NIAB, Headley Hall | May 8th 2025
Biomass Connect played a prominent role at the recent Farmers Weekly Transition Live event, hosted at NIAB’s Headley Hall site in Yorkshire. The event coordinated by Mark Needham (IBERS) attracted a wide range of visitors eager to explore the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to more sustainable farming systems
The Biomass Connect demonstration site, carefully maintained by Stewart Ritchie and Kizito Msekiwa from NIAB, provided a striking backdrop for the day’s activities. While they were unable to attend due to training commitments, their efforts did not go unnoticed, with many visitors praising the quality and presentation of the site
Two field tours of the Biomass Connect plots were held during the day. The morning session, led by William Macalpine (Rothamsted Research) and Chris Ashman (IBERS) with support from Ben Flannery (Rothamsted Research), welcomed a group of attendees and introduced them to the 0.5-hectare Miscanthus crops and other biomass species. The afternoon tour, co-led by Macalpine and Reg Embleton (ESG Natural Capital) with support from Ian Shield (Rothamsted Research) and Flannery, attracted a larger group of participants, including several new contacts interested in biomass innovation
Notable visitors included those from Harper Adams University, Elston Farm, the Woodland Trust and the NFU. The latter expressed an interest in arranging a future visit for NFU members and potentially featuring the site in Farmer & Grower magazine
The tours sparked a number of insightful conversations on key topics such as fertiliser inputs for Miscanthus, integration of vegetable growing in agroforestry systems, and the competitiveness of Reed Canary Grass as a cover crop ahead of winter wheat. Interest was also shown in lesser known biomass crops such as Poplar, Sida and Black Locust
Visitors appreciated the opportunity to see a diverse range of biomass crops in one place and valued the open, practical discussions with experts on site.
