About
18 -19 June 2024: Farming for the Future Open Days
On 18-19 June AFBI Hillsborough will open its doors for farmers and the wider industry to get the latest updates on research to further enhance the sustainability of dairy, beef and sheep systems.
The Dairy Day will be held on 18 June with guided tours leaving every half hour from10am to 2.30pm. Each tour will last approximately 1.5 hours.
The Beef and Sheep Day will be held on 19 June with guided tours leaving every half hour from 1pm to 5.30pm. Each tour will last approximately 1.5 hours.
Registration for this event is essential
See how the latest AFBI research can help to drive further improvements in sustainability within dairy, beef and sheep farming systems. Learn how livestock farming systems can transform through improvements in efficiency, as well as the adoption of new ways of working and innovations to reduce emissions and maximise carbon capture within the landscape. Speakers include AFBI scientists and internationally renowned invited experts
Topics on the guided tour each day include:
Soil health to maximise nutrient use efficiency
Building efficiency and resilience into future grass-based farming systems
Optimising the value of livestock slurry
DAIRY EVENT
• Targeting efficiency in the future dairy herd
• Cow nutrition to reduce environmental impact and maintain output
• Impact of genetics on dairy sustainability
BEEF & SHEEP EVENT
• Suckler herd fertility
• Beef nutrition to achieve slaughter and first calving at 24 months
• Impact of genetics on sheep sustainability
And there is more:
Research villages will provide more information and tools to support animal health and welfare, outline research on nutrient management, the use of anaerobic digestion, new technologies and Decision Support Tools and much more. The wider agri-industry will also be present where farmers can engage with stakeholders in areas such health and safety on-farm, education courses available in the agri-food sector and farmer’s wellbeing to name a few.
A feature tour will also be available each day to our Biomass Connect platform, which showcases best practice and innovations in biomass crop production.
Biomass Connect is a research, demonstration and information platform for biomass crops funded through £5m from the Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme within the DESNZ Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. In our first three years we have created an essential infrastructure of eight Research and Demonstration (R&D) Hubs across the four nations of the UK, a virtual Biomass Information Platform and a supporting programme of demonstration and knowledge-sharing events to support the growth of the UK biomass industry.
Our aims are:
To provide independent, up-to-date evidence on biomass crop agronomy, economics, and environmental impacts for perennial grasses, woody crops, and short rotation forestry.
To de-risk biomass crop adoption through the delivery of long-term data on regional variation in biomass crop performance and environmental impacts.
To support the diversification of biomass supply chains and development of end-uses, products and markets.
To inspire, engage and educate individuals and organisations looking to contribute to the expansion of biomass crop production and use.
To act as an essential bridge between government, research, and industry facilitating and supporting the growth of a sustainable UK biomass sector.
