Two events held last week placed Greater Lincolnshire firmly at the forefront of agri-tech, the new wave of farming innovations which are shaping the future of the industry.

Cereals 2015, which attracted 24,500 visitors to Boothby Graffoe outside Lincoln on 10th and 11th June, showcased many of the Greater Lincolnshire businesses at the forefront of a new agricultural revolution.

“With three new food enterprise zones planned for the region, the importance of agricultural innovation to the region cannot be overstated and continues to deliver growth for the domestic and export market, increasing productivity and sustainability,” said Ian Munnery, General Manager and Director of SESVanderHave UK Ltd in Wellingore and a member of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership board.

“Taking advantage of Cereals 2015, UK Trade & Investment  and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills chose the EPIC Centre at the Lincolnshire Showground to host a workshop on 9th June. This was attended by 12 LEPs as part of the  Agri-tech Strategy.

“The workshop was a chance for the network of LEPs to explore the opportunities that arise when agriculture embraces new technology.”

Janet Bainbridge, Head of Agri-tech for UK Trade & Investment, commented: “Lincolnshire has a proud history of agricultural innovation and continues to lead the way in delivering innovative solutions to the sector. The many new technological advances on display at Cereals 2015 served to highlight the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

Ian Munnery added that Lincolnshire has led the way in agricultural innovation in the past and is doing so again in the 21st century.

“Lincoln invented the tank by drawing together expertise in agricultural engineering, and we’re facing similar challenges now,” he said. “There is a clear and present requirement to innovate and we need to adopt innovative solutions in engineering, software and other disciplines in order to move forward.

“Many of the UK’s agri-tech businesses can be found in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and East Anglia. The players that we’ve got here in Greater Lincolnshire are already big investors in R&D and early adopters of the new innovative technology.

“That puts greater Lincolnshire in the vanguard of agri-tech and it’s a pre-eminent position we intend to maintain in the future.”