Landwards Conference 2017 

Decarbonising UK Agriculture – Perspectives and Policy for Change

Held at Rothamsted Centre for Research and Enterprise, Harpenden, Hertfordshire on Wednesday 11 October 2017

Decarbonising! Across industry and society there has been much progress in introducing innovative solutions to reduce the carbon footprint. Where next? The carbon footprint of agriculture is complex. At one end, tractors and mechanisation systems are big energy users whilst natural resources such as forests and the soil can be managed to capture carbon. Decarbonising UK Agriculture is about finding the symbiosis needed to make this successful. This conference explored a broad range of perspectives with a view to helping those responsible for policy and practice choose the right approaches and develop the technologies and practices required if reliance on carbon is to be reduced. This conference was for engineers, scientists and technologists, farmers, growers, producers, and movers and shakers working in policy and sustainable development and anyone interested in the future of agriculture..

Expert Speakers

We were delighted to welcome excellent expert speakers and were pleased that Sean Lennon, Head of the Tractor Line at New Holland Agriculture was able to step in at the eleventh hour when Carlo Lambro, President New Holland Agriculture was called to Brazil on urgent business. Our expert line up was completed by Professor Jane Rickson from Cranfield University, Dr Jonathan Scurlock from NFU, Dr Ian Shield from Rothamsted Research and Jonathan Lodge from City Farm Systems all of whom gave wonderful and informative presentations, which may be found below.  Professor Achim Doberman, Director and Chief Executive of Rothamsted Research introduced the afternoon session by outlining the work undertaken at Rothamsted and the challenges faced by agriculture in the 21st Century.

Delegates were given the chance to explore projects at Rothamsted

The afternoon programme was an opportunity to take a look at some of the cutting edge research being carried out at Rothamsted.  Groups were guided around the following areas by the scientists running the projects.  We would like to take the opportunity to thank them for their input which was extremely well received.

·         Energy Crops – Miscanthus & Willow - Dr Ian Shield

·         Bee Radar & Suction Traps - Dr Jason Lim

·         Field Phenotyping Platform - Dr Pouria Sadeghi-Tehran

·         Greenhouses & Growth Houses inc Heat & Energy Exchanger - Julian Franklin

·         Rothamsted Archive – 175 years of plant and soil samples - Dr Andy Gregory 

Find out more about Exploring Rothamsted here and find out more about our speakers in the delegate pack

Take a look at the Speakers Presentations:

Dr Jonathan Scurlock, NFU Chief Advisor, Renewable Engery & Climate Change - "Agriculture and the low-carbon economy"

Sean Lennon, Head of Tractor Line, New Holland Agriculture - "Fuelling Innovation"

Jonathan Lodge, CEO, City Farm Systems Ltd - "Re-thinking the Supply Chain"

Professor Jane Rickson, Professor of Soil Erosion & Conservation, Cranfield University - "Soil! Our natural capital"

Dr Ian Shield, Agronomist, Sustainable Agricultural Sciences, Rothamsted Research - "Energy Crops and Carbon Reduction"

Professor Achim Dobermann, Director and Chief Executive, Rothamsted Research - "Global Science, Lasting Benefits"