grounded crop cultivation advice to farmers and agricultural industry partners, with a focus on variety selection, plant protection, fertilization, and cultivation strategy across cereals, rapeseed, potatoes, sugar beets, legumes, corn, and soybean. Its core technology is a GEP (Good Experimental Practice)-certified field trial network operating across multiple German locations (Derenburg, Ostholstein, Schleswig-Holstein) supported by a proprietary seed analysis laboratory in Liebenburg; these assets generate the proprietary evidence base for the company's recommendations and commissioned research services.

The business model combines several revenue streams: (i) recurring subscription information services — Grünes Info (24 print issues per year plus online) and Kartoffel Info (minimum 10 print issues per year plus online) — billed annually; (ii) bespoke on-site and digital crop consulting to individual farmers; (iii) laboratory seed analysis (germination capacity, vigor, disease infestation, TKG); (iv) contract research and commissioned trials for breeders, ag-industry, and research institutions; and (v) educational seminars including a 12-session Betriebsleiterseminar training program. The company is co-owned by two non-profit associations (Förderkreis Agrarwissenschaften e.V. and Institut für Bodenkultur und Pflanzenbau e.V.), has three managing directors (Ferenc Kornis, Frank Brunn, Martin Schreiber) plus founder Prof. Dr. Hansgeorg Schönberger, and operates international subsidiaries in the Czech Republic (2001), Poland/Eastern Europe (2008), and Switzerland (2012), with consulting activities extending across 10+ European countries plus South America.

Name

N.U. Agrar GmbH

Legal name

N.U. Agrar GmbH

Website

https://nu-agrar.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

N.U. Agrar GmbH is a German independent agricultural consulting firm, founded 1986, that delivers evidence-based crop cultivation advice to farmers using a GEP-certified field trial network and seed laboratory, with subscription publications (Grünes Info, Kartoffel Info), consulting, and trial services across 10+ European countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Consulting Services

NAICS

Farm Management Services (115116)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Yield Optimization & Crop Performance Consulting (AFACABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Seed & Hybrid/Variety Selection Consulting (AFACABAK), Farm Technology Enablement & Data Integration Advisory (FMIS/ERP, IoT, Decision Support) (AFACAJAG), Whole-Farm Business Management & Budgeting Advisory (AFACAJAA)

Keywords

• Agricultural consulting
• Crop cultivation advisory
• Field trial services
• Seed analysis laboratory
• Farm management training

Headquarters

HQ city

Aschersleben-Schackenthal

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Crop Consulting Services: Individual consultation directly on-site or digitally supporting farmers with variety selection, cultivation planning, and plant production questions tailored to their specific operations.
2. Seminars and Training: Single seminars (one to two days, in-person and online) and a 12-session Betriebsleiterseminar (farm manager seminar) for future agricultural leaders. Accommodation and meals included in seminar price.
3. Seed Analysis Services: Laboratory analysis of seed samples including germination capacity, disease infestation, seed vigor, TKG, and purity. Samples sent to Liebenburg laboratory.
4. Subscription Information Services (Grünes Info & Kartoffel Info): Annual subscriptions providing regular crop production recommendations. Grünes Info covers all important plant production information (plant protection, fertilization, varieties); Kartoffel Info focuses on potato cultivation. Available online and/or print versions.
5. Contract Research and Commissioned Trials: Joint projects and commissioned experiments for partners from industry, breeding, and research institutions. Product and variety testing as well as individual trial arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

N.U. Agrar GmbH is an independent agricultural consulting firm providing crop production advisory to farmers in Germany and across Europe. Its core offerings are the Grünes Info and Kartoffel Info subscription-based information services, individual on-site and digital Pflanzenbauberatung, GEP-certified independent Feldversuche (field trials) across multiple locations, Saatgutanalysen through its own laboratory in Liebenburg, and Seminare (including the Betriebsleiterseminar) for farm managers and future agricultural leaders.

