The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
We are thrilled to share that Ponda was recently featured on BBC Radio 4’s flagship agricultural programme, Farming Today! Our Agricultural Lead, Austin Shepherd, sat down with the BBC team to discuss a subject we are deeply passionate about: paludiculture.
What exactly is Paludiculture? If you are new to the term, paludiculture is the practice of farming on wetlands, such as bogs, fens, and re-wetted peatlands. Instead of draining these landscapes for conventional agriculture—a practice that damages the ecosystem—paludiculture embraces the water, allowing for the cultivation of crops in a way that works with the wetland environment rather than against it.
Why Keeping Peat Wet Matters The environmental stakes surrounding our wetlands are incredibly high. The UK’s peatlands are a massive carbon sink, storing an estimated 3 billion tonnes of carbon. When peatlands are drained, the exposed peat oxidises and releases this stored carbon into the atmosphere as CO2, directly contributing to global warming.
By keeping the peat wet through paludiculture, we can lock that carbon safely in the earth while still making the land agriculturally productive.
Recognising the urgent need to protect these landscapes, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) recently awarded grants to 12 pioneering projects dedicated to exploring how we can successfully grow crops in lowland peat.
Putting it into Practice Real-world exploration is already underway. The Holker Estate, located on the beautiful southern coast of Cumbria, is one of the sites actively investigating the commercial and environmental potential of paludiculture, paving the way for a more sustainable future in farming.
Want to learn more about how wet farming works and Ponda’s role in this exciting agricultural shift?
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Genetic technologies are methods that customise the genetic code of an organism. In crop science, genetic technologies allow researchers to introduce beneficial traits, for example to confer resistance to pests, reduce food waste, and improve drought tolerance. Genetic engineering can often go beyond or move faster than “conventional” crop breeding techniques.
Common terminology
Many genetic customisation techniques exist and terminology is often inconsistent, so it is always worth clarifying what exactly is being discussed. Frequently used terms include:
Random mutagenesis: artificially increasing the rate at which mutations (changes) arise in DNA using UV light or chemical mutagens, and then screening for mutated plants which display useful functional changes. This is the oldest of the genetic tools available, and the resulting plants are not subject to the EU’s regulations for genetically modified organisms
Genetic engineering encompasses:
Genetic modification (GM) which can include:
Transgenesis (sometimes also itself referred to as genetic modification): inserting a functional unit (gene) from a different species or organism to confer a new trait. For example, glow-in-the-dark genes have been inserted into petunias using transgenesis.
Cisgenesis: inserting a functional unit (gene) from the same species. For example, a disease resistance gene found in a wild potato cultivar might be introduced into a commercial potato variety by cisgenesis. Equally, genetic sequences that act as ‘on’ or ‘off’ switches can be moved about and/or duplicated within the genome to modulate gene activities.
Gene editing (also often known as targeted mutagenesis): making specific, intentional mutations in genetic material without inserting new genetic material. For example, the activity of some genes can be modulated in agronomically significant ways by changing even just one letter of DNA code (one ‘base pair’).
Techniques such as RNAi also allow modulation of pre-existing functionalities in a plant, and might be introduced by genetic modification or through exogenous application.
As with most techniques in the biosciences, these processes take inspiration from techniques that occur naturally in biology; but biotechnology has applied these biological principles to new contexts. For example, one ‘older’ method of gene insertion uses a bacterium (Agrobacterium tumefaciens) that naturally pastes genetic material into a plant’s DNA. Scientists can replace the genetic material to be inserted with a gene conferring a desired function to generate a modified crop with new functionality.
A ‘newer’ method also derives from bacteria: CRISPR/Cas9 is a protein-RNA machine which inserts or changes genetic material at a precise, specific location in the genome which can be deliberately selected by a scientist. Now that genome sequencing is a routine technique, resulting genomes can be readily sequenced to validate where exactly a gene has been inserted or modified.
These technologies are methods that modulate functionality of an organism, but they do not fundamentally change the organism itself. A lecture by Prof Jonathon Jones of the Sainsbury Laboratory described genetic modification of a crop as equivalent to installing a new app on a phone: it’s still the same phone, but now it can do something new.
What can genetic technologies do?
The following examples demonstrate the powerful and wide-reaching impact of these technologies.
Pest resistance:Genetic technologies have already produced numerous crops with resistance to key pests. For example, ‘Bt’ toxin is a pesticidal toxin which is naturally produced by a bacterium, and it was traditionally applied by spraying onto crops. This is a messy process which can ‘contaminate’ neighbouring plants. However, crops have been modified to express Bt toxin in their leaves. This constrains resistance to the crop itself, removing the need for broad spraying and reducing the impact on non-target beneficial insects like bees.
Input reduction: Genetic technologies have also produced crops with the ability to metabolise alternative forms of minerals (like absorbing phosphite instead of phosphate), reducing the need to mass-spray fertilisers. A landmark 2014 meta-analysis concluded that adoption of GM technologies had – even a decade ago – reduced chemical pesticide use by 37%, increased yields by 22% and increased farmer profits by 68%, with improvements more marked in developing countries. As well as the direct benefits that the engineered trait confers, more subtle environmental benefits can also be seen, for example freeing up land for nature restoration.
