Assessment and analysis at AHDB Strategic Cereal Farms - Strategic Farm North

Background

AHDB Farm Excellence is a channel for integrating farmers and their businesses into the wider AHDB Research and Knowledge Exchange (KE) programmes. Across AHDB sectors, we work with an extensive scope of agricultural businesses. We have inspirational farmers opening their doors to others to learn, share and create new ideas to drive innovation and increase productivity.

Strategic Cereal Farms demonstrate new ways of working in a commercial setting. The programme demonstrates relevant research through a series of trials and demonstrations in addition to knowledge exchange events to share the results with the wider industry. Approaches are subject to full cost-benefit analysis and are designed to help farmers assess the possibility of changing approaches on their own farms. You can find out more about AHDB Farm Excellence by visiting: ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence.

Strategic Cereal Farm North hosted by David Blacker at Church Farm, Shipton started in 2022 and will finish in 2028. You can find out more information by visiting: Strategic Cereal Farm North | AHDB

Currently there are two other Strategic Cereal Farms.

Strategic Cereal Farm East hosted by David Jones at The Morley Agricultural Foundation, Norfolk. You can find our more information by visiting:  Strategic Cereal Farm East | AHDB

Strategic Cereal Farm Midlands hosted by Will Oliver at Osbaston House Farm, Coventry. You can find out more information by visiting: Strategic Cereal Farm Midlands | AHDB

Aim

AHDB wish to commission assessments at the Strategic Cereal Farm North for harvest 2027, with the potential to renew the contract for subsequent harvests subject to review of milestones and deliverables. The aim of the assessments is to provide information to cereal and oilseed farmers and agronomists on opportunities to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of farming by testing research and innovation under real farming conditions.

The aim of the Strategic Cereal Farm North is identifying the factors limiting yield and testing practical, sustainable solutions to improve soil health, optimising inputs, increase crop resilience while enhancing economic performance.

Research partnership approach

Applicants can respond to individual work packages in this call. Joint proposals from two or more contractors are acceptable and encouraged where there is added value. AHDB may, if it is deemed desirable, request applicants to form a consortium to work together. There should be one organisation designated as the lead organisation for the Partnership that is responsible for project management and delivery. The group size should be manageable. Prospective partnerships can comprise both research institutes and industrial partners, be multi-disciplinary, and draw on a range of research experience for a number of crops. Therefore, the group does not necessarily need to have a history of working together previously. Priority will be given to the applicants with joint proposals demonstrating added value and with in-kind and or cash funding from the industry.

Project duration and budget

AHDB has set aside a maximum total budget of £50,000 (inclusive of VAT) over 12 months. Proposals for this call should provide detailed costs for the period 13 November 2026 – 31 December 2027. There is the potential to renew the contract for the subsequent harvest subject to review of milestones and deliverables.

The earliest date of commencement for work funded in this call will be November 2026. The successful contractor will be required to provide monthly trials diaries to AHDB.

Completion and submission of the application form

All applicants should complete an application form for projects over £50,000 , referring to the guidance notes to aid completion. 

Proposals should include details relating to harvest 2027 trials, including:

• Detailed schedule and timing of assessments, including methodology
• Detailed schedule of payments against milestone project deliverables
• Cost of measurements and analysis of the parameters listed in the work package
• Written and verbal presentations of content for Open Day (June 2027) using a template provided by AHDB
• The successful contractor will also be required to provide AHDB with an interim and final report for all trials/ work packages using a template provided by AHDB, to include methodology, analysis and interpretation of the final results.
• Details of laboratories to be used for sample analysis, including analysis codes
• Applicant details, including the work package leads, nominated trial manager and organisation details. Please include any details of collaborators where appropriate
• Statement of availability and description of machinery where appropriate
• Details of previous experience and work in this field, to include scientific and technical expertise of the staff involved in the project
• Time should be costed into the proposal for work package lead attendance at the Summer Open Day, one in-person results meeting, two steering group meetings, one online results meeting and up to 2-days for KE content creation.  

Applications are made on the basis of the AHDB research funding agreement and any organisation receiving funding shall comply with the terms and conditions specified in the Contract. AHDB will not be held responsible for any expenses or losses incurred by applicants in the preparation of an application(s).

Completed application forms should be submitted to research@ahdb.org.uk no later then 23 October 2026.

Assessment of Proposals

All submitted proposals will be reviewed by cross-sector research and KE representatives within AHDB. The selection will be an open and fair competition according to AHDB’s procurement policy, which complies with EU state aid rules.

