DRIV No. 1 2013 (in english)

driv

news Effective mapping of wild boar i Lean is for farms too i Invest in your own dryer when prices fluctuate i JTI's pilot tests processes i Sweden's only testing site for small treatment plants i Cheap bed reduces chemical

spills in China reportage “Farmyard manure is a resource!” i Workshop engineers bounce ideas around

A mAgAzine from JTi – SwediSh inSTiTuTe of AgriculTurAl And environmenTAl engineering # 1.2013

climate change challenges researchers

The tool that can sow, harrow and spray

hunt for new bio gas substrates

2 JTI / DrIv #1.2013 News2 welcome JTI / DrIv #1.2013

Jti offers solutions

we are all facing a massive challenge – how to move from a fossil-fuel based economy to a biofuel based one. we

know that the easily-accessible oil is about to run out, and that for economic and climatic reasons it is necessary to find sustainable types of energy. This upheaval will demand new solutions in many areas, including agriculture – but there are options, there are solutions.

You can achieve a number of solutions with JTI's help. JTI is a company that specialises in sustainable development and competitiveness within the fields of agriculture, the environment and energy.

At JTI cooperation, development and applica-tion are all based on the customer's ideas and needs. JTI's aim is for research and development to have some value in the real world.

One example is biogas, with society currently demanding more than is being produced. Together with agricultural companies, machinery manufac-turers, colleges, universities, etc., JTI has done much in the way of developing waste-based biogas processes that could reduce costs and thereby increase profitability for individual companies.

The mobile biogas plant built by JTI could definitely help to optimise the biogas process and increase gas output in large co-digestion plants.

In a similar way, JTI works with GPS and camera technology to develop “the intelligent farm” based on companies' needs for precision control of tools and optimisation of traffic flows on the farm, and on a more concrete level, it works on training machine operators in economical driving.

For future crop cultivation, JTI is working together with lrF, SlU, horticultural companies and advisers on technical developments for making the use of chemical and biological pest control agents more efficient.

JTI is growing and expanding, with ever more employees and offices in both Uppsala and lund. The expertise that JTI is able to offer its customers has also increased dramatically since the company became part of the SP Group.

Turning to JTI is therefore a definite option if you want both a competitive solution and a sustainable future.

Bengt Persson,chairman of the Board, JTI AB

3JTI / DrIv #1.2013 conTenTS

driv is JTI's customer magazine. It comes out twice a year. Editors JTI communication. AddrEss JTI – Swedish Institute of Agricultural and environmental engineering, Box 7033, Se-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden,

+46 (0)10-516 69 00. GrAphics matador kommunikation. printinG Davidsons Tryckeri, växjö. print run 500 copies issn 2001-4880 chAnGE of AddrEss [email protected]. rEprintinG Please state the source

when reprinting any of the magazine's articles. more copies of the magazine may be ordered free of charge via JTI's publication service, tel +46 (0)18-67 11 00. The magazine can also be read online, via www.jti.se.

covEr picturE Johanna olsson, JTI. Photo: rickard nilsson. photoGrAphErs rickard nilsson, carla Karlsson, Götene Gårdsgas, Jakob Dahlström, Dick Gillberg and JTI.

climAtE chAllEnGEs cultivAtion 6

workshop of possibilitiEs

wild boAr rAmpAGEs mAppEd from AbovE

16wE nEEd morE bioGAs!10

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4 JTI / DrIv #1.2013 News

wild boAr rAmPAGeS mAPPeD from AbovE rooted up fields and lost harvests. The steadily increasing wild boar population in Sweden has consequences for agri-culture. JTi's drone aircraft is mapping the rampages of wild boar on mörkö in Sörmland.

“We are looking at various ways of taking stock of wild boar damage to crops. For two years we measured the damage on foot. This works very well, but if you can achieve the same results using aerial photographs the process of taking stock can be performed more efficiently,” says Gunnar Jansson, researcher at Grimsö research station, who employed the services of JTI certified “pilot” Niklas Adolfsson.

JTI's robust little aircraft is equipped with an integrated camera and a GPS sys-

tem, which is used together with GIS software to create accurate high-resolu-tion images. These images can, for example, show where wild boar have trampled down cereal crops or rooted up fields of clover.

no compenSATionDuring 2010–2011 wild boar damage caused approximately 2–3% loss of crops in the study area on Mörkö, but no compensation is payable for damage to crops caused by wild boar.

“A lot of farmers are experiencing problems with wild boar, so it is important to find some way of estimating the extent of this damage in a correct and cost-effec-tive manner,” says Gunnar Jansson.

contact: [email protected]

For fossil-frEE AGrIcUlTUremore than 70 per cent of the direct energy used today in agriculture is fossil-based. in the opinion of lrf, the federation of swedish farmers, this is too much. they are investigating how swedish agriculture could be independent of fossil-based energy.

According to lrF's climate policy, the green industries should be at the forefront when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“This includes carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. we want to help Sweden's farmers become more resource-efficient. This will allow them to reduce both costs and emissions,” says Jan eksvärd, expert on sustainable development at lrF.

In some areas the switch to renewable energy can take place relatively easily using existing technology, such as the heating of livestock sheds and greenhouses and the drying of grain. But running tractors and machinery on renewable fuels demands something more.

