The Productive Landscape: NatureTech for Profit and Planet
How can technology enable delivery of food, nature recovery, and climate resilience - all at once? The Head of the Environment Agency is asked: what's the national plan for dealing with land use pressures, plus you’ll hear from technologists and land managers working on nature-based and tech-enabled solutions for water, soils and climate adaptation.

Lombard: Tesco and Natwest join forces to help farmers reduce costs and decarbonise

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

1,500 Tesco farmers set to benefit from the voluntary scheme, as well as access to Tesco preferred suppliers.

  • Tesco and NatWest will provide financial assistance through Lombard for farmers who want to switch to sustainable farming methods
  • 1,500 Tesco farmers set to benefit from the voluntary scheme, as well as access to Tesco preferred suppliers, with potential volume discounts offered on assets such as solar panels and heat pumps

Tesco, the UK’s leading supermarket and NatWest, the largest UK bank for business and one of the largest for the farming sector, have today launched a new incentivised climate and sustainable finance scheme for 1,500 of the retailer’s farmers, providing them with preferential rates on finance to help them switch to sustainable farming methods, including installing renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines, and fossil fuel-free heating or cooling systems, such as heat pumps.

Read the full article here

3CR Bioscience Case Study: Understanding the genetics of important traits in hemp to help breed improved cultivars

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

Dr Jacob Toth is a Plant Breeding and Genetics Post-Doc at the School of Integrated Plant
Science at Cornell University, working in the research group of Professor Larry Smart. We
recently spoke with Jacob to find out more about the group’s research and how they are using
PACE® in their workflow

Read the full case study here

The Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) launches Vining Pea Tool

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

The Processors and Growers Research Organisation has launched its new vining pea tool.

After four-and-a-half years of work, the vining pea tool is designed to predict the best harvest time for UK vining peas, reducing the cost of harvesting low-quality crops.

Through the collation of remote sensing, machine learning, weather data and historic yield data the new vining pea tool will advance the harvest forecast from two days to ten days, as well as predict the yield of your harvest.

The increased accuracy of the harvesting forecast provided by the vining pea tool will help growers save in both labour and cost.

Updated daily, the vining pea tool is an all-in-one tool, giving all the important information in a single visualisation. It also takes into account the variety in which the grower is looking to harvest, further increasing its accuracy.

Read more about the tool here

3CR Bioscience: Navigating the SNP genotyping landscape

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

In the fast-growing world of genomics and genotyping, having a reliable partner by your side is paramount. Enter 3CR Bioscience, your dedicated ally committed to propelling your research forward at every turn. With our industry-leading tech support, you can access skills and knowledge that will maximise the rapid production of top-quality data routinely in your facility, regardless of its size or your level of experience.

Read the full blog here

University of Reading: VALUE4FARM Sustainable, renewable, energy value chains

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

The University of Reading is a partner in an EU funded project, VALUE4FARM, which aims to increase on-farm production of renewable energy while preserving food production, soil health and biodiversity at the same time as reducing water and fertiliser use. VALUE4FARM will demonstrate the effectiveness of coupling sustainable food production and renewable energy production through a range of activities and measures:

Developing sustainable agricultural protocols which are compatible with renewable energy production and sustainable food production

Propose a wide range of renewable energy production and storage technologies, meeting farmers’ residue management, electricity, heat and mechanisation needs

Through demonstration, validate the sustainability and circular nature of three renewable-based local value chains

Ensure the renewable-based value chains are replicable and applicable within Europe

Within Value4Farm, the University of Reading is focusing on establishing the baseline framework and requirements essential for guiding project developments. This will involve exploring and addressing farmers’ needs, collecting information for the effective demonstration of value chains, creating the regulatory framework, and shaping the structure of a comprehensive decision support tool for farmers.

The decision support tool will bring together an educational online course on integrated food and energy production, an audit tool to enable farmers to assess and reflect on on-farm potential for energy production and a transition tool to support farmers adopting or moving towards integrated food and energy production on farm.

More information about VALUE4FARM is available from the project website or please contact Julian Park j.r.park@reading.ac.uk

New research centre at Cranfield to explore the world of fungi

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

A new research centre focused on harnessing the positive powers of fungi is being established at Cranfield University with a £7.2 million injection of funding from Research England.

Fungi are one of the most diverse kingdoms in all living organisms and have an estimated global monetary value of 54.57 trillion US dollars. Long used for food and medicine, only a small proportion of classified fungi species has been studied in detail and developed for industrial use – leaving an estimated three million species yet to be discovered and evaluated. To date, research of fungi has largely focused on mitigating negative effects like disease, toxins and food loss.

