By Dane Watson and Erik Havaleska
Organic farming accounts for about 12% of the total agricultural area in Denmark. The number of organic farms and the associated land area has increased recently. At present, there are more than 3,500 organic farms in the country. This indicates a positive development and an increasing acceptance of organic methods in agriculture.
The Danish government has supported organic farming through various initiatives and incentives. This includes financial support programs, education, and training programs for farmers who want to switch to organic production. Such support is essential to facilitate the transition to more sustainable farming practices.
To illustrate progressive organic farming in Denmark, we’ll take a short tour of two farms with some things in common: good people, passion, an innovative spirit, and a reliable Danish workhorse that needs neither fuel nor fodder.
Skiftekær Ecological Farm
Our first stop on this trip to the kingdom of Denmark is right in the middle of the country on Funen, the island where the poet and fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen was born. Here, we visit Peter Bay Knudsen and his wife, Marie Ejlersen. The couple has farmed organically at their family farm, Skiftekær, since 1998. The farm employs 17 full-time employees annually, and the vegetables are sold to consumers all over Denmark through supermarkets and other various outlets.
Peter has made a name for himself as a frontrunner in sustainable agriculture. His commitment to conservation and promoting ecological farming has made him an inspiring figure in the agricultural community. Raised on a traditional farm, he developed a passion for agriculture and nature early on. After inheriting the family farm, Peter boldly decided to switch to organic farming. This move marked the beginning of his journey as an advocate for sustainability in agriculture. Peter is not just a farmer but also an active participant in the local community. He opens the doors of his farm to neighbors and schools to promote understanding of organic farming. The local community has responded positively and has supported his efforts to create a sustainable future.
The farm has blue potatoes, chestnut-sized baby beetroot, onions, and beans in black, white, and green. In Peter Bay Knudsen's organic fields, the beans are lined up neatly and regularly in the cultivation beds. The soil is covered with intercrops: red clover and honeywort, which convert nitrogen from the air into nutrients for the vegetables.
Peter converted the farm to organic production over a decade ago. This transition was not without challenges. Organic farming requires patience and careful planning, especially during the transition period when farmers adapt to new cultivation methods and refrain from using synthetic chemicals. One of the central principles of Peter’s organic farming is the use of natural methods of pest control and fertilization. He practices crop rotation to preserve soil fertility and avoid soil erosion. Peter also integrates cattle on his farm: manure from the cattle enriches the soil, thereby reducing the need for artificial fertilizers.
Peter grows his plough-free crops in fixed tramlines and in a 'three-bed system' of 85” x 3”. After harvesting, he deep harrows to 8 – 10 inches. Tractor driving in the field outside the tramlines is completely forbidden.
“Many organic farmers hesitate to use the no-till system with fixed tramlines for fear of being overwhelmed by weeds when the plow is put away,” says Peter. This is especially true for vegetable growers, who spend more time dealing with weeds than grain growers because many vegetables are not established until May or June. However, he says that with the precision driving made possible by GPS systems on tractors and FarmDroid’s RTK system, managed traffic no-till farming can easily be done.
Skiftekær ecological farm is an example of how a dedicated farmer can succeed with sustainable methods. He looks forward to inspiring more farmers to take steps towards organic farming and will continue to be a frontrunner in the sector. With a passion for sustainability and a commitment to sharing his experiences, Peter is a key figure in Danish efforts to transform farming practices and move towards a more sustainable future.
Skovly Kål Kale Farm
Our tour's second and final stop is on the northeast coast, near Fredrikshavn. Around 25 years ago, Skovly Kål was founded by Anne Grethe. Anne started with one kettle to make kale products. She brought samples of pressed kale buns to local shops and while it was hard to get started, she found that people were interested in buying it.
Coworker Karl Henrik Hansen helps with production and sales. Today, there are 15 acres of green kale, which is around 14-16 tons when cooked. Four to five years ago, Karl Henrik, Anne and her husband John thought about how they could do less manual work. After searching the internet, they discovered a new robotic partner in their farming operation and have not looked back since.
The History of FarmDroid
In 2011, Jens Vest Warming had just finished his degree in mechanical engineering and was on the job market. To stay busy, he was hand-weeding sugar beets on his family’s organic farm. He was overwhelmed with the amount of manual work that the sugar beets required and thought to himself that there had to be a smarter way to do it. That was when he started developing the concept of the FarmDroid robot – an automated solution for weed control. The first versions – you could not even call them prototypes - were made from scrap iron, but the idea was further honed.
By the summer of 2012, his brother Kristian jumped on board, and FarmDroid picked up some steam. As an electrician, Kristian was a great technical help to develop FarmDroid. By the fall of 2017, after working intensely on the robot platform in their spare time, the brothers had a prototype that drove straight and accurately, which is crucial in precision farming. In spring 2018, they pitched the idea to some investors in the Odense Robotics hub, where one of the investors was Esben Østergaard, who co-founded Universal Robots. With the investment and competencies, they made the first commercial FarmDroid FD20. Some years and versions later, FarmDroid is the world's best-selling seeding and weeding robot.
How Does It Work?
The FarmDroid FD20 is the world’s first autonomous seeding and weeding robot, with more than 400 machines in actual farming operation. It is designed to help farmers reduce or eliminate the need for manual labor, initially in sugar beets and now in multiple crops such as onions, spinach, kale, rapeseed, and various herbs. If a FarmDroid can seed it, it can also weed it. The FarmDroid FD20 fights the weeds while they are still small.
