New research at Harper’s Hands Free Farm is set to take root this spring, examining how its autonomous vehicles can be used in strip cropping. The work is also set to feature in a Farm of the Future demonstration this week, delivered by Innovation for Agriculture: harper.ac.uk/handsfree

Great report on the contribution specialist universities like Harper Adams can make, featuring our very own HandsFreeHectare & Farm among its case studies...

Selective spring wheat & barley strips are being #autonomously sprayed for broadleaf weeds, avoiding the adjacent beans. Making full use of individual nozel control on our #Amazone sprayer. Harper Adams University #HFStripCrop

Strip #intercropping Harper Adams University sown autonomously HandsFreeHectare & Farm beans, barley and wheat. Starting to come together after challenging start. Wet spring meant late drilled into rough seedbed then dried out.

Weeds were threatening to take over the clover strips in the HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University Mowing chops off the weeds, encouraging the clover to branch and lets the edge rows of spring wheat get more light. Plan is 1/2 crop area, 1/2 inputs but >1/2 yield due to edge effects.

Online Early Bird Ends this Weekend! Can't attend in person? See great talks including Kit Franklin Kit Franklin he reveals the revolution about to sweep our countryside, including the ‘Hands Free Hectare’, the first arable crop grown entirely remotely bit.ly/3XiDjtc

Yesterday we harvested our strip-cropping trial Harper Adams University. (Wheat & Fallow strips. Beans, Wheat & Barley strips) Weed burden was high after patchy establishment in a dry spring. Critically the navigation technology FarmscanAG UK performed accurate keeping all crops separate

HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University FarmscanAG UK Kit Franklin Shame about the weeds which grew with the wet July. Very impressive precision. This is a strip of wheat with no drift into the beans and barley

HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University FarmscanAG UK Kit Franklin Wheat and legume fallow vs more conventional stubble

HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University FarmscanAG UK Kit Franklin Legume fallow strips are still capturing light, feeding soil biology and pollinators. We’ll go again this autumn and make it work better.

Fantastic talk by Kit Franklin from Harper Adams University at #NewScientistLive about HandsFreeHectare & Farm and robotics in agriculture. Great to be represented on the Our Planet Stage and to hear so many great questions from the audience.

Horrible wet day today but thankfully HandsFreeHectare & Farm team drilled the strip cropping polyculture trial Harper Adams University on Monday. 2 systems: 1. wheat, barley, beans (to be drilled later), and 2 wheat alternating with living clover ley strips.

Strip cropping polyculture trial Harper Adams University using HandsFreeHectare & Farm technology coming up. Bit of flooding at far end. Clover-wheat system is KWS Extase and my Oak Farm Population

Strip cropping polyculture #intercropping HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University barley and wheat up (except drowned bits) and beans to go in once dry enough to travel.

HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University Solar dome. Oak Farm Population wheat. Plants in centre taller, plants on edges tillering out. Domed top to strip. Increased surface area.

Cyberpeasant: agroecology meets agritech wheat and clover strip cropping HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University - will be talking about diverse cereals Groundswell with Grain Lab on Thursday at 1pm

Robot strip #intercropping HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University

Strip cropping #intercropping with 2m wide strips barley, spring beans and wheat. Beans near the barley appear to have more pods. Edge effects and temporal complementary (relay cropping) HandsFreeHectare & Farm Harper Adams University