Agriculture students welcome futuristic Farm Droid at Writtle College

No time for weeding? Robots may be the answer. Agricultural students at Writtle University College are using a time-saving droid to support their latest project.

The FarmDroid FD20 uses GPS to remember the location of each seedling and weed between rows and plants. It can also plot a field and automatically sow crops.

The futuristic tech is part of a new student-led initiative. The University College is trialling regenerative farming methods to improve soil health, increase biodiversity and mix agroforestry with commercially viable crops.

The FarmDroid FD20 is imported and distributed in the UK by OPICO and was lent to the University College by Essex-based, family-run company, Ernest Doe. The machine offers an eco-friendly way to tackle labour shortages. If there’s enough sunlight, it can weed up to six hectares a day.

Mark Jolley said: “We are delighted to be able to support Writtle University College with this fantastic machinery. It is great to be able to provide an opportunity for the agricultural students to see first-hand the technology that is available in the market right now and help foster their interest in autonomous and robotic machinery – this is a growing area of agriculture that will only become more common place in the years to come.”

The University College’s project is growing fodder beet in addition to ‘naked barley’, a nutritious crop that pre-dates wheat. The area will also incorporate fruit and nut trees. Herbal leys which feature a mix of grasses, legumes and herbs can be used for grazing and will help to improve the soil.

The University College’s team plans to plough or ’till’ as little as possible to build soil fertility, but a bit of help was needed to kick-start the project and get the fields ready.

Ernest Doe stepped in again and loaned the University College a New Holland T6.180 Methane Tractor. This very clever piece of kit is powered by biomethane, a fuel made from specially-treated animal waste. It’s just as powerful as a traditional, diesel tractor but when it’s fuelled in this way the T6.180 is carbon-neutral. 

The University College’s Farm Manager, Alex Hepburn, said: “Thank you to the team at Ernest Doe for helping us to launch this exciting new project. At Writtle University College we put ‘science into practice’ and we’re proud to launch a new initiative featuring cutting-edge agri-tech.”

For more information on Writtle University College’s agriculture courses, click here.