Food waste reduction:Genetic technologies can also be leveraged to reduce food waste. For example, Tropic Biosciences has used gene editing to reduce browning in bananas. The non-browning banana may reduce waste and CO2 emissions from spoilage and is the first product to clear the Philippines’ new gene edited regulatory determination process.
Climate resilience: Other companies are focusing on increasing yields in the face of changing climates. UK spin-out Wild Bioscience is testing wheat genetically modified to have elevated photosynthetic efficiency, while Argentinian company Bioceres Crop Solutions has developed wheat with improved drought tolerance.
Environmental remediation: The Centre for Novel Agricultural Products in York in the UK has shown that GM native grass species can mop up explosive residues from contaminated soil.
Global health: Perhaps most famously, ‘Golden Rice’ – into which beta carotene (the precursor of vitamin A) has been inserted – was developed for humanitarian use in tackling blindness and death caused by vitamin A deficiency, but has been stalled by anti-GM lobbying and regulatory and legal hold-ups around the world.
Are genetic technologies safe?
Genetic technologies have been historically contentious, but a briefing from the UK Royal Society summarises that “risks are predictable and specific to the change being made.” The briefing explains that years of data generated through field trials and global use of genetically altered crops can provide reassurance on the safety profile of genetic approaches and underscore the technologies’ potential to benefit human nutrition, health and the natural world.
Humans have altered the genetic content of food throughout history by selectively breeding the best-performing plants. Some staple foods even originally evolved through natural transgenesis events. For example, genetic analysis has revealed that the sweet potato is the result of a natural gene transfer event.
Moreover, modern genetic techniques can in some ways be seen as less ‘risky’ than chance breeding events in that they target and monitor the change (via a site-specific targeted introduction and/or via screening to sieve products having the desired change). This means that the resulting genetic change is smaller, more precise, and deliberately tracked and assessed.
The changes can also be contained to the engineered plant itself: by the very definition of a species (organisms which can breed to give fertile offspring), traits cannot cross routinely into different species; engineered plants can also be made sterile in order that a trait cannot spread to other members of the same species.
Scientific support for the technologies is certainly strong; a petition led by WePlanet in support of proposals from the EU to update regulation of some genetically engineered plants was signed by 35 Nobel Laureates and more than a thousand scientists, and thousands of scientists across the EU publicly placarded ahead of the vote. Public support may also be more favourable than many think: a paper by researchers at the Alliance for Science suggests that sentiment across both traditional and social media is now trending in favour of gene editing.
We are also beginning to see genetically modified plants aimed at consumer appeal, like the Big Purple Tomato from Norfolk Healthy Produce and a pink pineapple from Fresh Del Monte, both of which are on sale in the US. It is possible that these will improve the GM brand image.
It looks like we may be at a tipping point of the adoption curve for genetically altered food. It remains to be seen how Europe responds and how scientific capabilities will be leveraged in Europe in the future.
What next?
A huge amount of genetic innovation is already cropping up across the ag-bio space and the pace looks set to accelerate. The UK and EU have traditionally been viewed as having more burdensome GMO regulations than those in other areas of the world. However, both jurisdictions have been updating their laws to loosen regulation for gene-edited plants which are comparable to plants which could have been created by traditional breeding methods.
The UK introduced the Genetic Technologies (Precision Breeding) Act in 2023, while the EU has agreed a draft text for a new ‘New Genetic Techniques’ regulation, which is expected to come into force by the end of 2028. For more details on this new legislation and the key IP considerations to look out for, read our news item: How the EU is re-shaping the regulation of gene-edited plants.
How J A Kemp can help
As genetic technologies continue to shape crop science, it is important to consider not only the science, but also the legislative and intellectual property issues that come with innovation in this area. J A Kemp advises clients working across plant and crop science, biotechnology and life sciences, gene editing and engineering, genomics, food and nutrition, and green energy and climate tech. This breadth of expertise allows us to support businesses and innovators developing and protecting technologies in this fast-moving field, including in areas where scientific progress, regulation and commercial strategy increasingly overlap.
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The UN’s latest warning highlights that Earth’s climate is now more out of balance than at any point in recorded history, with a developing El Niño expected to kick in later this year. For farmers and growers, understanding what El Niño and La Niña actually are – and how they’ve shaped weather patterns in previous years – is essential for planning the 2027 season.
What Are El Niño and La Niña?
El Niño
El Niño is a natural climate pattern where warm water builds up in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. This shifts global atmospheric circulation and tends to raise global temperatures, often contributing to record-breaking heat years. Scientists warn that the upcoming El Niño could bring further heat records as the climate is already in a state of extreme “energy imbalance”.
Typical global impacts:
Hotter global temperatures
Increased drought risk in some regions
Flooding and intense rainfall in others
Disruption of normal storm tracks
La Niña
La Niña is the opposite phase – cooler‑than‑normal waters in the Pacific, which often temporarily dampen global temperatures. For example, 2025 was slightly cooler than 2024 (relatively speaking) due to a La Niña phase, despite being one of the warmest years on record overall.
