- Farmers and senior academics shared how to ensure tomorrow’s agricultural research has real on-farm impact at the Future Agricultural Researchers conference (FAR’23), the UK’s first ever conference for agricultural PhD students of all disciplines, which has taken place in Exeter
Organised by the Agricultural Universities Council (AUC), the conference aimed to help agricultural PhD students from across the UK meet peers, academic leaders, and industry experts, as well as learn more about careers in agri-science and getting advice on how best to communicate their research.
More than 110 PhD students attended, representing 27 universities and research institutions from across the UK, including the AUC’s 16 member institutions. The event was also supported by BBSRC and the Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust.
Bringing together students with such a wide range of research topics, the conference agenda focused on what the students had in common. Panel discussions shared how students can best communicate about their projects, and how to make their research relevant.
Melanie Wright of Rothamsted Research, and Devon Farmer Andy Gray, spoke on the Making Research Relevant panel about the practical, on-farm, field trials they ran together as part of their Innovative Farmers’ field lab. Melanie said: “To ensure our research is relevant we need to consider: are we asking the right questions; are we doing research that can be applied in the real world; are we getting buy-in from those our research aims to benefits?”
Andy added: “I got involved to drive change in UK agriculture and have a positive impact. Collaborating with other farmers is a great way to do that – lots of us are full of curiosity! But working with the researchers gives a scientific backbone to what us farmers are discovering.”
Dr Alison Warrington, Senior Plant Health Advisor at the NFU, spoke about the benefits of working in partnership with farmers. She said: “Farmers are a key part of the solution to all of the challenges agricultural researchers are trying to tackle.
“It is farmers who will be trying the new crop protection methods, growing the new varieties, trialling the new technologies. And it is farmers who have the best knowledge of their farms, their environment, what works, and what’s needed. The value of this vast amount of knowledge cannot be underestimated.”
The NFU and other farming organisations are leading a series of workshops asking farmers what they need from agricultural researchers. This will help shape future research priorities for the AUC and funders.
At a dinner on the eve of the conference, students were encouraged to present their work as part of a “3-minute thesis” session which the organisers likened to “PhD speed dating”!
A handful of students were asked to speak again to a room packed with their peers and senior academics the following day, with prizes awarded for those who were able to express their project aims with clarity and enthusiasm.
Jenny Howse, who is a Doctoral International Teaching Fellow at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), meaning that she is working as a lecturer at the RAU while completing her PhD, presented on her PhD which is looking at supporting the wellbeing of farmers in the UK.
Jenny said: “There is overwhelming pressure on UK farming charities who are doing their utmost to offer support and avoid the consequences of poor farmer well-being which can include mental health challenges, leaving the industry and even suicide. My PhD looks to institutionalise farmer wellbeing support in the UK red meat supply chain and create an environment where farmer wellbeing support is readily available.
“Events such as the FAR’23 Conference give a valuable opportunity to meet other PhD students who are working across agriculture, the chance to hear about current and future research which is being completed, as well as a chance to showcase findings and research successes and challenges to date.”
The presentation winner was Ana Laura Silva Gonzalez, a first-year student from the University of Leeds, who inspired the room when she spoke about her PhD on the recovery of nutrients from swine slurry.
Professor Simon Mortimer, Head of School of Sustainable Land Management at Reading University, is the Chair of the AUC, and also chaired the conference. He said: “Gone are the days when we can focus on a single discipline and have our head down and focus on our own experimental research. We need to recognise the value of other people’s work and approaches.
“At this conference, students have had the opportunity to look at how other people are tackling similar problems that relate to what they’re working on, maybe from a different paradigm or using a different set of research techniques.”
Nature Sustainability Editor Ryan Scarrow, and author, food journalist and broadcaster Dan Saladino, took part in a session about how to communicate research so that it can have an impact on the ground.
Dan said: “I don’t hear enough from universities about projects that are interesting and relevant to a wider audience. In your shoes, I would listen to, and I would read, farming media to get a sense of the sort of stories that make it. Translate your ideas into something a busy journalist can pick up, then get in touch.”
The session was chaired by Professor Tom MacMillan, the Elizabeth Creak Chair in Rural Policy and Strategy at the RAU. He said: “When we launched the AUC’s joint research strategy, one of the key pillars was around nurturing talent. Doing a PhD can be an isolated experience and, as far as we know, this is the first time PhD students have been brought together in this way.
“This conference has given PhD students a real opportunity to network, to discuss how to make research have a real impact, and to meet new people and hear fresh ideas. I hope that this will help breed closer collaboration between the PhD students and farmers, industry, and the wider community too.”
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