World Soil Day, celebrated annually on 5 December, highlights the crucial role of healthy soils in tackling climate change, preserving biodiversity and ensuring food security.
Hartpury University and Hartpury College recently supported this mission by hosting the Farm Forward Soil and Environment Demo Event on 15 November. The groundbreaking event showcased how advanced wireless technologies can enhance soil management and environmental sustainability.
As part of Hartpury's Farm Forward Demonstration Events series, the day brought together soil scientists, agronomists, farmers and experts in cyber security, remote monitoring and wireless technology.
Through hands-on demonstrations of sensor-based technologies, guests explored innovative tools designed to monitor soil and environmental health. There were also practical insights into remote monitoring solutions for emissions and soil conditions, along with expert guidance on enhancing land management practices to support sustainable farming and environmental stewardship.
Attendees discovered how Hartpury are using drones to map biomass areas and measuring biodiversity through wildlife bioacoustics. There were also discussions on the urgent case for rural 5G technology and the need for its availability in driving forward these advancements.
Guest Speaker Simon Fox, Soil Scientist, Agronomist and Crop Nutrition Specialist at Emerald Research Ltd, based at Hartpury’s Tech Box Park commented: "Peter Drucker said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” and recently that has been true of greenhouse gas emissions from crop production. The best we have had until now has been a combination of estimates and guesstimates along with basic calculations based on limited academic research.
Since January, Emerald Research Ltd has been situated in one of the Tech Box units at Hartpury’s Digital Innovation Farm which has allowed the company to utilise the commercial farm setting to deploy the SensorGRO/NOxBOx combination in a variety of settings from long-term pastures to newly sown fields of winter wheat.
The NoxBOx device revolutionises Emerald Research’s ability to measure the actual GHG emissions through the course of the day, month or a whole cropping cycle. Together, these now enable the soil scientist team to adopt a scientific approach to evaluating the actual emissions from soils following applications of fertiliser and manures and thus evaluate alternative treatments effectively and fairly.
Simon continues: “The NOxBOx and SensorGRO combination measure and monitor in real-time critical environmental factors (such as GHG emissions, humidity, temperature and light intensity) that affect crop growth and development along with the impact of fertiliser and other inputs. The data is presented and interpreted through a dashboard that facilitates the ability to make more sustainable choices throughout the season in relation to what is happening in the field.”
Supported by the River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR) project, a series of six Demo Events offer stakeholders working in the land-based industries a hands-on opportunity to explore cutting-edge tech that can transform rural industries. From improving farm efficiency to supporting sustainability, each event will shine a light on the power of advanced wireless solutions, and the benefits they can bring to the here and now.
Claire Edwards, Rural Industries Project Manager at Hartpury’s Digital Innovation Farm, shared: “It was exciting to host this event and provide a platform for farming innovation, as soil is crucial to ecosystem health and stability. Our farm walk and talk sparked great discussions on how wireless networks can enhance soil health, biodiversity, and water management - reinforcing Hartpury’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.”
For more on Hartpury’s Digital Innovation Farm Forward events, visit – Hartpury Advancing Connectivity in Agriculture.
