About us

The Hub's reference group, made up of various stakeholders, covers a wide range of different orientations and can raise questions about digital technology in agriculture from different perspectives.

Management team

Business manager - Per Frankelius

Doctor of Economics and Doctor of Business Administration, with a broad knowledge of both agricultural technology and the context and needs of agriculture.

Per has developed new technologies, including a precision harrow, a digital soil compaction system, an agricultural robot and an electrical system for battery operation. He has 3 patents and one pending in agricultural technology. Per has also been very involved in knowledge dissemination, e.g. organizing Agriculture Innovation Day and many other thematic days aimed at disseminating knowledge.

Furthermore, he has developed several courses including "Agricultural technology and innovation" for professional farmers and others. He has also organized delegation trips within Sweden and to other countries and arranged the reception of several study visits including delegations from other countries. He was part of the team that received the Agritechnica Innovation Award 2022 and Agrifuture Shortlist Winner 2023. Furthermore, Per has been the chairman of KSLA's Technology Committee which was about identifying technology needs in agriculture and analyzing gaps with digital technology. He also has practical farming experience through his family's farming.

Business manager - Karolina Muhrman

PhD and Associate Professor of Education, with a lifetime of experience in agriculture and forestry, and for several years running and developing her own agricultural business.

Furthermore, she has a degree in natural sciences and has worked as a teacher in natural sciences education for 11 years. Karolina has university degrees in chemistry, biology and mathematics. Her research has focused on the use of mathematics in the agricultural profession and mathematics education in agricultural education. Karolina has extensive experience as a leader in various organizations at the university, including as head of Sweden's largest research environment in adult education, with budgetary and personnel responsibility. She has built up and implemented several major research and evaluation projects, including with funding from the Swedish Research Council, ESF and the Swedish National Agency for Education. She has also worked as an expert in educational issues for the Swedish National Agency for Education and has worked extensively with the development of educational materials. She has organized a large number of trade fair activities, conferences, theme days, seminars and courses both in Sweden and abroad. One of Karolina's strengths is pedagogical methods and transforming technical or scientific knowledge into popular science descriptions and visualizations, something that is strategically important for a knowledge hub in digitalization for agriculture.

Communicator - Ebba Nordqvist

Communications Officer from the Communications and Marketing Department (KOM), with experience as a photographer and in the production of content for social media, web and print.

Ebba has a 3.5 year degree in Communication, Society and Media Production (KSM) and Media and Communication Studies (MKV).
Previously worked centrally at KOM with LiU's main accounts in the SOME group and at the turn of the year stepped on a shared position as communicator for Agtech Sweden and the Department of Industrial Economic Development (IEI), is today permanently employed by Agtech Sweden and Kunskapsnavet.

Ebba has extensive experience in producing content and marketing and is also a photographer. Today she produces content for Agtech Sweden's social media, newsletters, web, graphic material and trained web editor for LiU.se. Her role will be to keep communication going on the knowledge hub's various channels and highlight activities within the Knowledge Hub for the digitization of agriculture.

Coordinator - Erika Sapir Andersson

Coordinator at the Department of Economix and Industrial Development. (IEI)

Erika's educational background is in literary studies, library and information science and language counseling, with a bachelor's degree in literary studies and a university degree in culture and media design. A master's thesis in language counseling and text preservation is currently in the planning stage.

Since 2018, Erika has been working as a coordinator at the Department of Economic and Industrial Development, mainly as an administrator at the Department of Industrial Economics and as an administrative manager for theses within the Faculty of Engineering at the department. She also works with language editing, proofreading and translation within the department when needed.

Erika is since 2023 management support within Agtech Sweden, and works with, for example, purchasing, bookings and other administrative tasks, a role she will also have within the Knowledge Hub for the digitization of agriculture.

Coordinator and educational expert - Sofia Nyström

PhD and Assistant Professor of Education, raised on a farm and forest property with a passion for learning.

Sofia has a university education in behavioral sciences and has always been interested in the relationship between education and working life. In recent years, Sofia has conducted research on how simulation can be used to support vocational and professional learning in, among other things, nature use and transportation. Sofia has extensive leadership experience, including as head of department, and is currently director of studies and coordinator of contract education and independent courses at the Department of Pedagogy and Adult Learning. Sofia has extensive experience in designing, planning and implementing large research projects with funding from, among others, the Swedish Research Council, various organizations such as municipalities and government agencies, and the ETUC. Characteristic of Sofia's profile is her commitment, collaboration with various parties outside the university and willingness to drive change.

Coordinator and educational expert - Per Andersson

PhD and Professor of Education, with a broad interest in adult learning and vocational learning and training.

Per has an undergraduate education as a teacher and worked in primary schools before continuing with studies in pedagogy, postgraduate studies and eventually a position as professor. His work with education and research at the university is broadly about knowledge and learning, with a focus on adult learning and vocational education, and not least how the knowledge developed in different parts of working life can be validated and valued as equivalent to what formal education provides. Another interest is outdoor education and how knowledge can be developed in more organized forms outside the classroom. Per also has extensive experience of leadership, both as director of studies and head of department at the university, and from assignments in non-profit organizations.

He also grew up and lives in the countryside, and is co-owner of a small farm where much of his free time is spent.

Expert network

Each actor in the Network of Excellence will have its own budget in the Hub to carry out various activities linked to the tasks of the Hub. The size of the budget varies depending on the size of the mission of the organization in the hub, but in order to maintain close contact with the industry and the business they are in, all people working in the hub will do so part-time to varying degrees. The main task of the network of experts will be to conduct business intelligence, needs analysis and to carry out tests and evaluations.

The expert network will also have a very important role in disseminating knowledge from the knowledge hub to primary producers and other actors such as technology companies, academia, other hubs and platforms, etc. In order to be able to carry out these tasks with both breadth and depth, the expert network consists of both advisory organizations and member organizations, digital technology companies, technology companies linked to the agricultural industry and academia.
Below are the organizations that are part of the hub's expert network, all of which have explicitly agreed and have a committed budget. In addition to these organizations, we are open to bringing more organizations with digital technology knowledge into the expert network should we win the tender, for example RISE.