Typical global impacts:
Cooler global averages
Stronger Atlantic hurricane seasons
Wetter conditions in some regions, drier in others
Altered jet stream patterns
How El Niño and La Niña Have Affected the World in Previous Years
Global Impacts
El Niño years are strongly associated with:
Severe drought in parts of Africa, Australia and South America
Major flooding in South America and Asia
Greater crop failures, reduced harvests, and global commodity volatility
Increased wildfire activity in drought‑stricken regions
The 2024/25 period saw one of the three warmest years ever recorded, boosted by El Niño, and coincided with record ocean heat, glacier loss and low polar sea‑ice levels.
La Niña years, by contrast, often:
Increase moisture in some agricultural regions
Reduce heat stress globally
Delay heat‑driven pest pressure in some crops
However, La Niña does not undo long‑term warming, it only temporarily slows the pace.
How Past El Niño/La Niña Events Have Affected the UK
While the UK is far from the Pacific, these events influence the position and strength of the jet stream, which shapes UK weather. We briefly spoke about how surface air pressure and other northern hemisphere climatic patterns impact UK weather in one of our monthly Agronomy Clubs back in May.
Past patterns have included:
El Niño influences on the UK
Milder, wetter winters
Increased storminess
Higher risk of winter flooding, affecting early fieldwork
More variable springs, with rapid swings between warm/dry and cool/wet spells
La Niña influences on the UK
Colder winters with an increased chance of cold snaps
Fewer intense winter storms
Potentially drier summers, though not reliably so
These patterns aren’t guaranteed, but they increase the likelihood of certain conditions.
What the UN Warning Suggests for 2027 Growing Conditions
Scientists warn that the upcoming El Niño in the latter half of 2026 is developing in a world already experiencing extreme heat accumulation. The World Meteorological Organization notes that the Earth has reached a record “energy imbalance”, storing more heat than ever before due to high greenhouse gas concentrations. This additional heat intensifies El Niño’s effects.
What farmers and growers may face in 2027:
1. Higher temperatures during key growth stages
Increased risk of heat stress at flowering/grain fill
Faster evaporation and reduced soil moisture
Greater irrigation needs on light soils
2. More intense rainfall events
With ocean and atmospheric heat at record highs, storms could be more vigorous:
Short, high‑impact rainfall bursts leading to waterlogging
Increased soil erosion risk
Narrower spraying and drilling windows
3. Greater pest and disease pressure
Warming combined with El Niño‑driven humidity can:
If El Niño delivers a mild, wet UK winter, growers may face:
Difficult drilling conditions
Poor slug control opportunities
Waterlogged soils slowing root establishment
Practical Steps to Prepare for a Potential El Niño‑Driven 2027 Season
Diversify varieties for resilience to heat, disease and variable conditions
Focus on soil structure and organic matter to buffer water extremes
Review drainage and cultivation approaches to handle intense rainfall – Ceres Research Members have access to the latest Farming Update Plus publication which focuses on future-proofing land drainage, available here.
Strengthen monitoring of pests and diseases, especially early‑season
Build flexibility into drilling plans and consider multiple drilling windows
Final Thoughts
With the UN warning that 2027 will be shaped by a mix of natural variability from El Niño and record levels of stored global heat, UK farmers should plan for the very real possibility of an El Niño‑driven mild, wet winter, bringing difficult drilling conditions, higher slug pressure, waterlogged soils and establishment challenges. Taking steps now to build flexibility into cropping plans, strengthen soil structure, and ensure drainage and field access are fit for a wetter winter will put farms in a stronger position to cope with another highly variable season.
If you’d like to learn more, or become a Ceres Research Member, please visit here. Remember, Agri-TechE members receive 10% off the membership through the Member Discount Scheme! Enquire with us to find out more.
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Upcoming changes to European Union legislation will significantly alter the regulation of gene-edited crops. This article outlines the main trends of the EU’s new framework for plants obtained by New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), and the critical intellectual property considerations for innovators.
EU approach to genetically engineered plants
To date, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been regulated according to Directive 2001/18/EC. While plants bred by conventional breeding techniques or traditional mutagenesis are generally exempt, a landmark 2018 ruling (Case C-528/16) by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interpreted this strictly.
The CJEU held that newer, targeted mutagenesis techniques fall within the scope of the GMO Directive, subjecting them to the same rigorous risk assessments and labelling requirements as transgenic crops. This high regulatory hurdle historically stifled the introduction of gene-edited plants to the European market.
New EU rules for how to handle NGTs were provisionally agreed in trilogue negotiations between the EU Parliament, Council, and Commission at the end of 2025. As the European Commission highlighted in a 4 December 2025 press release, these rules will “enable more innovative plant breeding in the EU, helping farmers to grow plants that are more resilient to climate change and making them more sustainable as producers will require less resources, fertilisers and pesticides to fight pests.”
According to the provisionally agreed Regulation text, NGT plants are those that have been created by targeted mutagenesis, cisgenesis, or a combination of the two techniques, and which do not contain any genetic material which originated from outside the gene pool available for conventional breeding. Therefore, any plants created by transgenesis, for example, fall outside the NGT regulation and will continue to be regulated by Directive 2001/18/EC.
NGT plants are to be split into ‘Category 1’ and ‘Category 2’.
Category 1 (NGT1) = plants, and any conventionally crossed progeny, that:
DO fulfil specific ‘criteria of equivalence’ to conventional plants which are set out in Annex I of the draft Regulation text, and which set limits on the type, extent and number of modifications that can be made;
AND
DO NOT contain traits to herbicide-tolerance or production of a known insecticidal substance.
