A presenting duo for this week's Agri-TechE round-up (but one of us had to do all the talking).

This week:

🗓️ Lots of named "days" and weeks, including the UNESCO Day of Women and Girls in Science, also National Nestbox Week and - crucially - Mind Your Head Week, raising awareness and support for mental health in our industry and farm safety. #MindYourHead Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies).

🙌 Welcome to our latest new member cohort, including:

🕷️ BugBug - detection of insect pests through acoustic ID of their mode of attack on plants

🦠 Bactotech UK - using Bacillus bacteria for bio-based solutions for crop and soil improvement

🛰️ Messium - nitrogen analysis using satellite observation, for insights into the N status of crops.

🧭 Kicking-off of our Agri-Tech Meets... Series, bringing tech from other sectors into agriculture. We started with Navigation....watch this space for more.

💷 Round 6 of the ADOPT grant is open, part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Farming Innovation Programme (and yes, it is at least 2 farmers!).

And finally, a pleasure to chair the 2026 #NorfolkFarmingConference on Tuesday and it's always interesting to meet as a member of Defra's Agricultural Productivity Group - that group has lots to do!

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Agri-TechE round up from our week in St Louis, Missouri on the second stage of the ARISE programme with AgriTIERRA, Earthbase, Embrapa and the The Yield Lab Institute.

This week's vlog featuring:

💭 Some takeaways from the week's discussions and those who inspired our thinking.

❗ Discover my new favourite mantra - is this the key to developing effective #agritech innovations.....and explaining why ecosystems are so important?

🌦️ Long-range weather forecasting for farmers......do you trust this world-famous tool to predict the next 6 weeks of weather?

It's been such a privilege to visit Bayer; the World Trade Center St. Louis; the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center; the Taylor Geospatial Institute; Washington University in St. Louis; 39 North - and a huge thank you to all who hosted us and facilitated our thinking.

(And probably the best justification for lean manufacturing in our industry I have ever heard...... by Joe Steensma).

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking water and some important bedtime reading in this week's vlog from Agri-TechE.

🌱 Always a joy to visit Elsoms Seeds - we were channelling the aura of John Craven (he filmed a recent BBC Countryfile segment in this very glasshouse!).

📖 A thoughtful report from CropLife UK about the potential implications of "dynamic alignment" with the EU on UK crop production.

📕 The proceedings from the event co-hosted with Syngenta around scaling and global de-risking of agri-life sciences have been published.

💻 The January newsletter landed - included the latest blog on nature-tech for profit and planet (teeing up for our event on this very topic in April).

🌦️ A water-y Farmer First Innovation Group meeting focused on innovation in water management.

🤔 Plus a fascinating discussion around the role of AI in veterinary care and responsible use of AI tools in managing animal health in farmed and companion animals - much to reflect on about the role of transparency of the sources of training data and advocating for animals with Liz Barton.

📢 We hit over 12,000 LinkedIn followers - if you're one of them, thank you, (and if not, why not?!).

Also a great set of member visits by the team, including to the amazing Waldersey Farms Ltd, and catching up with Gloucestershire County Council at the digital resilience in agri-tech event hosted at Royal Agricultural University.

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mega week at Agri-TechE, but any week that ends with horses has to be a good one. This week's round-up (also available as a podcast in Our Week in Agri-Tech) features:

🏇 When agritech meets horse-racing

🚜 Sustainable production of crops for renewable energy, with Future Biogas

🙏 Our Stakeholder Group meeting, kindly hosted at CPI and overseen by our new Chair Helen Ferrier.

🔎 A deep dive into how to Make The Most of your Agri-TechE Membership, the online recording is available in the Member Stash on our website and also via our YouTube channel.

🧑‍⚖️ Putting our members at the heart of policy-making in the UK, giving evidence to a Select Committee and via our Back to the Future report.

🙌 Welcome to two of our latest new members - Orter Marketing and the Crown Point Estate.

Plus catch ups with members Collison and Associates Limited; The Crown Estate; Norwich Research Park and Home Farm Nacton

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Friday round-up from Agri-TechE from the gorgeous estate run by the SALLE FARMS COMPANY.

A brilliant example of an effective farmer-cluster group, leading the charge around data sharing and innovation adoption.

Also in this edition:

🟢 Announcing our new Chair of the Agri-TechE Stakeholder Group

🟢 There's still time to sign up for our Making The Most of Membership webinar on Weds 21st Jan - current and future members - and yes, even the lapsed ones all welcome. You'll hear about our latest membership benefits and meet the team.

