Seeding Success: Embracing Predictive Growing (Sweden)

To dive into the different futures of climate control with Priva, we met up with Kristin Orresting and Lisa Lindström in Sweden. They are an exciting example of embracing predictive growing to its full potential. Kristin is the CEO at Svegro Group, Lisa the supply chain manager. Together we talked about shifting operations from responsive to predictive growing. They are frontrunners in using predictive growing and firmly believe it's the way to keep your crops, people and business healthy and thriving in the future.

What would you say makes working at Svegro special?

Lisa: It starts with the culture at Svegro. It is such a warm workplace, everyone is up for trying new things. And the people working at Svegro usually do so for a long time, you only stop when you retire. We need technical systems that gather data and the expertise people have, so we can actually help newcomers and don't lose the unique knowledge of cultivation when people retire. We already notice that both our experienced growers and our newcomers can control more hectares and more crops, which is a valuable aspect in times of labor shortage.

And how does your location in particular connect with your predictive growing efforts?

Kristin: Here in Sweden, we actually have a self-developed AI-based system AIGRO, together with Priva it allows us to use Controlled Environment Agriculture. This helps us to predict and track the size of our crops, so we harvest in the best quality at the right time. Considering the changing climate, frequency of heat waves and the relating humidity levels we see, predictive growing is the only way to keep delivering the highest quality in the future. Something that is also special about Sweden is that we have 100% renewable Swedish energy, in combination with heating pellets we can really minimize our climate impact.

Lisa: Our greenhouses are also located in the countryside outside Stockholm. That means we sometimes have power cuts. That's especially critical during the winter. It can lead to problems with our technical equipment or lights. That's why we have a specialized service team trained to take care of these problems. Absolutely crucial to avoid any growth disruptions.

Now, you said that the circumstances in which you grow are changing right now, but also in the future. How do you make sure you'll keep predicting growth accurately?

Lisa: At Svegro, we have always actively worked with innovations and development in horticulture. We collaborate with researchers and universities, but we also work closely with many of our long-term suppliers. Together, we grow their and our research and businesses. This way we can ensure consistently high quality and meet our customer's expectations, all year round.

As a final statement, do you have a tip for other growers on predictive growing?

Kristin: Don't let the seemingly complex systems hold you back, systems for predictive cultivation are innovative and easy to use. We think, in 3 years time, the majority of growers will use them.