The roadshow is designed to engage a target audience through presentations, demonstrations, and to offer networking opportunities. We aim to connect the testbed members with relevant startups, end-users, other testbeds, and other important stakeholders focusing on digitalisation in the bioeconomy sectors throughout the Nordic and Baltic region.

In Klaipeda, the practical implementation, innovation potential, and commercialisation pathways of RAS technologies will be highlighted. The event will showcase the Aquaculture Competence Centre at KSTP, including ongoing experiments focused on advancing recirculating aquaculture technologies and sustainable production models.

Participants will be introduced to an innovative RAS-based spin-off company, AquaQlt, which recently received a patent for its shrimp tower technology. The event will also include a visit to Klaipėda University, Marine Research Institute, Fisheries and Aquaculture Laboratory, strengthening the link between research, pilot infrastructure, and commercialisation.

The event will target:

• Aquaculture companies and fish farmers
• Startups developing RAS technologies or related digital solutions
• Technology providers
• Researchers and students
• Public authorities and policy stakeholders
• Investors and innovation support organisations

Get more information and the see the programme here!

Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) is an advanced, closed water system used to cultivate fish and shellfish in controlled environments, such as indoors or in tanks. The system is designed to reuse water through continuous filtration and purification, minimising the need for fresh water and reducing environmental impact compared to traditional aquaculture.

The project, coordinated by Lund University in collaboration with partners from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, and Lithuania, will over 36 months map, analyze, and develop strategies for seven regional food systems. Nordic Agri Research (NKJ) is also participating.

– The transnational observatory planned by the project will be an important complement to our previous work on Nordic cooperation in the food sector. Recent events make it especially important to strengthen collaboration and the exchange of experiences regarding the vulnerabilities in food systems that we have observed over a longer period, says Per Hansson, Secretary General of NKJ.

By identifying vulnerabilities, engaging local stakeholders, and creating cross-sectoral strategic plans, RegioFoods aims to promote long-term sustainability and resilience. The project also contributes to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in areas such as zero hunger, responsible consumption, and innovation.

RegioFoods represents an important step toward establishing a transnational observatory for food systems, which could also serve as a model for other regions in Europe.

For more information about the project and its partners, visit the project page on Lund University website.

The report builds on previous Nordic policy work on farm diversification and youth engagement. It responds to pressing concerns facing rural areas, including urbanisation, an ageing workforce, skills mismatches and difficulties in attracting young people to rural careers.

– Young entrepreneurs in diversified farming navigate a landscape of financial risk, regulatory complexity, and changing identities. Platforms where they can meet, share knowledge and experiences, and grow together are crucial, says Julia Fyr, project coordinator and part of the steering group behind the report.

Entrepreneurship rooted in place

The five role models come from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. While their businesses differ – ranging from farm shops and food processing to dairy production, goat cheese and greenhouse horticulture – they share a strong connection to place, family and local communities.

Several of the entrepreneurs have taken over long-established family farms, combining respect for tradition with new business models. Others have entered agriculture from entirely different professions, bringing fresh skills in areas such as marketing and innovation.

Diversification and resilience

A key message of the report is the importance of diversification. The featured entrepreneurs have strengthened their businesses by developing multiple income streams, such as value-added food production, direct sales through farm shops, welfare services, guided visits and niche products tailored to local demand.

This diversification not only improves profitability but also increases resilience in the face of external risks, including volatile markets, climate impacts and rising energy costs.

Community, visibility and courage

Across all five cases, community orientation stands out as a common strength. Farms are described not only as production sites, but also as social meeting places that create local value and strengthen rural cohesion.

Another shared factor is visibility. The entrepreneurs actively communicate their stories through social media, customer interaction and public engagement, helping to build trust, demand and understanding of modern agriculture.

Finally, the report highlights courage and perseverance as essential qualities. From crowdfunding new ventures to investing in niche production and making early leadership decisions, the role models demonstrate a willingness to take calculated risks and learn by doing.

Inspiration for the next generation

By showcasing real-life examples, the report aims to inspire young people, policymakers and stakeholders to see rural entrepreneurship as a viable and meaningful career path. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, it emphasises the importance of starting from local conditions, building on existing assets and adapting business models to specific contexts.

Inspiring rural entrepreneurs: Five Nordic role models provides concrete insights into how rural businesses can contribute to sustainable food systems, vibrant communities and a resilient Nordic bioeconomy.

Swedish text

Fem nordiska förebilder belyser framtiden för landsbygdsföretagande

Unga företagare på landsbygden i de nordiska länderna visar hur innovation, tradition och engagemang i lokalsamhället kan gå hand i hand. En ny rapport, Inspirerande landsbygdsföretagare: Fem nordiska förebilder, presenterar fem personliga berättelser som illustrerar hur landsbygdsföretag kan frodas trots demografiska, strukturella och ekonomiska utmaningar.

