Three experimental locations launched with 15 million euros in support

In South Holland, Eastern Netherlands and Southeast Brabant, three experimental locations have officially launched. These are places where farmers, researchers and supply chain partners work together on practical innovation in agriculture. Supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, a five-year program will explore technological and social innovations that can be applied directly on the farm. For NXTGEN Hightech, these locations are essential for accelerating, validating and adopting innovations developed within the ecosystem.

At each location, agricultural entrepreneurs are developing solutions tailored to their region. In the Groene Hart (Green Heart), the focus is on sustainable dairy farming in peat meadows. In Twente and the Achterhoek, experiments focus on circular farming and biodiversity in stream valleys. In the southeastern sandy region, data-driven collaboration takes center stage, using drones, KPIs and innovative crop rotation strategies. The site in De Peel is an initiative by Wageningen University & Research, VDBorne Campus, Agrifood Capital and local entrepreneurs. Testing in real-life settings gives a realistic picture of what works and what doesn’t.

These locations play a crucial role in validating new technologies. Think of autonomous machines, precision farming and new collaboration models among farmers. The resulting real-world data helps scale innovations more quickly across the Handsfree Agrifood program. Minister Wiersma emphasizes the importance of bottom-up innovation, stating that the real power lies with the people who work the land every day.

These three locations are just the beginning. The goal is to build a nationwide network of experimental farms. Starting in late 2025, knowledge and data will be shared through a new National Platform, allowing farmers to learn from each other and helping technology spread faster.