Category 2 (NGT2) = any other type of NGT plant. These will continue to be subject to GMO legislation.
Verification of a plant as NGT1 can be requested. Once verified, NGT1 plants will then be deemed excluded from the GMO legislation and treated in the same way as conventional plants.
In other words, the intention of the new legislation is to relax the regulations associated with NGT plants which could have occurred naturally or through conventional breeding processes (even though, in practice, they were generated through quicker gene editing techniques).
Intellectual property considerations
Trilogue negotiations had previously stalled on the question of whether to permit the patenting of NGT plants. The concern from some had been whether small farmers and breeders would be able to navigate the landscape of intellectual property rights and access germplasm. However, following assessment by a specially commissioned expert committee, it has been agreed that NGT plants will remain patentable.
However, to help ensure that farmers and breeders are able to benefit, emphasis is being placed on transparency and steps for reducing the practical burden of Freedom to Operate (FTO). Therefore, when requesting NGT1 verification, the requester must declare, to the best of their knowledge, any patents or published patent applications which include claims to the NGT1 plants. It is not just patents and applications held by the requester which will need to be declared, but also any relevant patents and applications held by third parties. These details will not be checked during the verification process, but they will appear on a public database and there will be a duty to notify the competent authority of any changes.
There will also be an option for a requester to declare a willingness to license relevant patents or applications covering the NGT plant to third parties under fair and reasonable conditions in all Member States or to declare membership of any licensing platforms, such as the Agricultural Crop Licensing Platform (ACLP).
The draft Regulation text includes a Recital 46b which flags to Member States the importance of taking appropriate steps to implement breeders’ exemptions. It is possible, therefore, that we will see more countries implementing such exemptions in the coming years.
Next steps
Once formally adopted, the final Regulation text will be published in the Official Journal. This is expected by the end of 2026. A two-year transition period will apply, so it is anticipated that the NGT regulations will be in force by the end of 2028.
The economic, environmental and social effects of implementation of the draft Regulation are to be monitored by an expert group established by the European Commission. The expert group will review the effect of patents and the operation of breeders’ exemptions on NGT plants and innovation, seed availability and competitiveness of the EU plant breeding sector, with the view to publishing conclusions within one year of implementation.
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Welcome to the Ceres Farming Update, a publication that provides independent insights on agricultural issues, from policy and grant funding, to administrative updates and key market information.
For a printer-friendly version, click here. Please consider the environment before printing this publication. A ‘PLUS‘ version of this publication is now available to Ceres Research members, which takes a deeper dive into the key topics covered. With extended analysis, expert commentary, and exclusive content, it’s your essential companion for staying ahead in agriculture.
Members can read this here. Not yet a member? Sign up today here. Remember, Agri-Tech E members get 10% off membership through the Member Discount Scheme – get in touch for your exclusive discount code!
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Global Incubator Programme: Agri-Tech USA THRIVE, cohort 1
Funding Finder
Innovate UK
Innovate UK seeks innovative Agri-Tech companies to participate in an acceleration programme to support growth by exploring the potential of the USA market.
Innovate UK will fund and organise group flights, group accommodation and group airport transfer fees for successful applicants, who will also benefit from an intensive 9 to 12 months three phased programme and bespoke support from an Innovation and Growth Specialist throughout.
Note: This opportunity is fully funded support and not monetary funding.
The Global Incubator Programme, organised by Innovate UK, will include two week-long visits to California in July and October 2026. Each business is supported by an Innovate UK Business Growth Specialist to help maximise the potential of being part of the programme and beyond. This initiative will be delivered physically and will include virtual activities.
Targeted agricultural sectors and scope:
Horticulture: fruit production, vegetable crops and protected cropping
Pastoral: dairy systems, livestock monitoring and management
Arable: precision crop management and soil health technologies
To realise this opportunity, the strategy commits to supporting UK Agri-Tech businesses and innovators to develop and scale precision technologies across four key areas: controlled environments, robotics and automation, advanced sensors, and AI and data systems. These technologies are intended to serve both domestic and international markets, while also unlocking mutual benefits from the growing application of engineering biology to agriculture.
A particular priority is the significant expansion of automation in key farming sectors to reduce reliance on seasonal labour and improve long-term sector resilience.
In partnership with SVG Ventures | THRIVE
SVG Ventures | THRIVE is a leading global agri-food innovation and investment firm headquartered in Silicon Valley. Their ecosystem brings together leading agriculture, food and technology corporations, universities, investors and a community of more than 15,000 startups across over 100 countries. Through their platform, SVG THRIVE invests in and accelerates early-stage companies while providing entrepreneurs with unparalleled access to global markets, industry partners and capital to scale solutions addressing the world’s most pressing food and agriculture challenges. Their corporate innovation programs work with Fortune 1000 companies to accelerate innovation, support strategic transformation and connect them with breakthrough technologies shaping the future of food and agriculture. SVG Ventures currently invests globally in Seed to Series A stage startups through two active venture funds.
Benefits of the Programme
Funded Market Access: Group Flights, Group accommodation, Group in-market travel, and conference fees are all covered, removing a significant financial barrier to international market entry.
Two In-Market Visits to California: Two week-long visits to Silicon Valley in July and October 2026, providing direct access to one of the world’s leading Agri-Tech ecosystems.
