To Till or Not to Till - Agricology Podcast
This new Agricology podcast series explores the complex and often polarising topic of tillage. From scientists and researchers, to organic pioneers and regenerative farming advocates, it goes beyond the binary "plough or don’t plough" to highlight a much needed truth - context is everything.
LEARN MOREWant to have your finger on the pulse of the latest research on agroecology? This is your chance! We are working with leading research institutions across the UK to showcase current research happening in the field; linking farmers and researchers to enable transitions to more sustainable farming systems based on ecology. Research project pages share details of current projects, sharing outputs as they are delivered. Research trial pages provide details of specific field trials – providing updates over time to share observations, learnings and results.
This new Agricology podcast series explores the complex and often polarising topic of tillage. From scientists and researchers, to organic pioneers and regenerative farming advocates, it goes beyond the binary "plough or don’t plough" to highlight a much needed truth - context is everything.
The Soil Carbon and Water Resilience Project, funded by the Environment Agency, brought together the soil carbon data collected by Carbon Quester in the North-East Cotswold Farm Cluster and combined it with Atkins Realis’ Natural Flood Management (NFM) Studio tool under the supervision of Carbon Quester’s partners at Rothamsted Research.
This new Agricology podcast series sets out to explore the concept of optimal carrying capacity for livestock, relating to the health of the animal, the farm, and the environment.
Printable guides based on outputs from a workshop which involved a wide‑ranging partnership across the farming industry brought together by the UK Soil Health Initiative.
Find out about Countryside COP and how you can get involved! Back this 04 - 08 November, bringing together the rural community and businesses to showcase and inspire activity ahead of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 - 22 November 2024.
Find out about and explore some of the excellent resources of the GREAT Project - an innovative multi-agency project which has offered free and subsidised support to Gloucestershire farmers transitioning to regenerative agriculture.
Environmental group Ecodyfi in mid-Wales was awarded funding by the Co op Carbon Innovation Fund to work with local growers and farmers to trial perennial green manures in comparison to their usual method of fertilisation...
The Down to Earth project, a collaboration between Agricology, RuralPod Media and Down to Earth Media, promotes sustainable agricultural practices being used on the Waddesdon Estate and beyond.
The BEESPOKE project aims to increase levels of pollinators and crop pollination at local and landscape scales by providing land managers and policy makers with the expertise, tools and financial knowledge to instigate bottom-up change.
Encouraging Habitat Management and Conservation Methods that Positively Impact Farmland Biodiversity
Collaborative project between Agricology, GWCT and the Duke of Norfolk’s Peppering Farm in West Sussex, which aimed to demonstrate that food production and conservation can successfully co-exist, and it is possible to reverse species decline; particularly when farmers consider the needs of wildlife and adjust their farming methods accordingly.
The North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster CIC was set up to increase natural capital and ecosystem services across the region via partnership working, delivering landscape outcomes that by far exceed the sum of the individual holdings acting on their own.
This project brings together nature-friendly IPM and pesticide reduction work that has already been implemented by innovative farmers, and shares this with other farmers, focussing on the practical things that farmers can do, and the benefits that these changes bring to farm businesses.
This project / campaign brings together AHDB’s grassland resources and encourages farmers to utilise their grass more efficiently. It is of major environmental importance as better grassland management offers a cost-effective way of cutting the environmental footprint of animal production from pasture.
This 'Farming the Future' A Team Foundation - funded project aims to promote agroforestry as a way of farmers and landowners simultaneously and sustainably growing food, transitioning into the new ELM Scheme and contributing to ‘public goods.’ It showcases farms and initiatives across the UK successfully balancing these objectives to share knowledge and evidence of the value of agroforestry...
OK-Net EcoFeed (Organic Knowledge Network on Monogastric Animal Feed) is a 3-year project coordinated by IFOAM EU and funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme that aims to help organic pig and poultry farmers achieve the goal of 100% use of organic and regional feed.
DIVERSify: Designing InnoVative plant teams for Ecosystem Resilience and agricultural Sustainability
The DIVERSify project aims to ‘optimise the performance of crop species mixtures or ‘plant teams’ to improve yield stability, reduce pest and disease damage, and enhance stress resilience in agricultural systems.’
This project used participatory approaches to work with an established network of farms in the UK, Germany and Austria to develop a set of criteria for farm health measurement and to increase practical knowledge.
This trial at the University of Reading Crop Research Centre in 2018/19 compared intercrops of beans and triticale to monocrop comparisons in spring and winter sown crops, looking at the impact on weed control, lodging and yield.
This project is trialling adding uncomposted versus composted woodchip from on-farm woody resources as a soil improver. By linking management of farm hedges and trees with the improvement of soils for agricultural production and providing an additional economic incentive for management of hedges and on-farm woody resources, it aims to increase the sustainability of the system as a whole.
The INNO-VEG project is developing innovative methods for carrying out research into field vegetable and potato crops. The overall objective of the project is to increase the speed and uptake of innovation in the field vegetable and potato sectors...
AFINET is a thematic network established to foster exchange and knowledge transfer between scientists and practitioners involved in agroforestry. It acts at EU level; putting research results into practice and promoting innovative ideas to face challenges and resolve problems of practitioners.
This project investigated the viability of transferring agroecological practices more widely across UK agriculture. Agroecological techniques are not exclusive to organic systems and are increasingly being applied by progressive farmers in the non-organic sector...
Research Background Nitrogen (N) is a key input in farm systems for maximising crop growth and yield. Following harvest any residual N in the soil is vulnerable to leaching, and soils may be left exposed to erosion and runoff if harvest is late e.g. after maize. Cover crops can be grown to utilise some of […]