Project Archives

Aquanzo explores sustainable marine-based poultry feed alternative

27th September 2023/in Agri-tech, Aquaculture, Blog, Farmers and Food Suppliers, Nutrition, Project, Research and development, Sustainability

Agri-EPI and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) visited Rastech Research CIC at the University of St Andrews in Scotland for a partner site visit to Aquanzo Production System facilities.

During this visit, attendees received an introduction to RASTech, followed by a detailed tour of the Aquanzo system. The team also met the production team, saw the new artemia grow-out system in action and learnt more about its workings.

Aquanzo is currently running a 24-month project funded by Innovate UK-DEFRA in collaboration with Agri-EPI Centre and SRUC, that focuses on developing technologies to farm a new source of marine protein, artemia, a marine zooplankton, sustainably at scale and on land. This explores the use of different agricultural by-products to produce artemia, in turn investigating the nutritional benefits on poultry gut health, lifetime growth, and performance. Overall, this project attempts to address the damaging environmental and cost impacts of harvesting marine ingredients from the wild for use in commercial young animal feeding.

Agri-EPI’s Lee Cocker, Project Manager of the Farmed Marine Protein project, said:

“The opportunity for Agri-EPI to support the farming of artemia as a potential new source of marine protein is an exciting one. Helping the project gain traction and witnessing the ramping up of its production system has been brilliant. It is great to read so many positive articles about the project across the aquaculture and livestock feed sectors.”

At the industrial scale, Aquanzo is forecasting production capacity of thousands of metric tonnes of artemia meal per year per industrial facility. Agri-EPI guides this project by providing life cycle analysis, measuring the environmental sustainability at each stage of its development, in addition to project management.

Footbathing to treat lameness in dairy farming

6th July 2023/in Agri-tech, Animal Science and Welfare, Blog, Dairy, Farmers and Food Suppliers, Project, Sustainability

Lameness is recognised as the primary animal welfare issue in dairy farming. Nationally, 25% of dairy cows are lame at any one time. Although it has multiple causes, the key factor in most herds is endemic diseases, such as digital dermatitis, sole ulcers, and white line disease. Early detection and prompt intervention is critical to effective control and treatment of lameness, which costs farmers in excess of £300 per case. Many hoof lesions, especially relating to digital dermatitis, are visible prior to lameness developing but can be difficult to see in practice and require specialist training to diagnose.

The Hoofcount footbath was developed and introduced to the UK market in 2012. Designed with simplicity in mind, it now has a sustained reputation in the UK as the Market leader in Effective and Reliable Footbathing.

The UWE academic team collaborating on the Hoofcount project is led by Dr Wenhao Zhang of the Centre for Machine Vision. Wenhao’s team are working on developing and integrating machine vision technology and AI software for hoof disease detection. Their aim is to realise algorithms, able to capture, filter, and analyse hoof images several times daily in a non-invasive way, to detect hoof issues in the earliest stages and to monitor for changes. Experiments and tests are being conducted in several UK dairy farms.

Hoofcount case study

Ground-breaking technology to monitor biodiversity on-farm 24/7

27th June 2023/in Agri-tech, Crops and Soil, Farmers and Food Suppliers, News, Project, Research and development, Satellite Farms, Sustainability

40% of insect species risk extinction, and a further 30% are endangered (New Scientist 2019), yet few farmers have the tools to actively monitor or quantify on-farm biodiversity, despite it being an important measure of ecosystem, landscape, overall biological health of the farm and key public good. A joint collaborative project funded through Innovate UK and Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, with organic farmer Sophie Alexander, Agri-EPI Centre, AgriSound, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Pollenize CIC and Chirrup AI will use technology to monitor biodiversity 24/7 on a dairy and arable farm in Dorset.

The project aims to test and demonstrate the effectiveness of digital technology as a means of remotely monitoring wildlife diversity in a farming context and address escalating ecological challenges through accurate quantification of nature in any one location. With biodiversity monitoring set to increase through the introduction of policies and schemes, it’s vital to assist ecologists with access to scalable remote technologies.

Three separate remote sensing digital technologies will detect, identify, and quantify varieties of invertebrates and birds in correlation to flowering plants that they rely on. Insect conservation and pollination innovator AgriSound, who specialise in remote insect technology and environmental sensors to monitor pollinator populations have installed three unique in-field sensor devices for automated insect monitoring as part of the project. The technology, Polly™ is optimised for attracting pollinators from a broad spectrum of local insects and detects 24/7 through the use of a specialised bioacoustics technology with data transmitted and stored securely, providing a comprehensive understanding of the pollinators on the farm.