Dedicated Expert Support: Each business is paired with an Innovate UK Business Growth Specialist who provides bespoke, one-to-one strategic support throughout the full 9–12 month programme.
Access to SVG Ventures | THRIVE Ecosystem: Direct connection to a globally recognised agri-food innovation and investment firm, including in-market programming, virtual programmes, 1:1 mentor engagements and THRIVE team check-ins.
Market Validation and Customer Discovery: Structured opportunities to test technology and market fit, conduct preliminary customer validation, and gain a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed in the US market.
Investor and Partner Connectivity: Introductions to ecosystem players, mentors, and potential investors.
Demo Day Profile: A dedicated showcase opportunity to present achievements to key stakeholders, raising the company’s profile within the California Agri-Tech community.
Long-Term Alumni Network: Ongoing support and an alumni event at the programme’s conclusion to sustain momentum and continue building connections beyond the programme itself.
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New hyperspectral satellite imagery crucial for lowering nitrogen use amid rising fertiliser costs
Agri-TechE Article
Agri-TechE
As fertiliser prices soar in response to turmoil in the Middle East, farmers are seeking ways to cut their input costs.
Messium, a crop intelligence company, has teamed up with Louise Penn, from Manor Farm, through Agri-TechE’s Ambassador Programme to explore whether this new technology could be the solution.
Over the past few weeks, fertiliser prices have been significantly affected by the price shock from the war in the Gulf, with AHDB reporting that the price of granular urea rose around 36% between February and March 2026, citing the Middle East situation as the main immediate cause.
Consequently, agronomist and farmer Louise Penn is finding new ways to reduce fertiliser costs and says that having satellite technology for precision application enables her to make more efficient use of what is becoming an increasingly expensive input.
“Nitrogen is probably one of the most expensive inputs when it comes to growing a crop of wheat, barley, or oilseed rape. So, if we can be really targeted, not only because we’re being encouraged to be more sustainable within our farming practices, but because nitrogen is so expensive,” she says.
Hyperspectral Satellites vs. Market Tech: Nitrogen Reduction
Spencer Terry, Messium’s Commercial Director, explains that their satellite imagery is distinctive from other nitrogen technologies that largely rely on ‘Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to estimate greenness and biomass as a proxy for nitrogen health.
Messium instead uses hyperspectral imagery to directly detect nitrogen levels in each plant at a cellular level. The process captures around 400 wavelengths and evaluates how they reflect off crops, focusing on those responsive to nitrogen. This allows farmers to apply nitrogen more precisely, reducing overall nitrogen usage.
“We’re using a new type of hyperspectral satellites that are the first to be able to directly detect the nitrogen balance in the crop and measure the uptake of nitrogen in the crop. So, we can tell whether a crop is over-fertilised, under-fertilised, or well-fertilised throughout the growing season,” Spencer says.
“Previous generations of satellites were looking at vegetation and using that greenness to approximate the nutrient health and status of the crop. What we’re measuring is the nutrient status of the crop straight away, directly by looking at the nitrogen balance”.
As part of Agri-TechE’s ambassador programme, the non-profit organisation’s initiative to bring farmers and technology companies together to collaborate, trial, and better understand challenges and solutions in the agricultural sector, Messium has been working with Louise Penn to monitor satellite imagery on her family farm in Northamptonshire.
Louise has already set up the platform and uploaded all relevant field data, with unique field names, yield targets and soil types.
After adding the data on the amount of nitrogen applied on their first dose, the images from Messium will help support precision targeting in future applications to reduce nitrogen use.
“What we’ll probably do is trial Messium versus just standard farm practice,” Louise adds.
Manor Farm’s Satellite Images
The hyperspectral image captured at Louise’s family farm earlier this spring reveals a general nitrogen deficiency across the field, which is typical for the season; blue areas indicate the highest nitrogen levels, while red shows the lowest.
“This was coming out of winter after a period of quite considerable rainfall before any nitrogen had been applied to the fields. And what we’re picking up from that imagery is the field was in a state of quite severe nitrogen deficiency at that point,” Spencer says.
“The image can also detect which parts of the field have greater deficiencies than others. Then, we will use this data as input to assist with the next fertiliser application, aiming to correct those deficiencies and restore the crop to its optimal level. This allows us to apply more fertiliser to the areas that are more deficient and less to those that are not.”
Images taken in March 2026 on Louise Penn’s family farm.
Why partnerships are important to a successful farming future
Both Messium and Louise have found the pairing beneficial and encourage others to adopt a collaborative approach.
“It’s important for us to be able to work with farms like Manor Farm and agronomists like Louise that are progressive and keen to try new technology,” Spencer says.
Louise agrees, “I think what I’ve seen in my role as an ambassador for Agri-TechE is that you’ve got people like Messium who have these really great ideas and technology, but actually it needs a steer for farmers, to understand what we need and what can actually make a difference to farm businesses. I think collaborating is great, and I’d encourage more farmers to go out there.”
At the Agri-TechE event Demo Day – Soils and Water Management, a selection of agri-technology companies will showcase their work and seek input from farmers.
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Man vs machine: determining agri tech’s potential for agronomic decision making
Meet the Network
Agri-TechE
It’s no secret that agriculture is ever evolving with emerging technologies, new challenges and constant demands for better yields, but how does technology really fare against traditional methods?
