Oregon State researchers welcomed a group of farmers and agricultural technology representatives from the Netherlands earlier this month during an exchange visit showcasing agricultural developments in Oregon.
The trip was sponsored by the Orchard of the Future, an international collaborative founded a few years ago between commercial growers, university researchers and government agencies in Oregon, Washington and the Netherlands. This was the first time a Dutch delegation came to Oregon, and they visited two OSU Extension field research stations and a few local companies before continuing on to Washington.
The Netherlands is an agricultural powerhouse, especially in agricultural technology, said Joe Davidson, an associate professor in OSU’s College of Engineering whose work includes developing a robotic apple harvester.
The Dutch are leaders in controlled-environment agriculture, building massive controlled greenhouses to grow flowers and vegetables.
“They also have a lot of tree fruit – especially apples and pears – and they have similar problems to what growers in Oregon and Washington are trying to address,” Davidson said. “We’re trying to not duplicate efforts. We have similar problems and complementary expertise, and rather than working in siloes, everyone involved thinks it’s more efficient to work collaboratively.”
Davidson is OSU’s representative on the Orchard of the Future leadership team, which meets biweekly and has pursued several joint projects over the past few years between American and Dutch researchers. The work has also led to student exchanges, with some OSU graduate students spending several months in the Netherlands and Dutch students collaborating on a robotics project with Davidson’s lab.
On their recent trip to Oregon, the Dutch delegation visited the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora and the Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hood River, where they observed a pear rootstock trial, participated in a blueberry mechanical harvesting demonstration and learned more about Oregon’s berry, hazelnut and tree fruit industries from faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
“They were really interested in our Extension programs and how Extension really serves as a bridge between research, applied research and direct impacts on farmers,” Davidson said. “That was something they took away as a big positive.”
Moving forward, he said the group will continue to identify new opportunities for collaboration and innovation around tools and technologies to help workers and farmers.
Researchers interested in learning more or getting involved can contact Davidson directly or reach out to MCAREC Director Brian Pearson, who serves on the Orchard of the Future’s external advisory board.
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