News

Agrisearch Holds Successful Breakfast Event At Balmoral Show

20 May 2025

AgriSearch held a successful breakfast event at the Balmoral Show entitled “The Last Mile: Where Research Meets Results” with around 100 industry stakeholders in attendance.

Jason Rankin (Strategy Manager) opened the proceedings by giving an overview of AgriSearch and its activities.

“AgriSearch was formed in 1997 to provide a mechanism through which beef, dairy and sheep farmers could have direct involvement in production orientated research. AgriSearch is  a registered charity and our core funding comes from levy collected off milk, beef and lamb by the dairy and red meat processors.  Beef levy has remained unchanged since 2015 and dairy and sheep levy has not changed since 1997. 

“AgriSearch has changed remarkably over its relatively short existence from a back-seat co-funder with a single part-time member of staff to a much more pro-active and independent organisation coordinating multiple on-farm research projects and leading the debate on the future direction of agricultural research and innovation in Northern Ireland.  Our staff compliment now stands at nine and is set to grow further as new projects come on-line in the coming months.

“The £10M of levy which AgriSearch has received since 1997 has levered well over £70M in terms of total project value.  AgriSearch has become a trusted partner right across the agri-food supply chain from the farmer, the supply sector, processors and scientific partners.  AgriSearch helps bridge the gap between researcher and farmer.    By using social media and podcasts we have also been engaging with the next generation of farmers as was evident by the turnout at our recent dairy conference. 

“AgriSearch has supported over 25 PhD Scholarships since it was founded.  Many of these are in leading positions across the sector including industry, education and research.   AgriSearch has a proven track record in supporting PhDs who go onto deliver for the industry and resources permitting this is something we would like to maintain and grow.

Around 100 key stakeholders from across industry attended AgriSearch’s Balmoral Breakfast Event
Around 100 key stakeholders from across industry attended AgriSearch’s Balmoral Breakfast Event

“Last year AgriSearch’s flagship programme GrassCheck celebrated its 25th anniversary.  In addition to the invaluable weekly bulletin, which helps farmers with their decision making.  This gives us a considerable dataset which we can use to model how our most valuable resource and primary livestock feed will react to the changing climate.  GrassCheck was also was used to build the case for the Nitrates Derogation and two sets of weather-aid related payments.   It is estimated that the value of this to the industry is well in excess of £100 million. 

“In 2021 we established our Beacon Farm Network comprising of 48 farms from right across Northern Ireland.  AgriSearch has now completed two carbon benchmarks on these farms which represent a wide variety of systems and locations.  In addition, this platform has been used for two spinout projects; ZeroNsile (which is looking at the potential role of red clover in silage) and a mycotoxins pilot study. 

“The Beacon Farm Network has been pivotal in securing funding for two major new projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the sector.  The first is the UK Dairy Carbon Network.  This three year £10M Defra funded and AFBI led project will look at implementing multiple carbon mitigations on 56 farms across the UK 20 of which will be in Northern Ireland.  AgriSearch is responsible for the Northern Ireland farm network and we are currently finalizing farmer recruitment for this network.

“We will also be starting a similar initiative for the beef sector through a Peace Plus project called CliBeef (Climate Friendly Beef Production).  This AFBI led project worth over €5M will bring together  AgriSearch, Teagasc, Queen’s and AFBI to investigate a range of solutions to lower carbon emissions on beef farms.  The project will involve primary research at Hillsborough, Grange and Queen’s as well as a 12 strong network of farmers across Northern Ireland and the border counties of the republic which will be led by AgriSearch.  The project is set to get underway in July.

“In short AgriSearch has a reputation for delivery, engagement, partnership working and value for money.”

AgriSearch’s Strategy Manager opened proceedings at the Balmoral Breakfast Event
AgriSearch’s Strategy Manager opened proceedings at the Balmoral Breakfast Event

Sean Kane then spoke on turning AgriSearch’s Strategic Ambitions into reality.  He started by outlining AgriSearch’s priorities for the next five years:

1.    Placing the farmer’s needs at the heart of research and innovation in Northern Ireland

2.    Grown our long-term research and innovation platforms

3.    The Last Mile – Research into Practice

Sean Kane commented on the success of the AgriSearch PhD Scholarship Programme,  “We aim to ensure topics are focused on driving efficiency, productivity and sustainability in the agriculture sector.  At a cost of around £135,000 per Scholarship, it is a significant  investment in the next generation, so we are committed to ensuring topics are relevant to the needs of farmers and the wider industry.  AgriSearch is keen to engage with levy payers and key stakeholders on current and future challenges. We also wish to explore partnerships and co-funded opportunities with industry.

