The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) will host the first in a series of lectures this week to celebrate the institution’s 180th anniversary.
Wildfarmed co-founder, National Trust tenant farmer, and one half of the duo Groove Armada, Andy Cato, will deliver the first lecture on Wednesday, April 2.
Cato sold his music rights to buy a farm in France in 2013, and will be joined by professor of agriculture, Nicola Cannon.
Their lecture, titled ‘Cerealsly: Rethinking Arable Growing Systems’, will discuss how research and practical farming is moving towards regenerative, agroecology farming systems.
They will explore the opportunities of bi-cropping, reducing the intensity of tillage, grazing cereals with sheep, and various weed control techniques.
They will also be looking at the opportunities in and challenges of trying to reduce reliance on external inputs in agriculture, and how this can become integrated into agricultural practices to help develop environmentally acceptable farming solutions.
Prof. Cannon said: “We want to look at the reasons why agriculture has developed into its current format as well as the many different management techniques which can offer an alternative to current arable farming production methods.
“Farmers have experienced so many opportunities, and probably even more challenges, during the last 25 years of research within this area, and we want to consider how farming can now be viewed through an alternative lens.
“For many years, high yields were used as the indicator of success whereas now it is vital that farms consider long term soil health, profitability, and climate resilience.”
RAU
Originally established as the Royal Agricultural College with just 25 students, the RAU became a university in 2013.
It is celebrating its 180th anniversary through a series of events over the coming year.
Cato said: “Perhaps the reason why well-applied regenerative farming, a solution to so many of our problems, is being embraced more slowly than it should, is because it is a system not a practice.
“After centuries of scientific advances based on reductionist methodology, a single variable in a controlled environment, our collective ability to think systemically is compromised.”
The free lecture takes place in the RAU’s Boutflour Hall at its Cirencester campus on Wednesday, April 2, and is open to all.
