The agricultural publishing house in Münster-Hiltrup
A chronicle in decades
1946 until today
1940er
1946: The first "Landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt für Westfalen und Lippe" is published on April 20, 1946. It takes up where the old "Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung für die preußische Provinz Westfalen" (Agricultural Newspaper for the Prussian Province of Westphalia), founded in 1844, left off in 1933. As early as 1946, the British Military Government granted the three farmers Franz Luster-Haggeney, Hermann Sültemeier and Ludwig Weddige the necessary license. The three publishers founded the Landwirtschaftsverlag (LV).
1940er
1946-1950: LV initially operates in the premises of a disused distillery in Steinhagen. 1948: The publishing house moves into a former villa in Hiltrup, then an independent municipality south of Münster. In the same year, the publishing house publishes its first book, "Die westfälisch-lippische Landwirtschaft in der Nachkriegszeit" ("Westphalian-Lippe Agriculture in the Postwar Period"). In 1949, the publishing house publishes the first "Westphalian Farmers' Calendar," which appears until 1974.
1950er
1950-1960: Circulation and advertising volume of the weekly paper increase, the publishing house successfully publishes more and more reference books on agriculture and forestry. In 1951, for example, the "Taschenbuch des Pflanzenarztes" (Pocket Book of the Plant Doctor) is published for the first time, which - updated annually - continues to appear until the 1990s. Government publications such as the reports of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry or the "Statistical Yearbook on Food, Agriculture and Forestry" are also published in Hiltrup.
1960er
1960-1970: The Wochenblatt has a circulation of around 65,500 copies. The book publishing house continues to grow. Thus, writings of the semi-official "Land- und Hauswirtschaftlichen Auswertungs- und Informationsdienst" are published in LV. A reference work on "Research Institutes of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in the Federal Republic of Germany," widely used at the time, also appears in several editions.
1970er
1970-1980: The LV expands: In 1972, the nationwide trade journal "top agrar" is launched; in 1976, "Reiter und Pferde in Westfalen" is added; one year later, the "Deutsche Schwarzbunte". In addition, the publications of the "Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft" (KTBL) were added to the publishing program. The "KTBL-Taschenbuch" (KTBL Pocketbook) alone, with data from agriculture and construction practice, reaches a circulation of more than 100,000 copies by the early 1980s.
1980er
1980-1990: In 1980, the LV takes over the Bonn-based "Landschriftenverlag GmbH". Together with the German Agricultural Society (DLG), the Max-Eyth-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH is founded in Frankfurt in 1989, where the "DLG-Mitteilungen" are published. In addition, the "Rheinisch-Westfälischer Jäger" has been part of the publishing program since 1987. And the first issue of the agricultural technology magazine "profi" follows in November 1989.
1990er
1990-2000: After the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1991 the LV takes a stake in Deutscher Bauernverlag in Berlin (today: dbv network), which publishes the "Bauernzeitung" in the eastern German states. Two years later, the LV establishes the Polish agricultural publishing house "Polskie Wydawnictwo Rolnicze" in Poznan, which launches "top agrar polska" in 1994. The company also expanded southward, launching "top agrar Österreich" in 1996. In Germany, the LV takes over the magazine "SUS - Schweinezucht und Schweinemast" (1992), and the "Fleischrinder Journal" (1994). 1997: "Hof Direkt", the magazine for direct marketers, is launched, and the LV takes a stake in Agrar Verlag Allgäu (1996), which publishes the "Allgäuer Bauernblatt".
2000er
2000-2010: The LV goes digital: In 2000, the Internet address and product finder "agripool.de" and the used machinery exchange "traktorpool" are launched. Around 10 years later, "rimondo," the interactive platform for equestrian sports and horse breeding, is added as a second major platform. But the classic magazine business is also expanded further: In 2003, LV founds "Elite," a special magazine for milk producers. And in 2005, the success story of "Landlust" begins. By 2010, circulation had risen to more than 700,000 copies. Two years later, it is already one millon copies per issue. This is one of the reasons why LV is now one of the 100 largest media companies in Germany.
2010er
2010-2020: The traktorpool and rimondo platforms are spun off into "LV digital GmbH" in 2014 and expanded to include "baupool" and the "landreise" vacation exchange. The magazines "einfach hausgemacht" (2013) and "Stark" (2016) are launched, as is the network "f3 - farm.food.future" (2018), which brings together startups from the agricultural and food industries with financiers and other interested parties. In 2015, LV acquired "Lebensmittel Praxis-Verlag" with its subsidiaries in Vienna and Warsaw. There, "BUNTEKUH Medien" also docks LV's corporate publishing activities. In 2016, LV founded Deutsche Medien-Manufaktur (DMM) with the publishing house Gruner + Jahr (Hamburg), in which "Landlust" is published, among others. With the acquisition of the Dutch AgriDirect BV and its German subsidiary AgriDirect Deutschland GmbH (2020), LV is broadening its position in direct marketing and market research.