Gård & Djurhälsan

Gård & Djurhälsan AB is a nationwide knowledge company with veterinarians, agronomists and farmers, most of whom have several years of professional experience. The business includes, among other things, knowledge transfer, advice, health control and conditional drug use to the country's pig, beef and lamb producers. In addition, Gård & Djurhälsan has many years of experience in running control and monitoring programs on grant funds from the Swedish Board of Agriculture and projects within the framework of, among other things, the Rural Development Program. Gård & Djurhälsan also has extensive experience of course activities, both in-house and through funding from, for example, the Rural Development Program. During the pandemic, they also developed their regular physical courses into digital courses.

Farm and Animal Health has a broad and unique knowledge of production, health, animal welfare and the conditions and challenges that apply to companies with animal husbandry in Sweden. Most of their employees work both actively in the herds with farm issues together with the entrepreneurs and with overall work, e.g. in control programs, coordination of important industry issues or act as experts in political contexts. This means that Farm and Animal Health's staff have a unique anchoring, from the farm's point of view to a holistic perspective on the development and needs of the entire industry.

Today there are 65 employees in Gård & Djurhälsan, of which administrative staff consists of ten people. The company has a turnover of approximately SEK 80 million and operates throughout Sweden, with its head office in Uppsala and employees distributed among regional offices. A special service center is located in Skövde while administrators are located in the regional offices. The finance department is located at the service center and is integrated with Gård & Djurhälsans parent company Svenska Köttföretagen. Their IT environment is operated by external companies (Dialect and Ord & Bild) to ensure secure and stable technical solutions for these environments. With its extensive network, Gård & Djurhälsan will be an important player in the knowledge hub when it comes to conducting needs analyses and ensuring that the knowledge from the network reaches the primary producers. With its extensive experience of course activities, Gård & Djurhälsan will also have a role in packaging the knowledge into digital and physical courses that the hub can conduct in various areas.

Gardochdjurhalsan.se

Lovang Lantbrukskonsult

Lovang Lantbrukskonsult was founded in 1981 and specializes in advice on cultivation, production economics and the environment, mainly in Östergötland but also in nearby counties. The company has offices in Vikingstad, outside Linköping. The number of employees is 14, most of whom are trained agronomists or farmers. The company's goal is to use its knowledge and commitment to help customers achieve their goals in their agricultural production.

In the field of crop advisory services, the company has expertise in field advisory services and strategic advice for conventional and organic production of threshing crops, forage, potatoes and some other specialty crops. In the field of operational economics, the company annually prepares post-calculations of the year's crop production, which has provided a unique knowledge base of the profitability trend in Swedish crop production since the 1980s.

Because the company is often a partner to its customers in investments and changes in production arrangements, the company has over the years acquired a very broad knowledge of agricultural production. This means that the company is often hired for calculations, aid applications, agreements and valuations. In the environmental field, the company carries out applications for environmental permits, environmental reports, certifications, etc. and assists in various forms of government contacts. During periods, advice is provided on plant nutrition and water via Greppa Näringen.

All staff regularly undergo training in plant cultivation, production economics and the environment via internal courses or external courses via other actors in Sweden or abroad. Courses and field meetings are also regularly organized for customers on relevant topics.

The company has extensive experience of support applications for general EU support, investment support and various types of project support, which has resulted in several approved EIP projects. Over the years, the company has also conducted many energy studies for conversions to fossil-free energy. Finally, Lovang Lantbrukskonsult has participated in several digital technology projects in agriculture, including winning the Agritechnica Innovation Award for a system that includes unique satellite services and advanced digital platforms.

In the knowledge hub, the Lovang agricultural consultant will carry out business intelligence, needs analysis and testing in the form of field trials. They will also be tasked with helping to bring researchers and farmers together and assisting with applications for EIP projects related to digital technologies.

lovanggruppen.se

Ludvig & Co

Ludvig & Co has long experience of working as consultants to companies in the agricultural sector. Their core business is accounting and finance, an area in which they have supported their clients in their digital transformation in recent years. Ludvig & Co also offers legal services and specialist advice in several areas such as business development, energy, tax, succession planning or as a management support in a farm council. Through the type of services offered, they have built up good insights into our customers, their conditions and challenges.

Digitization of agricultural companies is currently taking place in several different respects, administration, finance, personnel management and production. Ludvig & Co has a high level of expertise and extensive experience of both different systems, implementation at different levels and perhaps above all of individual needs analysis and helping to get practical business benefits from administrative digitization. This work also puts them in a good position to identify obstacles to digital development and to propose measures. When specialist advisors work with farmers on financial control and management issues, they also work closely with the farmer's production. The prerequisite for the benefits of digitization in agriculture is that all the information collected, or now made easily accessible, both in terms of production and finance, can be processed and form the basis for decision-making in the company. This is where Ludvig & Co, with its broad expertise and overview of agricultural companies, plays an important role.

Ludvig & Co has a nationwide organization with over 100 offices. Many of their green industry consultants are active farmers themselves. They are happy to participate in the knowledge hub for digitization in agriculture as they see a great potential for agriculture to increase efficiency by increasing digitization. There are few industries today that have so much available technology that is not applied. They see that they as companies and advisors, through the new knowledge hub, can create great value for the industry.

In the knowledge hub, Ludvig & Co will mainly work with needs analysis and dissemination of knowledge from the knowledge hub. They will also play an important role in testing and evaluating digital services, as this is part of their area of expertise.

ludvig.se

Växa Sverige

Växa Sverige is a knowledge company and Sweden's largest livestock organization with deep expertise in animal welfare, and knowledge of current conditions in livestock production and food-producing animals. Växa Sverige provides advice and services for farmers throughout the country and works for sustainable, profitable and increased food production. Växa's expertise covers areas such as animal health and cattle nutritional physiology, preventive infection control, breeding and genetics, feed production and plant cultivation, financial and business analysis, leadership, planning and project planning for rebuilding and new construction. The knowledge is used in advice, in courses and seminars, experience meetings and is also reflected in Växa's two subscribed magazines. Växa has been appointed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture as the principal for Smittsäkrad herd and for Swedish breeding evaluation. The company also has a unique breadth by offering services such as semen, dehorning, vaccination of cattle and a number of other services for Swedish agriculture in general, such as staffing services. Växa is run as an economic association with 6,000 members and shareholders in the form of Swedish dairy and beef farmers. Operations are based on some 30 sites from Umeå in Västerbotten to Kristianstad in Skåne, including operations on Öland and Gotland. Much of Växa's advice can also be delivered via digital meetings if customers prefer.

