Category: BOFIN

Apply now for paid on-farm trial opportunities!

One year of the BOFIN Buzz!

‘Buckle up for an exhilarating ride as farmers lead the fourth agricultural revolution’ 

By Tom Allen-Stevens

This piece was published in Farmers Guardian on August 9th

Wouldn’t it be brilliant if someone produced a wheat that could moderate available nitrogen to increase N-use efficiency? 

Maybe someone will find a way to predict where slugs will appear, so you can minimise pellet use, or use robots to control them without pellets.  

Imagine if someone cracked the secret to consistently better returns from pulse crops, or proved the value of a gene-edited wheat with health benefits. 

What if that someone was you? 

As farmers we tend to wait for agricultural innovations to be presented to us. We follow advice given to raise productivity, and buy inputs priced to bring greater returns to the manufacturer than to the farmer who uses them.

But it’s our knowledge that turns innovations into agricultural progress and that has value. It’s time our role was given full credit. 

You don’t have to look far beyond the farm for tomorrow’s innovations. The UK has world-leading scientists in its research institutes with creations that will make you slack-jawed with wonder. These just need a field to spread their roots, push up shoots and share their secrets with farmers with a keen eye for detail. 

The right framework is in place – Defra is midway through the roll-out of its Agricultural Transition Plan. While the ELM scheme grabs the headlines, the £270m allocated to R&D up to 2028/29 could hold more appeal if you’re looking to push productivity rather than put land aside for nature. Defra’s aim with the Farming Innovation Programme, delivered through Innovate UK, is to directly involve and engage farmers in this R&D. 

The acknowledgement that agricultural research must meet farmers’ needs is long overdue. But don’t hold your breath – Defra’s Agri-Tech Strategy hasn’t done much to make a real difference on farm. Much of the focus has been on the four Agri-tech centres, and large collaborative projects. While these have sought to involve farmers, they’ve been delivered with a level of bureaucracy that makes Rural Payments Agency processes look ‘light touch’.

However, some brilliant minds at the heart of Whitehall have recognised the misgivings of the current set-up and Defra is poised to launch ADOPT (Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies). This is the truly farmer-focused element and appears to hold promise for farmers who want to explore innovations with scientific welly behind them. 

While the detail is still coming together, it looks like you’ll be able to bid for funds, either on your own or as a group. You’ll work directly with scientists or tech innovators, putting cutting-edge technology to the test, but you’re in the driving seat. The best part is that you’ll have funds for an experienced project manager so you can focus on the co-creating. 

Sounds too good to be true, and to be fair, ADOPT hasn’t yet been launched – the new Defra ministers could still stuff it up, or delay its roll-out. But if you’re keen to get innovating, you don’t have to wait. The British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) is one of a number of organisations bringing farmers into exciting projects within the Farming Innovation Programme without the pain of dealing direct with Innovate UK. 

BOFIN leads or partners farmer-led projects that revolve around a ‘knowledge cluster’ – a collaborative community of farmers, scientists and tech innovators with a specific sphere of interest. At the heart of the cluster lies the on-farm trials platform, where farmers are paid to monitor and develop tech, shaping the trials and sharing results. 

So we already have those wheats that moderate available N; BOFIN farmers are developing patch-prediction and autonomous control of slugs; we’re honing best practice in pulses, and bringing the first gene-edited cereals onto commercial farms in Europe. It’s free to join BOFIN and our knowledge clusters, and we’re currently recruiting more on-farm triallists.

The fourth agricultural revolution is here, and it’s led by farmers. If you no longer want to languish in the backseat, then join us at the front, and buckle up for an exciting ride. bofin.org.uk  

Farmers needed for paid on-farm trials

1st August 2024

The search is on for forward-thinking farmers to take part in trials exploring soil health, the potential of pulses and sustainable slug control.

The British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) is looking to increase the number of farmers taking part in its Defra-funded projects bringing scientific innovation onto real farms. The number of on-farm trialists will double in two of its three current projects.

Participants are required to run trials on their farms, and to share findings and observations within and outside the project. In return they receive full back up and support from BOFIN and other project partners, as well as a payment for their involvement. 

