Innovation Centre for Organic Farming

What Innovation Centre for Organic Farming does

Innovation Centre for Organic Farming (Innovationscenter for Økologisk Landbrug, ICOEL) is an independent, non-profit research and knowledge-dissemination organization headquartered in Agro Food Park, Aarhus, Denmark. Founded in 2021 by Organic Denmark (Økologisk Landsforening) and the Danish Agriculture & Food Council (Landbrug & Fødevarer), ICOEL coordinates Denmark's national organic field-trial scheme (Økologiske Landsforsøg), operates the Danish Organic On-farm Living Lab (DKOOF) network, and delivers practical guidance to organic farmers across plant production, livestock, climate, nature, farm management, and regulatory compliance. Its offering consists of Danish-language articles, cultivation guides, Excel-based planning and calculation tools, research reports, podcasts (ØKO-LYD), field demonstrations, and training events — all freely accessible via icoel.dk and through a network of on-farm trials and demonstrations across Denmark.

The organization is project-based rather than product-based, with no commercial software, no pricing model, and no transactional revenue. Operating expenses are financed by grants and project funding from sources including the Novo Nordisk Foundation (AVENUE oat breeding, PlantPerform nitrogen decision-support), Danish governmental agricultural funds, and EU programs. Core academic and infrastructure partners include Aarhus University (Department of Agroecology), SEGES Innovation, DLBR advisor companies, Dansk Miljøportal, Systime, and Cordulus, with Systime and Cordulus contributing didactic and software integration expertise respectively. Headcount exceeds 50 staff organized into Livestock, Climate and Nature, Plant Production, Communication, Events, Project Administration, and Secretariat functions, plus a CEO and senior team.

ICOEL's strategic positioning is to serve as the central knowledge intermediary for the Danish organic sector, translating scientific research, regulatory change, and on-farm experimentation into actionable guidance for farmers and advisors. Its growth trajectory is anchored in multi-year foundation-funded programmes (notably AVENUE and PlantPerform), expansion of the DKOOF living-lab model, and emerging Nordic and international knowledge-exchange activities. As a non-profit P/S under Danish law (CVR 42543799), it has no equity investors, no parent company, and operates independently of special interests.

Name

Innovation Centre for Organic Farming

Legal name

Innovationscenter for Økologisk Landbrug P/S

Website

https://icoel.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Innovation Centre for Organic Farming is a Danish non-profit research and knowledge organization, founded in 2021, that runs national organic field trials and a farmer-advisor living lab to deliver free practical guidance to Denmark's organic farmers and advisors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research and Advisory Services

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM)

Keywords

• Organic farming research
• Agricultural knowledge dissemination
• On-farm field trials
• Organic livestock production
• Sustainable agriculture advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Aarhus

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Research funding and project grants: The Innovation Centre for Organic Farming operates as a non-profit company primarily financed by funds and grants. Revenue comes from multiple funding sources including governmental agricultural funds, EU programs, and private foundations such as Novo Nordisk Fonden.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Innovation Centre for Organic Farming (ICOEL) is an independent non-profit research and knowledge-dissemination organization for organic agriculture in Denmark. It develops research-based knowledge through on-farm field trials, coordinates the Danish national organic field trial scheme (Økologiske Landsforsøg), runs the Danish Organic On-farm Living Lab (DKOOF), and publishes free practical guides, calculation tools, articles, reports, and videos to support Danish organic farmers and advisors.

