40 years of working with the Zealandic soil

On April 1, 1982, Palle Ahm walked in the door at Roskilde Experimental Station. Here he was to work as summer help in the field. It was under the leadership of Poul Rasmussen.

"Back then it was a very formal tone you had with your leader," says Palle Ahm about his first years at the experimental station, which was run somewhat differently than he is used to today at AU Flakkebjerg.

The trustee at the time was named Carl Hansen, and he was of the old school.

"Every morning, when we showed up, we lined up, and then we were told what the day's work tasks would be, this is not how it works anymore, now we are part of teams and have a much greater responsibility than back then,” says Palle Ahm.

Flair for machines

Sure, Carl Hansen was manager of the old school, but he quickly saw a potential in Palle Ahm. He had a flair for machines. Therefore, one of his tasks was to maintain and care for the machines in the experimental station's workshop. He calls himself an autodidact in agricultural machinery, and this is perhaps a very appropriate title for a man who, among other things, has helped to develop the self-running seed drill, which is still used to this day in the fields around Flakkebjerg.

“I have been involved in developing our self-running seed drill in collaboration with Carl Hansen, our technicians and of course also the scientific staff. Together we had ideas about what a seed drill should be able to do in order to function in the agriculture of the future. Among other things, we made it so that each seed coulter can be moved individually, making it possible to get the exact row spacing needed. It has been many years since we developed it, and it is still running, even though it is getting a little worn,” says Palle Ahm.

Less manual work

When Palle Ahm began his work in the experimental fields in 1982, much of the work was done manually. All experimental fields were e.g. measured with surveying sticks and angle mirrors, something that can be done today via GPS in the tractor. However, the manual work has given Palle Ahm a basic knowledge and experience, which according to the jubilee is difficult for people to acquire nowadays.

"The technological development has gone really fast, and it is both good and bad. It has made everyday life easier and the work is not as physically hard, but the development has also meant that the number of colleagues has decreased over the years,” he says.

And speaking of colleagues, they and good cooperation in the group that have meant the most over the years.

"I do not understand where all the years have gone," says Palle Ahm, who says that the collaboration he has had the last 25 years with the technicians and senior researcher Birte Boelt has been really good and one of the reasons why he can now celebrate its 40th anniversary.

An experimental worker of the old school

“I take pride in the fact that my fields look good and that everything alligns in the field, but it is perhaps also one of the most difficult things to learn others. I cannot teach 40 years of experience. And if you ask me, it is important to learn how to perform the tasks manually, e.g. to set aside fields manually without using GPS and other technology, so you learn the basics first,” says Palle Ahm.

"You are an experimental worker of the old school," senior researcher Birte Boelt stated in her speech to Palle Ahm during the celebration of his 40th anniversary. "Your experimental fields are always perfectly alligned, and you always have complete control over your fields and experiments."

The 40 years of experience that Palle Ahm has in his luggage will become difficult to replace when he one day chooses to retire.

"Whether it will be next year where I can retire early or whether it will be later, I do not know yet," says the jubilee, who emphasizes that he does not expect to be able to celebrate his 50th anniversary. "Even though the desire to continue is there, I can also feel that the body is worn out after the many years of work," he says. When the time is right, Palle Ahm is looking forward to enjoying his retirement with his wife, their 4 children and 6, soon to be 7 grandchildren.