Växa Sverige has long experience and tradition of data exchange with farm systems and other relevant actors in the ecosystem such as SJV (CDB), SVA, laboratories, dairies, slaughterhouses and others. The data collection aims, among other things, to develop and offer digital services that contribute to improved animal health, increased production, higher profitability for dairy and beef producers, to ensure breeding progress and other measures for increased sustainability for animals, people, the environment and the economy. Växa's digital services and the so-called code database enable customized advice based on the farm's specific conditions and needs. Of Växa's nearly 500 employees, just over 330 are full-time, and nearly 50 people work on the ongoing development of Växa's digital offering and business intelligence with a focus on the agricultural landscape. Växa has a mandate and many years of experience in driving digital development for the agricultural industry with a particular focus on animal production. As early as 1898, Kokontrollen® was started, which collects data from 12 different sources and whose data collection is quality assured by ICAR. Växa Sverige's predecessors were already at the forefront in 1962 and invested in one of the first mainframe computers in Sweden, which was the start of the transition to digital data processing.

Växa Sverige has a number of different partnerships to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish agriculture and is a co-owner of Agronod, Tillväxtbolaget and Köttrasprövning. The collaborations contribute to new services that are developed in-house or with allocated project money. The newly launched advisory tool CowCareCompanion®, which is used by Arla in its sustainability work among 8,500 dairy farmers in Europe, was developed by Växa. The animal assessment tool Djuröga® is another example of a digital tool recently developed and launched by Växa.

Växa Sweden has an extensive assignment in the knowledge hub and works with both business intelligence and needs analysis and communication efforts. They will have overall responsibility for tests and trials in the knowledge hub and they will design courses and training initiatives aimed at the agricultural industry.
vxa.se

SLU

SLU is a young university with a long history. It was founded in 1977 after a merger of the Swedish School of Agriculture, the Swedish School of Forestry and the Swedish School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the School of Forestry in Skinnskatteberg and the Veterinary Institute in Skara. Today, SLU is a top international university with research, education and environmental analysis in the sciences for sustainable living. The main locations are Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also carried out at research stations, experimental parks and training centers throughout the country.

An important part of SLU in terms of digitization is SLU Gigacow under the leadership of Tomas Klingström. The background to SLU Gigacow is as follows: The digitization of agriculture makes it possible to collect more and more data from our dairy farms using automated methods. Together with genomic breeding evaluation and new connected sensors, this means great opportunities for increased production on Swedish dairy farms even in a changing climate.

Gigacow is an infrastructure initiative aimed at increasing the exchange between researchers and the industry. The goal is to work with farmers to combine genomic breeding evaluation with better metrics for production optimization in an environment where both technology and climate are changing more rapidly.

Gigacow has started work on creating a data collection platform that can be connected to available systems on dairy farms and also used as a base to connect new sensors and cameras. The network currently consists of 17 farms with over 5000 dairy cows where they are currently installing the monitoring system.

The aim is to DNA test the animals in the network and then complete the knowledge of the herds through automated collection of phenotypic breeding values and environmental data. Gigacow is responsible for the initial setup and will also ensure that both collected data and conclusions are available to participants in the project.

SLU will have an important role in monitoring and analysis. They will also provide training in the form of courses and seminars and will work with tests and experiments.

slu.se

Lantbrukarnas riksförbund (LRF)

LRF is a nationwide, non-partisan interest and business organization for farmers and foresters. LRF works for the development of companies and entrepreneurs with agriculture, forestry, gardening and the rural environment as a base, so that they can realize their ambitions for growth, profitability and attractiveness. LRF is a member-driven organization built on democracy, consisting of 128,000 members, where every other member is an entrepreneur. All issues that LRF works with are based on the needs and benefits of its members, and how Sweden is governed and with what policies, which affect the everyday lives of LRF members both today and in the future. Their daily work aims to improve the conditions for the green industry in Sweden.

LRF works with a wide range of issues, all of which affect entrepreneurs in the green industries. This includes livestock production, energy, CAP, plant cultivation, research and innovation, skills supply, building regulations, construction and more. LRF has staff at both regional and national level, as well as 11,300 elected representatives at local, municipal, regional and national level. The digitization of agriculture and forestry is a central part of much of the work LRF and their industry departments are doing today, and will become even more important in the future. LRF therefore sees it as a great strength if they can be involved in the knowledge hub on agricultural digitization that will be built up.

LRF wants to support Linköping University's application for a knowledge hub on the digitization of agriculture. LRF sees that Agtech 2030 (which has Linköping University as its principal) is conducting very successful work to develop the industry based on great collective expertise and strong driving force. Linköping University, with its many technical specializations and collective research, also gives weight to the knowledge hub. And not least, the region has a strong network in the agricultural industry with one of the country's foremost physical green clusters in the form of Vreta Kluster, a strong and broad project organization within AgroÖst and strong advisory organizations such as Lovanggruppen, Lantmännens Växtråd and Hushållningssällskapet with greater competition than anywhere else in Sweden. Within LRF there is also a strong operational base for Eastern Sweden at the Vreta cluster. All in all, this makes LRF see Agtech 2030 as the perfect partner for LRF to lead the knowledge hub around the digitalization of agriculture.

LRF will have an important role in conducting needs analysis. Through its extensive network, it can coordinate and disseminate surveys and conduct focus group interviews that identify farmers' needs for digital technology. They also have very good opportunities to disseminate knowledge from the hub out to the industry through various activities.

lrf.se

AI Sweden

AI Sweden is a national center for applied AI and brings together more than 120 partners from the public and private sectors and academia. AI Sweden is funded by the Swedish government and partners, both public and private. Together, they invest in generating tools and resources to accelerate the use of AI to strengthen Sweden's welfare and competitiveness, and improve the lives of everyone living in Sweden.