“Here the farmer needs something on which to base his decisions. Together with JTI we have produced material on the current regulations concerning the use of various biofuels. JTI has also been asked to look at the costs of switching to biofuels out on the farms, and is planning a preliminary study for small, electric farm tractors,” says Jan eksvärd.

this AEriAl photo rEvEAls wild boAr. Damage caused by wild animals is normally recorded on foot, but wild boar researchers are keen to find alternative methods. High-resolution images taken with JTI's UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) can make mapping easier and cheaper.

5JTI / DrIv #1.2013 News

leAn ProvIDeS profitAblE AGriculturEcan a management philosophy from the Japanese car industry really work on a Swedish dairy farm? Yes, reply JTi's researchers, who have studied how the lean model could be introduced into pork, milk and grain production in collaboration with SiK and hS halland.

“By looking at your own operation with new eyes you can find more efficient ways to get your work done. It could be something as simple as ensuring that your tools actually are where they are meant to be, so you don't have to go looking for them. Lean is based on finding routines and running your workshop on common sense,” says Anna Rydberg, head of JTI's agriculture section.

muST Be AdApTedBut she also emphasises that Lean is all about company development, and must be adapted to suit each company. The fact that one way of doing things works on one farm does not mean that it will also work on the next.

Karin Andersson is a postgraduate student at JTI and KTH and is working on a project in which she has to find out what happens to the physical and psychosocial work environment when Lean is implemented on farms.

inTerAcTive reSeArch“Lean is still a fairly new working method for agriculture, and there is still a lot to develop. I shall be using an interactive research method, which means that I won't simply be observing what happens. What I learn from this will also become a direct part of the continuing development work,” says Karin Andersson.

Lean is based on making use of employees' commitment and good ideas. Changes to work processes and company culture must come from within and be firmly established “on the floor”. At the same time, new ideas and working methods affect the work environment.


lean means resource-efficientlean is a management philosophy that has been used for many years in the manufac-turing industry, but which has also proved to work well in, for example, health care and public administration. employing lean methods can reduce waste in terms of resources and time, while at the same time creating added value – for the customer, the company and the employees.

more lean within sPSP Green lean is a skills centre within the SP Group, linking lean philosophy with environ-mental systems analysis and life cycle assessment. Green lean creates opportunities for compa-nies involved in food production and distribution to become more efficient, more profitable and environmentally sustainable.

nEAt And tidy in thE livEstock shEds. lean philosophy can make work on the farm more efficient, but also brings changes to the work environment.

REPORTAGE6 JTI / DrIv #1.2013

clImATe chAllEnGEs cUlTIvATIonour climate is changing. more unpredictable weather can change the rules of the game for agriculture and arable farming. JTi is meeting these challenges with a brand new idea: cultivation all year round and double harvests.TexT: SofiA BureBorn phoToS: ricKArd nilSSon

Jti wAs thE

first in swEdEn to tEst thE GErmAn two-crop systEm. In autumn 2011 JTI, together with the

Swedish rural economy and Agricultural Society (Hushållningssällskapet) in Kristian-stad, began a trial with alternate cultivation of

two biogas crops (oilseed rape, corn, rye or sugar beet) and one food crop (malting barley, rye or

peas). The researchers involved in this trial are looking for the optimal crop combination. In

Germany the combination of rye-corn and oilseed rape-corn produced the

highest crop yields.

REPORTAGE 7JTI / DrIv #1.2013

For researchers at JTI it's all about working out a flexible cultivation system that allows farmers to spread their risks.

“It is true that climate scenarios are always uncertain, but there is a lot to indicate that the climate in Europe is becoming more unstable and the weather more unpredictable, which increases the risks for arable farming. If you grow several crops per season you are less vulnerable to failure of one particular crop,” explains Johanna Olsson, researcher at JTI.

Together with her JTI colleague Carina Gunnarsson, she is testing a German cultivation system – the two-crop system – on behalf of the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket). This three-year trial is taking place in Skåne. This means that maximum use is made of the growing season and two crops are harvested – one in the autumn and one in the spring – in one and the same year.

YieldS A higher energY hArveSTBoth the crop that is grown during the winter and the one grown during the summer are harvested green for use in biogas production. Interest in energy crops as a biogas substrate is growing in Europe,

but also promotes discussion as to how fields should be used – whether land can be used for both food and energy.

With the two-crop system every hectare cultivated can provide a bigger energy harvest, which should reduce competition for land. The system has been evaluated over five years at the University of Kassel.

“Trials in Germany have shown that the two-crop system produces higher yields than conventional cultivation. The extra harvests are so much bigger that the system has provided a higher profit in economic terms, despite two sowings and two harvests being required,” says Johanna Olsson.

eu ApplicATionShe is hoping to be able to expand her work with the researchers in Germany. With the University of Kassel as head researcher, JTI, together with the Univer-sity of Poznan in Poland and the University of Newcastle in the UK, has submitted an application to the EU. The hope is to take the trials of the two-crop system a step further, and work out locally adapted and sustainable systems for bioenergy produc-

tion that work in Germany, in Sweden, and in other parts of Europe.

The project will test various combina-tions of crops under different climatic conditions, in order to identify the most profitable crop combinations and to establish the best times for sowing and harvesting. Growth models can then be used to make the results valid for the whole of Europe.

will focuS on demo culTivATionIt is also planned to link the project up with demo cultivations directly connected with local biogas plants. These demo cultiva-tions may increase contact between biogas producers and farmers, and give farmers the chance to study a form of sustainable bioenergy production in practice.

