Meet the game changers of agricultural innovation at the Royal Norfolk Show

Find out everything happening at the Innovation Hub, curated by Agri-TechE and sponsored by BBRO, at the Royal Norfolk Show 2024.

A robot firing light beams to kill weeds, a smart bird scarer, a novel way to reduce lamb loss and new tools in the fight against viruses – all of this and more will be discussed in the Innovation Hub, located at stand 325 on Avenue 11.

CLAWS ROBOT ACCURATELY TARGETS WEEDS WITH KILLER BEAM – EARTH ROVER

Pulsed light is being used to spot and kill weeds in commercial trials of the Concentrated Light Autonomous Weeding and Scouting (CLAWS) robot from Earth Rover.

The lightweight robot uses 3D cameras and advanced AI to monitor the crop and identify and destroy weed seedlings at an early stage, without the need for chemicals. CLAWS provides per-plant crop data with incredible speed and accuracy.

BBRO will be discussing Virus Yellows disease and its impact on sugar beet crops (Image: BBRO)

SMART SCARER OVERCOMES THE CURSE OF THE WOODPIGEON – GREENSTALK

Woodpigeons cause a significant loss of yield. Gas cannons are widely used to scare pests but are time-consuming to check and maintain. Greenstalk has helped farming business Frederick Hiam Ltd to develop a smart scarer that can be monitored remotely.

The ‘Internet of Things’ solution enables data to be collected from tractors, sprayers, irrigation systems and water tanks to then be transmitted over the internet.

This enables the farmer to monitor equipment in real-time via a smartphone and react quickly to problems.

REDUCING LOSS OF LAMBS WITH GENETIC MARKERS – 3CR BIOSCIENCE

Studies show that 49pc of lamb mortality occurs within the 48 hours after birth. It is devastating for farmers and economically impactful.

A new tool, developed by 3CR Bioscience, is making it easier for breeders to detect recessive gene variations that can be lethal when present in both parents.

The Broads Authority will be hosting a discussion about its FibreBroads project (Image: Broads Authority)

RAISING A ‘WALL OF YELLOW’ AGAINST SUGAR BEET DISEASES – BBRO

There could be a yield loss of 30pc- 50pc for sugar beet growers this year due to a resurgence in Virus Yellows, a disease spread by peach potato aphids.

BBRO will be discussing alternatives to the neonicotinoid seed treatments and showing a ‘Wall of Yellow’ to demonstrate advances in seed breeding.

SMART WATER MANAGEMENT FOR FOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT – BROADS AUTHORITY

As a record-breaking wet winter follows one of the hottest summers, the Broads Authority says smart water management and alternative crops could provide solutions.

High water tables create difficulty for some crops, but with appropriate planning, permissions and investment, excess could potentially be used as a supply for the dry summer periods. There will be a discussion of the FibreBroads project in the Broads Village.

CREATING NEXTGENERATION INSULATION FROM WETLAND CROP PLANTS – PONDA

Ponda is a biomaterials company developing novel textiles from truly regenerative fibres.

Its first product, BioPuff®, is a warm, naturally water-repellent alternative to feather and synthetic fillers. It is created by extracting fibres from plants such as Typha, that are grown on regenerated wetlands.

HARPER ADAMS UNIVERSITY

Harper Adams University will explore paludiculture, biodiversity net gain and sustainability focused agri-tech.