To achieve this, AI Sweden runs projects of national interest together with its partners in areas such as information-driven care, decentralized AI, edge learning and language models for the Swedish language. In addition, they are building talent programs and courses as well as resources to drive organizational change. By using AI Sweden's Data Factory, their partners can access and share data, as well as benefit from computational power and storage capacity for their AI projects.

AI Sweden's network acts as a catalyst for organizations that have the ambition to generate sustainable value using AI. As a partner of AI Sweden, you are part of building a robust and highly attractive Swedish AI ecosystem that drives organizations to use AI to solve key societal and business challenges.

AI Sweden is funded by Vinnova and partners. They are about 70 employees and have offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Lund, Örebro, Eskilstuna, Luleå and Linköping and in Montreal, Canada.

The principal of AI Sweden is Lindholmen Science Park AB, which is jointly owned by Chalmers University of Technology, the City of Gothenburg and the business community. Hand in hand, owners and partners have, over 20 years, jointly invested and purposefully developed a modern and inspiring innovation environment for several of Sweden's leading development projects.

The use of AI is growing at a very fast pace throughout society and not least in agriculture. AI Sweden will contribute to business intelligence in the AI field and will also provide expert knowledge in AI to the knowledge hub. AI Sweden can also hold webinars, etc. aimed at farmers to increase their knowledge in the field. They can also contribute with expertise in tests and development projects.

ai.se

Linköping Science Park

Linköping Science Park was founded in 1984. It is a municipally owned company that works to ensure that about 600 companies with about 7000 employees grow and develop in the best possible way. Linköping Science Park is characterized by high-tech, innovative and successful companies with a global reputation. The open environment with proximity between international large companies, start-up small companies and world-leading research leads to exciting collaborations and projects. Among profile areas can be mentioned:

- Visualization, modeling & simulation
- Connectivity & mobile broadband
- Safe vehicles & security systems

In addition, there are many companies in software and systems development, sensor technology, environmental technology and life sciences.

Through Linköping Science Park, the hub will connect to two national digital technology organizations, IoT World and Sweden Secure Tech Hub.

IoT World is a network of organizations focusing on connected digital systems, i.e. the Internet of Things (IoT). The goal is to make society more efficient with the help of IoT. The network consists of committed project partners from research, industry and public sector. The network's goal is to gather expertise, experience and knowledge in an open network to continue building the regional area of strength. More specifically, it is about:
- Accelerate the adoption of IoT solutions.
- Creating sustainable growth with increased employment and strengthened competitiveness for digital companies.
- Contribute to sustainable digitalization of the public sector and regional business
- Develop initiatives in the field of strengths-based, secure, connected products and systems.

The second national organization is the Sweden Secure Tech Hub. It is a national innovation hub for cybersecurity. The Sweden Secure Tech Hub helps small and medium-sized technology companies to create more secure digital products and solutions - starting already in the design and development phase. The hub offers a variety of resources and services, from inspiration and skills development to consultancy support, testing opportunities and help with finding funding for concrete development initiatives. Sweden Secure Tech Hub is based on a collaboration between six of Sweden's leading technology parks with a focus on digitalization: Linköping Science Park, Lindholmen Science Park (Gothenburg), Ideon Science Park (Lund), Kista Science Park (Stockholm), Luleå Science Park and Blue Science Park (Karlskrona). Sweden Secure Tech also includes Cyberly, a collaboration platform for business, academia, authorities and institutes in digital security.

Linköping University and Agtech Sweden, already have a fruitful collaboration with Linköping Science Park and this collaboration includes two shared services. The expertise from Linköping Science Park with IoT world and Sweden Secure Tech Hub will be used mainly for business intelligence in connected systems and cyber security. These are areas that are becoming increasingly important for the agricultural industry. Furthermore, technology companies linked to Linköping Science Park can be used in the evaluation and implementation of tests of existing digital technology and in the development of new digital technology for agriculture.

linkopingsciencepark.se

DeLaval

DeLaval International AB is a technology company originating from AB Separator, a company founded in 1883 to exploit Gustaf de Laval's 1878 invention, the separator, used to separate cream from milk. The company is headquartered in Tumba, in the municipality of Botkyrka, where the Hamra test farm is also located.

The company is now part of the Tetra Laval Group. The main focus of production is equipment for milk production. DeLaval is a world leader in manufacturing for dairy barns, they have a dominant position in several markets in the world. The company has invested heavily in developing robotic milking, which means that cows are automatically milked in a special machine called the Voluntary Milking System (VMS). DeLaval also has manure robots that autonomously travel around cowsheds to scrape away manure. They are also working on feed robots. For example, the Optiwagon feed spreading robot was launched in 2023.

Digital technology is very central to DeLaval. Let's give some examples of interesting digital technology, besides the manure robot and feed spreader:

- Automatic cow identification system through IFID (1977)
- Milking robot where cows can choose to be milked voluntarily, voluntary milking system (1998)
- Cell counter (2003)
- Analysis tool for mastitis, reproduction, metabolic disorders and feed protein balance, Herd Navigator (2007)
- Automated feeding solution that mixes recipes and distributes feed adapted to the specific animal group, Optimat (2008)
- Complete software system for dairy farm management, DelPro (2009)
- First ever automatic milking rotator, AMR (2010)
- First automated body grading system, BCS (2015)
- Automatic teat spray robot for rotors, TSR (2015)
- Digital service, consumption management and advice service, InService (2017)
- Milking robot that does not need to be calibrated for each cow, V300 (2018)

Each of these examples are systems that incorporate multiple digital technology elements. The V300, for example, is based on digital technologies such as time-of-flight (TOF) cameras; touch screens that can withstand harsh environments, mechatronics and apps. DeLaval has a constant focus on new technology. Today, the focus is on technologies such as BigData, Internet of things, machine learning, new types of photonics (camera technology), new sensors and increased automation.