Product overview

N.U. Agrar GmbH is an agricultural consulting company offering a suite of advisory and information services centered on plant cultivation. Its core offerings include the subscription-based information services Grünes Info (covering general crop protection, fertilization, and variety recommendations) and Kartoffel Info (specializing in potato cultivation), supported by independent field trials (Feldversuche) and a seed analysis laboratory (Saatgutanalysen). The company also provides individual on-site and digital consulting, seminars including the Betriebsleiterseminar, and knowledge-sharing through lectures and specialist articles. The portfolio is structured as subscription information products backed by field research, complemented by advisory services and educational offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grünes Info Annual subscription-based information service delivering current plant cultivation recommendations covering crop protection, fertilization, variety selection, soil cultivation, and more, published online and/or by post (24 print issues per year).
• Kartoffel Info Annual subscription-based information service focused on potato cultivation, providing recommendations on seed stock, soil and plant analysis, desiccation, and storage, delivered online and/or as at least 10 print issues per year.
• Pflanzenbauberatung (Crop Cultivation Consulting) Individual advisory services for farmers, delivered on-site or digitally, covering variety selection, cultivation planning, and plant production questions tailored to each farm operation.
• Feldversuche (Field Trials) Independent field trials across multiple locations covering variety, fertilization, and plant protection experiments, GEP-certified, offered to farmers and as commissioned trials to industry, breeding, and research partners.
• Saatgutanalysen (Seed Analysis) Laboratory analysis of seed samples at the firm's Liebenburg laboratory, covering Thousand Grain Weight, germination capacity, seed vigor, and disease infestation, with results delivered by fax or email.
• Seminare (Seminars) Agricultural seminars covering crop rotation, soil and plant analysis, spray water conditioning, weed control, and potato cultivation, delivered in-person and online, including a 12-session Betriebsleiterseminar for future farm managers with accommodation and meals included.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grünes Info published 24 times per year (minimum every two weeks); Kartoffel Info published at least 10 times per year

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• N.U. Agrar Swiss (Schweiz)coreOthers · 1 January 2012Consulting office established in 2012 extending agricultural consulting services to Switzerland.
• N.U. Agrar Wschód (Polen)coreOthers · 1 January 2008Consulting office established in 2008 for agricultural consulting services in Poland and Eastern Europe.
• Institut für Bodenkultur und Pflanzenbau e.V. (IfBP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Non-profit institute founded by employees in 1990 to continue research projects and secure the trial location in Flensburg. Miteigentümer (co-owner) of N.U. Agrar GmbH.
• Förderkreis Agrarwissenschaften e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1989Non-profit association that acquired the shares of Nordische Universität e.V. in N.U. Agrar GmbH after the university's closure in 1989. Co-owner of the company.
• N.U. Agrar CZcoreOthersJoint venture established in 2001 with local farmers in Czech Republic and Slovakia, based in Studena. Provides consulting services in the region.
• Versuchsring Ostholstein e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural trial network organizing the annual field day in Ostholstein, hosted at Hof Friedrichsthal in Gremersdorf.
• DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Agricultural Society organizing the DLG-Feldtage trade fair. N.U. Agrar participates with a trial field at Stand VC11.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen: Regional German Chamber of Agriculture providing publicly funded crop advisory, trial work, and farmer training. Comparable trial-and-advisory mandate but as a public-sector institution, serving farmers in Lower Saxony alongside N.U. Agrar's German footprint.
• Agroscope: Swiss federal agricultural research and consulting body conducting field trials and issuing crop recommendations. N.U. Agrar Swiss explicitly operates alongside this incumbent; Agroscope is a public-sector peer covering similar crop-advisory territory in Switzerland.
• Corteva Agriscience (Pioneer): Global seed and crop-protection major that commissions independent field trials and publishes agronomic recommendations. Overlaps with N.U. Agrar as a customer of commissioned trials and as a competitor for farmer attention through its own agronomy content.
• DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft): Germany's leading agricultural society, organizing DLG-Feldtage and providing knowledge platforms, quality certification, and field-trial networks. A broader incumbent that overlaps in trials and farmer knowledge exchange rather than paid consulting.

Direct peers

• ARVALIS: French technical institute for field crops that runs independent variety trials, publishes crop recommendations, and delivers agronomy advisory to farmers. Highly comparable model to N.U. Agrar — independent, trial-backed advisory and information services — though operating in France.
• Eurofins Agroscience Services: Part of Eurofins, providing agricultural contract research including field trials, seed testing, and agrochemical efficacy studies. Comparable on the commissioned-trial and seed-analysis services that form part of N.U. Agrar's portfolio, though at much larger scale.
• ADAS: UK-based agricultural and environmental consultancy providing agronomy advice, crop trials, and on-farm consultancy to farmers and agri-businesses. Comparable professional-services agronomy model with multi-disciplinary consulting.
• Agrii: UK agronomy services and crop inputs provider running trial sites and delivering crop recommendations to arable farmers. Directly comparable crop-advisory-plus-trials business, though with a more commercial input-sales overlay.

Others

• Saaten-Union: German plant-breeding cooperative conducting variety trials and publishing agronomic recommendations to farmers. Comparable in trial-and-recommendation content but as a breeder-led organization, not an independent advisor.

Regional players

• ProAgrar: German agricultural advisory and information service providing field-trial results, crop recommendations, and farmer publications. A close German-language peer to N.U. Agrar's Grünes Info subscription model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nuagrar
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• Instagraminstagram.com/nu_agrar/?hl=de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 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 N.U. Agrar GmbH