This month’s member spotlight addresses that key question, as we go behind the scenes to learn what Agrii have been working on ahead of Agri-TechE’s ‘Introduction to Agri-Tech’ event.
Agrii is a frontrunner in agri-tech, covering on-farm trials, crop scanning, and autonomous parsnip production. As the host of this year’s ‘Introduction to Agri-Tech’, an event for those keen to learn more about the sector, Agrii is opening their doors at Throws Farm Technology Centre to give attendees a peek of their latest agri-technologies. Some of these are highlighted below.
Drone analysis, disease detection sensors, and decision support systems
Agrii’s digital technology farm trials at Revesby Estate in Lincolnshire seek to determine the potential of the suite of systems, sensors and software available to farmers by comparing an agronomic programme built using the technology against the farm’s current practices.
Think of it as agronomy’s version of a concept car up, against the best existing model. What can be taken from the concept to improve what we already have?
Last year, a field of wheat was split between the farm’s standard approach and one utilising an array of digital tools available to a farmer. The crop diagnostic technologies and variable-rate application methods being tested suggest that new tools may now enable precise responses to sudden weather changes. Although Revesby Estate farm manager Peter Cartwright believes that a more robust approach still has merit across varying seasons.
“We are applying nitrogen and fungicides, expecting the crop to stay green into grain fill, whereas the technology is reacting to what it is seeing,” says Peter. “Last year, the hot days in June killed the crop off, and we didn’t get the yields we expected.”
Using RHIZA’s zonal soil sampling, they analysed the field’s soil composition, pH and organic matter levels to determine a relatively homogenous split between the two methods to ensure a fair comparison.
Jonathan Trotter
Technology Trials Manager, Agrii
“We combined the approach of using Skippy Scout drone analysis for a crop-specific Green Area Index (GAI), measuring points across all the different soil zones,” says Jonathan Trotter, Technology Trials Manager at Agrii.
“NDVI maps from the Contour platform were then used to correlate the GAI to produce a nitrogen application map for each timing. This way, we can combine field-scale remote sensing with much more specific crop scanning from the drone.”
“On average, the technology-led side of the field spent 15% less on nitrogen than the farm strategy. On the sandy part of the field, this dropped to 40%. Overall, this was a £30/ha saving on nitrogen.”
The trials also used the technology to lead its decision making on fungicides, explains Lucy Cottingham, digital agronomy development manager for Agrii. They combined different technologies and disease models in the technology trial, comparing it to conventional timings in the farm standard.
Overall, the technology-led half of the field yielded 0.82t/ha more than the farm side, explains Jonathan. Factoring in differences in variable costs and technology expenses, this resulted in an increase in gross margin of £137.63/ha.
He believes a key factor was the variation in nitrogen strategy. Although the farm utilised variable rate spreading for the second application, the technology-led trial used it for both splits. “We achieved a 60% nitrogen use efficiency, with 15% less nitrogen used, which is really positive,” adds Jonathan.
Join this year’s Introduction to Agri-Tech event
Want to learn more about market drivers, emerging technologies, and connect with valuable industry contacts? Join this year’s Introduction to Agri-Tech featuring a tour of Agrii’s flagship research farm led by Jonathan Trotter, Technology Trial Manager.
“It’s a great opportunity to get together with the wider industry to understand some of the opportunities and challenges that are out there, and how agri-tech can help solve some of those challenges,” he says.
It’s also an opportunity to see some of our leading, state-of-the-art facilities. We’ll be touring the glasshouse, having a look at some of the digital capabilities that Agrii have in the background, and learning more about our research.”
The event takes place at Agrii’s Throw’s Farm Technology Centre in Essex on 20 May 2026. You can book tickets on the Agri-TechE Events page.
The world’s first autonomously grown parsnip crop
Another project Agrii has been involved with is with Huntapac, in collaboration with Autonomous Agri Solutions and AutoSpray Systems, funded by the Marks & Spencer Plan A Accelerator Fund, which successfully grew a crop of parsnips autonomously. This achievement is believed to be a world first.
To prepare the field, an AgXeed electric drive autonomous tractor was used for primary and secondary cultivation, says Tom Beach of Autonomous Agri Solutions.
“That was able to do the subsoiling operations and ploughing, which was the first case of autonomous ploughing in the UK. Finally, it did the bed tilling.
“A Robotti was utilised for the subsequent lighter operations because it has a standard three-point hitch to use conventional agricultural implements, but it is substantially lighter and more accurate than a tractor.”
To monitor the crop and guide the precise application of plant protection products, Agrii used a drone equipped with Skippy Scout to do the agronomy.
Skippy Scout is a software system that will automatically fly a drone to selected points in a field and send back high-resolution, leaf-level images to aid with decision-making. The system analyses the captured images and sends a field report, explains Jonathan Trotter.
The successful field-scale trial has demonstrated a 46% reduction in carbon emissions and significant labour and input savings. Naturally, thoughts move to how the system developed by the group can be rolled out on a larger scale.
Interoperability between the systems controlling the decision support tools and machinery is a crucial milestone. This is a challenge Agrii has already begun working on.
“We are looking at integrating Skippy Scout with our digital platform, Contour,” says Jonathan. “This can then be linked to soil mapping through Rhiza, and further into the future, it could export treatment recommendations to the other technologies used within this very project.”
