Dutch company Agrifirm and Swedish company Lantmännen Lantbruk are set to expand their research collaboration by working together with Felleskjøpet Forutvikling, a subsidiary of the three Norwegian Felleskjøpet co-operatives.
The companies aim to strengthen their leading positions in the area of research into new products and feed concepts for ruminants, poultry and swine.
On 7 May 2013, all parties involved signed a partnership agreement at Nötcenter Viken, the Lantmännen research farm in Sweden. By joining forces and working together with experts and universities, Agrifirm, Lantmännen and Felleskjøpet hope to be able to innovate quicker and more efficiently. A rapidly-changing environment in which responsible materials, animal welfare and animal health become increasingly important urges the need for a quicker development of new products and feed strategies for the customer.
By entering into this partnership, the three agricultural cooperatives will make use of each other’s research facilities. Research for dairy cattle will be carried out on Lantmännen’s research farm Viken. Laverdonk, the research farm of Agrifirm, will be deployed for research into swine, poultry and calves. The research facilities of Felleskjøpet Forutvikling will be available for common research projects. Both Agrifirm and Lantmännen as well as Felleskjøpet will operate their own research programmes in addition to joint research projects.