Rapporten bygger på tidigare nordiskt policyarbete om diversifiering inom jordbruk och ungdomsengagemang. Den svarar på brådskande utmaningar för landsbygden som urbanisering, en åldrande arbetskraftsstyrka, kompetensbrist och svårigheter att locka unga till de gröna yrkena.

Företagande förankrat i platsen
De fem förebilderna kommer från Sverige, Finland, Norge, Danmark och Island. Deras verksamheter skiljer sig åt; från gårdsbutiker och livsmedelsförädling till mjölkproduktion, getost och växthusodling – men de delar en stark koppling till platsen, familjen och lokalsamhället.

Flera av företagarna har tagit över gårdar som varit i släkten i generationer och kombinerar respekt för traditioner med nya affärsmodeller. Andra har kommit in i jordbruket från helt andra yrken och bidrar med nya kunskaper inom områden som marknadsföring och innovation.

Diversifiering och motståndskraft
Ett centralt budskap i rapporten är vikten av diversifiering. De framgångsrika företagarna har stärkt sina verksamheter genom att utveckla flera inkomstkällor, som förädlade livsmedel, direktkontakt med kunden via gårdsbutiker, välfärdstjänster, guidade besök och nischprodukter anpassade efter lokal efterfrågan.

Denna diversifiering förbättrar inte bara lönsamheten utan ökar också motståndskraften mot yttre risker som svängande marknader, klimatpåverkan och stigande energikostnader.

Gemenskap, synlighet och mod
I alla fem fallen framhålls engagemang i lokalsamhället som en gemensam styrka. Gårdarna beskrivs inte bara som produktionsplatser, utan också som sociala mötesplatser som skapar lokalt värde och stärker sammanhållningen på landsbygden.

En annan gemensam faktor är synlighet. Företagarna kommunicerar aktivt sina berättelser genom sociala medier, kundinteraktion och offentligt engagemang, vilket bidrar till att bygga förtroende, efterfrågan och förståelse för det moderna jordbruket.

Slutligen lyfter rapporten fram mod och uthållighet som avgörande egenskaper. Från crowdfunding av nya projekt till investeringar i nischproduktion och tidiga ledarbeslut visar förebilderna en vilja att ta beräknade risker och lära sig genom att göra.

Inspiration för nästa generation
Genom att lyfta fram verkliga personer och företag hoppas rapportförfattarna inspirera unga, beslutsfattare och intressenter att se landsbygdsföretagande som en hållbar och meningsfull karriärväg. I stället för enhetliga lösningar betonas vikten av att utgå från lokala förutsättningar, bygga vidare på befintliga resurser och anpassa affärsmodeller till specifika sammanhang.

Inspirerande landsbygdsföretagare: Fem nordiska förebilder ger konkreta insikter i hur landsbygdsföretag kan bidra till hållbara livsmedelssystem, levande samhällen och en resilient nordisk bioekonomi.

NOTE: This content was developed with the support of AI tools and has been thoroughly reviewed for accuracy.

The new network will meet for the first time in April this year. At the meeting, members will introduce themselves and take the first steps toward knowledge sharing and discussions aimed at improving field trials. Svend V Nielsen from the Danish Technological Institute is the initiator of the network and will give a presentation to the participants at the meeting.

– I think we are quite good at field trial statistics in the Nordics, but we may tend to stick to traditions and keep doing what we know works. I hope this network can inspire members to use statistics better suited to their research questions and rethink their practices, he says.

The group focuses on statistics, including the design and placement of field trials, handling deviations from the original plan, and statistical analysis of field trial data.

– The idea is that we address all types of questions related to the statistics of field trials. This will mainly involve design choices, plan deviations, and statistical analysis. For example, if someone is considering a nitrate leaching field trial, we won’t address the suction cup installation and mechanics, but we would naturally discuss how to adjust the trial design to fit the suction cup constraints, how to handle missing measurements, and how to include leaching in a statistical analysis.

The network hopes to inspire improvements in field trials. Hearing what others are doing can help identify blind spots and alternative approaches, according to Svend V. Nielsen. Other potential benefits could include inspiring research into the statistics of field trials or fostering collaboration among members.

The network welcomes new members and targets those who face statistical decisions in field trials – whether in industry or academia – and who want to discuss these topics.

– There isn’t a single fitting title for participants – it could be statisticians, researchers, study directors, etc. The network has just started, it’s free, and we’re looking for interested people.