“The two-crop system is a good example of what sustainable cultivation could look like. It offers higher production with less environmental impact. Biological diversity is also greater, and cultivation security higher. Hopefully it will prove to be a flexible, profitable and smart solution in Sweden too,” says Johanna Olsson.


01 Johanna olsson, researcher at JTI, tests a German cultivation system under Swedish conditions. In Germany this sys-tem has produced higher yields than con-ventional cultivation. 02 Trials are based on alternate cultivation of food crops and crops for biogas. Sugar beet is included in one of the crop rotations being tested. 03 rye was harvested back in may from a trial field outside Kristianstad. The crop is for use in biogas production.

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01 According to a new eU directive, from 2014 it will be a requirement to use preventative and direct measures in the first instance instead of pesticides and herbicides in agriculture. 02 JTI researchers Per-Anders Algerbo and mikael Gilbertsson have designed a sprayer that can sow, harrow and spray. 03 The harrow goes between the rows, while the sprayer aims directly at the crop. 04 The yellow box is a camera, which keeps the sprayer in line in the rows.

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Technical agronomists Mikael Gilbert-sson and Per-Anders Algerbo at JTI have designed a sprayer for combined mechan-ical and chemical control of weeds in, for example, grain and oilseed rape cultiva-tion. The idea is that the combined control method should require less in the way of chemical herbicides.

“We started with a tool carrier for sowing and harrowing that is stable and has good precision, and on that we mounted spray equipment directly on the carrying frame,” says Per-Anders Algerbo.

They obtained industrial spray nozzles to ensure a good angle and to be able to spray in rows as close to the plants as possible. The nozzles available for agricultural use have holes too big for the drop size and liquid flow they were after.

comBinATion wAS BeSTTwo field trials in 2012 have yielded promising results. Together with the Swedish Rural Economy and Agricultural Society and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences they have tested the prototype on spring oilseed rape in Skåne. The combination of row harrowing and row spraying reduced weeds most and

yielded a bigger harvest than the alterna-tives of row harrowing only, general spraying only and no control at all.

While there is a great need for chemical plant protectants, the number of approved products is going down, and the approved products that exist for weed control are often expensive. So if the combination method for weed control proves to be effective in further trials, it may also be of great financial interest to many cultivators.

cAmerA followS rowSSimilar trials in the 1990s yielded limited success. Since then the row harrow's frame design and harrowing body have become more stable. Technology allowing the rows to be followed has also devel-oped, with camera technology that makes it possible to follow the rows with 1 cm accuracy. There is also now automatic steering on virtually all new tractors.

“This means that we can now reckon on accuracy of 2–3 cm with our combined weed control,” says Mikael Gilbert sson.


A lot of chemical pesticides and herbicides are used in agri-culture. Specialisation and demands for high profitability are thought to be behind this. new eu requirements mean that use of chemicals must go down. JTi is working on technical solutions to comply with these requirements, solutions that may also be of financial interest to conventional cultivators.TexT: cArinA JohAnSSon phoToS: ricKArd nilSSon

fEwEr chEmicAls on THe FIelDS cAn Be Good businEss

850 tons…that's the quantity of chemical pesticides and herbicides used within agriculture in Sweden in 2010. of this, around 75 per cent was herbicides. large quantities of chemicals are used on grain and oil plants (herbicides), on potatoes, apples and strawber-ries (fungicides) and spring oilseed rape (insecticides). Although use in Sweden may seem high, far less chemical plant protectant is used in Sweden than in southern europe. In the same way, usage is higher in southern Sweden than in northern Sweden. This is partly due to differences in climate and in choice of crops.

eu requirements The eU has decided that so-called integrated plant protection will be obligatory for farmers and horticulturists from 2014. This means that action needs to be coordinated to control pests and weeds. Such action could be, for example, selecting resistant varieties, using technical cultivation measures, chemical and biological control. In the first instance preventative and direct measures should be used instead of pesticides and herbicides.

10 JTI / DrIv #1.2013 rePorTAGe

Biogas factsIn 2011 there were a total of 233 biogas plants in Sweden. Almost half of this biogas is pro-duced at municipal wastewater treatment plants. Just 1 per cent or thereabouts is produced at farm plants, but the number of farm plants in Sweden is slowly growing and in 2012 it is estimated that 30 or so farm biogas plants are in operation. Sweden is the only country in europe to have an established market for biogas-fuelled vehicles. Germany leads biogas development in europe, with around 7,000 biogas plants. There biogas is mostly used for heat and power production, but new policy decisions are now driving development towards upgrading and injection into the natural gas grid.

Source: Biogasportalen and the rural economy and

Agricultural Society Sjuhärad.

BIoGAS

we neeD morE bioGAs!demand for biogas in Sweden and in many other countries is greater than the supply. we need to produce more gas, upgrade more of the gas to fuel and find more energy-rich substrates to digest. JTi's biogas researchers are involved in development on all fronts, often in partnership with customers and other biogas players.TexT: cArinA JohAnSSon phoToS: göTene gårdSgAS, cArlA KArlSSon, dicK gillBerg


morE EnErGy in = more GAS oUT Biogas researcher mats edström and his colleagues at JTi are challenging the wet digestion technique, which is the most common technique used in Swedish farm biogas plants. in a diges-tion chamber with liquid manure, they mix in more energy-rich material in order to achieve a greater biogas yield.

“We are hoping to be able to increase biogas production by 50–100 per cent compared with ordinary liquid manure digestion,” says Mats Edström.

