A new scheme will provide £3,000 to seven farmers in a bid to provide real world, scientifically robust solutions to the challenges currently faced by UK agriculture.
The aim of the Rothamsted Research's project 'FarmInn' is to provide new knowledge that can be implemented in the field.
It gives farmers a chance to find solutions to the things that matter most to the agricultural community.
It is anticipated that about seven projects will be funded in the first instance, with each farmer receiving up to £3000 to cover the eligible costs of running their trial.
“Any proposal that addresses the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of farm businesses will be considered,” says project leader Dr Ian Shield. “We want to hear from the farmers themselves.”
The FarmInn scheme is unique in that it will also provide free access to Rothamsted’s researchers and facilities, by pairing each farmer with an expert in the field, he added.
“Farmers are by nature great innovators, continually striving for new and better ways of doing things. They also possess a huge wealth of expertise, and when it comes to their own land, an unrivalled level of knowledge,” Dr Shield said.
“We aim to support that spirit of discovery by taking away some of the financial risks of trying something new, and by providing them with specialist support in terms of designing experiments, collecting data and analysing results.”
Farmers are being asked to submit their idea via a short, simple application form and projects will be chosen by a panel of Rothamsted staff, who will then assign a suitable scientist to work with the applicant to produce a project plan.
FarmInn will work closely with the Innovative Farmers scheme which already has an established network of farmers and growers running on-farm trials.
Dr Kate Pressland, Programme Manager of Innovative Farmers said: “The two initiatives will complement each other greatly, we anticipate some of our Field Labs graduating to FarmInn to give them the potential to be scaled up and more rigorously tested.
“Likewise, some FarmInn applications may be referred to our scheme for proof of concept testing or as a pilot to more detailed research.”
