Agro Sörmland is a regional agricultural development organization and a division of the non-profit Agro Öst, dedicated to supporting farmers across Södermanland County. Known for its unique mix of six free-ranging ungulate species — from wild boar to elk — the region faces some of Sweden’s most intense wildlife pressure on farmland.
Partners: Agro Sörmland, Hushållningssällskapet, Lantmännen VäxtRåd, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
“You can drive past a field and see wild boar, fallow deer, and red deer. There might even be an elk on the same plot,” says Johan Varenius, Managing Director of Agro Sörmland, who has worked in wildlife management for more than 30 years.
To address these challenges, Agro Sörmland led the Right Action, Less Damage project from 2023–2024. The goal: document wildlife damage and compare the effectiveness of different prevention methods, from traditional hunting to modern deterrent technologies such as Flox Edge.
The trial was conducted in 12 test areas of winter wheat, each divided into four fields:
Reference field (no action taken)
Conventional protective hunting
Inflatable scare device “Hulken”
Camera-based bioacoustic AI deterrent — in this case, Flox Edge, an AI-powered device using motion detection to trigger species-specific bioacoustic signals proven to deter target wildlife.
The results were clear:
Scare-based deterrents like Flox Edge, significantly reduced crop losses.
Unpredictability was a critical factor — animals avoided areas where deterrents created varied and irregular stimuli.
Protective hunting alone had no measurable effect compared to doing nothing at all.
Johan notes:
“The scaring devices had a significant effect and reduced yield loss. Wildlife doesn’t like things that are unpredictable.”
On the limited impact of hunting as a stand-alone measure, Johan says:
“Protective hunting really had no measurable effect compared to doing nothing.”
He explains why:
“When you’ve been out and shot an animal and removed it, later new animals come in that don’t know you’ve been there. That can make you misjudge the effect of hunting to reduce yield loss.”
Flox Edge uses AI and adaptive bioacoustics to detect approaching wildlife and trigger species-specific warning calls — from wild boar distress grunts to the alarm cries of geese and crows — instantly and without human intervention.
In the study, its ability to deliver targeted, unpredictable deterrence made it a strong alternative to static, predictable measures and a valuable complement to other methods.
Johan emphasizes the importance of a multi-pronged strategy:
“You should continue with protective hunting, but it should be one activity among several. Only hunting in an area risks not being effective enough. The combination of measures is important.”
Johan also advocates for closer cooperation among farmers, hunters, and landowners to maximize the benefits of deterrent strategies:
“It is very important that farmers measure damage and compare it with the actions they take so that trends can be seen. We need to collaborate between landowners, hunters, and farmers.”
The Agro Sörmland study confirms that adaptive deterrent technologies like Flox Edge can be a highly effective tool in protecting crops — especially when combined with other management methods.
The findings have attracted attention from Swedish farming media — national agriculture outlet ATL covered the results in detail in this article.
With the results now in, Agro Sörmland plans to continue promoting these integrated approaches to help farmers protect yields, reduce economic losses, and maintain healthy wildlife populations across the region.