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7th April 2026
Agri-TechE
Agri-TechE Article
Inputs: from Chemical to Biological
Machinery, Robotics and AI
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World’s first Centre for Doctoral Training in Agri-Food Robotics announced
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
The inaugural Global AgInvesting (GAI) Australia conference will take place between June 10-11 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Beyond the conference itself, delegates have the option to tour around Central Queensland, Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley and the Port of Brisbane. It will be an immersive week for international delegates to learn first-hand about Queensland’s excellence in agriculture.
Queensland’s primary industries contributed a hefty A$26.8 billion of gross value to the Queensland economy in FY2024/25. Queensland exported A$15.6 billion of primary goods within the same period, beef accounting for more than half of this figure. Queensland’s primary industries continues to be resilient and adaptable, achieving strong success year-on-year.
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
The government has recently published a new consultation on the application of the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) to advertising and promotion restrictions for ‘less healthy’ food and drink products.
This follows the government’s commitment in the 10 Year Health Plan to align existing restrictions with the latest dietary advice and introduce more impactful regulation.
Current advertising and promotion rules are based on the UK Nutrient Profiling Model developed between 2004 and 2005. Although the model was updated in 2018, these revisions were not previously applied to advertising and promotion policies.
The consultation invites businesses to provide views on how the updated NPM should be implemented within:
The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024
The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021
In addition, the Government is seeking feedback on proposed implementation timelines for the updated model.
As part of this process, businesses are encouraged to consider and provide evidence on the potential impacts of applying the updated NPM, including effects on:
Children
Businesses
Groups with protected characteristics
A separate consultation on the development of healthier food targets and associated reporting requirements is expected to be published at a later date.
If you are interested in submitting a response to the consultation, or would like further information, please get in touch with lauren.atkins@gkstrategy.com
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This story has been submitted by an Agri-TechE member.
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Why the best leaders step back when everything tells them to step in.
A lot is happening in the world right now.
Markets are shifting, geopolitical tensions remain high, and economic uncertainty continues to place pressure on many sectors, including agriculture and amenity. And alongside all of that, the constant flow of information, emails, meetings and decisions that arrive before the previous issue has fully settled.
In environments like this, something quietly disappears. Space.
Space to reflect. Space to gather thoughts. Space to think properly about priorities and direction.
For many leaders, the instinct is to move faster. More meetings, more updates, more activity. The pressure to stay on top of everything becomes relentless.
But good judgment rarely improves under constant reaction. It improves with perspective.
The Hidden Risk in Busy Leadership
The issue is not that leaders are not working hard enough. The issue is that they are often working too close to the problem.
When everything is immediate, everything feels important. When everything feels important, priorities blur. And when priorities blur, organisations drift.
What follows is predictable:
Decisions become reactive rather than considered
Issues escalate upwards because clarity is missing
Leadership teams spend more time reporting than thinking
The organisation becomes dependent on a small number of people
From the outside, it looks like activity.
From the inside, it often feels like noise. And noise is not progress.
A Lesson I Learned Earlier in My Career
Earlier in my career, I attended a leadership course that ran for twelve months. As part of the commitment, one Friday every month was completely dedicated to the programme. No meetings, no phone calls, no operational involvement.
At the time, it felt uncomfortable. Like many leaders, I believed the business needed me to be constantly present.
What I discovered, however, was that the business continued perfectly well.
Decisions were made. Issues were resolved. Work progressed.
The organisation did not grind to a halt.
What changed instead was my perspective.
Those days created a rare opportunity to step out of the operational noise and think properly about the business. About strategy, culture, leadership and direction.
In many ways, those days away improved the quality of the decisions made on the days I was present.
The lesson was simple. Space is not indulgence. It is leadership discipline.
The Cost of Constant Reaction
When leaders operate continuously in response mode, several things begin to happen. Decisions become reactive rather than considered. Priorities blur because everything feels urgent. Teams begin to escalate more issues upwards because the organisation senses uncertainty. And personally, the mental load increases.
Many leaders carry more than people realise. Without deliberate moments to step back, the pressure accumulates quietly.
The Boardroom Consequence
This is not just a leadership issue. It is a governance issue.
Boards often mistake activity for progress. Full agendas. Frequent updates. Detailed reports.
But without space to think, challenge, and reflect, the quality of decision-making deteriorates.
The risk is subtle, but significant.
Strategy becomes short-term
Risk is managed reactively rather than proactively
Leadership teams operate tactically rather than intentionally
In these environments, organisations do not usually fail quickly.
They drift.
Creating Space is a Design Choice
Space does not appear naturally in busy organisations.
It has to be created and protected.
In practice, that means:
Setting aside time for strategic thinking.
Creating forums where leadership teams reflect rather than simply report.
Encouraging decision ownership lower in the organisation.
Or simply protecting time to think before reacting.
These are not luxuries. They are part of how good organisations maintain clarity under pressure.
What Changes When Leaders Step Back
When leaders step back, even briefly, something changes. Noise becomes pattern. Urgency becomes priority. Complexity becomes clearer.
And importantly, leadership becomes less about constant presence and more about thoughtful direction.
