News

Part of our ongoing series looking at birds in and around willow and Miscanthus crops in Devon and Somerset. The films feature ornithologist and wildlife detective Ed Drewitt (along with BC team member Kevin Lindegaard of Crops for Energy).

Gapping up, planting and weeding have been the main activities at Cockle Park Farm this month and things are looking good.

It's been business as usual at the IBERS Demonstrator Hub in Aberystwyth. Most plots are looking good and we are up to date with the various planned tasks.

The site at AFBI has been looking great during June as it has been prepped for the Biomass Connect Demo Day. The cold wet Spring continues, but most crops are growing well. Two varieties of Hemp have been planted this month.

It's been business as usual during June at the BGI Demonstrator Hub. All crops are now in full leaf and daily tasks are proceeding as planned. It was all hands on deck to plant 1104 willow rods at the beginning of the month.

Biomass Connect Project Lead Jeanette Whitaker recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Energy Now. With 25 years of experience at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)) she was asked numerous questions about biomass crops and the role they can play in the UK’s net zero ambitions.

The Welsh regional group of the BSSS (British Society of Soil Science) held their annual event at IBERS on Thursday 27th June, which included a visit to the Biomass Connect demonstrator hub site, with some interesting discussions around biomass crops and their uses.

As part of a two day “Farming for the Future” event held by the wider Afbi livestock teams. During both days of the event, the Biomass Connect team provided an opportunity for around 40 livestock farming visitors to explore and understand different biomass crop options

A recent government report on UK bioenergy crops (covering 2008 to 2023) provides detailed insight into trends and developments in this sector. Key findings indicate that in 2023 the UK grew 133,000 hectares (equivalent to 2.2% UK arable land) of crops used for bioenergy.