The big challenge is that the more energy-rich materials – chicken manure and straw-rich solid manure from pigs and cattle – are technically and biologi-cally harder to digest. Chicken manure contains a lot of biologically degradable material, which yields more biogas. On the other hand, it also contains a lot of nitrogen, and if the nitrogen content in

the digestion chamber is too high, this can have a negative impact on the digestion process.

“We need to learn what to do in order to encourage the gas-forming bacteria that can work in high nitrogen concentrations,” says Mats Edström.

mATeriAl impoSeS requiremenTSSolid material also imposes higher requirements for crushing and agitation than does the digestion of liquid manure.

Full-scale trials are taking place at the biogas plant at Secondary School Sötåsen (naturbruksgymnasiet Sötåsen) in Västergötland. The biological issues are being investigated in laboratory studies, in which JTI and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) are working closely together via the shared platform Ultuna Biogas Centre.

The companies Götene Gårdsgas, AB G Alexandersson and the Rural

Economy and Agricultural Society in Skaraborg are also taking part in the trials at Sötåsen school.

cAn offer greATer profiTABiliTYIf the researchers achieve their goal and gas yields are as they hope, this will increase the likelihood of improved profitability in farm biogas plants. Despite the fact that they often get the base substrate of liquid manure “free”, they often have low profitability, because small plants have to buy in basically the same equipment as large plants.

JTI has also worked on optimising biogas production in some of the 20 or so large co-digestion plants in Sweden. Together with Borås Energi & Miljö, among others, JTI has developed robust on-line methods for regular sampling during an ongoing biogas process.


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01 JTI's biogas researcher mats edström adjusts the crushing equipment at Sötåsen. 02 and 03 chicken manure and straw-rich solid manure are energy-rich but hard to digest substrates.

BIoGAS


In 2011 biogas corresponding to approximately 1.5 TWh/year was produced in Sweden. If it were possible to also make biogas from straw, forestry materials and other lignocellulose on a large scale, biogas production could become something like 40 times as big.

It is the lignin in cellulose that makes straw and wood so hard to digest. Xinmei Feng, researcher at JTI, is working on a project that is attempting to make lignocellulose accessible to the anaerobic microorganisms that make biogas from organic material.

fungi BreAK down ligninXinmei Feng starts with a biological pre-treatment method, and uses a type of white rot fungus that can break down

lignin. Then she compares the methane potential in the straw that has been treated with the fungus with that of untreated straw in digestion tests in the laboratory.

“We think that this method could be more economical and more environ-ment-friendly, while also requiring less energy than the methods that have been tried before,” says Xinmei Feng.

cooperATing wiTh chinAThe University of Borås, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Grontmij, Borås Energi & Miljö, the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) and Purac Läckeby are all involved in the project. The project also has links with interna-tional expertise, as JTI is cooperating with a Chinese institute.

In another project JTI is working on optimising biogas yields from energy crops and harvest residues, together with the research institute DBFZ in Leipzig.

“Compared with Sweden, Germany has a lot of experience with energy crops, so we can learn a lot from them,” says Johan Laurell, Head of Environ-ment section at JTI.

When it comes to producing biogas from forestry waste, Göteborg Energi has built, through the project GoBiGas, the first plant in the world where forestry waste is processed to produce biogas. The forestry waste is not digested here; the biogas is produced once the forestry waste has been gasified into synthetic gas.


HUnT For nEw substrAtEsin the 1970s it was all about getting rid of waste. now people are competing for organic waste for biogas production. in their hunt for biogas substrates researchers and energy companies are turning their gaze to straw and forestry waste.

shE wAnts to brEAk

thE liGnin down. JTI's researcher Xinmei Feng

uses the microorganism white rot fungus in an attempt to break the lignin's bond to the cellulose, in

order to make it possible to digest biogas from straw

and forestry waste.

BIoGAS


In 10 YeArS we'll Be upGrAdinG on THe fArmmost of the biogas in Sweden – around half – is used as fuel. And that's where the biggest demand is. Today, upgrading of biogas into fuel takes place at large central plants, but in just 10 years the technology may be present on individual farms, believe researchers at JTi and Slu.

Gustav Rogstrand and Åke Nordberg, researchers at JTI and SLU respectively, confidently assert such estimates regard-ing the development of upgrading plants.

Åke Nordberg, who has been working on biogas issues at JTI since the 1980s, is struck by how much has happened in this field over the last 15 years. What was thought to be impossible back then is reality today.

driven BY price of foSSil fuelSNow the demand for biogas for vehicles is a motivating factor for continued development of upgrading methods, as is fossil fuel price.

“If fuel prices increase in relation to other energy prices, we may see rapid development in upgrading,” says Åke Nordberg.

Together with researchers at KTH and colleagues at JTI, the pair are now developing new techniques for upgrading biogas to the level of purity required for it to be used as fuel, with a methane content of 96–98 per cent. Their aim is

for this upgrading method to be so cost-effective that it can be applied in small-scale plants.

TodAY'S plAnTS expenSiveToday's upgrading plants are usually to be found at large municipal waste-water treatment plants or co-digestion plants. They are expensive, and therefore large gas volumes are required to justify them.

In rural areas an upgrading plant may today be found at a large digestion plant where a number of cooperating farmers deliver manure, for example, at the biogas plant outside Katrineholm.

linKS wiTh neTworKAnother type of upgrading plant found in rural areas today links together farm-based biogas plants by means of a network of pipelines for biogas. An upgrading plant of this type has been constructed in Brålanda in Dalsland.


on thE fArm soon. Demand for biogas is driving development towards upgrading in farm environments. Today upgrading plants are large and expensive, and are usually found at municipal wastewater treatment plants.

