A herd of harvesting robots, an early warning system for crop diseases and benchmarking to assess soil health are among the projects devised by Agri-TechE members that are to be funded by the Farming Innovation Programme. Successful applicants for the first call were announced by UKRI on 22nd August 2022.
Farming Innovation Programme
The Farming Innovation Programme has two strands: Feasibility Projects and the Small R&D Partnership Project competitions. The first call was launched in October 2021 and the next round is due to open shortly.
- The ‘Feasibility projects’ offers grants for projects worth between £200,000 and £500,000. The money is to support research and development through the difficult testing phase of an idea to see if it is worth investing in further.
- The ‘Small R&D Partnership’ competition is grant funding for industrial research projects worth between £1 million and £3 million. The aim is to further develop new solutions to address major on-farm or immediate post farmgate challenges to enhance productivity and sustainability.
The fund is run in partnership between Defra and UKRI and is managed as part of the Transforming Food Production challenge.
Katrina Hayter, challenge director for the Transforming Food Production challenge, said: “We are keen to ensure farmers and growers remain at the heart of projects, bringing their valuable real-life experiences to the project consortia to ensure that each innovation stays focused on helping improve the day-to-day challenges faced by those in the food sector.
“We look forward to supporting these projects further as they develop.”
Agri-TechE members leading successful bids
A number of Agri-TechE members are heading up projects that have secured funding from the first round (Small R&D Partnership Projects, Feasibility Projects and Research Starter Projects), launched in October 2021.
Herd of harvesting robots
Led by Muddy Machines Ltd (MM)
The aim of this collaborative project is to develop and demonstrate a working herd of harvesting agri-robots able to harvest vegetables in-field sustainably and reliably. The project sees Muddy Machines working closely with growers to develop systems that will overcome challenges in safety, harvest-planning, communication and display.
Muddy Machines will also be leading a project to develop a robotic courgette harvester.
Early warning system for crop disease
Led by G’s Fresh Limited
The aim of this project is to create a surveillance network for airborne pathogens that infect cereal and horticultural crops, reducing the yield per hectare. The solution will comprise multiple sensing devices located in the field, with data from each sensor providing an alert, which is turned into a recommended management plan for the farmer or grower.
Benchmarking for soil health
Led by Soil Benchmark
This project aims to offer ‘soil health-checks’, interpreting data gained from physical soil samples with contextual data such 
as rainfall, temperature and soil types. The result is a benchmarking system that is ground-truthed and will enable farmers to gain actionable insights into how to improve soils and a method for measuring this.
This project will bring together the expertise and datasets of NIAB, ADAS, and the British Geological Survey. The project will also conduct interviews with farmers to gain more data to help guide the development.
Advanced aeroponics for controlled environments
Led by LettUs Grow Ltd
This project aims to improve productivity in vertical farms and other controlled environments, through the design and manufacture of a prototype advanced aeroponic rolling bench system.
This type of technology will increase the competitiveness when compared to imported fresh produce.
Improving profitability of orchards with yield prediction
Led by Yagro Ltd
This project will integrate yield and quality estimates on the developing crops based on drone surveys, with detailed commercial intelligence. It will provide farmers with market-level information, enabling them to understand the commercial value of their changing forecasts.
By linking data on production costs to date with quality requirements and end-market prices, they will be able to assess their current position, the need for action and the risk involved.
Automated selective broccoli harvesting
Led by Earth Rover Ltd
This project will take a world-leading proof of concept broccoli harvesting machine to infield testing and a pre-production prototype.
The new automated approach will harvest the whole plant, opening up the potential to create valuable and nutritious plant-based foods from what was previously seen as crop waste.
Projects led by companies within the wider agri-tech ecosystem
Robotic control of black-grass
Led by ARWAC Ltd, who will be exhibiting at REAP 2022
This project aims to explore the potential of next-generation robotic vehicles powered by renewable energy and tooled to control black-grass – reducing fossil fuels and use of herbicides.
This project will push the technology from laboratory stage to full testing in multiple farm environments.
Nitrogen fertiliser from bio-soils to scale up
Led by CCm Technologies Ltd
CCm Technologies has developed a method of producing nitrogen fertiliser from bio-solids and the carbon dioxide captured from the waste gases. The fertiliser returns carbon to the soil and stimulates an increase in micro-organisms, promoting a healthy soil. This project will scale up fertiliser production of the 10 nitrogen (10N) CCm fertiliser formulation to trial at two commercial farms. Dr Peter Hammond discussed the technology at an Agri-TechE event.
Read the full list at ukri.org.
