24-26 September 2024: 7th International COSMOS Workshop From Research to Operations AFBI Hillsborough This workshop is for soil scientists and will review research applications of the cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) technology to enable the leap from research to operations, while addressing the key societal challenges and opportunities. The abstract deadline is 1 April and abstracts will be confirmed at the end of April. View further event information below on the main COSMOS workshop website.
Farming for the Future Open Days (18 & 19 June 2024)
On 18-19 June AFBI Hillsborough opened 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 first day (18 June) was focused on Dairy with the second (19 June) looking at all aspects of Beef and Sheep enterprises.
Visitors were taken on guided tours with 8 stops on each day different areas of livestock production and management
Videos of all the main presentations are available on the AFBI YouTube Channel in a playlist for each day:
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 included AFBI scientists and internationally renowned invited experts.
"Growing Value from Data Entrepreneurship on Rural NI Farms"
This Euragri-led Webinar Series highlightedand demonstrated the role of the entrepreneur in transforming SFS. The expertise and examples offered by the presenters provided participants with insights and knowledge-sharing opportunities on how they might grow and apply their entrepreneurial and innovation skills in their areas of activity along the SFS chain.
The audience were participants in the SFS supply chain, including students and those starting their careers, including farmers, processors/ feed compounders/animal health/ equipment providers, policymakers and consumers.
Scotland's Rural College, SRUC, Northern Ireland's Agri-Food and BioSciences Institute (AFBI) and Teagasc will host the series. AFBI hosted this third Webinar on the theme of Growing Value from Data Entrepreneurship on Rural Northern Irish Farms. In this third event we heard from researchers and entrepreneurs about the challenges they have overcome to build a viable business from farm data.
A recording of this webinar can be viewed below:
Webinar - Lough Neagh: Past, Present and Future (19 April 2024)
"What AFBI's long-term research programme tells us about changes in Lough Neagh in recent decades"
AFBI held a Schools Open Day on Thursday 7th March, 2024 at its Hillsborough site.
The aim of the Schools Open Day was to showcase how current AFBI research is addressing some of the major global challenges facing the agri-food sector at present. It was an opportunity for GSCE and A-level/ BTEC students studying Agriculture to bring their syllabus to life outside of the classroom.
Six schools from across Northern Ireland and 170 pupils attended. There was guided tours covering current and recent research in dairy, beef, sheep, pigs and poultry. Grassland management, crop production, renewable energy from biomass crops and the potential to produce energy on farms through anaerobic digestion of animal waste was also covered.