Product overview

Innovation Centre for Organic Farming (ICOEL) is not a software product company — it is an independent non-profit R&D and knowledge-dissemination organization for organic farming in Denmark. Its offering consists of published articles, research reports, practical guides, downloadable Excel-based planning and calculation tools (e.g., crop-economy calculators, grazing plans, farm-budget tools), project overviews, news, and events — all freely accessible via its website. It does not operate a unified software platform, SaaS product, or module-based product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Coordinates Danish national organic field trials annually with results published and distributed widely among organic farmers, advisors and researchers
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Organic Denmark (Økologi Danmark)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founding organization that established the Innovation Centre for Organic Farming in 2021. Represents the Danish organic movement and organic farmers.
• Danish Agriculture & Food CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founding organization that established the Innovation Centre for Organic Farming in 2021. Represents Danish farmers and the food industry.
• Aarhus University - Department of Agroecology (AU AGRO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing expertise in nitrogen dynamics, agroecosystem functions, environmental modeling, and interdisciplinary synthesis. Collaboration in projects like PlantPerform.
• SEGES Innovation P/ScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural knowledge and innovation organization providing experience with digital farming tools, farm-level data infrastructure, advisory workflows, and access to Danish farmer-owned advisory systems.
• Danish Organic On-farm Living Lab (DKOOF) NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational holistic network involving farmers, advisors, universities, research institutes, civil society organizations, and industry for co-creating and implementing organic farming solutions.
• DLBR-member companiesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdvisory infrastructure and expertise contributed to project implementation in the PlantPerform project.
• SystimeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributes didactic expertise and digital learning solutions for advisor education in the PlantPerform project.
• Rybner AnalyseminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSupports consequence analysis of advisory practices in the PlantPerform project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• IFOAM Organics International: IFOAM is the global umbrella organization for the organic agriculture movement, setting standards and coordinating policy advocacy rather than conducting applied research. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant that influences the broader organic landscape in which ICOEL operates.

Broad incumbents

• Aarhus University — Department of Agroecology: Aarhus University's Department of Agroecology is ICOEL's core academic partner and a broader incumbent in Danish agricultural research, with substantially larger scientific staff and infrastructure spanning crop, soil, and livestock systems. It operates on a wider portfolio beyond organic-specific work.
• Wageningen University & Research (WUR): Wageningen is Europe's largest agricultural research university with deep expertise in organic and sustainable farming systems. It is a broad incumbent that competes for EU and foundation grants in overlapping thematic areas and serves a broader international farmer and policy audience.
• Thünen Institute: Thünen Institute is a German federal research institute covering agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and rural areas, including organic farming topics. It is a broad incumbent operating at a national scale comparable to ICOEL's national remit but with substantially larger resources.

Direct peers

• FiBL (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture): FiBL is Europe's leading independent organic agriculture research institute, conducting field trials, knowledge transfer, and advisory work across organic farming. It is the most directly comparable peer to ICOEL in terms of mission (organic-focused applied research) and model (research-to-farmer dissemination), though it operates across multiple countries rather than just Denmark.
• SEGES Innovation P/S: SEGES Innovation is a Danish agricultural knowledge and innovation organization that provides digital farming tools, data infrastructure, and advisory workflows. It is a core strategic partner of ICOEL and serves an overlapping farmer base with closely aligned dissemination activities, making it the most domestically comparable Danish peer.
• Louis Bolk Institute: Louis Bolk Institute is a Netherlands-based independent research organization focused on sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and health, with strong on-farm research and farmer knowledge exchange. It is directly comparable to ICOEL in being a small, mission-driven applied research nonprofit serving organic and regenerative farmers.
• Organic Research Centre (ORC): ORC is a UK-based independent charity conducting applied research and knowledge exchange on organic and agroecological farming. It mirrors ICOEL's structure as a non-profit, farmer-facing research and dissemination organization with a similar field-trial and publications-driven model.

Regional players

• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU): SLU is Sweden's main agricultural research university and a regional counterpart to Aarhus University for the broader Nordic farming system. It conducts applied organic and sustainable agriculture research relevant to ICOEL's thematic scope but in a different national context.
• Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO): NIBIO is Norway's primary applied research institute for agriculture, food, and environmental topics, including organic production. It operates in a closely comparable Nordic regulatory and farming context but in a different national market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHaRzvjDuN89idgi-2ROhyA
• Facebookfacebook.com/icoel.dk
• LinkedIndk.linkedin.com/company/innovationscenter-for-%C3%B8kologisk-landbrug
• Instagraminstagram.com/derforlandmand

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Innovation Centre for Organic Farming