Welcome to Sval?v - Lantm?nnen's new Farm of the Future

On 14th of?June, Lantm?nnen’s new Farm of the Future, Sval?v, was inaugurated, where a new and very advanced plant breeding facility has been created. The launch gathered experts and stakeholders on site in the south of Sweden for a seminar that was broadcasted live, and for a guided tour on the facilities. In this blog post Annette Olesen, Director Plant Breeding at Lantm?nnen, reflects about the launch.

The whole seminar was recorded and can be seen here (in Swedish).

14 June will be a memorable day for us who work with plant breeding at Lantm?nnen. At our new, world-leading plant breeding facility, we gathered knowledgeable and committed people for discussions about plant breeding and farming of the future. I had a clear feeling that with the new investment, we are exactly in right time and that we have all possibilities to accelerate our variety development. I see Lantm?nnen as a professional and ambitious company with a strong drive to invest in the area of sustainability and research for future development. I believe that our audience left the launch with a feeling that important progress is taking place in Lantm?nnen, and that the company has taken an even clearer leadership position in plant breeding and development of a profitable and sustainable agriculture.

During the seminar, important perspectives were highlighted. There is now a clear opinion that plant breeding plays a crucial role in providing the solutions for a profitable and climate-neutral agriculture. And that both private and public, long-term investments are necessary. It was also very relevant that the challenge of attracting students and to build competence within plant breeding and related disciplines was raised.

In addition to attending the live seminar, the audience visited the new breeding facility with growth chambers, the laboratory, and the agriculture at Sval?v Farm. At the farm, we had the opportunity to discuss digital solutions and precision cultivation technology. We saw plant breeding in fields where plant material is being tested in a large number of plots. It was a great day together.

I see that the Farm of the Future Sval?v creates conditions for an even closer cooperation with various actors, and that we will be an even more important place for visits. I would especially like to emphasise our important partnership with SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, where the centre for plant breeding of food crops; SLU Grogrund, is a hub for joint research. This centre has led to a strengthened research collaboration that will deliver clear contributions to the ambitions of Sweden's Food Strategy.

The work that led to the investment and launch has been going on for several years. And in the construction phase, it has been challenging to get the technical solutions in place, where the world situation has affected access to components.. Thus the construction work and physical installation of chambers as well as deliveries of robots have taken longer than expected. In parallel, we have worked focused to attract new competence in the group for the handling of bioinformatics and predictive modelling in order to achieve maximum use of, for example, speed breeding and genomic selection. We have made a reorganisation and will work together in a new way. It is a truly exciting time, and I am happy and proud to see the enthusiasm and professionalism among my colleagues.

Overall, I take with me three key expressions from the day: competence supply, research cooperation and long-term investments. These are areas we should jointly invest in to secure the best opportunities for addressing the future challenges in agriculture and food production.