Seedling Sessions: Agriculture Innovation

In this episode, representatives from a large consortium, including Agri-EPI, Ritchie, and SRUC, discuss the OptiBeef project, which aims to introduce new technologies to the beef sector to improve efficiency for farmers and abattoirs. The project started in 2019 and is set to wrap up in summer 2023. The OptiBeef project was inspired by the lack of available technology and inefficiency in the beef sector, which often leads to out-of-spec carcasses.

Currently, abattoirs in the UK mainly use a manual grading system, which depends on a trained individual visually grading carcasses for confirmation and fat. However, it is becoming harder to recruit and train individuals for this task. The OptiBeef project aims to automate this process and standardize it across abattoirs.

The project seeks to provide technology on farms to better manage the selection and processing of animals, as farmers often do not have accurate data until the animals have left the farm. OptiBeef aims to improve this by collecting data on the farm, such as daily weight measurements and grading information, to help farmers make more informed decisions on the optimal time to sell animals based on size and classification.

Additional technologies being developed by the consortium include the ability to monitor feed intake to calculate feed conversion efficiencies and better understand the value of inputs versus the value gained by the animals. The goal is to identify the most efficient point to sell the animals, reducing inefficiencies that arise from sending animals to abattoirs either too early or too late.

In this episode, Thomas Slattery speaks with Rich Vecqueray, CEO of Map of Ag, a data business that connects farm data to the agri-food industry. Rich explains how Map of Ag brings together farm data at scale so that the industry can connect with their supplying farms.

Rich talks about his background as a vet and how he became frustrated with the lack of influence he had on improving animal welfare on farms. He then explains how Map of Ag evolved into a platform that brings together farm data at scale, enabling the agri-food industry to connect with their supplying farms and drive meaningful change.

Rich goes on to discuss how Map of Ag's platform, Pure Farming, collects and integrates data from various sources across many different farmers to provide insights and make better decisions at the agrifood business end. He also shares how the platform is being used to help achieve net-zero emissions and solve other problems in the supply chain.

This episode is a fascinating insight into how data can be used to bring about change and make a positive impact on animal welfare, the environment, and the agri-food industry as a whole.

 In this episode, Thomas Slattery takes a closer look at how technological advancements and the changing requirements in the agricultural farming sector are shaping the skill sets and capabilities needed for success. Our guest, Darren Houghton, Head of Agritech at Eden Search is an expert talent specialist for agri-tech and agriculture and works with businesses to find senior leaders and support their efforts in tackling the challenges of food security and sustainability across the agri-food value chain. We explore the emerging trends in the industry, the changing skill sets required for success, and the challenges of finding and developing the right talent. From supporting startups to working with established businesses, we discuss the exciting opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as the industry continues to evolve and adapt. Join us for an engaging conversation on the future of agriculture and the role of technology in driving innovation and growth. 

In this episode of Seedling Sessions, Thomas Slattery spoke with John Wisbey, cofounder and CEO, and Peter Curtis, cofounder and CIO of Chordata, an organization founded in 2019 that aims to transform animal health through usable and actionable data intelligence. The company's founders have a history in the pet sector and saw a lack of information for vets and pet owners to make decisions about animal health. Chordata then expanded to the agri-tech sector, where they saw a need for a technology solution that would be effective in improving the wellbeing of farm animals and be useful to farmers and companies in the supply chain. The company has spent the last three years researching unmet needs and developing software platforms to optimize technology for companion animals and livestock. They discussed the company's technology solutions, development timeline, and the challenges they have faced in the industry. Additionally, they highlighted the company's upcoming presence at the Dairy Tech 2023 exhibition where they will be showcasing their technology and available for further discussions.

In this episode of Seedling Sessions, Thomas Slattery spoke with James Brown of Polybell Farms and James Miller of Earth Rover to discuss their collaboration on the CLAWS robot project. The CLAWS robot is a concentrated light autonomous weeding robot being developed by Earth Rover and being tested and trialled in collaboration with Polybell Farms.

James Miller of Earth Rover began by describing the development process of the CLAWS robot, including the challenges faced and the technology used. James Brown of Polybell Farms then shared his thoughts on the potential for the CLAWS robot on his farm, and the benefits it could bring.

The guests then delved into the importance of lightweight autonomous robots in agriculture, particularly in high-value horticulture where labor costs are so high. They discussed how the CLAWS robot could help address the labor shortage faced by many farmers today and how it can be vital for the future of agriculture. The guests also highlighted how these technologies are also imperative for organic and regenerative farmers who can't rely on chemical and mechanical solutions for weeding.

James Miller of Earth Rover concluded the conversation by sharing the future plans for the CLAWS robot project, including the expected timeline for commercialization and potential areas of expansion. We encouraged listeners to follow the project and stay updated on the latest developments in the field of autonomous agriculture.