FocUS on BIomAnUreonce you have digested a substrate such as manure, food waste sorted at source and crops from agriculture, what remains is a digestion residue, also known as biomanure. Bioma-nure is an excellent fertiliser that contains all the plant nutrients and trace elements that were present in the substrate. Selling biomanure is a prerequisite for an expanding biogas market.

In order to increase confidence in biomanure there is a certification system that involves the biomanure being inspected along the chain from raw material to finished product. certified biomanure is free of bacteria such as Salmonella and eHec, and meets requirements regarding, for instance, what substrate is used and the content of metals.

From 1 January 2013, new certifi-cation rules will apply for biomanure.

“The new rules impose stricter requirements for quality control of the substrates used for biogas production,” says ola Palm, head of research at JTI and chairman of the steering group that continuously updates the regulations for certified recycling on behalf of Swedish waste management (Avfall Sverige).

BIoGAS


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• minimise the dilution of manure in barns and in storage piles, as manure with a high liquid content is more expensive to manage and transport.

• Analyse the manure's nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium content, and plan on the basis of the analysis results when, where and how to spread the farmyard manure – this makes the best use of the plant nutrients and is most economical.

• Spread liquid manure in spring and early summer, when the crop needs plant nutrients.

• manure with a lot of straw, e.g. horse manure, should instead be spread in autumn/late autumn. much of the nitrogen in this kind of manure is organically bound and needs time to break down into ammonium nitrogen, which the plants can access easily.

• Handle the manure so that ammonia emissions are low (cover the manure pile, incorporate the manure into the soil quickly after spreading or use a liquid manure injector).

• Have as little manure as possible in storage during the summer, as manure piles leak more ammonia and methane in warm weather.

lena rodhe's farmyard manure tips:

Lena Rodhe smooths her hair away from her face. It's windy out at the test facility at Kungsängen in Uppsala, where they are currently investigating the quantities of greenhouse gases leaking out into the air from sludge storage. The trial is being carried out using a technique that Lena Rodhe and her colleagues devel-oped themselves.

“Previously emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from stores of liquid manure were calculated using standard values based on two trials performed abroad. These values say very little about actual conditions on Swedish farms."

lower emiSSionS in SwedenIn order to produce data relevant to Swedish agriculture, a pilot facility was constructed where greenhouse gases from liquid manure could be studied in the Swedish climate. The trials showed that in reality emissions were lower than shown in the foreign studies, and the project results were of immediate practical benefit.

“Farmers can definitely affect green-house gas emissions by choosing the right type of farmyard manure management,” says Lena Rodhe.

In recent years most of her research has been on greenhouse gases. With climate issues in focus, animal produc-tion has been regarded as something of a climate villain. Naturally, Lena Rodhe thinks it is important to mini-mise the environmental impact of farmyard manure. But more than anything she wants to change people's

perspective, and highlight farmyard manure as an asset.

“In the future we may perhaps be able to compose the NPK content in farmyard manure, buy it in a sack in granule form and spread it using the same technique as artificial fertiliser. This would save a lot of money,” says Lena Rodhe, eager to find solutions that combine good functionality with environmental thinking and sound financial sense.

SpreAd wiTh preciSionAny solution of this kind involves farm-yard manure being spread with precision on the fields. Lena Rodhe has basically been researching this since she started at JTI in 1982. She knows most about spreading liquid manure on pasture land, a topic covered by her PhD. The focus was first on building a prototype and then evaluating her own liquid manure injector with tubular ploughshares that drill the manure into the soil.

“We have shown that surface drilling effectively reduces loss of nitrogen as ammonia into the air. Now we want to learn when the nutrients benefit the crops,” says Lena Rodhe.

colleAgueS' nicKnAmeShe says we. Not I. Includes her col-leagues in JTI's growing farmyard manure group and her collaboration partners at SLU. The colleagues who have given her a nickname she is actually rather proud of – Queen of Manure.


QuEEn oF mAnUre“farmyard manure is a resource we should make use of!” So says lena rodhe, JTi's leading expert on farmyard manure. She loves to be outside in muddy boots, testing her ideas on farmyard manure management in practice, but she is also happy to sit inside at her desk, adding to the sum of knowledge.TexT: SofiA BureBorn phoToS: SofiA BureBorn, JAKoB dAhlSTröm


nAmE: lena rodhe.livEs: Storvreta, north of Uppsala. fAmily: Husband, two grown-up children and a cat.GrEw up: Bergius Botanic Garden in Stockholm, where dad was gardener.bAckGround: Diploma in technical agronomy from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SlU). Instructor in machine operation and structural engineering at agricultural colleges. worked at JTI since 1982. PhD 2004, Associate professor 2011.in hEr frEE timE: likes to be out in the countryside, fell walking, cross- country skiing or working in the garden.rEAds: likes detective stories.unExpEctEd tAlEnt: Sudoku.

01 lena rodhe – expert on farmyard manure. 02 Taking gas measurements at the manure pile using her own technique. 03 Together with Agnes willén, lena rodhe collects readings from spreading trials outside Uppsala. 04 Boots are the thing for fieldwork.

