Award details

The North Wyke Farm Platform

Reference	BBS/E/C/00005190
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Philip Murray
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	6,187,524
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2012
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	59 months

Abstract

The overall premise behind the Farm Platform is: That grassland systems can be designed and managed to deliver optimal sustainable production per unit area, whilst minimising negative impacts on other ecosystem services. The objectives of the North Wyke Farm Platform are to: 1. To provide a platform for grassland agri-environmental research. The first year of the project will provide baseline data for animal production; water, air and soil quality; grassland productivity; and farm inputs across the whole farm platform 2. To develop sustainable grassland systems that test the optimisation of inputs and ecosystem services. In the second year of the project we will establish 3 different management systems that will allow us to optimise inputs / outputs. These will be 'Sustainable Intensification'; 'Better use of legumes'; and 'Innovation' which will involve planned reseeding for ley grasslands. We will continue to measure the parameters in Objective 1 as measures of sustainability. 3. To assess the effect of the sustainable system on long-term trends in quantity and quality of farm outputs. We will take a modelling approach in the later years of the project to determine these trends and to allow us to fine tune the systems. 4. To establish a demonstration site for knowledge transfer, exchange and education activities. This will include the development of web sites which will provide access to data management, reporting and analysis tools for users, collaborators and the public.We will establish closer links with organisations such as LEAF and EBLEX and others to develop industry partnerships for KEC and education.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science, Soil Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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