Celebrating Agri-TechE Week 2024!

A half day workshop hosted by Anglia Innovation Partnership LLP took a creative format for academic researchers, farmers and industry professionals to jointly explore challenges and develop innovative real-world solutions related to soil microbiome and soil health. This event explored the needs, challenges and key parties involved in developing ground-breaking technology for assessing soil conditions and microbiome ecosystem in real-time outside the confines of a laboratory setting.

Read a summary of the event.

This event was for farmers, growers, agronomists, entrepreneurs, and researchers utilising or developing new technologies in crop protection. It aimed to enhance understanding of biological solutions and broader integrated crop management, offering networking opportunities over a hog roast with like-minded people, and contributing to the progress of crop protection practices.

Read a summary of the event here.

A farm tour and roundtable discussion to understand how best to monitor soils across farms, gain insights into the datasets generated, and see how Morley SAMS is supporting projects that improve our understanding of soil and crop interactions across space and time.

Read about the day here.

This event explored the challenges in agriculture, with a particular emphasis on sustainable agriculture and the transition to a more innovative and technology-driven farming system. As the global population continues to grow, it is essential for the agricultural sector to evolve, ensuring maximum yields and economic viability for farmers while adopting sustainable practices that benefit our environment. The event presented practical solutions and strategies to address current agricultural challenges and featured engaging interactive sessions and discussions.

The event took place at Sustainability Farm, the Grange, Wellingborough, where BASF has been partnering with William and Andrew Pitts, for over 15 years, and where attendees saw first-hand how to create a resilient agricultural system meeting the needs of a growing population while safeguarding our environment.

Read about the event here.

This online event focused on how satellite earth observation data can be used to support agricultural services. It provided attendees with an understanding of satellite data and some examples of how it could be/has been used in agriculture.

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An RNAA Agri-TechE Week event where attendees viewed Fischer Farms, along with an overview of the Broadland Food Innovation Centre at the Food Enterprise Park.

At Fischer Farms, they are creating the farm of the future. And it’s vertical. They are innovators and pioneers in vertical farming, leading the way in scalable food production to provide a more resilient and sustainable way to feed the world.

Read a summary of this sold-out event.

Celebrating its 11th year, the REAP Conference is a cornerstone of the UK’s agri-tech event calendar. By putting farmers at the heart of the discussion, REAP helps delegates navigate the demands of 21st-century agriculture by reframing challenges to inspire new ideas and identify innovative solutions. Agri-TechE ‘s biggest event of the year attracts farmers, researchers, innovators, tech developers and investors, government officials and agribusiness leaders from across the UK and beyond.

Optimise one or manage many? Attendees of REAP 2024 learned that, in the future, both might be possible with new technologies powered by artificial intelligence.

Read our REAP round-up from the day.

An insightful event blending learning and networking where experts discussed innovative strategies to protect crops from diseases, pests, and weeds.

A seminar covered the latest advancements in Surveillance and Monitoring in Plant Protection, featuring early detection techniques for better management, insect monitoring and control with sustainable solutions, as well as weed management tools to identify and control harmful weeds.

The event also included an interactive breakout session and pitches featuring companies based at Rothamsted Agri-tech Business Centre showcasing innovative technologies and real-world applications.

Read a summary from the day here.

What innovative solutions are driving efficiency in energy use, enhancing nutrition, tackling labour shortages, and increasing productivity in all growing environments from controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) to field? This event included a tour of the brand-new Smart Technology Experimental Plant Suite (STEPS), a multi-million pound facility designed to expand the already world leading research that takes place within the Essex Plant Innovation Centre (EPIC).

Hear about the day’s event here.

A visit to the newly installed vertical farm at the University of Essex and discussions into the role of vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) in achieving a sustainable food production system – and how university research can help to accelerate its development in the 21st century.

There were live demonstrations of vertical farming technologies, and a discussion on addressing the skills gap in agri-tech.

Read summary from the day here.

The regenerative agriculture movement has largely grown as a result of a focus on the importance of soil health to support farming system resilience. The focus has widened to include regeneration of biodiversity as well as a rediscovery of the role of biological cycles, alongside targeted use of inputs to support high-quality food production. It was therefore timely to explore the role of regenerative farming in the UK in the context of both adaptation of food systems to climate change and their role in the achievement of net zero.

Experts reflected on the issues and attendees discussed the next steps needed and what roles all stakeholders might play.

Read a summary from the day here.