In the knowledge hub, DeLaval will be a very important player in the expert network where they can contribute with their extensive expertise in the development of digital technology for agriculture linked to animal husbandry in particular. DeLaval will be able to contribute to both business intelligence, analysis and testing and development.

delaval.com

Väderstad

Väderstad AB is a family business located in the small town of Väderstad and manufactures agricultural machinery in both seeding technology and tillage. It was founded in 1962 by farmer Rune Stark. Originally, the company manufactured cords for the stiff clay soils in the neighborhood. Today, the company manufactures harrows, rollers, cultivators, seed drills and precision seeders, which it exports to farmers all over the world. The company is constantly looking for technical solutions that can simplify the farmer's everyday life.

Väderstad is today one of the world's leading companies for tillage, seeding and precision seeding. They have a turnover of more than SEK 5.5 billion. The number of employees is more than 2000 and they have subsidiaries in both Canada and the USA. Electronics and software development have become increasingly important for Väderstad. Since the beginning of 2019, Väderstad has had an office in Tornby in Linköping. This has had the purpose of attracting employees with specialized skills in digital technology. In 2023, Väderstad moved the Linköping office to Mjärdevi Center near Linköping University.

Väderstad is known for having extensive dialogues with farmers. This means that the company continuously gets an updated picture of the problems and needs of farmers, which today is very much about digital technology. Even cultivators are now digital and require knowledge in this area to be managed optimally. To show the great importance of digital technology for Väderstad, we can give some examples:

- Digital control system, E-Services
- Interface displayed on the iPad regarding the Väderstad machine and its settings, E-Control
- Gateway (local wireless network) and "central computer" (Electronic Control Unit, ECU) with all data about the machine and which via sensors also captures data about the machine
- Wireless communication between tractor and machine (WiFi)
- ISOBUS
- 3D drawings of machines for easier spare parts identification
- SeedEye
- Docking station that protects the iPad and simplifies handling, E-Keeper
- Seed and fertilizer control files (geodata and allocation recipes)

To show how advanced digital technology can be, one can take the example of SeedEye. In August 2015, during a machine show in Magdeburg, Germany, Väderstad presented this world first. It is a sensor that is placed on each hose from the tank to the coulter on seed drills (the seed hoses). The sensor can read every seed that flows through the hose. As a consequence, the operator no longer needs to do any calibration tests to adjust the seed drill. The sensor consists of six phototransistors illuminated with infrared light. As soon as a seed passes a light beam, the light is briefly interrupted and the phototransistor thus registers the interruption in the light flow. In the case of oilseed rape, the system had 99% accuracy and for wheat 98-99% accuracy.

Developments are moving fast. During Agritechnica 2023, Väderstad launched E-Service on the TopDown cultivator. It allows the machines to use control files to control the implement settings automatically when running in the field. This means that the farmer, before going to the field, can program how discs, tines, levellers and rollers should work in different parts of the field based on, for example, soil type or field characteristics.

Väderstad has a very extensive knowledge of how digital technology can be used in plant cultivation in particular. This knowledge will be very valuable in the knowledge hub's expert network. Väderstad's international profile and close contact with farmers means that they can both contribute to worldwide business intelligence and to needs analysis that comes from farmers' needs. They are also highly development-oriented and can participate in tests and trials to develop new solutions involving digital technologies. They can also help spread knowledge on how to make better use of existing digital technologies.

vaderstad.com

RISE

Hushållningssällskapet

Agtech Sweden

Agtech Sweden, hosted by Linköping University, will be part of the knowledge hub. Agtech Sweden is a world-class innovation platform in agricultural technology with focus areas including connected sensors, climate-smart energy, visualization and image analysis and "technology push & pull". But also other areas related to technological innovations for sustainable agriculture are of interest within the initiative.

Agtech Sweden, coordinated by Linköping University, currently includes nearly 100 organizations (reflecting a strong growth since the start in 2018 when 20 organizations participated). The main funder is the Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova. Other key funders are Linköping University and Region Östergötland.

Agtech Sweden includes technology companies, agricultural companies, agricultural machinery companies, consulting companies and actors representing value chains. It also includes institutes and academia. Within Linköping University, several departments with different subject areas are involved. The initiative as a whole has an explicit vision of cooperation with companies and organizations in the outside world and welcomes new actors to join Agtech Sweden or otherwise enter into collaborations. Among the organizations that are part of Agtech Sweden, there are several that constitute platforms in either digital technology or with proximity to agriculture. These include the following:

- Linköping Science Park
- AgroÖst: Member organization in several counties and with a focus on development projects in agriculture
- Vreta Kluster: A meeting place for the green industries
- Visual Sweden: A sister program within Vinnväxt with a focus on visualization and image analysis

Innovation projects are at the core of the business and usually include technology development and to some extent business development. One characteristic of these projects is that they mainly target new technologies that are not already on the market. Another characteristic is that the projects are usually created in collaboration between several organisations that can contribute different approaches and resources. Inspiration and new perspectives are about "stirring the pot", i.e. awakening thoughts and ideas in people to stimulate both the development and reception of new innovative concepts. This is done through seminars, workshops, fairs and meetings with different organizations. Knowledge development here refers to research, e.g. studies of agricultural technology using scientific methods. Knowledge dissemination is about disseminating research results but also knowledge generated through proven experience. This is done through seminars, workshops, fairs and meetings with various organizations. Knowledge development here refers to research, e.g. studies of agricultural technology carried out using scientific methods. Knowledge dissemination is about disseminating research results but also knowledge generated through proven experience. This is done in a variety of ways, including organizing and participating in various conferences and events as well as publications of various kinds including articles on our website and newsletter. Skills development means strengthening people's skills through, for example, courses and workshops or working on innovation projects. Building structures and creating systemic impact includes, among other things, developing networks, a strong organization, project management practices and fundraising. Together, these areas form the pieces of the puzzle for building a world-class innovation environment in agricultural technology. Some facts about the first years of operations:

Number of innovation projects: Over 50
Companies participating in innovation projects: Over 100
New products, services or prototypes: 26
Participating researchers: 30
Scientific publications: 51
Number of university courses developed and delivered: 2
Number of articles and reports in specialized press, radio, TV: 238
Prizes and awards: 7
Number of international activities (major): 31
Resources invested until Dec. 31, 2022, SEK million: Approximately 50

In addition to the 100 or so companies contracted today, Agtech 2030 has a large network in both digital technology and agriculture. It is estimated to include over 2000 people.