A core tenet of FarmDroid engineering philosophy is that farmers should be able to maintain and add to the FarmDroid they already have without difficulty. So, any development since 2020 has been done so that older robots can be updated.
The FarmDroid and the crops it cares for have a common energy source: the sun. It is fully electric and operates entirely CO2-neutral. The robot is designed with solar panels on top, and the panels are connected to a battery bank, which ensures up to 24 hours of daily operation. During the day, the solar panels provide all the power needed for operation and put a trickle charge on the batteries for continued nighttime work. If the robot runs out of battery, it will stop, apply its brakes, and resume work when the sun rises. The robot doesn’t need external charging; it can be left in the field for the entire season.
For navigation, the robot uses a dedicated high-precision RTK GPS. One antenna each in the back and front of the robot communicates with a base station installed within 6 miles of the fields being seeded and cultivated. The farmer programs the corner points of the field and any in-field obstacles to create a geo-fence for robot operation. One robot can be programmed to work in several fields.
The unique value of a FarmDroid FD20 is its capacity to perform both blind seeding and in-row and between-row weeding without a camera system. The between-row weeding is performed with weeding wires, which can cut smaller and larger weeds (like thistles). The in-row weeding is performed with weeding knives that go in and out of the rows at set positions relative to the seed. The weeding process begins before the crop is visible since no camera system is relied on.
A high-precision seeding system is critical to perform such effective weeding without a camera system. Each seed is carefully placed, and an exact history of seed placement is kept in memory for later use in weeding operations. The seeding system can perform single seeding, seeding in clusters, and line seeding. Distance between the seeds or clusters can be adjusted to fit the farmer’s preferences.
A pair of opening discs are on each row to establish the seed furrow and ensure seed-to-soil contact, followed by a planter shoe. This combination creates the proper furrow geometry. Next in line is the seed valve, followed by a soft wheel that gently presses the seed to the bottom of the furrow. The seed valve is located only an inch above the ground, and the robot knows exactly where to open the valve and where not to open it. This intelligent feature is made possible by a geometrical pattern established by the FarmDroid software. An infrared sensor in each seeding unit detects if a seed drops and records any error messages in the computer in the FarmDroid.
The FarmDroid FD20 weighs less than 2,000 pounds, ensuring it doesn’t destroy the soil microstructure. It has a variable working width of up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) and can be configured with 4, 6, 8 or 12 seeding/weeding row units. The FarmDroid FD20 is designed to work at a slow, steady pace, up to 900 meters (~3,000 feet) per hour, which means that the robot can handle up to 15 acres per day in optimal conditions.
If pressure is applied to a perimeter safety wire mounted on the robot, it will stop very quickly, apply the brakes, and send a message to the farmer that an emergency stop has happened. It will not be able to run in auto mode until the farmer manually resets the safety wire on the robot. Another safety system on the robot is that it cannot run outside its geo-fence. If one of the GPS antennas on the robot exits the programmed geo-fence, the robot will stop, apply the brakes, and send a message to the farmer. It must then be manually moved back into the field and put in auto mode.
Two Farms, Same Great Results
Peter’s motivation to farm more responsibly at Skiftekær has required technical ingenuity and investments. But the rewards outweigh the hassle and expense, he believes, based on ten years of experience. In that time, he has seen yields increase, crops become more uniform, and the soil terrific. Peter had kind words about FarmDroid:
"I've got a really lush soil with a lot of life. Investing in the FD-20 seed and weeding robot from FarmDroid has been a great help. It has reduced manual weeding by 90% and the more I learn to work with it, the better the results - and as a bonus, the machine runs 100% on solar energy, so it fits nicely into my organic concept.”
Karl Henrik Hansen also had a lot of nice things to say about the FarmDroid on our visit to Skovly Kål:
“With the addition of the FarmDroid, we could switch from transplanting to seeding directly. It has saved us a lot of time! Our result with the FarmDroid is better than when we transplanted the kale. Before FarmDroid, a manual mechanical row cultivator removed weeds and a lot of kale. We had to do it three times a season and spent a lot of time doing it. With our FarmDroid, we just push a couple of times on the buttons and then it starts weeding between the plants. The kale is untouched and sits nicely in the field. We expect to try to use the robot for red and white cabbage and cauliflower.
We are also open to trying new things and showing others that the FarmDroid can do other things besides vegetables. You should not just look at the cost of the machine itself. You also must consider fuel economy. The robot is solar-powered, so there is no fuel expense. It saves time - it runs by itself. You get a message on your phone if the FarmDroid stops or there are any problems. Furthermore, it is economic. You only have expenses on weeding wires and wear parts, and they are minimal.”
A Bright Future
When learning about farms like those we visited on our short tour, it is plain to see the passion these pioneering Danish organic farmers have for innovation. By creating a balance between productivity and sustainability, Denmark and its organic farmers can be a beacon for other farmers and inspire other nations to follow this trajectory towards a more sustainable future.
Organic farming in Denmark is not only a trend but also a necessary response to the challenges faced by conventional farming. With an increasing societal awareness of environmental consequences and health benefits, organic farming will likely continue to grow and develop in Denmark and other countries with discerning food consumers. One thing is for certain: FarmDroid and the Warming brothers will be there to support and listen to organic farmers in Denmark and are happy to hear from farmers in the United States as well.
Erik Havaleska and Dane Watson are responsible for FarmDroid in the United States. For more information, please visit farmdroid.com
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