Agri-TechE Innovation Hub 2023 at the Royal Norfolk Show

The Innovation Hub 2023, curated by Agri-TechE and sponsored by BBRO, showcased technologies to increase resilience in food production. From using resources more efficiently to identifying issues early – innovation was the word of the day!

The small device would enable farmers to gain insights into animals behaviour, such as detection of lameness or unusual heart movements. It can also be used for tracking in threat of inclement weather or crime, or in pairing mothers and babies after farmer intervention (a job that otherwise requires hours of binocular-monitoring!).

FOTENIX uses a patented spectral camera and light setup to provide early warning of disease in oilseed rape and wheat crops. The monitor can be mounted on a tractor or robot.

PiperPlus is a game changing variety of potato; its resistance late blight greatly reduces the need for chemicals. It also has traits that make it easier to store without compromising on quality.

Gardin’s technology provides an early indication of plant stress by measuring ‘photosynthetic performance’. The system, designed for plants grown in vertical farms or greenhouses, uses a robotic sensor to monitor the crop in real time.

GrowPura® has developed the world’s first automated conveyor system for vertical farming that operates in a patented ‘Clean Room’ environment. Plants receive the optimum light for growth and 95% of the water used is recycled.

Certain foliar diseases and pests may prove a major headache to the sugar beet industry in one year, and then not to be seen for a number of ensuing years. BBRO are developing new tools to monitor actual in-field environments alongside the early detection of pests and spores to ascertain how the two correlate.

Unlike solar or wind power, which is variable, geothermal energy can be used on-farm to provide consistent, 24/7 sustainable energy for heating, cooling and power. CeraPhi argues that it is an energy solution that will enable UK farming to significantly reduce the amount of imported food.

Paludiculture is the production of profitable crops on rewetted peat. The team has just won government funding (announced 29 June) for a project to promote the production of fibre products such as reeds for sustainable construction.