Combining other data sets across the farm include Pollenize app to photograph and geolocate plant species. Chirrup AI will use artificial intelligence to monitor species of birds that are thriving on the farm. This, in turn, will reveal more about the diversity of bugs and seeds above ground, and the richness of life in the soil. The same transects monitored by the digital devices will be surveyed by a professional ecologist from Dorset Wildlife Trust to ground-truth the findings.

Sophie Alexander, farm owner of Hemsworth Farms, said:

“I believe it is important to establish our biodiversity baseline and to continue to monitor progress. There are too few experienced ecologists with sufficient time to manage it all. We are therefore pleased to be involved with testing the data collection capabilities of digital technologies to assist ecologists and in this case, Dorset Wildlife Trust to ground truth the information and demonstrate how an organic farming system can nurture wildlife as well as produce food.”

This early-stage feasibility project, bringing together a technology start up with RTO and end user, will explore emerging applications of remote sensing to inform the development of a commercially relevant solution. This will catalyse a pipeline of further R&D across a much wider area, new research collaborations and accelerate research translation and development of new solutions.

Casey Woodward, Founder and CEO of AgriSound, said:

“We are thrilled to be embarking on this exciting new R&D project with Agri-EPI Centre and Hemsworth Farms. It’s a tremendous opportunity for all parties involved to put AgriSound’s cutting-edge pollinator monitoring technology to the test in a real-world farming context. We truly believe this project has the potential to shed new light on all of the great work happening across British farms to improve local biodiversity.

“This collaboration not only underscores the importance of partnerships in driving forward sustainable agriculture but also showcases the immense value of innovative sensing technologies for biodiversity assessment which are being increasingly required as consumers expect produce sourced from sustainable agricultural practices. We anticipate that the insights gained from this project will not only help Hemsworth Farms to better understand and manage biodiversity on their own sites but also act as an example for the wider industry, demonstrating how technology can be harnessed to promote biodiversity and sustainable farming practices.”

Tackling Ash Dieback Disease with agri-tech

22nd May 2023/in Agri-tech, Blog, Data, Engineering and Manufacturing, Farmers and Food Suppliers, Project, Research and development, Robotics, AI and Automation, Sensors, Sustainability

Ash Dieback Disease (ADD) is a destructive disease of Ash trees, especially England’s native Ash species, that threatens forestry productivity and biodiversity in the UK. ADD was first detected in the UK in 2012 and is forecast to eventually kill 80% of UK ash trees, at a predicted cost of £15bn, with £7.6 billion being the estimate for the next 10years (Hill et al., 2019).

As one of England’s most useful and versatile native tree species, Ash provides an important commercial revenue stream to Ash growers who produce Ash across the UK. Ash timber is strong, durable, and flexible, with a wide range of practical uses such as tool handles, flooring, furniture, and joinery. Ash provides valuable habitat for a wide range of dependent species. It grows in a variety of soils and climatic conditions. The ‘airy’ nature of its foliage allows light to penetrate to the woodland floor, encouraging ground plants and fauna. Several insects, other invertebrates, lichens, and mosses depend wholly on Ash for habitat.

A collaborative project between Agri-EPI Centre and Vertinetik will use emerging technology to develop predictive models of ADD and other tree diseases, which can be integrated with decision support systems to inform management of England’s Ash trees. The project aims to provide an affordable solution to benefit smaller woodland owners in identifying disease infestations and taking proactive intervention measures to protect the economic and ecological value of Ash trees.

Kalique Dugarte, Co-founder of Vertinetik said:

“We are living through a period of climate crisis. Farmers and woodland owners sit at the front row among those having to experience it first. Changing weather patterns and alien invasive pests and diseases all represent new challenges to the preservation of woodlands. The severity of this challenge can be illustrated by Ash dieback and how an entire native tree species is under threat. So there is a call for action.”

“At Vertinetik, we believe in UAVs as a powerful low-cost alternative to the massification of technologies previously available to big budgets. Thanks to our project we will lower frictional costs to facilitate the mapping and monitoring of ash trees, record the state of the trees, and thus help farmers and woodland owners better manage ash dieback and plan routes to recovery and restoration of trees.”

On 6^th June, Agri-EPI will host an online workshop in collaboration with Vertinetik about their project aimed at tackling the devastating impact of Ash dieback disease.

The workshop will provide the opportunity to brainstorm solutions that meet the needs of woodlands owners and learn more about the aims of the project. Speakers, including Kalique Dugarte, Kadmiel Maseyk and Joseph Fennell from Open University, and Simon James from Smallwoods, will provide an overview of the nature of the disease, the use of remote sensing for disease and stress detection, and the challenges of managing woodland areas affected by Ash Dieback.

