Partners of SOILCOM
The partners of SOILCOM are situated in Denmark, Scotland, The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The consortium consists of a combination of research centres, universities, agro-consultancy bureaus and representatives of the compost industry.The different partners of SOILCOM:
University of Arhus
AU-FOOD is part of Aarhus University and conducts research, development and policy advice on topics from plant primary production to food quality. AU-FOOD is leading in Denmark in horticultural research. The topic of plant waste for soil improvement of SOILCOM is a main research area of AU-FOOD, who has the experimental fields, equipment and staff to conduct and steer SOILCOM. Dr. Kristensen is science team leader and associate professor with a strong track record in project management, e.g. of SUREVEG.
Contact: Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen, hanne.kristensen@food.au.dk
Delphy
Organisation with more than 200 employees in different countries with a specialization for advice in plant material.
The main role of Delphy will be the advice to growers, government and water authorities about the use of compost, the influence on the environment and the quality of compost. Also using their experience in the discussion with other partners in this project. On the practical research stations of Delphy different type of trails are carried out. In the Netherlands the activities towards the growers are carried out in cooperation with Smeets Agroconsultancy BV.
Delphy and Hessel Marketing & Communication are working together in the overall communication of the project. They coordinate and develop communication tools and concepts which the different beneficiaries can use.
Contact: Rene van Tol, R.vanTol@delphy.nl
Applied Research Centre for Potato Cultivation Abbreviation: PCA
PCA is a centre for applied research regarding potato cultivation and a well known institute for growers of arable crops in Belgium. PCA is recognized for its knowledge and experience in all aspects of potato cultivation and storage. During the last years, more research and demonstration is done regarding precision farming.
Contact: Stany Vandermoere, stany@proefcentrum-kruishoutem.be
PCS Ornamental Plant Research Abbreviation
PCS has the expertise and facilities to carry out both applied scientific and practice-oriented research on sustainable horticulture. Through customised training and extension, this experience can be shared with 1000 member SME’s and the wider producer community through grower associations and supply industry. Our main goal is knowledge and technology transfer to growers and product development support to industry with a focus on applied research. Therefore we have different Advice Services.
Contact: Hanne Denaeghel, Hanne.Denaeghel@pcsierteelt.be
HortiAdvice Scandinavia A/S
The organisation is leading adviser for growers of vegetables, fruit and berries, for nurseries and green house production. In Denmark: 80 hardy stock nurseries, 200 vegetable growers. There is experience with the cultivation of nursery plants, vegetables and the production of compost.
Contact: Jan Henssen Has, jaj@seges.dk
Own Capital of the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, ILVO
EV-ILVO/ILVO (ILVO) owns a BELAC accredited lab (EN ISO/IEC 17025) for the determination of chemical properties of mineral soils, compost and substrates. We run well-documented field trials with compost application. The experimental farm is equipped with a full-scale open air compost site and dedicated equipment for on-farm composting. We have expertise with disease suppressive substrates as an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) strategy. ILVO organizes several dissemination events and publishes videos about their research.
Contact: Koen Willekens, koen.willekens@ilvo.vlaanderen.be
RESEARCH CENTER FOR VEGETABLES Abbreviation, PSKW
PSKW is a vegetable growers organisation that aims to create a link between the fundamental scientific research carried out at the universities and the growers. Main topics of research are strongly related to sustainability and the reduction of environmental impact (research in fertilisation on N&P, soil improvement, crop protection).
Contact: Joris de Nies, joris.de.nies@proefstation.be
Stadtreinigung Hamburg: SRH
SRH is the second largest service provider for waste collection and recycling services in Germany. Nearly 30 year ago we started the separate collection of organic waste from households to produce high quality compost. Since 1994 SRH operates a large scale composting plant and the compost is sold as mature material with a quality certificate. Every year 70,000 tonnes of organic waste are collected separately and turned into high quality compost. About 20,000 tonnes of compost per year are sold as soil fertilizer or soil improver with quality assurance and guidance for usage.
Contact: Stefan Luebben, stefan.luebben@stadtreinigung.hamburg
Vlaco npo
Vlaco (1992) is a membership organisation (Flemish government and the private waste treatment companies). We defend the interests of the sector and support the sustainable material cycle of biowaste. We emphasize the quality of recycling biowaste. Vlaco is a member of ECN and supports an ECN Quality Assurance Scheme. Vlaco has wide knowledge to the availability, the use, and benefits of compost.
Vlaco is in direct contact (several visits a year) with more than 80 members who compost or digest.
Contact: Elke Vandaele, Elke.Vandaele@vlaco.be
The James Hutton Institute
JHI is the largest multi-disciplinary research institute of its kind in Europe. Our vision is to be at the forefront of transformative science for sustainable management of land, crop and natural resources that supports thriving communities. Thus, SoilCom directly aligns with our strategy. Dr Allan is the Business Leader overseeing strategic projects in water, natural capital, soil health and circular economy. Dr Loades is a leading soil physicist in soil structure, hydrology and soil health metrics. Dr Neilson is a recognized ecologist in soil health, soil-borne pests and pathogens.
Contact: Kenneth Loades, Kenneth.Loades@hutton.ac.uk
Hamburg University of Technology
Composting, Nitrogen dynamics during composting, simulation of composting processes, bioresource inventories, regional bioresource management.
Contact: Ina Koerner, i.koerner@tuhh.de