All the news

• Weed threat ‘greater than ever’
  

  A combination of factors means that crops are now more vulnerable to weeds than before the introduction of herbicides, according to a UK study. Researchers have exploited data from the world’s longest-running agricultural experiment, Rothamsted Research’s Broadbalk wheat trial, to highlight the threat posed by weeds.

• Diverfarming: Latest newsletter now available
  

  The latest newsletter from the Horizon 2020 Diverfarming project is now available. The project is seeking a major shift in European agriculture through crop diversification and a rational use of resources and, accordingly, the newsletter brings readers up to date with the concrete steps taken in some of its work across six countries.

• 2021 Joint Call: Circularity and climate change
  

  A total of around €16 million has been provisionally reserved for the 2021 Joint Call from four ERA-NETs. ERA-NETs aim to increase substantially the share of funding that Member States dedicate jointly to challenge-driven research and innovation agendas and this year’s call addresses ‘Circularity in mixed crops and livestock farming systems with emphasis on climate change mitigation and adaptation’.

• Key intercropping event: March 23
  

  The final conference of the ReMIX project is to be held online this month. A joint effort from the ReMIX and DIVERSify projects, ‘Intercropping to boost agroecology in European agriculture’ will run from 09:15 to 16:45 on March 23.

• Online conference: Landscape 2021
  

  Organisers have set a deadline of March 15, 2021, for papers and posters for Landscape 2021 - Diversity for Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture, an online conference being held from September 20 to 22 this year. Registration for participation in the conference, including the possibility of signing up for a series of masterclasses, opens on May 1 this year.

• DiverIMPACTS: Catch up with latest videos!
  

  The DiverIMPACTS project has recently added two new videos to its YouTube channel, bringing the total number available to 15. One video focuses on organic and soil conservation farmers who are working together in the Wallonia region of Belgium, while the other focuses on crop grazing with sheep in the same area, for the benefit of both arable producers and livestock farmers.

• Online intercropping event attracts 150+
  

  More than 150 delegates from research and farming across Europe and beyond attended the virtual conference on ‘Intercropping for Sustainability’ in January. The event was organised by the DIVERSify and ReMIX projects, working hand in hand with the Association of Applied Biologists.

• Events calendar - check it out!
  

  After the difficulties of staging events in 2020, a slew of conferences and meetings have been rescheduled for 2021, and some events, both new and reorganised, are including the possibility of virtual attendance or even introducing back-up plans that will allow organisers to move meetings to online-only events at short notice.

• UK launches centre for tomorrow’s food experts
  

  Rothamsted Research is joining forces with eight other universities and research institutes in the United Kingdom to create a joint PhD training centre focused on “developing the next generation of interdisciplinary food systems experts”.

• DiverIMPACTS: Be inspired by success stories
  

  DiverIMPACTS, the project striving “to achieve the full diversification potential of cropping systems for improved productivity, delivery of ecosystem services and resource-efficient and sustainable value chains”, has published a series of success stories to inspire further diversification.