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JTI / DrIv #1.2013

worKSHoP oF possibilitiEsBehind a light blue nine-metre wide door south of uppsala, there is an engineering workshop that is unlike any other. here people build test equipment for JTi's field and lab activities. it would probably be possible to construct a space rocket here too, if workshop engineer Tomas reilander is to be believed.TexT: cArinA JohAnSSon phoToS: dicK gillBerg, JAKoB dAhlSTröm

rePorTAGe16 JTI / DrIv #1.2013


That stuff about the space rocket is less nutty than it initially sounds. It's not just the size of the workshop that makes you think of a space project: the door is 4.5 metres high, the assembly area is 180 square metres and the overhead crane in the ceiling can lift 2 tons.

JTI's workshop deals with pretty complicated tasks. Apart from ordinary workshop projects using sheet metal, stainless steel or aluminium, this may involve things such as mechanical structures or installations combined with advanced measuring or control technology.

ideAS geT Bounced Around“In this workshop you don't just submit a drawing. You can bounce ideas around with us,” says Tomas Reilander.

For example, they have built a wheeled mobile pig hut with exercise area and automatic feeding unit. The hut was supplied to a pig farmer in Kristianstad.

Research engineer Anders Ringmar made an automatic cow tether, which

has since been used in several research projects:

“It began with a brainstorming session between researchers, farmers and engineers, when they wanted to find an automatic solution for reducing the risk of accidents when releasing or tethering cattle manually. After a number of suggestions we ended up with something like a carbine hook,” says Anders Ringmar.

ArTificiAl horSe'S hoofThe biggest project at JTI's workshop in recent years has been the mobile biogas plant, based on construction solutions partly developed by JTI.

Now Tomas Reilander has been given the task of designing an artificial horse's hoof. He is constructing it on a trailer with four slide rails, where a frame with a “hoof” can be moved up and down at a particular force and speed. This hoof is for use in a project that in the long term is intended to provide a better surface for trotting tracks.

conTenT wiThouT A SpAce rocKeTThe workshop has a team of three working there. Like Anders Ringmar, Marianne Tersmeden is a research engineer who works primarily on testing, technical solutions and other activities out in the field. The main work taking place actually in the workshop is carried out byworkshop engineer Tomas Reilander. He is in his element.

“JTI invests in things. It's great!” he says.

There may not be any space rocket in JTI's workshop, but Tomas Reilander is pretty satisfied with the machinery anyway: power shears, plate roll, edging press, band saw, TIG weld, MIG weld, lathe, milling cutter, drills, etc.

He himself is worth his weight in gold to any workshop in terms of the qualities he possesses: creativity, accuracy and desire to deliver.

JTI undertakes workshop projects to order. contact: [email protected]

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01 The horse's hoof machine, which is powered by compressed air, can simulate the impact of hooves at varying pressure and speed on a trotting track. 02 There is a lot of machinery in the workshop. 03 workshop engineer Tomas reilander is happy to bounce ideas around before he starts putting things together.


own DrYer oFFerS biGGEr mArGinsin recent years the price of grain has fluc-tuated wildly. these increased price risks make it profitable for several grain produc-ers to invest in a hot air dryer of their own.

“A farmer who can dry and store his grain on the farm is not just able to sell when the price is highest, but also has greater freedom to choose when it comes to buyers, contracts and choice of crop,” says Nils Jonsson, researcher at JTI and expert on grain drying and storage.

Together with the Department of Economics at SLU, JTI has studied how various risk factors such as price, harvest and quality affect profitability for farms to invest in their own plant for drying and storing grain. Based on harvest data as well as price data for crops and drying plants, a number of fictitious typical farms were devised. These typical farms had 100–500 hec-tares of land under cultivation and were located in the flat countryside of the Swedish regions Götaland and Svealand.

“When the risks were taken into account, it was shown that storage on the farm was worth it for farms with over 300 hectares under cultivation, thus for more than just the very biggest grain producers. But for farms with 100 hec-tares under cultivation, delivery immedi-ately after harvest offered the best profitability,” says Nils Jonsson.

Simple drYer enoughHowever, investment in expensive turnkey plants is not considered to be worth it.

“A simpler hot air drying plant with a small number of round silos offers greater profitability than a lavish plant equipped with both indoor bins and round silos. But the study does have one limitation. There is no data for how often a farmer needs to divide a crop up into several qualities, something that probably disadvantaged the more advanced plants,” says Nils Jonsson.


storAGE on thE fArm cAn bE worth it. Having your own drying and storage equipment is a big investment, but for many people it's a profitable move when the grain market is uncertain.

sustAinAblE food

– from pAsturE to storE.

Together with SIK, the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, and

SlU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, JTI is taking a broad grasp of the

Swedish food chain: from primary production via refining to the retail trade. The aim of the project

“ways to sustainable food” is to find future product chains that will provide the same benefits as

today but with less of a negative impact on the environment. The project focuses on the

product groups beef, pork, chicken, dairy products and bread.


customEr EvEnt AT JTIcan future cultivation manage with less use of chemical pesticides and herbicides? what developments are required to improve purification in the 250,000 small sewer systems in the Swedish countryside that have inadequate purification? How long will it take to switch from fossil fuels to renewable fuels in agriculture?

Future issues concerning agriculture, the environment and energy were discussed at JTI's customer event in october 2012, which started with a lunchtime social and ended with demonstrations at JTI's workshop.

