FH Upper Austria awards young ideas for the future of agriculture

What will agriculture of the future look like? This question was explored by students at the “Added Value: Agriculture 2026” conference, organized by the Master’s degree program in Agricultural Management and Innovation at FH Upper Austria’s Steyr Campus. The focus was on current challenges in agriculture and forestry—from energy efficiency on farms and photovoltaic systems with storage solutions to digital tools for forest management and new approaches to marketing sustainable fertilizer alternatives.

The annual conference combines knowledge transfer, practical relevance, and young talent development. In addition to expert presentations and discussions, the Best Paper Award was once again presented. Students also developed creative solutions to real-world challenges as part of a hackathon. FH Upper Austria thus provides a platform for young talent to showcase innovative ideas and demonstrate the potential of the next generation.

“The ‘Added Value: Agriculture 2026’ conference clearly demonstrates how innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and sustainable value creation come together in agriculture. By awarding prizes to students from HTL Ried, HBLA Elmberg, and HLBLA St. Florian, we recognize projects that create real added value—for businesses, regions, and society. Our special thanks go to our main sponsors, Hargassner and Sparkasse Upper Austria, whose commitment strongly supports both the awards and the exchange of knowledge between practice, business, and education,” the program organizers stated.

Best Paper Award for energy-efficient agriculture
This year, two projects addressing key future challenges in agriculture received the Best Paper Award. Johannes Angleitner, Lukas Schauer, and Felix Hartl from HTL Ried impressed with their paper *“The energy-efficient farm – integrating an electric tractor.”* Florian Singer and Simon Silber from HLBLA St. Florian were honored for their work *“Energy independence in agriculture through photovoltaic systems including energy storage.”*

Both projects highlight how technological innovation can make farms more energy-efficient, independent, and future-ready.

Hackathon: Creative solutions for real agricultural challenges
The hackathon also focused on practical challenges. Students worked on topics such as marketing sustainable fertilizer alternatives, digitalization in forestry, and the use of agricultural energy sources and biomass.

First place went to team *“TimberTrack”* from HTL Ried (Tobias Friedl, Judith Gurtner, Daniel Schmidhuber, Christina Pichler, Julia Wieser). They tackled the challenge *“From paperwork to digital forestry: smart collaboration in forest management”* and developed a solution to support cross-generational planning and digital cooperation.

Second place was awarded to team *“Dünger Dealer – we don’t fertilize plants, we strengthen the soil”* from HBLA Elmberg (Linda Pichler, Anna Traugott, Ines Ramaseder, Magdalena Berghammer). Their focus was on *“Reploid – more than just a fertilizer”* and how to effectively position an innovative soil product.

Third place went to team *“Think natural. Fertilize natural.”* (HBLA Elmberg), who also worked on marketing Reploid and demonstrated how sustainable solutions can be communicated more effectively.

Fourth place went to the *“Hackgut Heroes”* from HLBLA St. Florian (Andreas Damberger, Valentin Schneglberger), who explored biomass in Austria and drying processes, developing ideas for agricultural energy sources.

FH Upper Austria as a platform for agricultural innovation
Through its conference, Best Paper Award, and hackathon, the Agricultural Management and Innovation program fosters exchange between schools, universities, agriculture, industry, and practice. The event highlights key issues shaping the future of agriculture: digitalization, energy, climate change, sustainable value creation, new business models, and ways to ensure long-term viability for farms.

Additional statements

Martin Schickbauer, Key Account Manager Industry, Hargassner GmbH: 

“Biomass as a game changer in agriculture—this was our key message to the next generation of farmers and decision-makers. With wood as a local resource, we can provide not only the most sustainable form of heat generation, but also the most cost-efficient one.”

Hans-Jürgen Achleitner, Head of AgrarCenter, Sparkasse Upper Austria: 

“Sowing knowledge today means harvesting the future tomorrow. We are committed to this idea and are especially pleased to support young people in developing financial literacy. We are also proud to support the Farmification Awards from the very beginning—congratulations once again to all winning teams!”

More information on the Master’s program in Agricultural Management and Innovation: 

www.fh-ooe.at/ami

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