Experimental farms

• Højbakkegård comprises farm buildings and research facilities, including greenhouses and climate chambers. The fields are used extensively for experiments and demonstrations for teaching purposes, including the Teaching Field. A large part of the land is used by Pometet, i.e. for growing fruit and berries.

  The main building houses teaching rooms and a canteen, whilst the other buildings contain laboratories and offices for the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Højbakkegård covers a total area of 57.80 ha. The Faculty’s new large-animal hospital was inaugurated at Højbakkegård in 2008 and is a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital where veterinary students at SUND also receive their training.

• At Snubbekorsgård, a large part of the land is used for organic farming systems.

  Most notable is the KFE system with energy willow hedges and clover-grass fields, whilst the oldest is the organic field, which has been farmed organically since 1988. The light soil to the west is attractive and is used in many experiments as a contrast to the clay soil on the other areas.

  There are two cultural heritage sites on the farm: the Snubbekorset and Chr. 4’s game trail post. The buildings are not owned or used by the University of Copenhagen. The total area of Snubbekorsgård is 52.50 ha.

• The stables at Rørrendegård house some of the university’s laboratory animals, and the buildings are used by the Department of Experimental Medicine. The land at Rørrendegård is characterised by the many paddocks where the animals graze.

  On the other fields, work is being carried out on, amongst other things, infiltration into drainage systems, whilst research is being conducted in the experimental field into plants’ uptake of nutrients. Rørrendegård covers a total area of 51.50 ha.

• Bakkegården is the faculty’s experimental centre for the development of the organic farming of the future, and the majority of the land is certified organic.

  In the CRUCIAL workshop area, research is being carried out into the use of urban waste as fertiliser in agriculture, and this area is not certified as organic. The buildings at Bakkegården are not owned or used by the University of Copenhagen. The total area of Bakkegården is 47.87 ha.

Some of the land is cultivated using fixed crop rotations or specific farming practices. These are known as ‘workshop plots’ and offer special opportunities for field trials. At Højbakkegård, there is a teaching field where all new and traditional agricultural crops that can be grown in Denmark are represented.

Field maps and land use

Maps of the experimental farms and an overview of crops and trials in 2019 can be requested by emailing Birgitte Wendelboe.

Teaching field

Højbakkegård has a teaching field where all cultivated crops are sown. The field is situated south of the Højbakkegård buildings. The area is used, amongst other things, for teaching crop science and for courses in the diagnosis of plant diseases and pests.

The area is not treated with herbicides, fungicides or insecticides, so it is possible to study both the crops and most of the associated pests. All plots are marked with a yellow wooden sign bearing the name of the crop. At the end of each field, there is an information sign showing the field layout.

Students and other interested parties are welcome to visit the field.

The 2019 field plan is available on request.

Workshop areas

A workshop area is defined as one or more fields cultivated using a fixed crop rotation or a fixed farming method, e.g. organic farming or no-till farming.

The following demonstration areas are located at the Experimental Farms:

• The KFE system (Combined Fodder and Energy system), which is farmed organically using a clover- and grass-rich crop rotation suitable for a dairy farm. At the same time, energy willow is grown in windbreaks, producing an amount of energy equivalent to that required to operate the fields. The area was established in 1994 and has been managed according to organic principles ever since.
• The depletion field, which from 1965 to 1994 was not fertilised with phosphorus and potassium, but only with nitrogen. In 1997, plots were established and allocated varying amounts of the three fertiliser components, including plots that are still unfertilised. The crop rotation consists of barley and clover-grass.
• AgroVand, which is used to collect and analyse substances leached out via drainage water. Two different soil management methods are being tested (with and without ploughing), and wells etc. have been installed to enable the automated collection of water samples from the drainage pipes.
• Crucial, which is a large, parcel-divided area used for trials involving urban fertilisers, i.e. the use of the city’s waste products in agriculture.

All workshop plots may be used for field trials provided that the crop rotation, cultivation method or technical installations are relevant to the trial. The allocation of workshop plots is arranged in collaboration between the operations manager of the Experimental Farms and the respective technical coordinators for the plots.

Farming practices at the Experimental Farms

Three of the Experimental Farms’ properties are run conventionally, i.e. using artificial fertilisers and pesticides: Højbakkegård, Snubbekorsgård and Rørrendegård.

The fourth property, Bakkegården, has been run in accordance with the rules for organic farming since 1996, when the faculty took over the land, and the farm was granted organic certification in 1999.

At Snubbekorsgård there are two demonstration plots operated according to organic principles: the KFE system and field 29 – however, these are not included in the certified area.

Soil preparation and sowing

On the majority of the land, a traditional practice of ploughing followed by either harrowing or rotary harrowing is used – on both conventionally and organically farmed land.

Most of the fields are sown using one of the following three methods:

1. Two passes with a seedbed harrow, plus row sowing
2. One pass with a harrow, plus sowing with a combination harrow
3. One pass with a harrow, plus sowing with a rotary harrow.

In the autumn, sowing takes place immediately after ploughing using the rotary harrow attachment and front-mounted seeders fitted to the tractor.

A former employee of the Experimental Farms, Benny Kastrup Hansen, has compiled all available information on the Experimental Farms’ four properties from local archives, church records and so on.

The information has been compiled, and you can read these fascinating stories here:

• Højbakkegård (in Danish)
• Snubbekorsgård (in Danish)
• Rørrendegård (in Danish)
• Bakkegården (in Danish)

A nature plan is a concrete plan for how existing natural areas can be preserved, potentially improved, and perhaps also how new natural areas can be created on agricultural land.

The experimental farms have begun drawing up a nature plan, which is intended to help ensure the greatest possible biodiversity and facilitate public access, whilst taking into account the interests of the farms’ users.

A range of experimental facilities for plant cultivation is available at the Experimental Farms, and these are open to both staff and students at the University of Copenhagen and to researchers and students from other research institutions.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to find out more about the facilities and their layout, or about booking options.

• Container Area

  Behind greenhouse 8-80 at Højbakkegård, there is a paved area where plants can be grown in containers and pots for research or teaching purposes.

  The area is equipped with an irrigation system that allows for both manual watering and drip irrigation for each container. The area is unprotected from wind and weather.

  The contact person for the container garden is René Hvidberg Petersen.

• Weather station
• Climate chambers
• Lysimeter
• Greenhouses

The machinery at the experimental farms is tailored to a daily routine in which the main task is experimental farming. The cultivation of fields not used for experiments and all harvesting other than that of the experimental plots is carried out by a machinery contractor. The machinery fleet reflects this priority, as it mainly comprises machines suitable for modern field trials conducted with a focus on quality, and the majority of the trial machinery is relatively new.

Operating data loggers and instruments for measuring plant growth factors is also part of our expertise.

Please feel free to contact us to find out more about how we can meet your specific needs in relation to field trials.

• Leaf Area Meter

  The Area Meter LI-3100 is located in the experimental barn’s rough laboratory. The device can be used to measure the exact area of leaf material

  The principle is that the leaves are placed on a conveyor belt where the material is fed past a photocell, and the leaf area in square centimetres can be read as a total of the material passed through.

• Rough Laboratory

  A rough laboratory has been set up in the experimental barn, equipped for the preparation of soil and plant samples prior to analysis

  The room contains:

  • scales (from 5 kg to 0.01 g)
  • leaf area measuring device
  • freeze-dryer
  • freezers (-18 and -80 degrees)
  • drying room with shelves and hot-air blowers
  • floor-mounted dryer with hot-air blowers
  • Drying cabinets: 4 Lytzen ovens
  • 1 double Lytzen drying cabinet
  • 1 small Heraeus heating cabinet

  In addition, there is a stock of bags and other packaging used for sample storage.

• Thresing machines

  The experimental barn houses a range of threshing machines, which are used for different types of samples. For larger samples, such as grain sheaves, we use a Wintersteiger LD 350.

• Seed cleaning

  The experimental barn houses a range of cleaning machines that can be used to separate weed seeds from harvest samples or to sort grain samples into different size fractions. Among others, we have an A/S Rationel SLN3 and a Westrup LA-LS air screen cleaner.
  The cleaning machines are operated by staff from the experimental farms or by researchers/students.

• Mills

  In the milling room at the southern end of the experimental barn (building 8-57), all types of samples can be ground down to a particle size suitable for analysis. The grinding is carried out by staff from the experimental farms or by the researcher or student. We are happy to calculate the time required and the cost for grinding tasks.

  The following mills are available in the room:

  • Retsch PM 100 Planetary Ball Mill
    • Material: Soft, hard, brittle, wet or dry
    • Particle size after grinding: <1 µm
    • Running time: 3–5 minutes, depending on the material. If necessary, liquid nitrogen may be added to prevent clumping of samples with a high fat content.
    • Steel container and steel balls with a capacity of 75–300 ml of material. The material must be cut to < 10 mm prior to grinding.
    • For analyses where no metal residues are permitted in the sample, a zirconium container and zirconium balls with a capacity of 25–150 ml of material are used. The material must be cut to < 6 mm before grinding.
  • Retsch SM 2000 Cutting Mill
    • Material: Soft, medium-hard, elastic, fibrous and tough. If the material becomes statically charged, it is advisable to use dry ice.
    • Material size: 60–80 mm
    • Particle size after grinding depends on the sieve size, i.e. 1.5, 4.0 or 10.0 mm
    • Processing time depends on the quantity and type of material.
  • Super Mill 1500
    • Material: Most types of grains – including those with a high fat and fibre content – must be dry.
    • Titanium rotor blades
    • Particle size after grinding: < 0.01–1.2 mm
    • Running time: 1.5–3.0 minutes
    • Sample size: 100 ml
  • Cyclotec Mill
    • Material: Barley, wheat, oats and rye grains
    • Aluminium rotor, steel screen
    • Screen size: 0.5–1.0–2.0 mm
    • Sample size: small samples.

Contact farms@plen.ku.dk for further information or to make a booking.

The user fee scheme includes the following:

• Experimental technical assistance in connection with field trials and education provided by employees from Plant Facilities and Workshops (PFV)
• Facilities and tools used for field trials and education
• Grazing areas

Users

The user-pay scheme applies to staff and students at the University of Copenhagen.

Other users, i.e. researchers, lecturers and students at other Danish or foreign universities, research institutions or companies, are welcome to contact us to discuss the use of our facilities and staff. We would be happy to provide a quote for a comprehensive experimental project.

Core funding

In connection with experiments, the following expenses are covered by the core funding allocated by the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences to Plant Facilities & Workshops (PFV), including greenhouses and climate chambers, etc.:

• Preparation of the area, i.e. standard soil treatment.
• are of the area, i.e. weed control, disease and pest control, fertilization, etc., which is not trial-specific and can be carried out simultaneously in the surrounding field.
• Treatment of the experimental area after the end of the experiment, i.e. harvest with a combine harvester, soil treatment, etc., when it can be carried out simultaneously in the surrounding field.
• Materials, i.e. seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, etc., which are standard on the Experimental Farms

Please note that students are entitled to special benefits; see below.

User-paid services

Users must pay for the following trial-specific tasks carried out by staff: 

• Planning meetings and other meetings between the user and the Experimental Farms employees
• Surveying of experiments, i.e. field surveying, marking plot boundaries
• Sowing of experiments, i.e. preparation and weighing of seed, setting the seeder, sowing the experiment, sowing around the experiment and construction of barriers
• Protection of experiments against birds and hares, e.g. netting of experiments.
• Installation of measuring equipment, e.g. measuring tubes in the soil, traps and data loggers.
• Experiment-specific measurements, e.g. soil moisture, photosynthesis, recording of plant development, disease infestation and weed cover.
• Experiment-specific treatments, e.g. special fertilization, spraying, weed control, mowing or soil treatment that deviates from treatments in the surrounding field. Including preparation and cleaning of tools for use in these treatments.
• Irrigation, i.e. work associated with the use of irrigation machines at Højbakkegård
• Sample taking of plants or soil
• Harvesting of experimental plots, i.e. hand harvesting and harvesting with an experimental combine harvester.
• Processing of soil and plant samples, e.g. cleaning, threshing, grinding, dry matter analyses, 1000-grain weight, washing of roots.
• Clean-up and cleaning after experiment
• Entering and sending experimental data

Users can participate to some extent in carrying out the tasks by agreement with the Experimental Farms' employees.

However, driving agricultural and experimental machinery and using experimental equipment and pesticides may not be carried out by anyone other than the Experimental Farms' employees.

User fee for processecing plant and soil samples

Processing of plant material and soil is normally carried out by the Experimental Farms' employees against a user fee - either in the form of registered hourly consumption or in the form of a fixed price per sample.

Students can use equipment in the experimental barn and mills in connection with thesis, bachelor and theme projects.

The mills are lent out against payment per started hour.

Please contact us for a calculation of a quote for processing your samples.

For students

Students undertaking a dissertation have the opportunity to carry out field experiments as part of their dissertation. The students must take care of all the practical tasks in connection with their experiments themselves, except for the use of agricultural and experimental machinery in the field and pesticides.

Often there will be the opportunity for the student to be an assistant on this type of task.

Students do not have to pay for:

• Planning meetings with PFV staff
• Guidance on the practical execution of the experimental tasks and use of tools and equipment etc.

All other services provided by PFV are subject to a user fee.

Students must therefore investigate the costs of the desired experiment in advance and reach an agreement on the funding of the experiment with their supervisor and with PFV.

Materials

The cost of standard materials is covered by the core funding from Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, i.e. seeds, fertilisers and pesticides used in surrounding fields.

Special materials that are not normally used at the Experimental Farms, and particularly large quantities of e.g. bags or labels for experiments, are paid for by the user.

Equipment rental

Employees at the University of Copenhagen can borrow equipment, such as cleaning machines and mills for sample grinding. A fee is charged per hour depending on the machine in question.

Area rental

For experimental areas with crops that cannot be sold, an annual area rent is charged if the area is larger than 2000 m2. The area rent corresponds to the contribution margin when growing barley.

For areas used for grazing, an annual area rent is charged that corresponds to the contribution margin when growing barley. The rent covers the following services:

• planting the grass, possibly as an outlay in a grain crop the year before use
• 2 times fertilization in the spring

The annual rent is adjusted proportionally if the area is used for less than a full season, and the area can be mowed.

Other tasks in connection with the establishment or care of grazing pens are carried out by the Experimental Farms' employees against a user fee. The tenant is responsible for setting up and taking down fences themselves.