Plant Teams Field Lab: heritage grains and crop innovation for crofters | The James Hutton Institute

The James Hutton Institute is teaming up with Soil Association Scotland and Scotland’s Rural College for a special crofting meeting of the Plant Teams Field Lab event series on the Isle of Lismore, looking at how intercropping can help crofters grow multiple crops together for better outcomes.

Delegates will be able to learn about new research into heritage grains like bere barley, an ancient type of Scottish barley, and which species mixtures are particularly suited to the West of Scotland, with discussions focussing on seed sovereignty and food commons. The event will include a visit of a trial of peas and oats, plus a Uist seed mix, at Baleveolan Croft.

Experts will be on hand to provide practical advice on growing and harvesting an intercrop and discuss other ongoing trials across Scotland.

Featured speakers include Peter Martin (Agronomy Institute, Orkney College), Maria Scholten (Seed Sovereignty), Ali Karley (James Hutton Institute’s EU-funded DIVERSify project) and Robin Walker (SRUC’s EU-ReMIX project)

Field Labs are free to attend and open to all land managers. They allow farmers to test out innovative real-life solutions to practical challenges, with input from experts, with the general aim of harnessing the potential of crop species mixtures to improve Scottish yield stability, soil fertility, reduce pest and disease damage, and increase resilience to climate stress.

For information on how to register for this Plant Teams Field Lab event, visit the Soil Association Scotland website.

This event is run by Soil Association Scotland with funding from the SRDP Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (Scottish Government/European Union), with partner funding from Quality Meat Scotland, Scottish Forestry, Innovative Farmers and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation. It is also part-funded by the Scottish Government funded SEFARI Responsive Opportunity Initiative.

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