There are major advantages to the hub working closely with Agtech Sweden. Some that can be mentioned are that Agtech 2030 has very extensive knowledge of digital technology and runs several innovation projects in the field. Some that can be mentioned are:

- Indoor robot for facilitating heavy work
- Egg picking robot
- Field robot for transporting seeds, fertilizers or harvest products
- Connected sensors in the field,
- Connected cows
- Digital twins of farms incl. digital decision support
- Crop analysis through satellite data and AI
- Cartographic simulation of water runoff vs. topography
- Analysis of grain with NIR technology
- Digital control of grain wagons
- Connected cameras for insect detection
- Analysis of animal respiration with video-based image analysis
- Connected soil sensors and communication via radio or 4G
- Electromagnetic scanning of arable soil
- Individual analysis of pigs with AI
- Connected drying and silo systems
- Digital simulation vectors for analyzing biological interactions between different species
- Digital technology to enable remote technical assistance (of agricultural machinery)
- Digital analysis of winds etc. in connection with spraying
- Spectrometers for soil analysis
- Robot for egg sampling
- AI-based chicken counting
- Remote analysis of crop maturity
- Digital facial recognition of farm animals

Agtech Sweden has also run projects on the theme of secure digitization that includes protection against cyber attacks. Furthermore, Agtech Sweden has run projects on analyzing the value of digital data.

Agtech Sweden also has a collaboration agreement with SEDDIT (Sensor Informatics and Decision-making for the Digital Transformation), which is a new competence center at Linköping University. In the center, the departments of Control Engineering and Vehicle Systems will work together with the Department of Signals and Systems at Uppsala University - in collaboration with ten companies - ranging from large brands such as Scania, Saab, Volvo Cars and Väderstad to smaller and medium-sized companies such as Linköping companies Sensorbee and UMS Skeldar. In the application process behind SEDDIT, Agtech Sweden participated partly through Professor Fredrik Gustafsson (who is the scientific leader of Agtech Sweden), and partly through Väderstad, which is a partner in Agtech Sweden. SEDDIT will be an important resource for this knowledge hub.

Furthermore, it can be mentioned that Agtech Sweden has five test and development farms where various experiments linked to digital technology are conducted. These five farms will also be available for tests and experiments run within the knowledge hub.

agtechsweden.com

Reference network

The knowledge hub has a reference network of different actors that cover as wide a range of different areas as possible and can raise issues about digital technology in agriculture from different perspectives. We have a reference group that is divided into several sub-groups as follows: knowledge environments, technology actors, crop cultivation actors, actors in agricultural animals and, not least, industry companies in agriculture in the form of 10 farmers with different business focus and spread across different parts of Sweden. The most important task of the reference persons in these groups is to convey needs analyses and to act as a sounding board for the office when it comes to reflecting the activities in relation to the needs that exist in the contexts where the various reference persons operate. The reference network will also be important for conducting analysis with the industry on results from the external monitoring. We have chosen the model of having quite a few organizations represented in the reference groups and the idea is to be able to use different types of actors for different types of issues. The idea is not that everyone should be represented at all meetings or in discussions on all issues.

Steering group

Eva Olsson, Bergs Säteri, Mellerud
Victor Johansson, Eriksdals Gård, Mjölby
Jörgen Fransson, Jordbruksverket
Anna Larsson, Kunskapsnav Miljö och klimat
Jørgen Korning, Kunskapsnav Animalieproduktion
Per Hansson, Kunskapsnav Företagsledning och entreprenörskap
Mats Abrahamsson, Linköpings universitet
Jonas Hallström, Linköpings universitet

Independent evaluators

The aim of the Knowledge Hub is to increase competitiveness in the field and have high relevance for the sustainability, economy and profitability of primary production.

In order to promote stronger collaboration, knowledge development and dissemination, and to develop the exchange of knowledge between research and practice, an evaluation is required to summarize the results and impacts generated by the Knowledge Hub during its first three years (2024, 2025, 2026). To ensure this work, an independent evaluator will be attached to the Knowledge Hub Secretariat.

The aim is to provide sound knowledge about the development of the Knowledge Hub and evidence on how the results contribute to the development needs of the Hub or other expert networks, advisors, farmers, universities and public organizations that may be recipients of the Knowledge Hub's results. The evaluation contributes with sound knowledge about how the work contributes to fulfilling the purpose and goals of the Knowledge Hub.

An ongoing formative evaluation can usefully consist of document studies, self-assessments, register analyses, social network analyses, in-depth interviews, online surveys, expert assessments, as well as presentations of observations, preliminary conclusions and preliminary recommendations. Evaluation questions for the Digitization Knowledge Hub can be guided by the evaluation criteria used by the Swedish Innovation Agency, Vinnova.

A large part of a knowledge hub lies in competence, knowledge transfer and collaboration. An independent evaluation is expected to demonstrate results and early impacts to inform the work of the knowledge hub. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of collaboration with others means for an evaluator to, among other things, develop tools to support the evaluation of the knowledge hub's work from a stakeholder perspective (AKIS).

Activities within the different blocks

The hub's mission can be summarised in the following five blocks: Business intelligence, needs analysis, coordinating cooperation and dialogue, testing and evaluating new technologies, packaging knowledge.

Block 1: Business intelligence

The Knowledge Hub will carry out extensive and systematic international and national foresight. The monitoring will be coordinated by the leader of the Knowledge Hub and divided into different areas such as digital technology related to crop production, animal husbandry and machinery. An important part of each of these areas will also be how digital technologies are used to support decision-making. In addition to focusing on different areas, the environmental scan will also touch on different levels from research down to the farmer's application of the technology in daily work. In order to be able to carry out a comprehensive survey both vertically in different areas and horizontally at different levels, the organizations included in the expert network will be assigned different areas for which they are responsible. The leader of the knowledge hub will be responsible for coordinating the work of the business intelligence and ensuring that it is comprehensive without any knowledge gaps.

