The launch of the first AHDB Strategic Farm for arable growers takes place in Suffolk today.

AHDB and the host farmer, Brian Barker, pictured below,will reveal initial plans for a series of trials and demonstrations at the new Strategic Farm East, located near Stowmarket.

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Information on the wider ambition of the Strategic Farm programme will also be revealed – including plans to add two more arable farms to the network. 

Emily Smith, AHDB Knowledge Transfer Manager, said: “We’ll test and demonstrate innovative practices on a field- and commercial-farm scale at our Strategic Farms.

“In particular, we’ll focus on what to measure, how to measure it and what the measurements reveal. For every trial, we’ll develop resources to help growers question their own business management decisions and assess impacts on their own farms.”

Since the announcement of the Strategic Farm in June, the local steering group has considered industry needs, along with potential on-farm innovations arising from research and knowledge gaps identified during Monitor Farm meetings. This information has been used to determine several initial questions which will be considered by the Strategic Farm.

Strategic Farm East: initial questions 

• How is soil quality affected by rotations?
• How can nutrient management be manipulated to boost early crop biomass?
• How can varietal resistance be deployed best?
• How do late-season nutrition applications affect protein and seed quality?
• How can flowering strips be used to boost beneficial insects?

The event will look at why these questions were selected and provide details of the practical and research-inspired approaches the farm will take to try to answer them.

In addition to outlining the first trial protocols, baseline information on the status of each of the fields in the trial will be revealed. Attendees will learn how to gather baseline data and its importance in measuring the impact of on-farm trials.

Farmers interested in hosting a Monitor Farm should contact their Knowledge Exchange Manager by 31 December 2017:

North England & Northern Ireland: Judith Stafford, judith.stafford@ahdb.org.uk, 07981 556623
East Midlands: Harry Henderson, harry.henderson@ahdb.org.uk, 07964 974465
West England & Wales: Richard Meredith, richard.meredith@ahdb.org.uk, 07717 493015
East Anglia: Teresa Meadows, teresa.meadows@ahdb.org.uk, 07387 015465
South East: Paul Hill, paul.hill@ahdb.org.uk, 07964 243699
South West: Philip Dolbear, philip.dolbear@ahdb.org.uk, 07964255614