Find out more here.

Groundbreaking project to breed low-methane sheep

21st February 2023/in Agri-tech, Animal Science and Welfare, Data, Farmers and Food Suppliers, Investment, News, Project, Research and development, Satellite Farms, Sustainability

A pioneering project to breed an ultra-low emission sheep is about to start in Hertfordshire.Precision-farming and innovation experts, Agri-EPI Centre are working with sheep-breeders, Rob and Jo Hodgkins of Kaiapoi Farm in Hertfordshire to measure emissions from a group of Romney rams and identify those that produce the least methane. The Hodgkins will select the rams with the lowest output and breed from them, creating youngstock which should also produce less methane.The project, funded by Innovate UK, builds on work already done on Romney sheep in New Zealand, which demonstrated that methane emission levels could be a heritable trait in sheep. The Kaiapoi flock has strong genetic links to the animals involved in that research project, and it is predicted that the flock’s methane production could be reduced by up to 25 per cent.SRUC will oversee in-field methane measurements by holding each animal in a portable accumulation chamber (PAC), collecting the gas it emits over the course of one hour, breaking it down by type and analysing it. The project will also examine increasing meat and wool yield with a view to reducing the amount of carbon produced per kilogramme of meat and wool (1.4kg of wool stores 1kg of carbon).

Ross Robertson, head of mixed farming at Agri-EPI Centre said:

“Methane emissions from livestock production are an important contributor to climate change, and farmers are under pressure to act. Innovative farmers like Rob and Jo could provide huge benefits to the UK and international sheep sector, and to the pursuit of sustainable food production.“Agri-EPI Centre conducts trials with farmers across the UK to test innovations and to learn about their current and anticipated needs. In the case of sheep, valuable rams with high estimated breeding values (EBVs) may still be producing high levels of methane, but if we can breed a demonstrable reduction into the system, the potential for climate change mitigation and for the economic health of the sector is very strong indeed.”

Rob Hodgkins from Kaiapoi Farm, said:

“This project is great because it demonstrates how livestock producers can be part of the solution to produce food sustainably rather than being the problem. It’s not the whole answer, obviously, but if we can cut methane emissions by 15% without reducing productivity and do so relatively quickly and cheaply, it would go some way.“A few people are looking at methane reduction in cows, but our sheep-breeding project is unique. Because sheep give birth to only one lamb or set of lambs each year, we need to take a relatively long-term view of the project, but I predict that within ten years, domestic and global commercial interest in low-methane livestock will be very high. By doing the work just now, we will be in a strong position to maintain our commercial advantage.“We are looking for that needle in the haystack: a low-methane, parasite-resistant sheep with a high growth rate and high lambing rates. As technology demonstrators, the more we breed successfully and test, the more we can determine the efficiencies gained by rearing cross-bred animals on a New Zealand system. There are hundreds of thousands of sheep this could be extended to across the UK.“In a few years sheep producers will be able to look at what we have done, what we have achieved in terms of methane reduction and, as a breed society, individual or collection of farmers consider this as an avenue that they can go down too.”

Case study

Member case study: Earth Rover delivers sustainable weeding technology

3rd February 2023/in Agri-tech, Blog, Crops and Soil, Engineering and Manufacturing, Farmers and Food Suppliers, Project, Research and development, Robotics, AI and Automation, Satellite Farms, Sustainability

With increasing types of chemical-resistant weeds, a significant downturn in availability of hand labour plus a shift in society towards more organic options, now more than ever there is a need to change the way we farm. A recent report by Rothamsted Research shows weeds “pose an unprecedented threat to our food security” and highlights the need to diversify weed control as an urgent priority.

Earth Rover has developed the CLAWS rover (an acronym for Concentrated Light Autonomous Weeding and Scouting), with funding from Innovate UK as part of the Farming Innovation Pathways industrial research, and in collaboration with project partners Pollybell Farms and Agri-EPI Centre. The rover uses AI and robotics to accelerate crop growth by removing weeds, including herbicide-resistant weeds, without disrupting the soil, generating a more sustainable and effective alternative to other weeding techniques in the agriculture industry.

Project

Aquanzo explores sustainable marine-based poultry feed alternative

Footbathing to treat lameness in dairy farming

Hoofcount case study

Ground-breaking technology to monitor biodiversity on-farm 24/7

Tackling Ash Dieback Disease with agri-tech

Groundbreaking project to breed low-methane sheep

Case study

Member case study: Earth Rover delivers sustainable weeding technology

Read the full case study here

Watch CLAWS video

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