The Faculty of AgriSciences
The Faculty of AgriSciences was the original founding faculty with the establishment of The University of Agriculture in Brno in 1919. The current name of the university, Mendel University in Brno (MENDELU), was promulgated in 2010 to reflect the more comprehensive character that the university has since assumed. For more than one hundred years, MENDELU has been educating experts in the field of agriculture.
We are a comprehensive faculty, with scientists actively involved in a wide spectrum of agri-scientific disciplines. These disciplines range from modern agricultural production sciences, like precision agriculture, plant and animal breeding, crop production, animal husbandry and welfare, robotics, and automation in agriculture, as well as food technology and the development of new food processing techniques for the future. The emphasis we place on environmental health is reflected in our active involvement in waste management, cancer treatment, ecosystem management, climate change and other relevant scientific issues influencing the modern environment.
We actively respond to social questions and changes through adjusting and expanding our range and contents of study programmes, to prepare our graduates with the necessary attributes to effectively compete in the labour market. We place a great deal of emphasis on practical education and training. We have several modern laboratories, greenhouses, food pilot plants, technical testing laboratories, and a functionally producing university research farm with several experimental sites.
FA in numbers
- 100+ years’ tradition of agricultural education
- 15 scientific departments
- 34 study programmes in agricultural sciences
- 2,100+ students
- 2,000+ ha of experimental sites
- 1 university production and research farm
We offer top quality practical agricultural training…
Fish, poultry and bee farming on the main campus
The pride of the FA at MENDELU is the Biotechnology Pavilion (hub). Freshwater and saltwater fish are kept in very efficiently controlled aquaculture holding tanks, which are equipped for very efficient water utilisation, using innovative water circulation systems relying on biological filtration technology. The FA is also the only quail breeder in the Czech Republic. This breeding unit is also located in the hub. In the outdoor area, several dozen actively honey producing beehives are kept.
Modern laboratories, greenhouses and phytotrons
Only the latest equipment is used in our laboratories. The value of technology is in the order of several hundred thousand euros, yet we make it available to our students to work with. This includes, for example, the opportunity to get acquainted with CRISPR technology, genetic modifications and, in the greenhouses, with medical cannabis, whilst they also may participate in the development of new varieties.
FoodTech experimental facilities
The two upper floors of the Biotechnology Pavilion are occupied by several food pilot plants. We have a bakery, a malt house, a university craft beer brewery, an experimental meat and dairy processing plant, and a confectionery kitchen. The hub is used for both research and teaching. Students can also use the facility to generate data for seminars, dissertations and theses.
Reference laboratory for biogas conversions
There are several functional biogas reactors in the Faculty of AgriSciences. They are used to allow our scientists to explore, for example, the possibilities of using waste as an alternative and renewable energy source. We also have a BAT Center – Best Available Techniques, which offers a wide range of technical services.
Technical testing facilities and equipment
We have a specialized facility for measuring the performance of internal combustion engines. In a separate specialized laboratory with state-of-the-art equipped we undertake the analysis of fuels and lubricants. We can also comprehensively measure the parameters of vehicles up to 480 kW with 4×4 drive and tractors up to 390 kW on a cylinder dynamometer accurately. We design smart technologies for precision agriculture and use various methods on drones we manufacture.
Agriculture farms in Žabčice and Vatín
The FA manages about 2,000 ha of fields at the university farm in Žabčice, close to Brno. More than 600 cows are milked there twice a day. Sixteen beef cattle breeds, such as Aubrac, Bazadaise or Belgian blue, are also kept at the university farms. At the experimental farm in Vatín, in the Vysočina region, we mainly study the development and production of good quality fodder. Simultaneously, we monitor climatic conditions as part of our research into climate change.