name

4th NFTN Conference 2026 – Coming Up

We look forward to welcoming you to the 4th Nordic Field Trial Network (NFTN) Conference in January 2026. The conference will gather Nordic researchers and practitioners working with field trials, focusing on new methods, field visits, networking and sessions on current challenges and solutions in agriculture.

Dates: January 21–23, 2026

Location: 
Agro Food Park / Skejby, Denmark
Agro Food Park 15
8200 Aarhus N, Denmark

Travel & Practical Information

To help with your planning:

Arrival by plane

We recommend flights to Billund Airport (BLL) on Wednesday 21 January.

  • A conference bus will depart from Billund Airport at 11:00.
  • We aim to coordinate with morning arrivals, including:
    • Direct flights from Oslo and Stockholm
    • Connections from eg. Vilnius, Reykjavik, Helsinki via Copenhagen

Arrival by train

For participants travelling by train, we plan to arrange a pick‑up at a regional train station on the route between Billund and Aarhus, so you can join the Day 1 field tour with the group.

Some agreements for the 21 January field visits are still being finalised, so the exact station and pick‑up time will be announced later.

Arrival by car and parking at Agro Food Park

At the Conference venue there are large parking areas at Agro Food Park.

Parking is free, but you must register your license plate number at the reception when you arrive.

For those arriving by car, the conference venue address is Agro Food Park 15, 8200 Aarhus N; addresses for the field visits on 21 January will be announced later.

Return transport

Departure from Aarhus to Billund Airport:

  • Friday 23 January at 12:55

Expected arrival at Billund Airport:

  • Around 15:00

These times are suitable for booking afternoon and evening flights.

Daily start times

To support your travel planning, please note:

  • Thursday 22 January: Programme at Agro Food Park starts at 09:00
  • Friday 23 January: Morning programme starts at 09:00

More detailed scheduling of individual talks and sessions will be shared later, but these start times and the bus times are firm and can be used for booking travel.

Accommodation

We recommend booking hotels in Aarhus city centre.

Please book via common booking platforms (e.g. booking.com, hotels.com) to secure your preferred option. Below are a few examples of hotels used frequently by visitors. These are not official conference hotels, but practical suggestions:

Budget options (approx. 150 € for two nights):

Comfort hotels ((approx. 300 € for two nights):

All of the above city hotels are located near where we plan to have the conference dinners.

Participants staying in Aarhus city centre will need transport between the city and Agro Food Park on the conference days. Public transport (light rail and bus) is available, but connections are not ideal and there is some walking distance from the stops to the venue.

We are therefore in dialogue with a bus company about providing conference transport between Aarhus Bus Station (Rutebilstation) and Agro Food Park in the morning and afternoon. More information will follow as soon as this is confirmed.

If it turns out not to be possible to arrange dedicated buses, we will instead provide detailed guidance on public transport options, including ticket types and departure times.

 Hotel in Agro Food Park:

Staying here means you are on site for the conference and can sleep a little longer in the morning, but it is outside the city, so you will need transport back and forth if you wish to join evening activities and dinners in Aarhus city centre.

 

Preliminary Programme

Day 1 – Wedensday 21 January 2026

Field Excursion

11:00 – Bus departure from Billund Airport

  • Joint transport for participants arriving by air
  • Pickup at a regional train station on the route (station to be announced) so train travellers can join the group

Field visits (examples, some pending confirmation):

  • Danespo (confirmed)
  • Sejet Plant Breeding / Nordic Seed (pending confirmation)
  • Local farmer / field trial host (pending)
  • VELAS East Jutland LFE (pending)
  • SmartField Supersite (pending)
  • Aarhus University greenhouses and plant breeding facilities (under consideration)

Additional locations may be added, and the final route will be announced later.

Late afternoon / evening

  • Arrival in Aarhus city and check-in at your hotel
  • Informal dinner & networking at Aarhus Street Food for interested participants (paid by support from NKJ)

Day 2 – Thursday 22 January 2026

Main Conference at Agro Food Park

Start time: Programme starts at 09:00 at Agro Food Park.

The detailed schedule (session order and exact times) is still under development, but the day will include:

Welcome & introductions

  • Welcome by the organisers
    – Maxie Skalshøi, SEGES Innovation
    – Nicolai Fog Hansen, Danish Technological Institute (DTI)

  • Introduction to Agro Food Park and DTI
    Speaker: Nicolai Fog Hansen, Danish Technological Institute (DTI)

  • Introduction to SEGES Innovation and field trial activities
    Speaker: Maxie Skalshøi, SEGES Innovation

Session: Methods and measurements in field trials

Digital assessment of straw yield components
Speaker: Signe Marie Jensen, University of Copenhagen
Straw is a valuable but often overlooked resource in cereal production. This work presents practical digital tools based on drones and image analysis to describe crop growth and key straw yield related traits in the field such as crop height, plant density and ear numbers.

