| Cereals
Insight into the future of farming at Cereals
Farming is a highly technical industry with upcoming technology likely to revolutionise farming practices. With
everything from robots to genetics set to play a big part in how the arable sector will change in the coming years it
raises some important questions: Could robots be the next green revolution? Or will it be genetics that shape the future
of farming? Controversial perhaps, but will farming become a predominantly a desk-job? This year’s Cereals Event (14-
15 June) will be getting out the crystal ball to highlight what’s in store for the future of agriculture.
rand new for 2017, the Fields of
The Future display will collate
innovations and research from
the country’s leading
universities and businesses to
provide visitors with a unique
insight into upcoming cutting-edge technology
- some of which is market-ready and some
which is still in the developmental stage.
“Technology is coming on leaps and
bounds,” says event director Jon Day. “In the
midst of Brexit, there is also so much change
ahead with regard to regulations, policy and
environment – it’s a very exciting time for
agriculture and technology.”
So what’s in the pipeline? Here are three
exhibits visitors should ensure they see at this
year’s event.
‘Hands Free Hectare’ – Harper Adams
University
Harper Adams University is running the
‘Hands Free Hectare’ project which will see a
crop of spring barley farmed entirely by robots
for the first time ever. Having created an
automation system and incorporated it onto an
Iseki tractor the team drilled the barley at the
beginning of April.
“We created a prototype and tested the
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24 | Farming Monthly | June 2017
automation system on an electric all-terrain
vehicle in the field,” says Jonathan Gill,
researcher at Harper Adams. “We proved that it
could drive up and down in a consistent
straight line; this is what we aimed to achieve
during our first task of planting the crop.”
The Anatis Robot – TRP Imports Ltd
Scheduled to be commercially available in
2018, the Anatis robot is an environmentally-
friendly agricultural robot which will assist
farmers and growers in their daily tasks. Anatis
can independently maintain crops through
hoeing and can produce plot reports based on
crop data to help farms plan workload
efficiently. It will be taking part in a working
demonstration at this year’s event.
Blackgrass diagnostic kit – Newcastle
University
Most blackgrass plants are now emerging
within crops rather than before sowing –
meaning it is quickly becoming one of the
biggest challenges facing many growers.
Newcastle University has developed a
‘pregnancy kit’ style test which can detect the
presence of herbicide resistance in blackgrass
– acting as an early warning for farmers.
The test detects glutathione transferase
(AmGSTF1) - a protein which is found in high
concentrations in populations of blackgrass
that have evolved resistance to multiple classes
of herbicides – and works in just 15 minutes.
“Blackgrass now costs the UK an estimated
£0.5 billion a year,” says Professor Rob
Edwards. “Early-indication diagnostic tests are
commonplace in medicine – it should be no
different in agriculture.”
Other exhibitors featuring in Fields of the Future
include:
N8 Agri Food Group – showcasing a variety
of research projects to ensure stability of
national and global agri-food supply chains.
These include projects on disease resistance in
wheat (Durham University) and improving yield
with new technology (Lancaster University).
Bristows – launching its new precision strip
till angled disc rapeseed drill.
John Deere – debuting FarmSight; wireless
connectivity linking field machine data to the
farm office, as well as its new blackgrass
fighting 750A drill.
The Institution of Agricultural Engineers –
sharing its latest research from engineers,
scientists, technologists and managers working
in agriculture and the environment, agri-
technology and allied land based industries.
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk