Danish farmer tests electric weeding machine as alternative to herbicides

A Danish farmer on the island of Møn is testing a Dutch-built electric weeding machine that kills weeds with high-voltage shocks instead of chemicals, public broadcaster DR reports.

Peter Bagge Hansen, a farmer and board member of the Danish Agricultural Seed Association, has spent the past eight months trialling the Andela Electro Weeder on his fields of perennial ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, and white clover. The machine delivers electrical currents through weeds, destroying their root cells without disturbing the soil or triggering new weed growth.

“The results so far are promising,” Hansen told DR. “This might be the most effective tool I’ve seen in a long time. Once we remove the weeds with this, nothing new comes back.”

The machine, which costs between 850,000 and 1.2 million Danish kroner (approximately €114,000–€161,000), operates by passing current between a ground-level drag shoe and a disc blade buried two centimetres deep. Unlike mechanical weeding, which can stir dormant weed seeds, the electric method leaves the soil undisturbed.

Bo Melander, a professor of weed science at Aarhus University, cautioned that while the technology shows potential, it is not a universal solution. “Don’t expect a magic fix,” he said. “It works well in certain conditions, but soil moisture can affect its effectiveness.”

Organic farmers may also benefit from the method, according to Michael Kjerkegaard, chair of the Danish Organic Farmers Association. “This approach avoids disturbing the soil surface, which reduces regrowth compared to mechanical weeding,” he said.

Hansen stressed the urgency of adopting new technologies as traditional herbicides face regulatory phase-outs. “We need solutions that keep pace with changing rules,” he said.

The machine is on loan from a Lolland machinery centre, with trials coordinated by DLF, the seed division of Danish Agriculture.