01 Future issues were discussed at Speakers corners. 02 Bengt Zetterström, certifier at SmP, the Swedish machinery Testing Institute, was glad to have the opportunity to meet customers. 03 Johan laurell, head of environment at JTI has a fun time with martin Kylefors, risk and safety business developer, SP Technical research Institute of Sweden, and eva Pettersson, ceo of JTI. 04 Ida Sylwan and carina Gunnarsson, researchers at JTI, meet Anders Assarsson, activities manager at Second-ary School Sötåsen. 05 There was a lot of interest when the artificial horse's hoof was demonstrated.

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20 JTI / DrIv #1.2013 ABoUT JTI

GrowInG In THe SoUTHJTI is continuing to invest in Skåne, and in February 2013 will move into new premises at Ideon Gateway in lund.

“Skåne is an expanding region, with numerous large farms and a lot of companies that could benefit from our expertise.

Having a local office obviously makes it easier to contact and work with customers and partners,” says Anna rydberg, head of JTI's agriculture section.

JTI shares premises in lund with several other companies in the SP group that are also expanding in

the Öresund region. It is estimated that within a few years the SP group will have 50 employees in lund, and 75 throughout Skåne. The parent company, SP Technical research Institute of Sweden, will also shortly be building up opera-tions in copenhagen.

pilot GuidEs procEssEs riGhtresearchers and engineers at JTI have constructed a mobile pilot plant for biogas trials – the only one of its kind in Sweden. on a 3 x 7 metre swap body they have installed pumps, sanitising equipment, crushing equip-ment and mixer tanks. Sundet waste water treatment plant in växjö has used JTI's pilot to test the profitability of various processes.

“we needed to investigate the energy consumption required for sanitising sludge. Trials with the pilot showed that digestion in two rounds produced so much more methane that it could pay for the sanitisation,” says Anneli Andersson chan, in charge of pro-cesses at Sundet treatment plant.


Jti's pilot can…… test process changes under

consideration… test planned additions… test process limits … compare sanitisation methods

(pasteurising at various tempera-tures and time combinations or thermophilic digestion)

… investigate biogas yield and quality for various substrate combinations

… investigate how changes in operation affect agitation and pumping properties in the substrate and the contents of the digestion chamber

… test various crushing methods

21JTI / DrIv #1.2013 ABoUT JTI

on sitE in nEw lAb. laboratory engineer Johnny Ascue together with researchers lotta levén and Xinmei Feng in JTI's new biogas laboratory.

Operations are run mainly through applied research and innovation work in close collaboration with companies, uni-versities and colleges, organisations and authorities – both in Sweden and abroad.

JTI is also asked by companies, organisations and authorities to act as an independent investigator when data is needed on which to base a decision. In connection with assignments and the purchase of its services, JTI offers access to its workshops, laboratories and technical resources, such as its mobile equipment for biogas trials, equipment for evaluating small-scale wastewater treatment plants and a UAV (drone aircraft). Commissioned activities at JTI are conducted with full confidentiality if

companies so wish. Otherwise JTI communicates its research and develop-ment results via reports, the internet and the media, etc.

At JTI there are two large national communication projects: Säkert Bondför-nuft and Bioenergiportalen. Säkert Bondförnuft is mainly financed through the Rural Development Programme, and aims to halve the number of accidents on farms by the end of 2013.

Bioenergiportalen is run using fees paid by interested parties, and its aim is to contribute to domestic renewable energy supply and to increased energy production in rural areas.

more information is available on: www.jti.se

Jti in fiGurEs. 2 offices (Uppsala and lund) approx-imately 50 employees, of which 17 researchers with doctorates.

UPPSALA LUND

FocUS on AGrIcUlTUre, envIronmenT AnD enerGYJTi is an industrial research institute focusing on agriculture, the environ-ment and energy. The company is part of the Sp group, Sweden's biggest group of institutes with broad technical expertise.


SAFer wITH THe rIGHT eqUIPmenT A calm working pace and clear routines are a good way of reducing accidents when servicing or repairing trac-tors on the farm. So says JTI researcher niklas Adolfsson, who has, among other things, looked at work routines for removing double rear wheels.

“At professional workshops a trolley is often used to get a wheel off and on in a controlled manner, but farmers don't often have them. The right equipment would increase safety out on the farms as well,” says niklas Adolfsson.

Tractor-related accidents constitute a large proportion of agricultural work accidents. Between 2002 and 2008 just over 330 tractor accidents lead-ing to absence from work were reported to Arbetsmiljöverket.

SewerS TeSTeD In UPPSAlASweden's only testing site for mini treat-ment plants is at JTi. The tests show how well the plants remove substances that can cause eutrophication in lakes and seas from the wastewater.

In Sweden there are just under a million sewers, and a large proportion of them are reckoned to function poorly. Any property owner who wants to con-struct a new sewer can choose a pre-fabricated wastewater treatment plant, often called a mini treatment plant, which has everything you need in one package.

But what type of system has the least environmental impact? Until now, property owners and municipalities have often had to rely on information pro-vided by the manufacturer regarding the effectiveness of their wastewater treat-ment equipment. From March 2013 mini treatment plants sold within the EU must be CE marked, and treatment results of the plant must have been tested accord-ing to European standards by an independent party. JTI offers such tests together with SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden.

“For a manufacturer it can, for exam-ple, be good to be able to show how well a treatment plant removes oxygen-consum-ing substances, phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater. This is information that property owners and municipalities usually want,” says Ida Sylwan, who is in charge of type testing at JTI.

JTI began carrying out sewer tests in 2009, and has, during the summer of 2012, built a new testing site outside Uppsala, where four treatment plants can be tested at a time under controlled condi-tions. The new testing site is in a partially underground building in order to main-tain ground temperature for the readings.