Oxfordshire farmer and founder of BOFIN Tom Allen-Stevens said: “We’ve had a hugely successful year across three projects. Farmers have proven across the trials and monitoring that they can deliver scientifically valid data, adding real value to the progress we’re making towards a more sustainable agriculture. 

“We’re now looking to build on this success in 2024-25 and welcome farmers wanting to help shape the future of our industry to register their interest via our website.”

BOFIN co-partners with scientists and researchers to deliver three projects which put farmers centre stage to trial innovative ideas and techniques:

The Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) project currently has 10 farmers carrying out trials and BOFIN is looking for an additional 10 for the 2024-5 season. Participating farmers who are known as Pulse Pioneers compare the effects of pulse crops on the health of their soil and subsequent crops. 

Meanwhile the Thriving Roots Underpin Total soil Health (TRUTH) project is creating a farmer-led platform to quantify and evaluate soil/root interactions and explore the capabilities of a novel sensor. The farmers – known as Root Rangers – are trained to use soil testing tools to inform practices and evaluate novel genetics and bioproducts. The first year saw 10 farmers sign up as Root Rangers, and BOFIN is looking to enlist another 10 for 2024-5.

Finally, the Strategies Leading to Improved Management and Enhanced Resilience against Slugs (SLIMERS) project is trialling ‘slug resistant’ wheat and developing two commercial services from current proof-of-concept: Patch prediction and precision mapping, and autonomous slug treatment using nematodes. Farmers involved are known as Slug Sleuths, and with 27 already on board the team is looking to boost this to 30 for 2024-5, with 10 of those trialling slug resistant wheat.

Cambridgeshire farmer Rhys Jones, who is a Slug Sleuth and Root Ranger said it was important that farmers are part of the conversation about the industry’s future. “Being involved with agricultural trials helps us to look at new ways of doing things and means we can influence the direction we go in,” he said.

Slug Sleuth Andrew Barr, who farms in Kent added that learning was a vital part of success in farming: “There’s so much we need to learn, and farming keeps changing and evolving. I’ve been frustrated in the past that academic trials were not targeted to what farmers really needed solutions for, or that the results of the academic trials were not communicated to farmers. That’s not the case if we do the on-farm trials that we think are necessary, in conjunction with the academics.”

Any farmers interested in taking part in trials and playing a part in the future of farming can find out more and register interest by visiting the BOFIN website www.bofin.org.uk/getinvolved

Researchers and agritech innovators are looking for farmers interested in taking part in on-farm trials as part of the Defra/UKRI funded Farming Innovation Pathways.

This £12M funding competition looks to support the development of novel innovations that will shape a productive, resilient, and sustainable agricultural sector.

Feasibility studies with costs up to £250,000 will test the viability of new ideas, and proposals must involve farmers, growers or producers to explore the potential of early-stage farm-focused solutions. These projects start in October 2021 and will last for 12-18 months.

Another strand of the funding competition supports industrial research, including the development of innovations to develop and support a productive, resilient, and sustainable agricultural sector. These projects start in October 2021 and will last for up to 24 months.

BOFIN members interested in being involved in four projects in particular are urged to come forward:

Grassweed control

This feasibility study, led by NIAB, will look at control of grassweeds using the Redekop Seed Control Unit. Not currently available in the UK, this unit fits to a combine and destroys more than 98% of harvestable weeds. The project will explore its efficacy and application.

A small number of units (around 4-10) will be imported and retrofitted by a UK dealer to combines for the 2021 and 2022 harvests. Participating farmers will get to use the unit free of charge and designate a trial area in their field in which efficacy of the unit will be assessed through post-harvest monitoring, carried out by NIAB.

Most suitable for combating ryegrass or brome grasses, anyone interested should email tom@bofin.org.uk stating make and model of their combine.

High protein beans

This feasibility study aims to test a unit developed by McArthur Agriculture designed for on-farm processing of dried field beans. The unit heats beans to a high temperature for a short period which significantly increases bypass protein and makes them suitable for replacing soya bean meal in high performance dairy diets.

