Agri-TechE Week 2024 celebrates its 11th year! Our largest yet, featuring nine events curated by Agri-TechE and hosted by our incredible member community. This week exemplifies innovation, collaboration, and forward-thinking in agri-tech.

Each event reflects the strength of our ecosystem, fostering vital connections between growers, researchers, and technology developers. Thank you to our members for hosting and making Agri-TechE Week possible and showcasing what our community can achieve. Here’s a look at today’s event!

On a still, misty morning, we set off on a quick farm tour on one of The Morley Agricultural Foundation’s (TMAF) tractor and trailers. David Jones introduced us to TMAF and explained that it is a charity that has evolved over more than 120 years. Its current objective is to fund and support agricultural research and education relevant to East Anglian agriculture. Every year, TMAF provides £500,000 to projects and maintains close connections with Niab, BBRO, the John Innes Centre, and various universities.

David highlighted that research is only valuable if the knowledge is shared with others. This sharing can include hosting visits, open days, maintaining a website, publishing papers, and attending conferences. TMAF also funds short courses and offers educational bursaries.

Introducing the Morley SAMS Project

The main focus of the day was the Morley SAMS (Soil and Agronomic Monitoring Study). The project involves 30 sites, each 400 square meters, spread across the farm. These sites are closely monitored for soil and crop properties while the fields are farmed using the best commercial practices.

Now in its sixth year, the project aims to continue well into the future, documenting how agricultural practices evolve, monitoring their impacts on soil health and crop production. Weather and field records are also recorded and allow these to be linked back to measured data. Most fields have more than one monitored site capturing the spatial variation in soil properties across farm – including some headland sites – showing that even under the same conditions, different sites yield varying crop results.

Field Demonstrations and Hands-On Learning

We moved to a field containing SAMS sites, where David Clarke from Niab demonstrated how to do a Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). David Jones used a JCB to lift a chunk of soil, exposing its profile with visible roots and structure. We all tried assigning a VESS score in the field.

Key Findings from Year 6

After a break for coffee and a sticky bun, David Clarke presented some results from the first six years. One example showed how a harvested sugar beet crop affected the VESS score on headlands but returned to normal with proper management within two years.

Another finding indicated a link between earthworm populations and crop yield—both tend to thrive under good conditions. The correlations and links between soil health measures and agricultural production and environmental risk where also discussed.

Looking Ahead

The aim of the Morley SAMS project is to monitor consistently and identify potential correlations over time. With six years of valuable data, the project aspires to attract new collaborators and resources.

The Morley SAMS project is more than just research; it represents a long-term commitment to understanding and sharing knowledge to support the future of farming.

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