The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)’s head of crop protection and agronomy, Hazel Doonan, recently celebrated 20 years in her role. She believes the future of agronomy centres around precision farming and attention to detail. “Access to new technologies will enable much more detail and granularity, while pinpointing and improving the efficiency of inputs.

“With that comes data and it’ll be down to advisors to help to translate that information, guide interpretation and identify trends at a per farm level,” she says.

Agronomic advice

Recognising the growing importance of environmental management and its ranking on the government’s agenda, Hazel adds that this will continue to instigate change. “As rotations widen and diversify to include more cover crops and niche options, with that comes a demand for agronomic advice.

“There’s also a move to using biosolutions and biocontrol options, but it’s finding their place in the system to be able to maximise crop potential,” she says.

Hazel notes that a threat is undoubtedly the impact of weather, which is beyond the control of humankind. “We may see changes in land use with areas becoming unproductive as a result. An example is flood management – some farms in certain areas of the UK may have to accept that their land will be repurposed.”

Government policy

But beyond this, Hazel stresses the lack of government policy will have a significant impact on what farming can realistically achieve. “It’s a huge threat – farmers have to forward plan and therefore require clear direction from government on land use whether that be for food, fibre, energy production or housing. We’re being asked to produce more food than ever before yet all of those aspects are competing for the same land.”

She’s also concerned by the role of social media. “It’s the reputation of our trade – there are a lot of false truths regarding food production being circulated. We have to understand how social media can be used as a tool to best convey the work of our industry.”

Specialisms

In terms of future growth, Hazel believes agronomic specialisms will come to the fore. “Whether that’s related to technology, soils, crops or climate, agronomy is a whole-farm approach, not just crop management anymore. And with the raft of land-use opportunities beyond food production, we’ll very much be farming for the public,” she comments.

“So it’s time to embrace new technologies – some of which will be doing things we never thought of in 25 years – and learn how they can work for you. Surround yourself with experts who can help you, whether that’s advisors or peers, and be open to change across the whole supply chain.”

Hazel concludes by providing sage advice: “However bad it feels now, next year will be different. That’s the joy and the frustration of it all – every year is different.”

This article stems from CPM’s Arable Farming 2050 feature, which was written to celebrate the magazine’s 25th anniversary.