The project will try out pre-commercial units that can be a small 200kg/hr unit or a large contractor unit processing 10t/hr into flakes, meal or whole roasted beans. Feeding studies will be carried out in parallel to verify the nutritional value of the processed product.

Participating farmers will get to try a unit for free in return for submitting samples and information on energy usage, ease of use, etc. This is most suitable for farmers who grow field beans and have a ready use for the processed product – an on-farm or neighbouring dairy herd, for example – and could also participate in the feeding studies.

Anyone interested should email tom@bofin.org.uk with details of approx anticipated crop from harvest 2021 in tonnes, variety, and potential outlet for product.

Soil monitoring

This feasibility study will apply understanding and sensors developed for soil and carbon monitoring. Researchers at the University of Leeds are looking for interest in testing sensors and systems that monitor soil properties and provide metrics on aspects such as carbon capture.

Most suitable for those with an interest in climate change, and in particular if you use carbon-accounting software, this will involve designating areas in arable fields for detailed monitoring, preferably over a range of cultivation regimes. Anyone interested should email tom@bofin.org.uk with brief details of anticipated arable cropping for 2021/22 season, cultivation regime(s) and carbon accounting tool used.

Bean foot rot

This industrial research project involves PGRO, University of Warwick and ADAS Bean YEN. The aim is to develop understanding of bean foot rot and develop a decision support tool.

Most suitable for those growing field beans, participating farmers will be enrolled in the Bean YEN in return for access to crops for sampling and monitoring. Anyone interested should email tom@bofin.org.uk with brief details of anticipated crop for 2021/22 season.

Timelines and involvement

Initially, project partners are only looking for potential interest from farmers – there’s no obligation on those who show interest to be involved. Proposals for these projects are competitive must be submitted by 28 April with successful projects notified in mid June 2021.

For those projects going ahead, those farmers who showed an interest will be contacted in order to form a group. Level of involvement and resources required will vary, but it is envisaged any out-of-pocket expenses will be reimbursed. Farmers will also be actively involved in the design of the project, communication and delivery of results. These activities will be co-ordinated by BOFIN.

UKRI and Defra have announced an R&D collaboration for a new funding opportunity, Farming Innovation Pathways.

The competition will be delivered through UKRI’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Transforming Food Production, aimed at developing new and existing farm-focused innovations.

UKRI has said it’s keen to ensure Farming Innovation Pathways translates leading research in agriculture into practical guidance to directly benefit farmers and support them to address the challenges of productivity, sustainability, and net zero emissions in UK farming.

The first competition of its kind following the UK’s departure from the EU, it will pave the way for R&D to “turbocharge” future innovation in the agricultural sector, said the non-departmental public body, responsible for the government’s £8bn annual R&D budget.

Farming Innovation Pathways will act as a bridge between the final stages of the Transforming Food Production programme and the launch of the Defra R&D Innovation package in 2022.

There are a number of innovations already funded by the programme in areas such as insect farming, sustainable livestock feed, agricultural robotics and autonomous growing systems.

The new competition will be open to ideas addressing challenges across the agri-food sector. Priorities will include robotics and automation, which could include things like vision-guided robotic weeding systems, and novel food production systems, including vertical farming.

Funded through Defra’s Future Farming & Countryside Programme, this £12 million opportunity will bring together farmers, growers and businesses, enabling them to develop novel technological solutions.

The competition has a dual-pronged approach, supporting a range of projects which can be from the initial spark of an idea through to developing transformational technologies aimed at revitalising farming practice and which can be taken up across the sector.

Farming Innovation Pathways aims to support the adoption of innovative technologies and practices, so an important aspect will be that applicants develop solutions with the engagement of farmers and growers.

The funding is split between:

• feasibility projects (£5m): to evaluate the potential of early-stage ideas or innovations that tackle on-farm challenges, that could lead to further R&D to develop ideas into technically and commercially feasible solutions
• industrial research (£7m): to develop novel high-potential solutions targeting real issues affecting farmers, growers and other agribusinesses, or further develop existing solutions. This will deliver transformative solutions that tackle problems farmers are currently facing. It will include working with stakeholders to assess how solutions will be integrated within production systems to achieve widespread adoption.

