Million-dollar donation to SLU for data-driven milk and feed research

The new laboratory will generate a lot of data that can lead to new, valuable knowledge.

- The Seydlitz lab creates space for researchers to analyze, systematize and eventually reshape how we work with agricultural data, explains Tomas Klingström who will lead the center.

The lab will be located in Uppsala, adjacent to SLU's existing infrastructure initiative Gigacow. There, projects with concrete benefits for agriculture are conducted, while results from several projects are organized to answer more complex questions. One example of research questions is to investigate whether and how genomic selection (DNA-based breeding) can help cows better cope with heat waves. Creating digital twins (digital copies of real cows) will make it possible to monitor and predict milk production at the individual level, and to identify which genetic factors contribute to robust and healthy animals.

The donation of the foundation will enable an investment in the recruitment of young researchers who will work for a period of time on analyzing data and integrating new data sources, which will form the basis for future research.

- The support of the Seydlitz MP Bolagen Foundation is extremely valuable. The Seydlitz Laboratory will provide a platform for many researchers to plan and run projects that will allow us to strengthen both research and support to farmers," says Rauni Niskanen, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science.

Werner von Seydlitz, whose entrepreneurial spirit laid the foundations for the foundation, was himself a dairy farmer and concerned about the conditions of farmers and cows. He would be very pleased with the initiative, says Daniel Fellenius, chairman of the foundation:

- "This is something completely in Werner's spirit. The Gigacow platform creates synergies between research projects while equipping dairy farmers for a changing world and strengthening Sweden's position in milk production.

Contact persons

Tomas Klingström
Coordinator of Gigacow, Department of Animal Biosciences
Phone: +46 72 503 19 24
E-mail: tomas.klingstrom@slu.se

Karin Nalbin
Seydlitz MP Bolagen Foundation
E-mail: Karin.Nalbin@wernerstiftelser.se

Åsa Formo
Fundraising, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science
Phone: +46 18 67 25 70
E-mail: asa.formo@slu.se

Facts:

Gigacow is an infrastructure initiative from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences to increase the exchange between researchers and the industry. The goal is to work with farmers to combine genomic breeding evaluation with better metrics for production optimization in an environment where both technology and climate are changing ever faster.

Since its inception, Gigacow has assisted 19 projects and played an important role in strengthening research applications.