In April 2023, Biomass Connect held a stakeholder consultation workshop with experts from the biomass industry to better understand the key challenges currently facing the industry and how these could best be addressed by the programme.

Biomass Connect together with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) successfully hosted two demonstration events at SRUC hub sites in Ayrshire and Edinburgh, Scotland. The events were attended by a diverse group of land managers, consultants, biomass processors, policy makers, and researchers.

The Lot 1 Innovation project ‘Accelerating Willow Breeding and Deployment’ project led by Rothamsted Research has just released a 'Growers guide to short rotation coppice willow (SRCw) varieties for biomass’.

Approximately 40 attendees participated in the Biomass Connect Demonstration Day at our Hillsborough Hub Site in Northern Ireland, hosted by the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) These represented a diverse group of commercial growers, advisors, and biomass material processors from both the northern and southern regions of the island.

Biomass Connect made a notable appearance at the recent Farming Connect Diversification and Innovation Event, occupying a booth and delivering a presentation on the challenges and opportunities associated with the cultivation of biomass crops. The event, organised by Farming Connect and hosted at the Royal Welsh showground, garnered considerable interest from land managers across Wales.

The 2023 CONFOR Woodland Show brought foresters, woodland managers and tree workers of all kinds together at the Royal Bath and West showground last week. Nicholas Allison from the North Wyke Biomass Connect Hub Site at Rothamsted Research in Devon was there to represent the Biomass Connect team and to spread the word about our hubs and website.

The event attracted a diverse audience of approximately 50 individuals from various sectors of the industry, including farmers, foresters, consultants, and researchers. Throughout the day, lively and constructive discussions laid the groundwork for the biomass industry’s development. Attendees left feeling enthusiastic and well-informed, eager to participate in future events dedicated to advancing the industry.

Play the Envirocrops Cropper game and be in with a chance of winning a prize by using the tools and providing feedback!

Biomass Connect with Newcastle University, supported by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) successfully hosted an informative demonstration event at the Cockle Park Farm, Newcastle University. The event provided a platform for attendees from the biomass industry to gain insights and engage in discussions focused on biomass production, agroforestry, land use and diversification.The event included a highly informative talk on multifunctional landscapes by Prof. Yit Arn Teh from Newcastle University, and detailed information on the ongoing agroforestry trials at Newcastle University by James Standen, the Director of Newcastle University Farms.