Technology will be crucial to the future prosperity of UK farmers, helping them to become more competitive and manage volatility, delegates attending the Northern Farming Conference were told.

Addressing an audience of 200 farmers at Hexham Auction Mart, farming minister George Eustice claimed technological innovation was the key to unlocking the potential of farming, improving competitiveness and reducing costs.

“There is a really big role for technology. It will be a big feature of our 25-year food and farming plan,” he said.

“Although there has been great pressure on farm incomes over the past 12 months, I believe the industry has a good future and technological advances will help British farmers improve their productivity and make the industry more resilient and better placed to deal with pests and diseases.”

Mr Eustice explained the government was investing in centres of excellence, through its Agri-Tech Strategy, to drive technology forward.  

His comments follow last month’s official launch of an Agrimetrics centre, which will look at how ‘big data’ can be used to influence the way crops and livestock are grown and bred. Others centres are planned for livestock, cereals and robotics.

NFU vice president Guy Smith agreed that there was an opportunity to overcome some of the challenges facing producers by implementing technical solutions.

“We are on the brink of an interesting technological revolution whereby farmers will be able to farm more precisely, more accurately and make better use of their inputs,” he said.

“However, this will involve investment and, if you don’t have enough profit in the food chain, then farmers will not be able to invest in this technology at a time when they very much need to do so.”

Robert Sullivan, partner in the farming department at Strutt & Parker’s Morpeth office suggested an extension of the Countryside Productivity Scheme could be a practical way to help farmers invest in technology.

“The use of data to drive decision-making is becoming ever more important and is often what marks out the top performers from the rest. Grant schemes which help farmers to invest in precision farming technology might be the quickest way to bring about change.”

The Northern Farming Conference is a joint venture between the CLA, Strutt & Parker, Bond Dickinson, Armstrong Watson, Catchment Sensitive Farming and Gibson & Co Solicitors and Hexham and Northern Marts.