“At our new testing site we also carry out various research projects on small sewer systems. Right now we are comparing how natural soil material and crushed material function in a filter trench,” says Ida Sylwan.

JTI tests treatment effectiveness as a basis for ce marking on behalf of SP Technical research Institute of Sweden, which is a registered body for european standard en 12566-3.


mAKe moneY From FArmYArD mAnUre!Produce concentrated, high-quality fertiliser, digest pig manure to make biogas or heat buildings with horse manure – there are plenty of ways to do business using farmyard manure. The Baltic manure project focuses on the opportunities offered by farmyard manure rather than the problems, and aims to pass on to farmers new and profitable techniques regarding the handling of farmyard manure. The project is financed by the eU fund Baltic Sea region Programme. JTI is one of the participants, who come from 10 countries.

Jti tEsts mini trEAtmEnt plAnts. In JTI's new test plant for small wastewater systems, several mini treatment plants can be tested at once in a partially underground building. JTI's tests can form the basis for ce marking. From 2013 onwards all mini treatment plants sold within the eU must be ce marked.

23JTI / DrIv #1.2013 News

eFFIcIenT DrIvInG hElps thE EnvironmEntmore energy-efficient use of work machinery in Uppsala county should be able to save 3,000 tons of diesel a year – thereby also reducing emissions of climate-affecting gases. In order to achieve this goal, the county administrative board is running a three-year project together with mälardalen energy Agency, JTI, Skogforsk and Uppsala municipality. on behalf of the county administrative board, JTI is, among other things, running courses on efficient driving aimed at farmers in the county.

“we have previously seen that training in efficient driving can reduce fuel use by ten per cent. Driving more efficiently, with good planning, also saves both time and money,” says Karin Svanäng at the county administrative board in Uppsala county, which is managing the project.

PrIZe For comBcUTThe combcut weed cutter has been named rural Innovation of the Year 2012. JTI built the first prototype for the weed cutter, and is now taking part in a three-year evaluation of the machine together with SlU and the machine's inventor Jonas carlsson, an organic farmer in Blekinge.

did you know ...... that JTI has one of europe's most modern biogas laboratories for digestion research. It is in Uppsala on the Ultuna campus.

BAlTIc comPASS ProPoSeS Free ADvIceFarmers in areas vulnerable to pollution ought to receive free advice so that any action can be adapted to suit the requirements of each individual farm. That was one of the conclusions of the eU project Baltic compass, in which JTI was responsible for work on the “best available technologies and practices”. Participants from countries all around the Baltic Sea have been working for three years to disseminate knowledge and experiences, in order to reduce leakage of nutrients from agriculture.

JTI PAvInG THe wAY In cHInAJTI's environmental researchers maria del Pilar castillo and Xinmei Feng are teaching chinese farmers to use biobeds.

Biobeds were developed in Sweden in the early 1990s as a simple, cheap and effective way of preventing the negative impact on the environment of chemical pesticides and herbicides. They are put down in spots where they can collect any chemical spills, for example, when agricultural sprayers are being filled or cleaned. The sprayer is driven up on a ramp over the biobed.

The chemical spillage is bound and broken down by means of a microbiological process in the bed, which consists of a 60 cm or so deep pit in the field filled with, for example, clay, straw, peat and topsoil.

SPIce DeveloPmenT wITH cUlInArA collaboration between JTI and the companies culinar – which sells spices under the brand Kockens – Österlenkryddor and Petersborgs Gård, may lead to outdoor spice cultivation on a large scale in southern Sweden.

JTI is evaluating cultivation techniques and modern techniques for combating weeds in spice plantations: among others GPS and camera-controlled harrow and weed cutters. now they are trialling cultivation of autumn poppy and caraway in Skåne, including fields that visitors to Borgeby field days will be able to inspect in June 2013.

Jti – swEdish institutE of AGriculturAl And EnvironmEntAl EnGinEErinG BoX 7033 Se-750 07 UPPSAlA SweDen

FreDrIK FoGelBerG, SoYA BeAn eXPerT AnD reSeArcHer AT JTI:

wHY do you roAst coffEE AT JTI'S worKSHoP?“It was for fun, really. I tested it in connection with an event we held for our customers.”

what did you do?“I used a South African roaster that I bought last year for roasting soya beans.”

in a few years you have been cultivating almost 40 hectares of soya beans in sweden. what is the idea behind that?“I want to investigate the possibilities of Swedish livestock breeders growing their own protein-rich fodder. There is massive interest in this.”

why would you roast the soya beans?“Heat-treating the beans makes the protein more accessible; it makes the fodder taste better and may result in higher milk yields. If the beans aren't roasted, the potential for growing soya in Sweden for fodder is limited.”

can you use the roaster for things other than soya beans and coffee?“It can also roast field beans for fodder for pigs and dairy cattle. The roaster is designed for farm use, and we now have four farms in Skåne that want to test-roast broad beans for 800 cows.”

the bean roaster is used in various research projects, and you also demonstrate its use on large farms. what do people do if they want one of their own?“You buy one from South Africa! JTI's contacts with the manufacturer may eventually lead to it being adapted to european requirements.”

that coffee you roasted – was it good?“we ground it coarsely and made coffee in a pot on the wood stove at home. It was great to drink home-roasted coffee – and it tasted good too!”


Documents

DRIV No. 1 2013 (in english)