Lantmännen Research Foundation funds the agriculture of the future with SEK 20 million

04 February 2025 News, 2025

Lantmännen Research Foundation is now presenting the allocation of SEK 20 million to new projects received under the 2024 call. Of these, SEK 10 million will fund eight agriculture-related research projects.

Since 1986, the foundation has invested in research along the entire value chain. Among other things, a network of researchers has been formed to work together to increase productivity and reduce climate impact in agriculture, to secure food security and to contribute to a more robust food system.

"It is gratifying that we, year after year, have such a large and interesting selection of projects, all of which aim to strengthen Swedish agriculture. Not unexpectedly, new technologies are finding their way into our world as well. With powerful tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, I am sure that agriculture-related research will take great strides in the near future," says Helena Fredriksson, Head of Research at the Lantmännen Research Foundation.

To ensure anchoring within and benefits for Swedish agriculture, all applications are assessed by review panels consisting of representatives from the academia, Lantmännen's officials and Lantmännen's members - i.e. active Swedish farmers.

The projects in the agricultural area that have been granted funding in the 2024 call can be categorised into three groups; 1) AI-driven analysis tools, 2) improved conditions for the cultivation of legumes and 3) grassland cultivation.

One of the projects aims to ensure a very fast and accurate method for measuring seed shooting, which is a key parameter for seed quality. With today's methodology, the analysis takes up to 15 days to complete, a lead time that will be shortened to less than 10 minutes with the help of a technology based on advanced sensor technology and data processing. Parameters such as water content, protein content and protein quality may also be relevant to analyze with the same method in the future.

Another important project is to develop DNA-based methods to measure soil contamination by troublesome plant diseases that can attack peas and faba beans. The goal is for the technology to be both quick and easy to use to identify fields with both a high and low incidence of infection and thus ensure successful cultivation.

In a third project, new methods for detecting and controlling weeds in seed cultivation of forage seed will be developed. Today, the work is carried out by field workers, who manually seek out and remove the weeds. In this project, search dogs will instead be trained to detect the weed species reindeer grass, chicken millet, rat fescue and lint cheese, among other sorts.

In summary, Lantmännen Research Foundation is working to ensure that the results from the projects will strengthen both crop and animal production in Sweden, with increased productivity and reduced climate impact. Lantmännen and the Research Foundation are in strong positions to put this knowledge into practice in various operations and create value throughout the value chain. This can be done through product innovations, process improvements and new business models that contribute to a more viable agriculture.

"Over the years, we have participated in hundreds of research projects and studies, and we will continue to build on our knowledge," concludes Helena Fredriksson, Head of Research at Lantmännen Research Foundation.

For more information, please contact:

Helena Fredriksson, Head of Research at Lantmännen Research Foundation
E-mail: [email protected]

Lantmännen's press service
Tel: 010 556 88 00
E-mail: [email protected]