Four Years Of Farm Of The Future: Source Of Information For Agriculture

Farm of the Future has become a household name in agriculture. This includes the field lab in Lelystad, where solutions for current and future agricultural challenges have been sought in recent years. “Some of these solutions seem promising, but there are also setbacks,” says project leader Pieter de Wolf. After four years of research, experimenting and showing what happens, the first phase of the project is over and it is time to take stock. “As a Farm of the Future, we want to tell the honest story and enter into discussions with farmers and other parties, both within and outside agriculture.”

The plot of Farm of the Future is located in the fertile agricultural area of ​​Flevoland, surrounded by windmills, flower strips and extensive arable land. Four years ago, the test location was constructed on a plot at Wageningen University & Research Open Teelten in Lelystad as a source of inspiration for circular agriculture. In addition to Wageningen University & Research, the Province of Flevoland and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality are also part of the project. Many people mainly associate the Farm of the Future with strip cultivation, a method in which different crops are grown in narrow strips. But it is much more than that, De Wolf explains: “We use a special tramline system, circular fertilization, a greater variety of crops and robotization.

Lessons learned
A wealth of experience has been built up in recent years by combining innovative solutions. “We see that strip cultivation has a positive effect on biodiversity in general, because you provide food and shelter on the land all year round. We see this, for example, in bird counts. At the same time, we also provide food and shelter for mice, which cause considerable damage to the potatoes and carrots.” The most important lesson is that every solution has advantages and disadvantages.

The story is also nuanced for the tramline system: the effect on the soil structure is positive and the soil needs to be worked less often. At the same time, it is clear that agricultural machines need to be further developed for this. For example, the track width of 3.15 meters is not yet easily applicable for farmers who often use public roads with their machines.

“It always takes several years before a completely new application works properly,” says De Wolf. “We often forget that the current agricultural system is the result of decades of development and optimization. We are now setting up an innovative system, and it takes time and effort to develop it. In the coming years we will continue to develop and test all kinds of solutions, while continuing to communicate about successes and setbacks.”

Combating polarization
In recent years, Farm of the Future has played an important role in conducting a dialogue about the future of agriculture. That topic of discussion is highly polarized, there is a lot of distrust and everyone has their own facts. “We know that it is difficult, that there is a lot of uncertainty and negativity within the agricultural sector and that people outside agriculture easily say things about agriculture, but we want to get people out of their trenches and start a conversation,” says researcher Marcel Vijn. . In 2022 and 2023, a total of more than 6,000 visitors were received in Lelystad.

After four years of Farm of the Future, it is clear that the project in Lelystad will be continued. Probably with some adjustments. “We will be working on this together with a group of young farmers from Flevoland in the coming months,” says De Wolf. Farms of the Future are also being set up in a number of other regions. In the Peat Colonies, a Farm of the Future is starting in Valthermond. And there are also far-reaching plans for a regional Farm of the Future at several locations in the South-East of the Netherlands. “There are completely different problems in the Peat Colonies than in Flevoland. Every region and every soil type has its own challenges and that requires different solutions.”

Visit Farm of the Future
The tours and visits to the Farm of the Future in Lelystad will continue in the near future. “Everyone is welcome,” says De Wolf. “The goal is and remains to make agriculture more sustainable. That is a long-term process, but when I look at where we are now, I certainly have confidence in the future.”