The competition opens for applications on 1 March with a briefing event scheduled for 11 March.

Katrina Hayter, challenge director for UKRI’s Transforming Food Production challenge, said Defra’s involvement would ensure a coordinated approach to support innovation to help develop a sustainable agricultural sector.

“There are many new individual solutions for the farming sector, but strong engagement with farmers in the innovation process ensures that these solutions can be quickly deployed within an agricultural production system.

“It is also really important that we can demonstrate the benefits of these solutions to farmers and growers, as well as the wider industry. There are many economic and environmental challenges facing the agriculture sector in the UK and further afield.

“In this context, it is vital that we work with innovators and farmers to ensure good ideas and new technologies have clear routes to adoption, effective business benefits for users and the ability to improve longer-term productivity and sustainability of the sector.”

Victoria Prentis, Defra Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food, said she wanted the Farming Innovation Pathways competition to bring farmers and growers the opportunity to see their “bold and innovative” ideas become reality.

“We want to see farmers manage their businesses in a way that delivers profitable food production and the recovery of nature, using the best modern technology available today.

“Promising innovations such as robotics and automation, and novel food production systems have the potential to transform business performance for our farmers and help them address some of the industry’s greatest challenges.”

UKRI’s £90m Transforming Food Production programme is part of the ISCF  and aims to help the agricultural sector grow economically with less environmental impact.

The four-year programme will set food production systems towards net zero emissions by 2040 by producing food in ways that are more efficient, resilient and sustainable, said UKRI.

It aims to accelerate the development and adoption of integrated precision approaches and focuses on the development, demonstration and adoption of data-driven systems and technologies.

The remit includes both crop and farmed animal production, as well, as new production systems. The long-term success of the challenge is dependent on a diverse range of farm businesses adopting new technologies and approaches, added UKRI.

Find out more about the Transforming Food Production challenge.

Plans to consult on gene editing – which could unlock substantial benefits to nature, the environment and help farmers with crops resistant to pests, disease or extreme weather and to produce healthier, more nutritious food – have been set out by environment secretary, George Eustice in his speech at the Oxford Farming Conference.

The consultation will focus on stopping certain gene editing organisms from being regulated in the same way as genetic modification, as long as they could have been produced naturally or through traditional breeding. This approach has already been adopted by a wide range of countries across the world, including Japan, Australia and Argentina.

Highest standards

The government says it will continue to work with farming and environmental groups to develop the right rules and ensure robust controls are in place to maintain the highest food safety standards while supporting the production of healthier food.

Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, George Eustice said: “Gene editing has the ability to harness the genetic resources that mother nature has provided, in order to tackle the challenges of our age. This includes breeding crops that perform better, reducing costs to farmers and impacts on the environment, and helping us all adapt to the challenges of climate change.

“Its potential was blocked by a European Court of Justice ruling in 2018, which is flawed and stifling to scientific progress. Now that we have left the EU, we are free to make coherent policy decisions based on science and evidence. That begins with this consultation.”

Consulting with academia, environmental groups, the food and farming sectors and the public is the beginning of this process which, depending on the outcome, will require primary legislation scrutinised and approved by Parliament.

Huge potential

Responding to the announcement, the NFU has welcomed the consultation, with vice president, Tom Bradshaw, noting the huge potential gene editing has for UK growers. “New precision breeding techniques such as gene editing have the potential to offer huge benefits to UK farming and the environment and are absolutely critical in helping us achieve our climate change net zero ambition.

“Certainty, transparency and trust in the regulation of biotechnologies, such as gene editing, are essential for farmers and industry, society and scientists, so that safe and effective precision breeding can be delivered as part of a thriving, knowledge-based, food and farming sector and we look forward to responding to this government consultation in detail.

“We know that on its own gene editing will not be a silver bullet, but it could be a very important tool to help us meet the challenges for the future.”

The consultation will run for ten weeks from 7 Jan to 17 Mar at 23:59. The full consultation document will shortly be available here on Citizen Space when published at 00:15 and applies to England only.