CONTACT:
Please turn to Svend V Nielsen if you are interested in the network:
sven(a)teknologisk.dk
– he is happy to hear from all interested!

DOWNLOAD THE ABSTRACT BOOK

The long-term goal for the conference is to strengthens preparedness and resilience in reindeer husbandry. This helps ensure that reindeer production remains sustainable, climate-adapted, and low-impact, while protecting animal welfare and supporting Sámi culture and northern food systems in a rapidly changing climate.

Around 50 network members across Fennoscandia participated during the three conference days.

The TARANDUS network provides a forum for sharing knowledge on reindeer health and welfare and creates new research ideas and new transdisciplinary collaborations within and between countries. The conference also creates opportunities for PhD students and early-career researchers to learn, network, and present their work through student travel grants of which six were awarded for this conference.

The conference is coordinated by the Swedish Veterinary Agency, Natural Resources Institute Finland, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute and the Norwegian Reindeer Health Advisory Service (Reinhelsetjenesten).

The network was established to strengthen knowledge exchange and collaboration between research on wild and cultivated berries in the Nordic region. Berries play an important role in Nordic food culture, horticulture and the multifunctional use of forests, as well as in food security. The network has addressed the need to better utilise synergies between wild and cultivated berry production, which have traditionally been studied separately.

See the presentations from the webinar here:

Cover crops are widely used to reduce soil erosion and nitrate leaching, thereby improving water quality. Research has also shown that they can increase soil organic carbon stocks, enhance soil health, and contribute to net CO₂ sequestration in soils, supporting climate change mitigation efforts.

The Nordic research network CoverCropsNordic was established to strengthen synergies in research on cover cropping strategies for a more sustainable agriculture and food sector in the Nordic region. By bringing together expertise from multiple countries, the network has improved the shared understanding of both trade-offs and synergies linked to the many impacts of cover crops, while also laying the groundwork for future joint activities and research projects.

Recent research initiatives in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – including CatCap in Denmark, CAPTURE and CropDrive in Norway, and several long- and short-term experiments in Sweden – have provided valuable insights into similarities and differences in cover crop performance across Nordic climate zones, soils, and cropping systems. These comparisons have enabled discussions on key trade-offs and synergies, such as crop yield levels and stability, nutrient replacement and legacy effects, nutrient leaching, erosion control, and climate impacts.

To share knowledge and identify remaining challenges, the network organised a series of digital webinars that brought together researchers and stakeholders from across the Nordic region. A physical meeting in Copenhagen further highlighted the importance of combining new scientific knowledge with practical experience to maximise the positive effects of cover cropping.

The network also organised a PhD course at SLU, bringing together 20 doctoral students and demonstrating strong interest in advancing research-based solutions for climate change mitigation in Nordic agriculture.

The adoption of cover crops has already resulted in improved soil health, increased biodiversity, and other climate-related benefits. The network’s joint synthesis of knowledge will be published in a review paper on cover crops in the Nordic countries. This publication will provide a solid foundation for recommendations on optimal cover crop strategies, supporting both environmental regulations and farmers’ practices across the Nordic region.

Find the network and contact information here!

Bioenergy plays a key role in ensuring Nordic energy security and in driving the green transition. Within the Bioenergy Value Chain Programme, researchers and practitioners are exploring solutions where waste products from various biomass value chains can strengthen the reliability and availability of green energy. Transparency in areas such as the origin of CO₂ sources and responsible land use is also crucial to build public trust in bioenergy solutions.

The Nordic countries have much to gain from collaboration. Their strengths complement each other — in biomass resources, energy efficiency, circular use of materials, and industrial know-how. By joining forces, the region can develop stronger, more sustainable energy systems.

The workshop addressed both the opportunities and challenges of turning biomass into energy, with perspectives ranging from farming, forestry, and biodiversity to biogas production, biofuel refining, and carbon capture. Participants also had the opportunity to network and discuss future collaboration and funding possibilities.

The event was moderated by Lise-Lotte Terp, an expert on the Nordic and Arctic regions who specialises in facilitating cross-sectoral dialogue and collaboration.

Place: Skejby, Denmark
Time: January 21–23, 2026

The program isn’t set yet, and the registration just opened. But the organisers are very positive to another successful event. This will be the fourth field trial conference, and the three first ones have all been really appreciated. The conference is the region’s largest meeting place for field trial professionals and enthusiasts.

The program will start off with a field trip to visit inspiring partners and actors within field trials in Denmark. The two following days will be stuffed with short talks and interactive workshops, focused on all aspects of field trials. There will of course be room for networking among colleagues!

See the program here (will be updated continously)

Register here