Green Research Central Norway (Grønn Forskning Midt-Norge) was established in 2008 and is widely anchored in the agriculture industry in Central Norway, which includes the counties of Trøndelag, and Møre and Romsdal. The aim is to give farmers in the region opportunities to voice relevant challenges that need to be looked at through scientific research.

The project Green Research is owned by several collaborating organizations. The Agriculture Organization of Central Norway (Midt-Norsk Landbruksråd) consists of:

Allskog, a timber company sourcing wood mainly from forests in Central Norway. They offer services in forestry, tree mapping, resource management and young forest care.

The Norwegian Agrarian Association, chapters Trøndelag, Møre and Romsdal (Bondelagene i Møre og Romsdal og Trøndelag): The Norwegian Agrarian Association is the largest Norwegian interest organization for farmers. They work to promote sustainable food production and increase self-sufficiency based on Norwegian resources. It functions both as a labor union and as a trade union. The organization negotiates with the Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union and the Norwegian Ministry of Labor and Social Inclusion about agricultural subsidies. It has 62 000 members.

The Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union, chapters Trøndelag, Møre and Romsdal, (Norsk Bonde- og Småbrukarlag i Møre og Romsdal og Trøndelag) is a Norwegian interest organization for farmers. It functions both as a labor union and as a trade union and works to increase national food production, develop business opportunities for farmers, improve local food manufacturing, sustain animal welfare and support thriving cultural landscapes. The organization has 7000 members.

Felleskjøpet or FK is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that serves as a retailer of agricultural operating equipment including animal food and seeds. It is also a wholesaler of grains.

Gartnerhallen is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that operates processing plants related to vegetables, fruit, potatoes and berries. It is owned by 1,400 gardeners and potato farmers.

Gjensidige Forsikring ASA is a Norwegian insurance company working with farmers.

Hoff SA is an industrial potato company established in 1994 that refines potatoes into products such as French fries, mashed potatoes, potato starch, glycose, alcohol and more. 

Landkreditt Bank is a bank offering loans and financial services to farmers and the agriculture industry.

Norwegian Agriculture Consulting (Norsk Landbruksrådgivning) offers knowledge-based and independent consulting for farmers and agents in agriculture across Norway. The organization has 24 000 members and 100 offices across Norway.

Nortura is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that operates slaughterhouses and other processing plants related to meat and eggs.

TINE SA is the largest Norwegian dairy product cooperative consisting of around 15,000 farmers and 5,600 employees. The parent company, TINE SA, is a cooperative owned by its suppliers; the milk producers who deliver milk to the company.

Some of the projects that were developed and funded through Green Research are:

• Sensors for nutritional analysis of livestock manure
• Grains crops: Ground cover and plants to prevent erosion and bind nutrients in the soil
• Livestock manure, lowering carbon emissions and circular agriculture/low external input farming
• Potential uses for ‘bio-rest’, the liquid by-product in the breakdown of organic matter such as food waste
• Bio-coal and green mulching
• Experiments in potato farming to avoid potato blight
  
  

When creating Green Research in 2008 the farmers and producers in agriculture wanted to get more involved in Research and Development and be actively engaged in creating research questions concerning farming and food production as opposed to reading the scientific articles and results afterwards. Green Research aimed to create the space for developing new knowledge that farmers and producers were asking for, and to use this knowledge in collaboration between farmers and producers in the agricultural chain, with business owners, scientific communities and the public sector and for the good of all. 
An important factor was – and still is – to contribute to more user participation in research by:

• Giving agriculture the opportunity to initiate and contribute to scientific research and the contribution of new knowledge.  

• Making scientific research of importance for a wide variety of farmers and business owners in agriculture 

• Creating closer collaborations between the industry, R&D and public sector 


 
Through Green Research and the three major time frames of the projects, the industry has been working across disciplines to focus on collaborations and projects in agriculture. The aim is to produce more research in agriculture and increase collaboration and communication among the actors involved in the farming industry. Through these projects we have witnessed increased knowledge, expanded networks, new practices and implementations that will be important for agriculture in Central Norway. The aim is to maintain these practices and to continue developing more knowledge-based practices in farming for the future.

Networks and activities 

Network groups, consisting of farmers and producers in the agricultural chain 

Visiting the projects      


Project workshops      


The Conference: Green Research and Development  


Creative ideas seminars     


Connecting the science community with agriculture for increased collaborations      


Expertise and consulting       


National Networks Green Research and Development  

Agriculture Industry Groups

Every year groups of 5-8 people come together, consisting of participants from various fields of agriculture and stages of production such as farmers, butchers, owners of dairy or egg farmers and so on. Contributing are also consultants, advisors, union representatives and scientists. The groups have a wide demographic bringing people from all over Central Norway.
 

Agriculture Industry Groups 2019/2020:

• Vegetables, berries, potatoes, fruits   

• Animal husbandry   

• Climate efficient agriculture     

• Grains    

• Technology     

• Economy, project operations and management    
 


Visiting the projects  

  
Each group visits a farm, or an agricultural production facility. The aim is for the group along with the producer/business owner to define a topic or an area of development and research needs. By starting out this way it is easier for the participants to see the current challenges facing both the farmer and the researcher. After the visit the group will work together on the aspects of the problems or challenges in their project workshops. Each group will put together a project workshop with specific thematic entry points for the problems raised. In these project workshops the participants will define who will be responsible for writing the research grant application and move the process along.     
    

Project Workshops  

  
 
Thematic project workshops are organized based on the work of each group. The aim of the project workshop is to create an open, informal and goal-oriented space that contributes to increased collaboration and research and development projects of high value. The need for more research, information and ideas for new R&D projects are presented, the issues at hand are mapped out, new project partners get to meet each other, and possible financing options are discussed. Several research projects that have started out this way have gotten funding and become successful projects.            
 

The conference: Green Research and Development 

 
Where will we make money in Norwegian agriculture in the future?     
The aim of the conference is to discuss how the agriculture industry will situate itself to make sure that the farmers and producers get to have a say in what is being researched and where scientific research in agriculture will go in the years to come. The aim of the conference is also to address the importance of project management in Green Research and to introduce the people who drive these projects forward. 
During the conference various topics are discussed, such as the downsizing of milk production, export assistance, climate change, and what lies on the horizon for the farming community in Trøndelag.
The conference is also a place to celebrate and communicate what has been accomplished through Green Research. The participants explore long-term goals for research in farming and create ownership and pride in the Green Research process. The conference will also run workshops about work methods and new things learned, launch new research projects, and look at future innovation in agriculture.
 

Creative ideas seminars

 
 
These are seminars with participants from agriculture and farming, and there are business owners, advisors from Norwegian Agriculture Consulting and scientists from various R&D fields. This is a creative ideas and brainstorming session on the topics of research in agriculture and what is needed to further regional food production. This seminar contributes to the exchange of information and advice on regional and national sources for project funding.

The partners collaborating in the Green Research project consist of farmers, agriculture business owners, R&D and public sector