The new research centre at Cranfield, the Magan Centre for Applied Mycology, will examine the positive role fungi-derived technologies and applications could have in supporting the green economy and global net zero ambitions.

‘Untapped Kingdom’ with transformative potential

With over 35 years of research expertise in fungi, particularly in food storage and safety, Cranfield will extend its work into other areas where fungi could have a profound impact. This will involve interdisciplinary research into applications such as renewable energy, biofuels, construction materials, packaging, robotic parts and fuel cells.

“Fungi is an untapped kingdom with the potential to transform our world,” said Professor Angel Medina-Vaya, Director of Environment and Agrifood at Cranfield University and Principal Investigator of the project.

“It’s not exaggerating to say that fungi can have a truly pivotal role in helping us reach global net zero ambitions. Imagine creating self-healing electrical components, fuelling an aircraft with fungi-derived biofuel, or building a house with fungal insulation. All of these and more are possible – and this new and unique research centre will pioneer many of these new applications and technologies.”

Global collaborations will create centre of excellence

Cranfield will be collaborating with organisations around the world that hold large collections of fungi to advance the research, including the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the UK, the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in the Netherlands, the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute in South Africa.

The new funding is boosted by a contribution from the University to create a £10 million centre of excellence. It will support five academic posts, five post doctorate roles and several technical staff, as well as upgrading Cranfield’s specialist lab facilities.

Professor Leon A. Terry, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Cranfield University welcomed the new investment: “The interdisciplinary nature of this new research centre along with Cranfield’s world-renowned and long-standing expertise in mycology makes this a really exciting prospect. We look forward to working with partners and industry to develop some of the most novel and innovative technologies in this space.”

Dr Steven Hill, Director of Research at Research England, said: “We have invested in research units in universities right across England. This will diversify the regional spread of research disciplines to support the sustained enhancement of research capacity across England, and enhance the skills base, build and diversify talent and bring disciplines together to develop new skillsets and “future leaders” in areas of research excellence where there is untapped potential. 

“Our investment will also help to reinforce the contribution of HEPs to their region through strategic local partnerships, focusing on sharing resources and infrastructure and generating local impact, backed by robust institutional leadership. We’re excited to see how these units develop over the next five years.” 

The new centre is named after Professor Naresh Magan, who died in April 2023. Naresh was a globally-renowned expert in the field of applied mycology and established the Applied Mycology research group at Cranfield, working at the university for 37 years.

Cranfield is the only Higher Education Provider to have been part of two different and successful Expanding Excellence in England awards in this funding round from Research England. Cranfield academics are also set to collaborate on a new £13.5 million Future Biodetection Technologies Research Hub, led by the University of Hertfordshire, in collaboration with Cranfield, Leeds and Manchester universities.

Precision agri-tech could accelerate uptake of biologicals if regulations can keep up

Agri-TechE Article
Agri-TechE

Agri-TechE and Cambridge Consultants identify benefit of multi-disciplinary collaboration

The adoption of biological crop protection is being delayed by a regulatory environment that has failed to keep abreast of innovations that would make these products easier and more effective to use. This is according to a new report, ‘Precision spraying and biologicals – driving collaboration’, to be launched at the World Agri-TechE Innovation Summit USA (19-20th March 2024).

The report, produced by Agri-TechE in collaboration with Cambridge Consultants, part of Capgemini Invent, draws on the input from agronomists, agrichemical providers, formulators and equipment and machinery developers.

It reveals that there is significant market pull for biologicals from consumers and retailers keen to reduce the chemical residues left in food products and the environment. There is also a market push from the regulators, looking to reduce the usage of synthetic chemicals.

The report outlines the obstacles to adoption that could be overcome by existing agri-tech, accelerating the uptake of these products.

Co-author Dr Belinda Clarke is Director of Agri-TechE , a multi-disciplinary membership organisation that is facilitating the growth of a global innovation ecosystem in agri-tech.

She comments: “A desire for more sustainable practices in agriculture is driving interest in biological crop protection products, but the perception is that they are more costly to purchase, time-consuming to apply and less effective than the synthetic equivalents.

“Many of these reservations could be resolved by recent innovations in precision agriculture that more easily enable ‘per row’ and ‘per plant’ application cost-effectively within stringent spraying conditions,” she continues. “Unfortunately, the regulatory environment has not kept up with developments and is still centred around the ‘number of applications’ instead of the ‘total amount’ of active ingredient used across the field, and this is hindering developments.”

Advances in equipment – such as direct injection nozzles for sprayers – are reducing the cost of using biologicals, and robotics that enable automated application are increasing precision.

One of the examples in the report is the treatment of spider mites and russet mites in speciality crops. Autonomous equipment is used to apply predatory mites at night with greater accuracy than humans. This greatly increased the efficacy of the treatment. As navigation technologies improve these developments are becoming more accessible.

