£17.5m funding secured to help develop precision farming 13 March 2016 More than £17m of government funding has been secured over the next four years to create a global hub for agricultural engineering and precision farming, as part of the government’s UK strategy for agricultural technologies. The Agri-EPI Centre aims to become a world-leading centre for excellence for the livestock, arable, aquaculture and horticulture sectors. Project lead, Willie Thomson of Harbro said: “In five years’ time this quickly growing sector will be worth £2.3bn globally and Agri-EPI intends to help drive that growth.” The centre will bring together expertise in research and industry, as well as data-gathering capacity in all areas of farming. It will explore how to optimise the performance of the highly complex production and processing systems in agriculture. This will include key drivers of profitability, such as livestock and plant growth rates, nutrient efficiency, product quality and health. Initial areas of interest will include technologies such as automated vehicles, new instrumentation to monitor both operations and in-field performance of cropping systems, as well as sensing and imaging technologies to monitor livestock production. The centre’s core members are Scotland’s Rural College, Harper Adams University, Cranfield University, Harbro, AgSpace Agriculture and Kingshay Farming. A central feature will be a series of farms and processing facilities equipped with the latest sensing and imaging equipment. These sites will help identify issues for research, but also provide locations to develop and demonstrate technologies to UK farmers. http://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/17-5-m-funding-secured-to-help-develop-precision-farming.htm -- SRUC Partners in New Global Hub for Agricultural Engineering and Precision Farming 10th March 2016 Industry and academics will work together to create a new global hub for agricultural engineering and precision farming using £17.5 million of funding over the next four years. The funding has been awarded as part of the Government’s UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies. Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) is one of six core members forming the Agri-EPI Centre, which has just received official confirmation of funding from the Government’s Business Innovation and Skills Department. Other core partners include Harper Adams University and Cranfield University, and major agricultural businesses - Harbro Ltd, AgSpace Agriculture Ltd and Kingshay Farming, in forming the Centre. The Agri-EPI Centre aims to become a world-leading centre for excellence in engineering and precision agriculture for the livestock, arable, aquaculture and horticulture sectors. As well as drawing on expertise specific to these sectors the innovative Centre also involves partners in related industries such as supermarkets (including Marks and Spencer) and vehicle engineers such as Boeing and Williams Advanced Engineering. Agriculture and horticulture are going to be key industries as we look to feed a vastly growing population, while minimising environmental impact. Initial areas of interest will involve working with businesses and universities in developing cutting edge technologies such as automated vehicles, new instrumentation to monitor both operations and in-field performance of cropping systems, as well as sensing and imaging technologies to monitor livestock production in areas such as product quality and health. SRUC’s Professor Richard Dewhurst, one of the lead academics in the project, says: “This Centre will be key to ensuring that the UK grows its status as a world leader in precision agriculture and engineering. SRUC, Harper Adams and Cranfield Universities have great strength in research translation, innovation and training for the agri-food sector - and the strong industry leadership of the Centre will help ensure our activity benefits as many people as possible.” Project Lead, Willie Thomson of Harbro Ltd, said: “In five years’ time this quickly growing sector will be worth £2.3 billion globally and Agri-EPI intends to help drive that growth, supporting innovative ideas which will help farmers and business owners become sustainable in this exciting and challenging time.” http://www.sruc.ac.uk/news/article/1549/sruc_partners_in_new_global_hub_for_agricultural_engineering_and_precision_farming