🟢 Our team at CropTec and LAMMA Show. Did you go? How was it?

And member catch-ups with AgriSound, The Crown Estate, and so many more on our stand at Croptec, including ARC Agronomic Sciences Ltd; Agricultural Engineers Association; OptiGene; Syngenta; University of Warwick; Harper Adams University; Downforce Technologies; AF (The AF Group) and literally dozens more!

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What were the take-home messages of The Oxford Farming Conference (OFC)? The first Agri-TechE roundup of 2026 gives a quick overview (spoiler alert - there wasn't much #agritech). The debate was our highlight, with the motion "This House Believes Farming Will Be A One Day A Week Job in 90 Years".

Mentioned in dispatches in the vlog - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary of State Emma Reynolds, Minette Batters DL, Niab, Jack A Bobo and Elliott Grant.

Also:

📧 Our first events mailer of the year landed - bookings open with discounts for members

🤝 Prepping for CropTec next week (come and see us on stand CT314 to learn more about our plans for the year, and for the chance to win goodies).

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's round-up from Agri-TechE:

🥔 Speaking at CUPGRA's 36th Annual Cambridge Potato Conference and attending the gorgeous Potato Barons' Feast - from innovation management for new tech - to identifying country of origin of the celery......by taste!

 💷 Funding for Scaling £100m up for grabs through Innovate UK's new programme.

🤗 Catching up with members Elveden Farms Ltd and Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), and a warm welcome to GoMicro - AI in a box to improve product quality in fresh produce, grain and nuts.

 🚜 Getting ready for CropTec /LAMMA Show - see you there - stand CT314!

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s podcast will reveal…...

The value of “nature benefits” in England in 2024 (at £37billion, it’s more than any single manufacturing sector in the UK) and why we should care about the UK’s newly-released Environment Improvement Plan. Plus Agri-TechE’s event on Nature-tech for Profit and Planet in April 2026 at Rothamsted Research in April next year. https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=27311

What delegates REALLY thought of REAP 2025 – and getting next year’s date locked in your diary!

Exciting news for those looking to engage with the #agritech innovation ecosystems in north and south America through the #ARISE project (Agri-Tech for Resilience, Innovation and Sustainable Ecosystems) – in partnership with AgriTIERRA and Earthbase, and our international friends at the The Yield Lab Institute and Embrapa.

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the UK’s #agritech community hope the Modern Industrial Strategy will deliver on the ground? This week’s Friday round-up comes from  @syngenta 's global R&D HQ, where we debated four potential pillars of growth – investment, scaling, partnerships and exporting.

Huge thanks to Gardin, RootWave, Tropic and AgriSound for candid sharing of the importance of these pillars for the growth of their businesses. Throw in a site tour, meeting the next generation of #robodogs for crop scouting, and a scene-set from George Freeman who – in this week of the UK Budget - stands ready to support agri-tech in his capacity as Trade Envoy and the engine behind the 30:50:50 strategy for innovation for agriculture and horticulture.

Plus it’s our year end where we reflect on the year that's passed and look forward to the year ahead. We can officially collapse in a heap now all our 2025 events are DONE – other than prepping for – er – the 2026 line-up. A big thank you to the amazing little Agri-TechE team for a year well delivered.

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From AI (in all its definitions) and IOT via the “AKIS” and learning from the Irish and New Zealand agri-food systems – with some big thoughts on UK horticulture.

This week we discovered:

• The power of AI in distilling complex content – Burleigh Dodds commissions publications from world experts on topics around agri-food, including regenerative agriculture. Their AgNetZero platform enables a quality referenced interrogation across all their content. You can have a 30 day free trial to have a play.

• The key elements of an effective Agriculture Knowledge Innovation System, at a workshop run by ADAS, hosted by NIAB.

•  What could be the future priorities for pre-competitive research in UK horticulture?

• The current status of agriculture in New Zealand, and why it’s a good time to be a dairy farmer right now.

And we welcomed some new members, including Ladybird IOT by Forest Rock, using LoRaWAN agricultural sensors across a range of parameters, including temperature, humidity, nutrient sensing, and leaf wetness data – helping farmers assess real-time crop needs.

News, trends, and breakthroughs shaping the future of farming, brought to you by Agri-TechE.

We are a not-for-profit, independent organisation for our members. We bring together forward-thinking farmers, researchers, technologists, and agri-businesses to foster collaboration and drive impactful solutions.

https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.