Investment in digestors across the UK has brought benefits of managing waste, generating energy on-farm, and generating a home-grown fertiliser and soil conditioner. Yet rigorous, quantitative analysis of the benefits to soils from digestate application are lacking. Here we discuss the outputs of a 2-year Innovative Farmers project designed to investigate the impact of digestate application to soils, and the role of cover crops in improving efficacy of digestate by helping retain nutrients, maintain soil organic matter and help maximise effective nutrient application within NVZ rules. We’ll also be thinking more widely about different soil amendments and the perpetually tricky issue of “measuring soils health.”

This event will report the results of a “Field Lab” project funded through the Innovative Farmers programme (supported via the Soil Association) and will be the opportunity to hear from participating farmers as well as some of the research findings resulting from the project.

Programme

14.30 Arrival, coffee and networking

15.00 Welcome and Introduction

15.10 The Potential for Digestate

Ruben Sakrabani, Cranfield University

15.30 Setting the Scene for the Innovative Farmers project

Laura Bouvet, Agri-Tech East    

15.45 The Role of Cover Crops

Iain Wilkinson, CEO, Cotswold Seeds (or Sam Lane)

16.10 Break

16.45 The Farmers’ Perspective

Andrew Blenkiron (Head of Farming, Euston Estate)

James Beamish (Head of Farming, Holkham Estate)

Nick Sheppard (Upton Suffolk Farms)

17.15 Reducing Nitrogen Losses from Digestate

Stephen Temple, JF Temple & Sons Ltd

17.25 Project Results

Lydia Smith, Head of Innovation Farm, NIAB

18.00 Meanwhile in another Field Lab project…….

Dominic Amos Organic Research Centre, Elm Farm

18.20 Closing comments

18.30 Networking

19.00 Close and depart

Cost:

This event is FREE for members of Agri-Tech East, and £35 for non-members. Please note the fee is non-refundable for cancellation within 5 working days of the event. Agri-Tech East members can use the dicount code AgriMember to book their place. Check if your company is a member.

To find out more about becoming a member of Agri-Tech East, please click here.

There are 3 BASIS points available for this event.

Pollinators are Agri-Tech East’s bi-monthly network meetings. We want to ignite discussions between participants rather than lecture, with people from all sectors and disciplines welcome—whether you’re a grower, a researcher, or entrepreneur, come along and join in!

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