In uncertain times, it is tempting to move faster. But clarity rarely comes from speed alone. Sometimes it comes from stepping back long enough to see properly.
A Few Questions Worth Asking
For those leading organisations today, a few simple questions are worth reflecting on:
When was the last time you deliberately stepped away from the operational noise to think properly about direction?
Are decisions drifting upwards because people lack clarity, or because they lack confidence in their authority?
If you stepped away for a day, a week or even longer, what would actually stop, and what might quietly improve?
Creating space is not always easy.
But in my experience, it is often where the most important leadership thinking happens.
If you stepped away for a day, a week, or even longer, what would actually stop?
And what might quietly improve?
A Final Thought
In uncertain times, the instinct is to move faster and stay closer. But the organisations that navigate uncertainty best are rarely the busiest.
They are the clearest.
And clarity does not come from constant motion. It comes from space.
The question is not whether you can afford to step back. It is whether you can afford not to.
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Data-driven environmental monitoring highlights significant variations in bird biodiversity
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Todd Jex, partnered up with Agri-TechE member Wilder Sensing ahead of the upcoming Nature Technology event on April 28th to see how analysis of recorded bird song can be a bellwether for biodiversity across two farming systems.
Despite his passion for regenerative farming, supported by Todd as his agronomist, Oli Harris of QT Agri, who farms at Barton Farm in Dorset, has a portion of the farm that is still farmed using conventional tillage. This is because of a contract to grow turf for the family’s other business, Sherbourne Turf.
Having two contrasting farming systems within the same farming enterprise provided a fantastic opportunity for Todd to work with Oli to test the Wilder Sensing technology to see the benefits that regenerative farming brings.
“Originally, we adopted no-till regenerative farming practices for financial reasons to scale up the business,” says Oli. “Contractors were doing much of the work, and it was a way to bring all operations back on the farm and take control of arable production.
“Very quickly, it became a passion to see the environmental benefits the new system was having. We have seen a benefit to the wildlife and soil health.”
Todd set up two off the shelf recording devices on the farm, which Wilder Sensing can supply, although its technology is based on data processing and analysis rather than the physical devices, explains George Caterer, business development manager at Wilder Sensing.
George Caterer
Business Development Manager, WIlder Sensing
“These recording devices have been available for a long time,” says George. “The limiting factor in their use is the amount of data you get from them and the time it takes to analyse it.
“The trial with Todd ran for six days, and we recorded 20,000 bird calls.
It would take an ecologist days to analyse that data, with varying levels of accuracy, whereas our AI can do that within 24 hours.”
The devices can confidently record a bird’s noise within 50 metres. Because birds can cover a wide area of farmland, he says that each device can cover a decent area. And even though it is only recording the presence of one taxonomic group, birds are a fantastic reference for the health of an ecosystem because they cover all levels of the food chain, according to George.
Wilder Sensing licenses the BirdNET database to give them a reliable reference for every possible bird species in the UK. They have built a cloud-based platform for users to easily access and interpret the analysis.
“The overall number of bird calls isn’t the interesting number. These are the overall numbers and types of species. This gives you a much better idea of the ecological condition of the land,” explains George.
Table 1. The top five species recorded from Wilder Sensing monitoring of Barton Farm, Feb-Mar 2026
Looking at the data gathered at Barton Farm, the conventional field was dominated by corvid and generalist urban birds. Moving over to the regenerative field, there are many more insectivorous and seed-eating birds, notes George. One of the starkest comparisons was between the skylark calls: the regen location had over 4,000, whereas the conventional area only had 11.
Todd has worked with many farmers over the years to help them transition to a regenerative system, and he believes recording baseline data at the start of this process is a vital first step. From here, you can retest after several years to assess the effect of the new system.
Todd Jex
Agronomist, Agrii
“You need to have the baseline at the point of change to see what is happening for good or for bad,” says Todd.
“You can then make appropriate recommendations if things aren’t evolving the way we want them to.
“The soil analysis we do is very in-depth. Biodiversity is the part we aren’t very good at capturing at the moment, and it’s such a massive part of it.”
Oli adds that historically, biodiversity has been impossible to measure at scale. Whereas soil parameters, such as pH, are much simpler. He is excited that the technology now exists to do this and can see the benefits for his farm.
“It’s reaffirmed that we are doing the right things. We are tenant farmers, and our landowners are keen to see us improve the environment. This data puts us in very good standing with them.
“It also gives us a point of differentiation if we ever try to grow the business by tendering for new land. Often, the people who can offer the most money are those who farm the most intensively, for growing potatoes and the like. Many big landowners want more than that now. This data is a great way to show how we farm sensitively to the environment,” says Oli.
It’s because of benefits like this that George says Wilder Sensing has generated much interest in the technology within the regenerative farming sector. They also have markets developed with renewables, water utilities, housing developers, NGOs and ecology consultants. “It’s about data-driven improvement,” he adds.
Wilder Sensing and Todd Jex will be at The Productive Landscape: NatureTech for Profit and Planet on 28th April at Rothamsted.
Speakers include: Dr Robert Bradburne, Chief Scientist for the Environment Agency, Diane Mitchell, Chief Environment Advisor at the National Farmers Union and David Webster, CEO of LEAF.
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J A KEMP LLP
Ceres Research
Innovate UK 
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GK Strategy
Populi Consulting Ltd