Dr Clarke concludes: “The industry urgently requires a more collaborative approach between formulators, equipment developers and regulators to fast-track these innovations.”

The full report outlines the potential of biologicals, the challenges for adoption and the market opportunities; download it here.

NatureMetrics: Unilever partners with NatureMetrics to deliver regenerative farming practices across its supply chain

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
  • NatureMetrics will deploy its world-leading environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling technology in four critical locations across Unilever’s supply chain.  
  • Soil and insect biodiversity will be measured.
  • Work has already begun to establish baseline data across thousands of hectares in Argentina, Canada, the UK and Europe.
  • The partnership supports Unilever’s regenerative agriculture programme designed to make farming climate resilient.

Suffolk New College wins national award for sustainability during ‘Oscars for the FE’ Westminster ceremony

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

Suffolk New College has won big by going green after securing a national award for sustainability.

The College was shortlisted last year in The Inenco Award for Education for Sustainable Development category as part of the annual Association of College’s (AoC) Beacon Awards.

After hosting a visit from judges in January, Suffolk New College was announced as the winner in these Oscars for the further education sector yesterday during a prestigious ceremony held in Westminster.

During the ceremony, David Hughes, chief executive of the AoC said this year’s winners were ‘truly inspiring’.

The award given to Suffolk New College helps showcase a cross-college attitude to creating greater awareness of green issues amongst staff and students and highlighted some recent achievements.

This included the coordination of a two-day Sustainability Festival for students, hosting a green skills conference for colleges in Norfolk and Suffolk, the creation of a Net Zero Skills Centre to support training in renewable energy solutions and sustainable construction on a number of study programmes and the creation of a basketball game between staff and students where trees were planted in and around the college reflecting the amount of points scored in the game.

Suffolk New College students and staff take part in basketball game to raise awareness of sustainability
According to the AoC, the Beacon Awards are the most prestigious awards in further education and have been running for 29 years. The awards celebrate the best and most innovative practice in further education colleges and demonstrate the far-reaching impact of colleges on their students and the communities they serve.

The awards also celebrate innovation within education and CEO and Principal of the college, Alan Pease, is delighted with the news. He said: “As a college we are enormously proud to win this award. National recognition reflects our ambition to become a leading educational player in the UK. Over 40 staff have been involved in sustainability projects in the last 12 months. This demonstrates our commitment to the environment and we are looking forward to continuing the work that we have started in the coming months and years.”

Emma Taylor is the Director of Business Development and Major Projects, helped put the nomination together and represented the college at the awards.

Emma said: “The judges said that we were the first college to win an award at the first time of trying in five years and were really impressed with the way sustainability was embedded at all levels of college life’

“It was brilliant news for the whole college to win this and I’d like to thank all of our students and staff who have played a part in helping us secure this national accolade.”

Mark White, Chair of AoC’s Charitable Trust said: “The AoC Beacon Awards showcase exactly why colleges are so important to every community and why people value them. This award recognises examples of excellent practical teaching and learning. The work of the winning college shows how important colleges are in providing students with the necessary skills for the real world.”

The winners of this year’s Beacon Awards were announced on Tuesday 27 February during Colleges Week. Colleges Week is an annual celebration of the incredible work colleges are doing across the country, and this year it is taking place between 26 February and 1 March. This year, the theme is influencing, engaging and celebrating, with a look ahead to the upcoming mayoral and general elections.

Nano Electronic Services: StarNote – IOT Sat Comms Module

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

As a design partner for Blues, we at Nano Electronic Services Ltd are keen to let customers know about their easy access solutions for enabling wireless communications.

Blues have created a range of off the shelf modular solutions making wireless connectivity easier and accessible to all.

With a range of modules supporting LoRa , Cellular and Wifi , they have the range covered, and have just announced their new StarNote module.

Starnote

Starnote is a cost-effective satellite module with bundled data and transparent pricing (no monthly active device fees, and no monthly minimum) that utilizes the same streamlined developer experience as the Notecard.

The Notecard is a wireless connected device offered in a full spectrum of radio access technologies. It captures product data and transmits it to a Notehub, which can then be sent to the cloud and packaged into valuable service offerings.

Starnote is deployed in combination with any Notecard, enabling you to embed dual connectivity with backup satellite communications into your new or existing solutions far faster and cheaper than other options on the market.

Key advantages include :

Fast-Track Your Time to Market – Pre-provisioned satellite connectivity, effortless data routing, low code technology, and unmatched JSON API reduce your time to market from years to months.

