Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products.
The story of Lantmännen BioAgri began in 1996, when a group of researchers from SLU in Ultuna, Uppsala were looking for a bacterium that can eradicate plant diseases in grain.
The bacteria found in the Swedish mountains in the roots of the crowberry is called pseudomonas chlororaphis. In order to be able to develop working plant protection products and get them onto the market, a small development company was formed and was named BioAgri.
During the 90s, the company conducted field trials in many European countries to approach the market. After ten years of work, BioAgri achieved an EU approval of the new agent for dressing barley and oats under the name Cedomon. Eventually, the portfolio was also strengthened with Cerall for treating wheat and rye seeds and Cedress for treating vegetable seeds, including carrots.
Thermoseed also has its roots at SLU. In the 90s, the possibility of "bathing" away fungi from seed was studied. That technology gradually developed into something more reminiscent of a steam sauna for seeds and in 2004 the first industrial application was launched under the name ThermoSeed. The technology replaces chemical treatment of seeds and targets both conventional and organic farming. The first Swedish commercial Thermoseed facility for seed treatment was inaugurated in 2008 in Skara.