Proefboerderij Rusthoeve
- Type
- Research, Education & Health Organisation
- Location
- Colijnsplaat, Netherlands
- Industries
- Arable farming, Crop / plant science, Farm management & precision farming, Farm robotics & machinery, Waste efficiency
- Domains
- Plant based primary products, Beet, Potatoes, Sugar beet
- Technologies
- Platform technology, Precision farming, Environmental sensing, Platform & Service technologies, Agritech, Measurement & sensing
About Proefboerderij Rusthoeve
Proefboerderij Rusthoeve is an agricultural innovation and knowledge centre in Colijnsplaat, in the southwest delta of the Netherlands. It focuses on practical field research for arable farming and on developing, sharing, and spreading knowledge that helps the sector innovate.
The organisation works for and with agricultural trading companies, manufacturers of agricultural inputs, and research institutes. Its research is centred on the main arable crops of the southwest clay regions, including onions, potatoes, sugar beet, and cereals, while also running independent project-based research linked to current transitions such as the circular economy, the energy transition, and sustainability.
Core Values
- Knowledge sharing: Rusthoeve explicitly aims to develop, share, and disseminate knowledge, with knowledge transfer treated as a core part of changing practice in the sector.
- Sustainability: Many of its projects focus on making arable farming more sustainable environmentally and economically, including work on soil fertility, emissions, biodiversity, and resource efficiency.
- Independence: Several activities are described as independent research without commercial interest, especially where trials are initiated on growers’ request.
- Collaboration: The centre works through partnerships with growers, advisers, research institutes, public bodies, and sector organisations to build practical solutions.
Unique Aspects
- Biobased Innovation Garden: Together with Delphy, Rusthoeve helped create the Biobased Innovation Garden, described as the first major demonstration field in the Netherlands where multiple potential raw materials are grown side by side.
- Wide project network: Rusthoeve participates in multi-partner projects spanning regenerative agriculture, autonomous agri-robots, nutrient recovery from manure, and biobased materials, giving it a broad innovation role beyond standard crop trials.
- Sector platforms: It co-founded the Onion Innovation and Knowledge Centre with Delphy and runs the Potato Academy in its region, positioning the site as a convening point for sector knowledge.
- Regional anchoring with broad reach: While rooted in southwest Netherlands, Rusthoeve’s work is described as national and sometimes cross-border, with projects involving Dutch and Flemish partners and knowledge sharing beyond Zeeland.