Researchers and practitioners in the Swiss organic sector met at Agroscope in late 2016 to gain an overview of current research into organic agriculture. ‘An important task of the National Organic Research Forum (NBFF) is the exchange of information between research and the organic sector’ stated Fredi Strasser of Agroscope, one of the conference organisers. The current status of research in precision farming was just one of the topics presented at the conference.
In 2014, the Changins ‘Wine Quality’ Research Group resumed the organisation of collaborative wine-analysis tests. Every year, thirty or so laboratories take part in these tests. Results are sent in the form of an anonymous statistical report so that each lab can see how it compares to the others, and can take any necessary measures for improvement. The overall upshot of these tests is positive, both in terms of the reliability and quality of the analyses carried out, and in terms of the interest shown by and usefulness for the laboratories.