From Working as a Nurse to Plant Breeding: learn more about Linneas career change

Hi, who are you? 

I’m originally from Örebro, but seven years ago I moved with my husband to Skåne to leave my job as a nurse and instead work in the green sector. Today, I live in Malmö and I’m a twin mom. 

What are you most proud of in your life? 

My children — they make me proud every single day. 

Tell us about your career at Lantmännen. 

My former classmate and friend Jessica told me about a temporary position available within plant breeding in Svalöv, so I applied — and got the job. Today, I’m permanently employed here at Grodden (one of the buildings in Svalöv where we work with plant breeding), and my closest colleague is actually Jessica. 

Tell us about your current role – what do you do during the work day? What's the most fun and the most challenging part? 

I work in the growth chambers in our newest "greenhouse," where we handle the early stages of practical plant breeding — everything from sampling to crossbreeding, maintenance, and harvesting. The most exciting part is probably seeing the results of the crossings and how the grains form. Today, we use a robot for sampling — while it’s fascinating to watch it work, learning to handle it has come with some challenges. 

What qualities are important to succeed in your current role? 

A steady hand and good eyesight are essential when handling such small components during crossings. Also, collaboration skills and flexibility — being willing to step away from your usual tasks to help where needed. After all, we’re all working toward the same goal! 

Tell us about a time when you used one of the values — openness, a holistic view, or drive — to move a project or decision forward. 

Since I haven’t worked here that long, I’ve often needed to be open to trying new things, as everything has been new to me. At Grodden, we’re still in something of a startup phase, introducing new crops in our chambers. We’re experimenting to see how they respond to speed breeding conditions. 

What drives your development? 

Development itself motivates me. Having a varied job where I learn new things and grow in my professional role is what makes my work enjoyable. 

What do you hope your next step at Lantmännen will be? And what would you like to learn more about? 

I really enjoy working at Grodden, so I’m not sure I’d want to move elsewhere. But I’d love to keep learning here. I recently got my driver’s license and look forward to getting certified for forklift and loader operation. I’m also excited to learn more about breeding new crops we’ll be introducing to our growth chambers, like peas and beans. 

What’s your best tip for someone who’s new at Lantmännen? 

Be curious about your colleagues! If you get a chance to explore other parts of Lantmännen — whether by helping a coworker or visiting another facility — take it. It’s really fascinating to see what others in the company do, and it gives you a better understanding of Lantmännen as a whole. It can even strengthen your own role by putting it in context with others’. 

Three words that describe Lantmännen or the best thing about Lantmännen, in one sentence. 

The best thing about Lantmännen is that we’re developing Swedish food production by creating new grain varieties that can withstand the challenges we face — like climate change and new crop diseases. 

If you could switch jobs with someone at Lantmännen for a day, who would it be and why? 

Maybe someone working in product development at Lantmännen Unibake. It must be so much fun to come up with new flavors and products and then get to test them! 

What’s a fun fact about Lantmännen that people might not know? 

Most people probably know that Lantmännen is owned by its members — the farmers. But maybe they don’t realize that Lantmännen is much more than just agriculture. We do plant breeding here where I work, but Lantmännen also works with machinery, produces bioethanol and feed, and then we have Lantmännen Cerealia and Lantmännen Unibake with a range of products and brands like AXA, Kungsörnen, and Korvbrödsbagarn. 

Thanks Linnea for telling us more about your job and your journey from being a nurse to working with plant breeding!