Can we create a digital version of an entire farm? And could we use it to explore how agriculture might become more sustainable and resilient to climate change?
On 8 October 2026, I had the pleasure of giving a talk entitled “Der digitale Bauernhof” (The Digital Farm) as part of Forschungszentrum Jülich’s Wissenschaft Online series.
During the talk, I took the audience on a journey from entire agricultural fields down to individual plants and their root systems. I explained how experimental measurements, computational models, and digital twins can help us understand the complex interactions between soil, plants, weather, and agricultural management.
An important part of the presentation was exploring how we can use these approaches to investigate regenerative farming practices. What happens when farmers introduce cover crops? Can we increase soil carbon while maintaining stable yields? And how might different management strategies help agriculture adapt to climate change?
I also shared examples from our ReGenFarm project with Bayer AG, where we are developing a digital twin of a real farm, and from our research within the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence.
It was a great opportunity to share some of the research we do at IBG-3 with a broader audience. For anyone interested, the recording is now available! But please be aware that the whole audio is in German.