Svend Brodersen passes Gram Slot on to his daughter

There are birds singing in the background as Laura Brodersen walks through the castle park at Gram Castle with her phone in hand. She is visiting her parents briefly at home, but in less than a year, the historic surroundings will once again be her permanent home.

The 28-year-old CBS student has decided that she wants to continue the family's organic farm and castle business. Thus, for the first time, there is a clear statement of who will eventually lead one of Denmark's most prominent organic companies.

"It feels good and very natural now, but it is also a decision that has been a long time coming," says Laura Brodersen.

When she moves back to Gram Castle in March, the family will begin the succession process, which over the coming years will gradually transfer responsibility from her parents Svend and Sanne Brodersen.

For the Brodersen family, the decision is about more than just operation and ownership. It is also about securing the future of the life’s work they have built since taking over Gram Castle in 2007.

"It is a big dream coming true for us, that there is a next generation willing to carry it forward," says Svend Brodersen about his daughter's decision.

An exhibition window for organic farming

When the family took over the castle, it showed signs of having been empty for 25 years. Today, Gram Castle has become one of Denmark's most well-known showcases for organic farming.

The company manages 3,500 hectares of organic land with both crop cultivation and dairy production, as well as hotel, restaurant, cultural events, and activities. At the same time, Gram Castle has in recent years marked itself with major investments in, among other things, forest farming and biodiversity.

But the succession will not happen overnight.

"It is a strong desire on our part to carry out a succession in good time and in a way that allows her to gradually take over the operation of the place," says Svend Brodersen.

He expects the process to take between five and ten years.

"Now it calls to me"

For Laura Brodersen, the decision has gradually grown over time.

She is trained as a farmer and is currently studying for a master's degree in 'Management of Innovation and Business Development' at CBS. Over the past five years, she has studied in Copenhagen and explored how her life should take shape.

"I think I’ve always had a little spark inside me – that maybe Gram could be a future for me. But I’ve also always made the choices I found fun. I’ve never felt that it was something forced upon me from above," she says.

She describes the decision as something that has come from within – not as pressure from her family.

"It’s only in the last little while that I’ve started to feel that this is what I should do. Now it calls to me."

As a trained farmer, she has truly opened her eyes to the profession. Not just the production, but also the community.

"It has just created a feeling in me that I want to be part of that group," she says about her encounters with other farmers and the green transition that characterizes the industry these years.

She explains that she used to be influenced by the negative image of agriculture that often dominates public debate.

"You can hear many things in the media about what a farmer is like, which can be a bit frightening. But then I realized how many good forces are actually working in agriculture."

Organic farming is the foundation

For Laura Brodersen, there is no doubt about what should be the basis for Gram Castle’s future.

"Organic farming is the foundation. It’s the completely natural thing, and the prerequisite for everything," she says.

At the same time, she sees forest farming as a completely natural extension of the values that organic farming is built on – and an exciting opportunity for Danish agriculture in general.

On Gram Castle’s fields, about 300 hectares have already been converted with trees, fruit trees, and flowering strips between the fields. The goal is to strengthen biodiversity, protect the soil, and create more resilient cropping systems.

"Forest farming fits so well with all the values that organic farming carries," she says.

According to Laura Brodersen, it’s about biodiversity, climate adaptation, soil health, and animal welfare.

She describes how trees can protect crops from extreme weather, create better conditions for insects, and improve the soil’s ability to retain water.

She hopes that more organic farmers will see forest farming as a natural extension of organic principles and that they dare to lead the development.

"Organic farming has always been at the forefront in trying to show how we can produce more gently."

She also sees social and economic potential in forest farming.

"If we could suddenly create more businesses around Gram Castle or attract more people into agriculture through new collaborations, I think there are really big perspectives in that."

Learning from her father

Although the decision has now been made, Laura Brodersen describes herself as an apprentice in relation to the business her parents have built.

"I have a huge, huge humility towards him and all the skilled people working there," she says about her collaboration with her father.

She emphasizes that experience in agriculture cannot be learned from books.

"Some of it is just very special because you work according to nature’s terms. So, it will be about me learning and trying to absorb all the knowledge he has built up over many years."

At the same time, she expects to gradually take on more tasks and bring her own skills into play – especially in innovation, project management, and communication.

She herself suggests that Gram Castle might more and more become a meeting point between agriculture and the outside world.

"I hope that Gram Castle in the future will be a place where people meet, and where ideas emerge. A place that can gather people and facilitate new ideas," she says.

She envisions more events, collaborations, and meetings between producers and consumers.

"Maybe we haven’t told the story as well as we could yet."

The fear of being alone

Laura Brodersen enters the industry at a time when Danish agriculture is undergoing major changes.

She points to climate challenges, biodiversity crises, and the green tripartite agreement as decisive factors for her generation.

"Agriculture is the solution to handle all these crises we face," she says.

But she also feels uncertainty.

She openly talks about the fear of being perceived as "part of the problem" and about the worries of moving from Copenhagen back to rural areas as a young woman without family or partner.

"Sometimes I think about what it will be like to move out to the countryside. Are there even any young people? Will I be alone?" she says.

She also describes the openness around Gram Castle as a way to counteract that very fear.

"It’s also a way you can do something yourself so you don’t end up alone. It’s about maintaining this openness and sharing."

"First and foremost, we are family"

How exactly the succession will be organized economically and organizationally has not yet been decided.

Laura Brodersen emphasizes that the family has deliberately waited to have the conversation until she was ready to make the decision.

"I know some thoughts have been considered about it. But I think, for us, it has also been a conscious choice not to open the conversation until we were ready for it."

She has three younger siblings who also need the opportunity to find their own roles in the business.

"First and foremost, we are family," she says.

For her, the most important thing is that the succession does not create division.

"The worst outcome would be if the succession led to conflict within the family."

Although much is still undecided, Laura Brodersen is clear about what she hopes Gram Castle will be in the future.

An open place.

A place where people meet, ideas emerge, and where farming, nature, and community are closely connected.

"I really hope I get to share Gram with everyone who would like to be part of it across the board," she says.

In March, she will move back home.

With butterflies in her stomach – and with the ambition to carry Gram Castle into a new generation.