News

The Boghall Demonstrator Hub has been very windy throughout March. The ground is still soft but is just about OK for machinery to access the land once again. Buds are appearing on many of the crops and most things are under control and ready for a flurry of activity once the weather improves and planting materials are received.

Spring continues at the Auchincruive Demonstrator Hub.

In a bid to advance sustainable energy practices, the Scottish Government has unveiled a draft policy statement on bioenergy, inviting public input to shape future strategies.

The main story is one of the signs of Spring and recovery after the ravages of winter storms, water-logged and very wet conditions and the occasional heavy frost. Check out the winners and losers and see how things have fared differently across the country in the latest round of Demonstrator Hub updates. For ease of access here are links to the latest updates.

Generally across the AFBI site things have been looking healthy whilst dormant over the winter. Some things are showing really good growth and now that Spring is approaching there are signs of life everywhere.The site is still very wet, and the land cannot be accessed by machinery until a significant drying period.

Generally across the IBERS site things have been looking healthy whilst dormant over the winter. Conditions have been very wet except during cold snaps when it has been below freezing.There has been some rabbit damage to certain crops and wind damage to others.

Scotland experienced some well-documented extreme weather at the beginning of the year with both of our SRUC demonstrator hubs suffering from Storm Henk and Isha. Despite the damage there are now signs of hope in most plots and work has commenced with spraying and planning for 2024.

Scotland experienced some well-documented extreme weather at the beginning of the year with both of our SRUC demonstrator hubs suffering from Storm Henk and Isha. Despite the damage there are now signs of hope in most plots and work has commenced with spraying and planning for 2024.

As with many of the other demonstrator hubs, the BGI site in Chesham has experienced some heavy frosts with temperatures dropping to -6ºC some nights. It has also seen several named storms over the winter which damaged some of the crops. The early part of 2024 was then very wet which has limited the amount of work that could be carried out at the site as access to the plots was limited due to the ground conditions.