Monitoring and scanning of technologies
This means systematically scanning what digital technologies are available at the start of the knowledge hub and then monitoring different areas over time for ongoing capture of digital news. This is done by following media e.g. the main journals in the field, talking to technology experts in different fields and attending conferences, fairs, seminars etc. where new technologies are presented.

Monitoring and scanning includes locating what technologies are available in different parts of the world. This also includes taking a position on whether this technology would be suitable in Sweden and monitoring when this technology becomes relevant to the Swedish market.

Analysis of the business intelligence
As part of the business intelligence exercise, the value of the new technology being localized is analyzed. The experts in the network of experts responsible for the business intelligence exercise will provide an analysis based on critical questions such as

1. What can this technology contribute to agriculture?
2. What problems can they solve?
3. is the technology robust?
4. Is it suitable for the conditions we have in Sweden? (e.g. growing conditions)
5. Does it work with current legislation? (e.g. animal welfare law, laws for autonomous vehicles)
6. What would need to change in our regulations or laws for the technology to be used?

These questions will also be jointly discussed by the experts in the expert network during the joint meetings.

Best practice and practice analysis
It is important that the Knowledge Hub is close to the primary producers and works to develop knowledge that really works and that addresses the needs of primary production and advisory services. In the Knowledge Hub, we will therefore compile and meta-analyze best practice research, trials and tests, i.e. what shows safe results in repeated trials and which is superior compared to other things that are tested.

The ten farmers who are part of the reference network will also play a crucial role in the practice analysis. On the one hand, these farmers can share their own experiences, and on the other hand, they can participate as operational experts in the tests and development projects on digital technologies that will be carried out within the knowledge hub as part of the practical analysis. For the implementation of practical analysis, there are also five test and development farms currently used by Agtech Sweden, which can also be used for testing and development within the Knowledge Hub.

Analysis of scientific research
The sub-activity aims at interpreting data and results from research in digital technologies in order to translate them into concrete benefits for the farmer through the expert network. The pedagogical expert, as well as the leader of the knowledge hub, are well-qualified researchers with long experience as experts in interpreting results from scientific articles, reports, research conferences, research trials, etc. The expert network also includes researchers from SLU. These researchers will therefore provide important support for the expert network.

The analysis of scientific research will be coordinated by the pedagogical expert and the manager.

Block 2: Needs analysis

The needs analysis will be carried out in several ways and the work will be shared between the different actors of the expert network.

Identify needs for digital technology through workshops, surveys and interviews
The expert network consists of four advisor organizations (Växa Sverige, Gård och Djurhälsan, Ludvig & Company and Lovang Lanbrukskonsult). They are tasked with conducting an ongoing dialogue with the farmers they advise and compiling the needs for digital technology and problems linked to digital technology that emerge from advisory conversations and activities organized within the organizations. Through these dialogues and compilations, a reliable picture of the needs expressed by farmers in different production branches is created. Växa Sverige, which is Sweden's largest livestock association and has a nationwide advisory organization with 600 members, will be given special responsibility for coordinating the work of the advisor organizations.

Analyzing problems related to existing digital technologies
The Knowledge Hub will not only work on monitoring and compiling new technologies that can lead to improvements and solutions to problems for farmers and advisors. Today, there is already a huge amount of digital technology used in agriculture but this is not always without problems. On the one hand, there are challenges in terms of user-friendliness, which means that much of the digital technology built into machines is not used, and on the other hand there are problems with robustness. These can include software bugs or technical equipment that cannot cope with the harsh agricultural environment. To overcome these problems, technologies need to be developed that are safe, robust, sustainable and affordable. Part of the Knowledge Hub's work will therefore focus on identifying and analyzing the problems associated with digital technology and, based on these analyses, designing advice and support for how these problems can be solved. The analyses may also include various tests of existing digital technology.

Feeding back the results of the scans through seminars, meetings and training courses
As mentioned, the knowledge gained from the scouting will be fed back very actively and in several different ways, e.g. in the form of various reports and popular science texts, as well as through social media and newsletters. The results of the knowledge search will also be fed back to the industry through seminars, meetings and training lectures and participation in various events. The reference groups and the expert network will have a very important role in feeding back the results of the scans through their various channels. When feeding back the results of the scoping exercise, it will be important to carry out an analysis with the industry of the results of the scoping exercise, the analysis will be about whether the knowledge is "packaged" in an appropriate way so that it is accessible to the industry, whether it is relevant and how the industry views the digital technology presented.

Analysis of scientific research

Block 3: Cooperation and dialogue

We will coordinate the Knowledge Hub both through formalized processes and informal processes. Regular meetings will take place with all expert organizations as well as with the reference groups (and the Swedish Board of Agriculture). To a large extent, the office will be a helpdesk for all partners in the knowledge hub, but dialogues will also be systematized during workshops and other meetings. Furthermore, the activities through the accompanying researcher will constantly analyze results in relation to goals and intentions.

The academy
Part of the Knowledge Hub's activities involves working at the interface between academia and industry. There is a lot of valuable knowledge in academia that could be useful in agriculture. The coordination and dialogue linked to academia is thus, from our perspective, about managing the flow of knowledge and ideas in both directions and strengthening the link between agricultural practice and academia. The knowledge hub includes two major academic actors: Linköping University and SLU, both of which contain a very large number of departments, knowledge areas and people conducting research.

The business sector
Coordinating processes related to the business community is about being able to deal with different corporate cultures and special conditions that prevail in each company. Therefore, we make sure that meetings and other activities are structured and of a high level that leads to new knowledge for all involved. We believe that it is also important to be involved in the companies, but we will also create workshops and forums for dialogues with business actors.

Other knowledge hubs
It is important for our knowledge hub to create a fruitful exchange with other knowledge hubs that the Swedish Board of Agriculture has established or will establish. We believe it is good to create a cooperation model with joint activities between the hubs and to benefit from each other's competencies and hope to be able to collaborate on both joint tests, business intelligence and communication efforts.

