Farmers and Defra – talking and listening to advance agri-innovation at the REAP Farmers Breakfast

A recent review by Savills of the performance of farmland to the end of 2021 found that a number of global institutions and asset managers had rebranded their farmland and forestry investment themes to include a focus on “natural capital investing”, driven by increasing interest in the potential of income streams offered by carbon, biodiversity and other elements of natural capital. The report concludes that permanent crops are where these trends overlap, meeting needs for food and natural capital at the same time. 

Farm businesses are looking at non-traditional income streams and the government has supported this investigation through its Farm Investment Fund and Sustainable Farm Incentive. In parallel, the Transforming Food Programme has facilitated the exploration of alternative futures for food production, such as agri-robotics, insect-tech and vertical farming – with many of these collaborative projects including farm businesses.

There remains a strong need for farmers to be involved in the evolution of agri-tech to ensure it meets the needs of producers. At REAP 2022 the Farmers Panel will provide a grounding for the discussions, and the day starts with the Farmers Breakfast, sponsored by Savills.

The need for funding and innovation never been greater

Talking about the REAP Farmers Breakfast, Alex Bragg, Director, Head of Cambridge Rural Department, Food & Farming at Savills, comments:

“We are delighted to sponsor the Farmers Breakfast in advance of the REAP conference once again. Farming finds itself in unprecedented times and the need for funding and innovation has never been greater; to boost productivity, continually improve margin and to provide environmental benefit back to UK plc.

“We very much look forward to Tim’s view on the future of funding for the UK farming industry.”

Tim Mordan of Defra to speak and listen at Farmers Breakfast

Tim Mordan is a Deputy Director in Defra’s Agri-Food Chain Directorate and he will be presenting at the Farmers Breakfast and participating in the discussion.

Tim’s responsibilities include: farming productivity and competitiveness; R&D; innovation; agri-tech, food and farming science; and access to labour. Part of his remit includes genetic resources, including the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill that is currently in Parliament.

Tim was part of the team that introduced the Food Safety Act, and has worked on various aspects of reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

He says: “Farming is an industry with long lead times and deep traditions. The development of agri-tech is relatively new and yet in recent years we have seen radical changes on progressive farms, particularly around the use of data and adoption of precision agriculture. The industry has shown that it is ready and able to embrace change.

“Over recent times Defra has been working closely with farmers on the development of initiatives that will help diversify the sources of income and there is growing evidence that it is possible to increase productivity in a way that is good for food security, good for the environment and good for business.

“The invitation to talk directly to farmers at the REAP Farmers Breakfast has come at a time of great change and I am looking forward to giving an update on Defra’s initiatives including the Farming Innovation Programme and hearing from those who want to shape the direction of innovation.”

Harvesting robots, disease warning and soil health

Automation, reducing risk and improved methods for monitoring improvements in soil are on the wish list for many farmers. Funding for innovations to address these challenges has come through the Defra Farming Innovation Programme, which is shortly to open its next round.

Successful bids in the first round were announced in August 2022 and included many collaborations of Agri-TechE members. Projects will include a herd of harvesting robots, an early warning system for crop diseases and benchmarking to assess soil health.

Farmers attending REAP are warmly invited to join the discussion in the Farmers Breakfast. 

REAP 2022: ‘Making Sense of Agriculture’ – Tuesday 8th November 2022

From yield mapping and precision livestock through to digital twins and cloud computing, at REAP 2022 we will be exploring the technology and looking at the implications from a field to landscape level. Making technology farm-centric is core to Agri-TechE ’s mission so a key feature of the conference will be a panel of farmers and producers discussing the emerging technologies and future scenarios.

reapconference.co.uk