Sean Kane continued, “We also want to develop a long-term soil carbon observatory to assess carbon stocks and their changes over time. The ArcZero project led the way in this space and attracted strong interest from farmers and industry. We now see AHDB pushing ahead with a baselining project which will assess the carbon stocks on 170 farms across Great Britain. Northern Ireland showed leadership in this area but now we are falling behind.  However, there is a significant cost of around £15,000 per farm, but if this work isn’t done how can the industry account for sequestration, changes in carbon stocks under different land management and therefore make the required changes to ensure best practice, and most importantly have the data and evidence to back it up?  We wish to engage and work with all stakeholders to help fund and develop this initiative.

“The Beacon Farm Network allows innovations and technologies to be tested on real farms, this is a critically important. The ZeroNsile project highlights its value as farmers have demonstrated that crops can perform as well as grass-only-silage with a standard nitrogen fertiliser programme, however there are plenty of challenges such as establishment, nutrient management planning, persistency and palatability. This is a test ground and helps AgriSearch inform farmers, industry, researchers and policy makers of the realities of new innovations.

“The network also allows us to quickly help and support farmers in scenarios where time is limited. The most recent example of this agility is our work on the Nutrient Action Programme consultation and I hope you get value from this work today. The Beacon Farm Network is a valuable asset but we need a steady flow of projects to extract this value to ensure it remains viable.”

Sean Kane then addressed ‘The Last Mile’; “Research is great, but what’s it’s value, if it’s not put into practice? This is the area we need to invest in and innovate, to make science digestible, understood and implemented on as many farmers as possible.

Sean Kane (Operation Manager at AgriSearch) spoke on plans to turn AgriSearch’s strategic ambitions into reality at the Balmoral Breakfast event
Sean Kane (Operation Manager at AgriSearch) spoke on plans to turn AgriSearch’s strategic ambitions into reality at the Balmoral Breakfast event

Northern Ireland farmers can grow significantly more grass than what is currently being achieved, an example of science not travelling The Last Mile. Some GrassCheck farmers are achieving yields of 16 tonnes per hectare. We have the data, the science and the expertise within GrassCheck, we just need the resource to effectively share this knowledge.

“A potential next step could be a similar initiative to Grass10. Delivered by Teagasc, supported and funded by government and industry. Working with farmers in the aim of utilising 10t DM/ha.  If this tonnage was achieved on an average Northern Ireland Dairy or beef farm it would have a value of £800 and £1,200 per hectare respectfully.  More grass being grown and utilised will benefit all livestock farmers. We believe these common goals can be achieved faster through cooperation.

“We have seen the benefits of sharing the cost at the recent AgriSearch Dairy Conference which attracted over 300, with over half being farmers. A conference supported by processors which gave us the capacity to increase attendance, it also highlighted the appetite for knowledge among farmers and notably young farmers. Videos on YouTube and social media have subsequently be viewed thousands of times!!

Concluding Sean Kane said, “In AgriSearch, you have a trusted and proven partner. Who has delivered with a very modest budget, with increased levy and partnerships we can deliver a lot more!  We welcome your support, your ideas, and your partnership.”

Ian McCluggage (Vice Chair of AgriSearch) then facilitated a discussion panel comprising of former AgriSearch PhD Scholars and farmer co-researchers.  This consisted of Dr Debbie McConnell (Principal Group Scientist at AI Services), Dr Mark Little (Veterinary Advisor at Fane Valley), John Martin (Sheep Farmer from Greyabbey), Dr Jessica Pollock (a former AgriSearch PhD Scholar and Dairy Farmer from Castlederg), John Egerton (a Beef Farmer from Rosslea) and Dr Peter Kennedy (Deputy Head of Agriculture at Marks & Spencer’s).  The panel discussed the value of AgriSearch’s PhD programme and on-farm research and innovation in their careers and on their farms.

Ian McCluggage (Vice Chair of AgriSearch) facilitated a discussion panel comprising of former AgriSearch PhD Scholars and farmer co-researchers.  (from left to right)  Dr Debbie McConnell (Principal Group Scientist at AI Services), Dr Mark Little (Veterinary Advisor at Fane Valley), John Martin (Sheep Farmer from Greyabbey), Dr Jessica Pollock (a former AgriSearch PhD Scholar and Dairy Farmer from Castlederg), John Egerton (a Beef Farmer from Rosslea) and Dr Peter Kennedy (Deputy Head of Agriculture at Marks & Spencers)
Ian McCluggage (Vice Chair of AgriSearch) facilitated a discussion panel comprising of former AgriSearch PhD Scholars and farmer co-researchers. (from left to right) Dr Debbie McConnell (Principal Group Scientist at AI Services), Dr Mark Little (Veterinary Advisor at Fane Valley), John Martin (Sheep Farmer from Greyabbey), Dr Jessica Pollock (a former AgriSearch PhD Scholar and Dairy Farmer from Castlederg), John Egerton (a Beef Farmer from Rosslea) and Dr Peter Kennedy (Deputy Head of Agriculture at Marks & Spencers)

 

 

Copies of the presentations used at the event can be found here