ASSIST End of Programme event

The ASSIST End of Programme event, Future farming: bringing together the best of nature-based and agri-tech solutions, took place at the Rothamsted Conference Centre on 30th March 2022. It brought together the key outputs of the programme over the last 5 years, with a focus on the following themes:

• Understanding the crop yield gap 
• Managing the impacts of farming on the environment 
• Nature based solutions in arable farming systems 
• Multi-functional grassland systems
• Designing future farmed landscapes
• Data and tools

• Full event programme

• Event agenda  

To view the recordings (hosted on Youtube), please click on the session or talk titles. Please be aware that many of the presentations contain preliminary results that are not yet published.

Welcome and opening remarks

• Speaker: Angela Karp (Centre Director, Rothamsted Research)

SESSION 1: Improving the efficiency and resilience of food production

[Session 1 slides]

• Biophysical limitations to wheat yield – insights from a network of UK farms (Speaker: Ian Shield, Rothamsted Research)
• Soil moisture and groundwater dynamics and their impact on wheat yield (Speaker: Andy Tye, British Geological Survey)
• Mapping and modelling cropping patterns and yields across GB (Speaker: Emily Upcott, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)

SESSION 2: Managing the impacts of farming on the environment

[Session 2 slides]

• Mapping and modelling pesticides and fertilisers in the environment (Speaker: Susan Jarvis, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
• Mitigating impacts of pesticides (Speaker: Jon Storkey on behalf of Helen Metcalfe, Rothamsted Research)
• The contribution of agriculture to nutrient pollution in rivers (Speaker: Vicky Bell, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
• Measuring and mitigating cropland GHG emissions (Speaker: Niall McNamara, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)

SESSION 3: Integrating nature-based and agri-tech solutions on the ASSIST commercial farm network

[Session 3 slides]

• The ASSIST farm network – testing sustainable intensification within real arable systems (Speaker: Sam Cook, Rothamsted Research)
• The ASSIST farm network – can sustainable intensification support increased productivity? (Speaker: Ben Woodcock, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
• Managing multi-functional grassland systems (Speaker: M. Jordana Rivero, Rothamsted Research)

SESSION 4: Discussion session

SESSION 5: How has ASSIST helped me? A Farmer perspective

[Session 5 slides]

• What has ASSIST ever done for me? (Speaker: Julian Gold, East Hendred Estate)

SESSION 6: Designing future farmed landscapes

[Session 6 slides]

• Tools supporting farmer-led decision making and monitoring (Speaker: Tom August, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
• Tools for exploring impacts of future agricultural land use scenarios (Speaker: John Redhead, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
• Managing trade-offs between food production, biodiversity and the environment (Speaker: Alice Milne, Rothamsted Research)

SESSION 7: ASSIST impacts and what’s next

[Session 7 slides]

• ASSIST outputs and impacts (Speakers: Claire Carvell and Richard Pywell, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) 

SESSION 8: Discussion session

• Closing remarks from the Centre Directors (Speakers: Karen Hanghøj, Centre Director, British Geological Survey, and Mark Bailey, Centre Director, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)