| Education
Hartpury secures £1 million investment for smart
farming project
Hartpury College and University Centre Hartpury, a leading provider of agricultural education, is set to make
Gloucestershire the go-to hub for agricultural technology after securing funding for a new initiative.
hey have been
successful in
securing £1m in
Growth Deal
funding from the
GFirst Local
Enterprise Partnership to
contribute towards a new Agri
Tech Centre. The centre will be the
hub for Hartpury to utilise the latest
smart farming techniques, aimed
at benefitting the county.
With the world population set to
reach 9.7 billion by 2050, Hartpury
will be playing their part in aiming
to secure a sustainable future.
Their ‘Tech to Plate’ concept will
involve helping to improve the
productivity of livestock and
generating higher quality products
for consumers.
The centre will provide diploma
and degree students, employers,
T
Hartpury staff and industry bodies
with access to state-of-the-art
technology facilities that will
demonstrate how precision
farming techniques can improve
productivity and impact on the
food on our plates. It will sit
centrally as part of Hartpury’s
successful on-site commercial
farm.
Hartpury want to help make
Gloucestershire the lead Agri-Tech
county. The Royal Agricultural
University (RAU) currently provides
a start-up base for new innovation,
also using Growth Deal funding.
Hartpury’s centre will provide the
complementary live demonstration
link for producers, processers and
consumers, firmly putting
Gloucestershire on the map for
production-related innovation.
Hartpury Principal, Russell
40 | Farming Monthly | March 2018
Marchant, said: “I’m delighted that
this project will now take off. The
future of farm productivity will rely
increasingly on the application of
technology to improve
productivity. This is hopefully just
the start of Gloucestershire playing
a leading role in Agri Tech
innovation and knowledge transfer
into industry.
“Our aim is that the centre
continually engages with both
suppliers and the industry to
ensure that new technologies are
intr oduced and the centre is used
effectively to demonstrate impact
to agriculture industry. It will also
enable us to continue to educate
the next generation of
agriculturalists so they’re up-to-
date with the industry’s most
recent technology. This will allow
them to play a leading role in
continuing to develop the
industry.”
“Our aim is that the centre
continually engages with both
suppliers and the industry to
ensure that new technologies
are introduced”
The new centre will be the latest
in a string of campus
developments for Hartpury, with
the College and University Centre
having invested over £20m
recently in facilities. This includes
a new £8.8m Sports Academy and
Science Centre with new treatment
suites, human performance and
biomechanics labs, as well as a
new sports hall.
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk