News

The Aberystwyth Demonstrator Hub is showing steady progress, with most tree and grass varieties growing well. Inter-row mowing and maintenance activities like gapping up and spraying have been effectively managed, though some plots are a little patchy and weedy. The newly planted crops such as sida, switchgrass and Silphium are being a little slow to establish.

Cockle Park Farm Demonstrator Hub is progressing well, with most varieties showing healthy growth and minimal pest or disease issues. Hand weeding, replanting, and mowing have been effective in maintaining plant health, although some pest damage and gaps in plant coverage have been noted.

It's something of a mixed bag at the Headley Hall Demonstrator Hub this month. Most crops are doing well, but a few are struggling to get established.

A new report from the Supergen Bioenergy Hub and the Biomass Biorefinery Network outlines how the biomass sector is going to be key to the future production of the chemicals that underpin every day life.

Demonstrator Hub sites at Chesham (Bio Global Industries Ltd. (BGI)), North Wyke (Rothamsted Research) and Headley Hall (NIAB) have reported on the successful establishment of Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) compliant crop margins.

A recent report from the Energy Systems Catapult modelled planting scenarios for Miscanthus, short rotation forestry and SRC willow using the ‘Bioenergy Value Chain Model (BVCM)’ originally developed by the Energy Technologies Institute.

The Royal Welsh Show is the largest agricultural show in Europe, attracting about 250,000 people to its site in mid Wales over the course of the annual 4 day event. It features livestock and horticultural competitions, a huge area displaying agricultural machinery, trade stands and a range of events appealing to wider audiences such as horse logging displays, parachute aerobatics, and sheepdog trials.

Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) is emerging as a key player in renewable energy and a recently updated article from Forest Research provides a comprehensive review of SRF.

Biomass Connect academics and collaborators have just published a review paper in the Journal of Global Change Biology Bioenergy, on the benefits, challenges and trade-offs of upscaling Miscanthus production in the UK.