This week Thomas Slattery spoke with Matthew Elmes and Owen Finnie at Pollenize, using technology and innovation to improve pollinator conservation. In this conversation we discussed the following:

• Pollenize is an innovative pollinator conservation organisation founded by Matthew Elms and Owen Finnie in 2018
• Organisation was originally born out of Elms and Finnie's own allergies to hay fever
• Developed a range of services and products related to pollinator conservation, such as placing beehives in underused city spaces, researching honeybee foraging behaviours, decoding the honeybee waggle dance, and using UV light to photograph moths
• Developed a circular beekeeping method to arm landowners with a gap analysis and prescription seeds mix to improve the area around the hives for bees
• Provide services for landowners such as monthly visits to track improvement over time, as well as providing a seed pharmacy with hundreds of different species available
• Working with the University of Plymouth to develop a biodiversity tracking tool

Pollenize is an innovative pollinator conservation organisation founded by Matthew Elms and Owen Finnie in 2018. The organisation was originally born out of Elms and Finnie's own allergies to hay fever, which they believed they could alleviate by consuming small amounts of local honey. 

Pollenize have since developed a range of services and products related to pollinator conservation, such as placing beehives in underused city spaces, researching honeybee foraging behaviours, decoding the honeybee waggle dance, and using UV light to photograph moths. They have also developed a circular beekeeping method to arm landowners with a gap analysis and prescription seeds mix to improve the area around the hives for bees. 

Pollenize provide services for landowners such as monthly visits to track improvement over time, as well as providing a seed pharmacy with hundreds of different species available. They are also working with the University of Plymouth to develop a biodiversity tracking tool. This tool will enable landowners to put their ecological survey data into the database and track the improvement over time.

Pollenize CIC was founded by born and bred Plymouthians (and best friends) Matthew Elmes and Owen Finnie in 2018.

Pollenize was started as an unassuming initiative to create better access to beekeeping equipment and local honey. Matt and Owen read that local honey was a good way to immunise the symptoms of hay fever, an allergy that both suffer from quite severely! Without being able to find this easily, they took it upon themselves to seek out innovative and accessible ways to keep honey bees in an urban landscape.

After developing a business plan and undertaking all the relevant training in apiculture, Pollenize set up a network of 11 community apiaries (beehive sites) stocked with native honey bees across iconic sites in Plymouth. These sites include landmarks such as the National Marine Aquarium, Royal William Yard and the Devonport Column. This way members of the public could get involved and have a share of the honey crop each year.  It soon became apparent how serious pollinator decline has become and they felt an overwhelming duty to use Pollenize as an effective tool in creating a lasting positive impact in the city.

Four years on since their humble beginnings, Pollenize has been catapulted on an incredible journey fuelled by a sheer fascination with the bees, moths, butterflies and all pollinators, their crucial role for a healthy planet and most importantly what we can do as humans to protect them. As a result, our social enterprise has gained huge momentum, leading them to become a key player in driving environmental research and social change within their city and beyond.

Agri-EPI Centre's Thomas Slattery spoke with R&D Director Dr Peter Barratt to get an update, a year on, about the application of their ozone sanitation technology on dairy farms in the UK and around the world.

Oxi-Tech Solutions Limited is an emerging UK technology company commercialising its unique and disruptive technology applications for water disinfection. They are currently developing environmentally responsible disinfection systems to address unacceptable problems facing the Food, Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Horticultural sectors, including health and animal hygiene.  They have developed a revolutionary system that removes the use of many aggressive chemicals and the 250L plastic barrels commonly associated with bulk chemical solutions that are harmful to both the environment and workers. Their technology creates the most potent industrial oxidant in use today, Dissolved Ozone, in a very practical, controllable, and efficient way.

This week Thomas Slattery spoke with Daniel Purkiss and Sam Todd at Leyton, the UK’s leading specialist innovation funding consultancy.

Leyton supports a significant proportion of the UK’s agriculture-related R&D claims each year, helping hundreds of businesses in farming and the supply chain through to engineering and technology providers, increase their ability to fund future projects and grow.

Their team of in-house consultants, which includes scientists, engineers and software developers who understand the agri-food sector, have over a decade of experience working with food producers, processors and retailers across the UK. Leyton helps them benefit from valuable schemes, including R&D Tax Credits, Grants and the Patent Box Scheme, which allows qualifying companies to accelerate their innovation strategy through additional funding and/or a reduction in their corporation tax.

In this week's episode, Agri-EPI's Thomas Slattery spoke with Johannes Scheibe, the co-founder and CEO of ruumi. ruumi's app helps farmers plan fertiliser-free grazing rotations that result in more grass, improved soil quality, and healthier animals – without worrying about potentially expensive mistakes. It also helps create records made up of remote sensing and on-the-ground datasets. This unique capability allows ruumi to generate carbon credit certificates of truly exceptional transparency, quality and value – to farmers, companies who want to offset, and the environment generally.

Johannes co-founded ruumi together with Daniel and Paddy, built the first version of the ruumi grazing app, and is now CEO.  He grew up among trees and sheep in a tiny village in the middle of the “Woodlands” in Thuringia (Germany). That may explain his height and love for sausages! He enjoys wearing socks with cute duckies on them and improving his dad jokes. He has a background in machine learning, working as a Data Scientist at Maersk and eBay, then as Head of data at Drivr and Karhoo, and finally as an Engineering Manager at Daimler Autonomous. He also co-founded a startup that uses AI for remote physical therapy, which taught him how to fail gracefully.

In this week's episode, Thomas Slattery spoke with David Blumstein, Business Development Consultant at Fixposition, about how they are using precise positioning technology to enable robotics and automation in agriculture, last-mile delivery and lawn mowers.