Agricultural and climate technology company eAgronom, which helps farmers implement sustainable practices on their farms, announces a series of regenerative practice trials on working farms, carried out in cooperation with local farmers across Europe. The trials conducted by eAgronom will strengthen knowledge of measures to improve profits and sustainability related to farm efficiency and profitability, facilitating the successful transition of farms to more sustainable agricultural practices.
The core mission of eAgronom is to help farmers generate additional income, improve soil quality, and access better funding through environmentally friendly agricultural practices. This is the first extended trial of its kind in Estonia, dedicated to the potential environmental benefits that can be provided by soil-focused and farm-oriented regenerative tactics. The measures taken during the trial period aim to combine environmental and economic sustainability efforts, which must go hand in hand so that sustainability-minded farmers can stay afloat and thrive in the modern agricultural sector.
In these trials, a strong emphasis is placed on demonstrating that certain sustainability-focused agricultural practices can be implemented easily and seamlessly. The main eAgronom trial site, covering 20 hectares, is located in Estonia at the Rannu Seeme OÜ farm in Tartu County. These trials test measures related to machinery, catch crops, plant protection products, and various fertilisers. All these measures have a unique and indispensable role in building a profitable and sustainable agricultural system.
The maintenance of the trial site is provided by a four-person team consisting of agronomists working in Estonia; the machinery is provided by eAgronom sponsor Tatoli AS. A five-sector crop rotation scheme, including winter wheat, winter oilseed rape, spring peas, and barley, will provide the foundation for a study on carbon sequestration and accumulation in the soil over five years. These trials are the latest in a series of technology- and method-oriented tests and demonstrations.
eAgronom believes that farmers will not adopt more environmentally friendly farming practices if they are too burdensome or expensive in terms of labour, time, and costs. The goal of these trials is to streamline the implementation process of such practices in a way that is not only convenient for farmers but also actively contributes to the efficiency and profit of their farms. eAgronom has already introduced an active, profit-oriented initiative – a carbon credit programme. The improved soil health and reduced input costs that result from implementing the environmentally friendly practices developed by eAgronom further strengthen economic stability.
Tõnis Ajaots, owner of Rannu Seeme OÜ and partner of the eAgronom demonstration farm:
“Our goal is to test various technological solutions so that, as a result, our production also becomes increasingly sustainable. Over the last few years, by working with eAgronom, we have managed to conduct these experiments in a more versatile and slightly more compact land area. Maintaining and, if possible, even increasing soil fertility is the foundation of sustainable agriculture.”
Robin Saluoks, co-founder and CEO of eAgronom:
“For our farmers, seeing is believing. Our field trials and demonstration farms allow us to test innovative regenerative agricultural methods and show them to farmers. We learn together with the farms that are our partners, and their feedback and experience will directly influence how we help all our farmers make the best decisions from an economic and environmental perspective. Sustainability measures cannot be theoretical. They must be practically useful, and their implementation must be seamless. In these trials, we will strengthen both of these aspects.”
The trials are coordinated by eAgronom lead agronomy advisor Simon Boughton, who has over forty years of practical experience in agriculture in Europe and Africa. Previously, he has managed large agricultural companies in Ukraine, Russia, and Zambia, and has also served as the technical director for eAgronom. Under his leadership, trial programmes are already being implemented in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Spain. eAgronom plans to expand this programme in 2024 to include Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Romania. This September, eAgronom tested and demonstrated the positive impact of direct seeding technology at its demonstration farm in Estonia. The event was attended by more than 300 farmers from Estonia and Latvia, and featured brands such as John Deere, Horsch, and Claydon.