Nitrate Leaching Measurements using Suction Cups in Field Trials
Speaker: Dennis Konnerup, SEGES Innovation
Suction cups installed in the subsoil can be used to monitor nitrate leaching in agricultural fields. The method enables frequent measurements from the same location, making it suitable for year-round, multiplot field experiments. The presentation will explain how the method works and share experiences and results from field trials conducted in Denmark.

Drone assisted variety testing
Speaker: Preben Klarskov Hansen, TystofteFoundation
TystofteFoundation is responsible for the Danish variety testing, which include several large small-plot DUS trials in the agricultural crops . This talk demonstrates our use of drone based images in planning establishing and and assessing the large trials.

Networking & field visit

“Meet Each Other” – structured networking session
– Short, facilitated group interactions to get to know other participants from across the Nordic region.

Walk & Talk – Visit to DTI Field Trial Unit
– Guided visit to DTI’s field trial activities near Agro Food Park, including for example:

  • Cereal trial units
  • Laboratory facilities
  • Machinery hall and equipment used in field trials
Session: Experimental design and large-scale trials

Row-Column and t-Latinized Alpha Designs
Speaker: Svend Vendelbo Nielsen, Danish Technological Institute (DTI)
This talk explores advanced design types for field trials: when and why to use row-column and t-latinized alpha designs instead of standard block or alpha designs. It presents practical experiences from the Nordic Field Trial System (NFTS) and gives general recommendations for optimal use in different trial situations.

Large-Scale On-Farm Potato Trials
Speaker: Fredrik Boel Danielsen, KMC
At KMC, we conduct several large-scale field trials every year in collaboration with a handful of farmers. This involves testing products or, for example, potato planting distance. The presentation will show how the trials are designed in the field, how we collect data, process the data and how it is intended to be used as advisory input later in the process. At the same time, it will tell the story of the challenges that can arise when conducting trials together with farmers.

 

Evening

Conference dinner in Aarhus
– Restaurant to be announced

Day 3 – Friday 23 January 2026

Topical Sessions & Closing

Start time: Morning programme starts at 09:00.

The final order and exact timing of talks are still being planned, but the day will include:

Session: New crops and cropping systems

Nordic-Baltic Field Trials Validating the New Dual-Use Perennial Grain Crop Kernza (Viking)
Speaker: Valentin Picasso, SLU
In this talk, results from the NordForsk-funded project Viking will be presented, focusing on grain yield and forage production of the new perennial grain crop Kernza intermediate wheatgrass. The trials span Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania and provide a unique Nordic-Baltic perspective on performance, management and potential uses of this dual-use crop.

Late Sowing: Spring Crops Sown in Autumn
Speaker: Leif Hagelskjær, SEGES

Session: Biostimulants, biochar and organic fertilisers

Biostimulants in NFTS: Past Experiments and Improved Designs
Speaker: Ferdinando Binacchi, SEGES

Biostimulants are substances or microorganisms that enhance plant growth, nutrient efficiency, and stress tolerance by stimulating natural processes, not by acting as fertilizers or pesticides. Over the past 30 years, SEGES has performed many field experiments with a range of different biostimulants, all reported in NFTS.dk. In this talk, I will highlight the lessons learned from reviewing this dataset and how improved field designs can lead to better biostimulants performance.

Manure and Organic Fertilizer Trials
Speaker: Martin Nørregaard, SEGES

Biochar in Field Trials
Speaker: Rikke Lykke, SEGES

Session: Greenhouse gas emissions and monitoring

Nitrous Oxide Measurements in Field Trials
Speaker: Cecilie Skov Nielsen, SEGES Innovation
Since 2021 SEGES and our collaborators have carried out a large initative to measure nitrous oxide measurements in the Danish national field trials. Over this period, we have collected data from more than 70 field trials across the country. In this presentation, I will share the purpose behind the initiative, the methodology applied, and key insights from the first five years of work.

Farmer-Driven Innovation: From On-Farm Trials to Robust, Shareable Results
Speaker: Eva Marie Lange, Danish Technological Institute (DTI)
This presentation introduces the Farmer-Driven Innovation initiative, where farmers’ own ideas and on-farm trials are systematically turned into documented, data-based results. Through regional innovation networks, farmers are supported in designing and conducting trials on their fields, with experts contributing experimental design, data collection and statistical analysis. The talk will show how simple on-farm trials can be structured so results become robust and shareable, and how this links to existing large-scale field trials and national networks.

Root Methods in Field Trials
Speaker: Eusun Han, Aarhus University
Roots are inherently difficult to access, especially under field conditions, which has long limited our understanding of plant–soil relationships. Innovative field techniques are now making root research faster and more scalable, but these approaches come with constraints that demand careful interpretation. The real opportunity lies in using these methods not as perfect measurements, but as powerful lenses on belowground function.

Closing & departure

Conference closing session
– Summary of key outcomes and next steps in the NFTN collaboration.

Lunch at Agro Food Park.

Bus to Billund Airport

  • Bus departure from Aarhus: Friday 23 January at 12:55
  • Expected arrival at Billund Airport: around 15:00

Participants can use these times to book afternoon or evening flights.

(The order of sessions and talks ma

Stay Updated

More details and the full conference program will be published as soon as possible.