Other platforms
The Digital Knowledge Hub will operate broadly across the nation. An important part of the coordination and dialogue is therefore also about connecting to other platforms alongside the knowledge hub. Fortunately, we already have established collaborations and dialogues with several such platforms, such as Sweden Food Arena, the National Compass for Food, Drink and the Local Food Chain, the National Network for the Common Agricultural Policy (Landsbygdsnätverket), Krinova, Vreta Kluster and AgroÖst (to name a few). But we also believe there is reason to weave in some international platforms as well. In this context, we have already signed cooperation agreements with BCE Biocluster (Norway) and The European Region for Innovation in Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ERIAFF).

The Knowledge Hub's expert network is extensive and together we operate across the country, this gives us great opportunities to collaborate with many different platforms and networks outside the hub. The coordination of these collaborations will be divided both geographically and in terms of content between the actors in the Hub.

Block 4: Test and evaluate

There is concern among farmers about investing in or otherwise adopting new digital technologies. There is good reason for this concern. New digital technologies are often associated with problems and bugs, and farmers talk about the problem of connecting different systems to each other. So there is a need for commercially independent actors to whom agricultural professionals can turn for objective advice on technology issues. Today, both farmers and advisors are largely in the hands of actors who directly or indirectly represent manufacturers of the technological options available. Therefore, Sweden's farmers need a function that captures and structures national experiences of applied digital agricultural technology.

Testing digital tools
Tools refer to physical digital technologies such as sensors for digitizing animal houses, terminals for precision farming, autonomous and digitally controlled field robots. We will benefit from the development farms linked to the hub as well as the 10 farmers linked to the hub. When it comes to physical digital technology, the tests will not only be about function as experienced at first impression of it, but we will also initiate tests that take place over a longer period of time and where the technology is exposed to the environmental factors that characterize agriculture, ie weather and wind (not least moisture and temperature), shocks and blows or dust. To conserve financial resources, the tests will also include interviews with farmers who have used certain physical digital technologies for a long time.

Testing digital services
By digital services we mean digital technologies that do not primarily involve physical products, but rather things like cloud services with various software for, for example, precision farming or control of livestock indoors or on natural pastures. Not least, decision support systems based on cloud services. The tests will be carried out by actors in the expert network in collaboration with our development farms and our 10 reference farmers. But we will also systematically capture the experiences of a wider range of farmers through interviews and other methods. In this context, it is important to include a diversity of farmers, e.g. digitally accustomed vs. digitally unaccustomed, older vs. younger people, women vs. men, etc.

Evaluating digital tools
The focus will be on digital tools that are available on the market, but we will also test prototypes and promote the creation of new research and development projects for new digital solutions that can have a positive impact on the industry. As part of this, the knowledge hub will, among other things, keep track of relevant calls and help bring together actors for research projects and provide support in writing applications for calls.

Evaluating digital services
As mentioned, we will test and evaluate technologies in a user context. We are inspired by the Farmtest, which is well established in Denmark. It involves something less complex than a research project. For example, there is no requirement for repetition, but it is more of a product test. Another difference between farm tests and regular research is the speed. The risk with larger research projects is that products included in the projects may disappear from the market before the results are ready. In terms of analytical dimensions for digital services, we intend to use the same as indicated in the section above.

Block 5: Packetize

An important part of the knowledge hub's work will be to refine, package and disseminate knowledge in formats that are suitable for different target groups and that are widely distributed through different channels. In order for the knowledge to be relevant to actors operating in different parts and at different levels of the chain, the packaging and dissemination of knowledge will be divided into the following four parts.

In-depth reports
In-depth reports are about compiling and analyzing the digital technologies captured in the network of experts. It also involves writing research reports or scientific papers based on the results of the tests and trials that will take place within the Knowledge Hub. The responsibility for these in-depth reports will be shared between the experts in the Expert Network and the Secretariat.

Simple reports and training materials
The main focus of the Knowledge Hub is to convey knowledge that is packaged in a way that it is accessible and relevant to all audiences regardless of digital maturity. For this, we will produce reports that are written in a simpler way, but that do not compromise on relevant and deep knowledge content. Once a month, the network of experts will meet to share their business intelligence and analysis. For each such meeting, the members of the expert network will submit a summary of their findings from the scans. This will be packaged by the pedagogical expert in consultation with the expert network into an accessible report to be widely disseminated through all the channels covered by the knowledge hub. In addition to these reports, the pedagogical expert, together with people from the expert network, will design training materials in various areas that aim to lead to increased knowledge of digital technology in agriculture in an educational and clear way. These training materials can be aimed at primary producers, but they can also be training materials aimed at actors outside agriculture who lack knowledge of how agriculture works today and the extensive amount of digital technology available in agriculture. This may include technology companies, the general public and researchers who need to increase their knowledge in this area in order to generate ideas for new projects that can contribute to transition and system change.

The website
The Knowledge Hub will be an independent organization within Linköping University and will thus have its own website. The website will be important both for communication from the Knowledge Hub and for people from outside to get in touch with the Knowledge Hub. The website should be alive and be a source of knowledge that provides broad information about digital technology linked to agriculture. It should therefore not only inform about what is happening within the knowledge hub itself, but also be able to act as a connecting link for various actors, hubs, platforms, projects, etc. that are working with digital technology in agriculture. Everyone in the expert network, as well as the people in the reference groups, have the task of conveying information to the communicator for publication on the website. There should also be a collaboration between the communicator working at the Knowledge Hub office and the communicators of the different actors in the Hub's expert network, so that the organizations can help each other to disseminate and collect relevant information and knowledge via their respective websites.

Social media and newsletters
In order to get a wide dissemination and reach out to different actors, the knowledge hub will also actively work with dissemination on social media. The Communications Department at Linköping University has extensive experience of strategies for reaching different target groups via social media, these strategies will form the basis for us to reach as many different target groups as possible and get a wide dissemination via social media. To achieve impact via social media, it is important to both convey interesting content and to have a sufficiently large flow. The communicator in the knowledge hub will, together with the business manager and communication experts from LiU, set up a plan for the work with social media so that it takes place in a well-thought-out and structured way, as this will be an important channel outwards.

More information about The Knowledge Hub

The Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture