LANTMANNEN EKONOMISK FORENING

Their core work

Lantmännen is one of Northern Europe's largest agricultural cooperatives, owned by Swedish farmers, operating across grain trading, food production, bioenergy, and agricultural inputs. In H2020 projects, they contribute real-world agricultural infrastructure and field-scale validation for crop science research — from cereal disease management and legume breeding to biomass logistics and cooperative energy systems. Their role is typically that of an industry end-user who provides commercial-scale testing grounds, agronomic data, and market perspective to research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Lantmännen's early H2020 involvement (2015–2016) focused on operational efficiency — cooperative energy management with ICT tools, biomass logistics, and cereal disease training. By 2017–2018, their focus shifted decisively toward crop genetics and sustainable agriculture: intercropping, agroecology, genomic selection, and protein self-sufficiency. This mirrors the broader European policy push toward plant-based protein independence and climate-resilient farming systems.

Lantmännen is moving toward climate-resilient crop breeding and protein diversification, making them a strong partner for future food security and agroecology initiatives.

How they like to work

Lantmännen consistently joins as a participant rather than leading consortia — zero coordinator roles across six projects. They operate in large, diverse consortia (127 unique partners across 27 countries), suggesting they serve as an industry validation partner rather than a research driver. This makes them accessible and low-friction to work with: they bring commercial-scale agricultural operations to the table without competing for scientific leadership.

With 127 unique consortium partners spanning 27 countries, Lantmännen has a broad European research network, especially strong in agricultural sciences. Their reach extends well beyond the Nordic region into major EU agricultural research hubs.

What sets them apart

Lantmännen is not a university or research institute — they are a farmer-owned cooperative with direct control over grain supply chains, milling, food processing, and seed development across Scandinavia. This gives them something most research partners cannot offer: immediate access to commercial-scale farms, processing facilities, and real market channels for testing and validating agricultural innovations. For any consortium that needs to demonstrate real-world impact in Northern European agriculture, Lantmännen is a uniquely credible industry partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SCOoPE
  Largest EC contribution (EUR 142,062) — focused on cooperative energy management with ICT diagnostics, showing Lantmännen's interest in digitizing agricultural operations.
• EUCLEG
  Addresses Europe's protein import dependency through legume breeding with advanced genomics — directly aligned with EU Farm-to-Fork strategy goals.
• RUSTWATCH
  Pan-European early-warning system for wheat rust diseases — critical for Lantmännen's core grain business and food security across Northern Europe.