Harmonized Wireless Architecture – Unify your connected solutions across Cellular, Wi-Fi, and Satellite with minimal hardware or software design modifications when moving between them.

Integrated Data Package – Each Starnote device includes 18KB of data, which is enough to transmit a 50-byte message once a day for about a year, ensuring predictable hardware and service costs.

Backup Connectivity – Starnote works in partnership with any Cellular, Cell+WiFi, or WiFi Notecard to provide backup connectivity that automatically fails over when the Notecard’s network coverage is disrupted.

Cost-Effective Hardware – At just $49, Starnote is a cost-effective way to add backup satellite connectivity to your Notecard-based solution. No Per Device Subscription Fees… Ever , the only satellite offering without a monthly fee for each active device.

For more information on Nano Electronic Services, see here

Writtle has merged with ARU to become ARU Writtle

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

ARU will invest £10million to improve the Writtle campus, near Chelmsford.

The merger between Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Writtle University College – a landmark event in UK Higher Education – has formally taken place.

At 5pm on the 29th of of February 2024 Writtle University College became ARU Writtle, in a move that provides a sustainable, long-term future for one of the oldest specialist institutions in the UK.



Over the next five years, ARU will invest £10million to improve the Writtle campus estate, near Chelmsford, Essex, and develop and extend the education and research opportunities at ARU Writtle. 

Writtle was established in 1893 and has particular expertise in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, equine and canine studies, and animal management. ARU Writtle will continue to offer its full range of degree courses.

A specialist Further Education college, called Writtle College, has also been established to maintain the current course provision for 16-18-year-olds and provide a range of opportunities for adult learners.

Over 300 Writtle staff have joined ARU as part of the merger, which will allow ARU – the Times Higher Education University of the Year – to develop and extend its strengths across both education and research, as well as broaden and deepen its regional partnerships and impact.

Professor Roderick Watkins, Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said:

“This is an exciting time and a significant milestone in our history. 

“We are delighted to have merged with Writtle University College, and together we will build on their excellent reputation and vision to achieve sustained growth in Higher and Further Education.

“Our collective academic expertise in fields including animal, environmental, health and sports sciences will help us to support and expand both education and research at the Writtle campus. 

“What makes this merger so significant, and sets us up for future success, is our shared values, and how we place our students at the heart of our institutions. We warmly welcome Writtle’s staff and students to ARU.”

Sencrop: Sensors enable accurate crop management

Member News
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.

Vegetable, fruit and arable producers can now more accurately irrigate, manage and protect their crops thanks to two new environment monitoring sensors from Sencrop.

Water stress is an increasing concern due to the changing climate, and the new Soilcrop sensor takes real-time measurements of soil moisture and temperature at depths of up 60cm. This enables producers to trigger irrigation at the right time, based on existing and forecast conditions, and turn it off when soil moisture reaches the required level. In addition, it can be used to identify the most suitable time for other weather-dependent field work, including sowing and fertiliser application.

“Soilcrop takes measurements every 15 minutes at depths of 10cm, 20cm, 40cm and 60cm, giving an accurate picture of soil moisture content and temperature throughout the profile,” says Mark Herriman at Sencrop. “And if used in conjunction with Raincrop, a sensor that measures rain, temperature and air humidity, the app can show in a user-friendly graph the forecast soil moisture, using real-time data and forecasts. Producers can therefore be even more precise when it comes to crop management decisions.”

For fruit and wine producers, frost is a particular challenge, so the new Thermocrop sensor offers an entry-level monitor to help predict frost damage up to four days in advance. It measures both air temperature and humidity every five minutes, and is integrated with Sencrop’s other weather management software to create predefined or personalised frost alerts within the app.

“Accurately anticipating the risk of frost is essential if you are to trigger your frost control measures at the right time, thereby protecting your crops while keeping costs to a minimum,” says Mr Herriman.

Thermocrop is a low-budget alternative to its big brother Leafcrop, which was launched in 2019. Whereas Leafcrop is a connected sensor placed on the plant itself to obtain accurate temperature, humidity and moisture measurements, Thermocrop is placed in the middle of the field for more general measurement. Its price point enables all farmers to make use of this precision technology, although using both gives a more accurate view of what is happening on the land for greatest frost protection.

About Sencrop

Sencrop, an innovative ag-tech start-up founded in 2016 by Michael Bruniaux and Martin Ducroquet, has become a European leader. Sencrop has set up the largest connected agro-weather data network in Europe, more than 30,000 farmers are already using its solution, and now has 100 employees serving farmers in its European offices. In 2022, Sencrop completed a US$18 million Series B financing round led by JVP, a global player in the financing and expansion of ag-tech start-ups. Sencrop is also a member of HardwareClub. www.sencrop.com