Proposed timings for application and overall project delivery

Once the successful applicant has been notified, an inception meeting will be arranged.  This meeting will take place before the project commences to finalise the protocol and site accessibility.

An interim project meeting will be held in April 2027 and data collected up to this date should be provided to AHDB with monthly project reports for each trial.

Call Published: 25 September 2026
Full Proposal deadline: There is no Concept or Expressions of Interest phase. Make an electronic submission to research@ahdb.org.uk no later than 09:00 on 23 October 2026. Receipt will be the time of receiving email.
Applicants notified: 30 October 2026 
Project commences: 13 November 2026
Project completion: 31 December 2027 (+31 December 2028 subject to review)

Project management

This project will be managed by a project committee comprising representatives of the successful applicant(s), AHDB staff, host farmer and other suitably qualified individuals (determined by AHDB). The successful applicant must appoint a trial manager for the day to day management of the project and must provide evidence in their application that these individuals have suitable experience.

The successful applicant must draw up a protocol for the trials which should be shared with the project committee before work begins.

Monthly trial diaries and update meetings 

The successful contractor(s) will be required to attend monthly project update meetings. These meetings will be held online using Microsoft Teams and will last for approximately 1 hour. During these meetings, each work package lead will be required to update the project team on progress to date, including data collection, images and any results. Monthly trial diaries should be submitted to the project team the day before the project meeting. These trials diaries should include a written update, photographs (original files), any data collected.

Records and data handling 

All paper and electronic records must be kept as per contractor’s procedures. All data should be recorded appropriately and supplied to AHDB at the end of the project along with a final project report.

Procedures in the event of delays 

If prolonged adverse conditions result in delays of over 7 days, notify the AHDB Knowledge Transfer Manager promptly.

Risk assessment 

The contractor must supply a risk assessment for the trial to cover all elements of the work and that is compliant with industry regulations.

Knowledge Exchange (KE)

The successful contractor will be required to make a significant contribution to KE. Platform presentations at AHDB events within the Strategic Farm remit may be required and the successful contractor must be able to provide suitably qualified people to speak at these events and show evidence of their experience of speaking to grower audiences. Attendance at events within the Strategic Farm remit will be paid at a day rate plus expenses and the costs should not be included in the contractor’s proposal.

The successful contractor will be required to provide AHDB with written content as well as present at the on-farm Open Day (June 2027), in-person results day (November 2027), online Results Day (November 2027) and at Steering group meetings (2 per year). A template for written handouts and final reports for trials/work packages will be provided by AHDB.

The successful contractor will be expected to contribute towards the preparation of publications, updates, video and blog posts related to the project as required on an ad-hoc basis. This will include providing commentary on project results, and sense checking. The costs of this must be included within the proposal submission and these costs should be indicated separately.

Presentations of material at events not requested by and/or directly supported by AHDB will not be funded by AHDB but must be cleared with AHDB in advance.

For attendance at events over and above the expected Strategic Farm project KE delivery, the rates are detailed below:

Current AHDB day rates and expenses for presenters at AHDB events. Receipts (originals or copies) must be provided for all expenses claimed. Expenses authorised whilst engaged on business on behalf of AHDB.

• Travel -Business mileage 55p/mile
• Subsistence - 
  • Evening meal – up to £28.00 per person, inclusive of VAT
  • Other meals – up to £10.00 per person, inclusive of VAT
• Accommodation
  • maximum of £170 for London and any other capital city inclusive of VAT
  • maximum of £110 per night elsewhere inclusive of VAT
• Other reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred
  
  
  

Questions and Answers

If you have specific questions relating to this call, please email Research@ahdb.org.uk. All questions and answers will be published. As part of the open tender process, AHDB cannot discuss specific programme details prior to proposal submission. 

Strategic Cereal Farm North

Farm host: David Blacker, Church Farm

Location: Shipton, York, YO30 1AA

Farm Aim

The aim of Strategic Farm North is to identify the factors limiting yield and test practical, sustainable approaches to overcome these barriers on a commercial arable farm. The programme focuses on improving soil health, optimising nutrient and input use, enhancing crop resilience, and increasing farm profitability through robust on-farm research and demonstration activities.

This will be achieved through the evaluation of innovative management practices and technologies under commercial farming conditions, generating independent evidence to support farmer decision-making and the adoption of effective, evidence-based approaches.

The call has been divided into the following three work packages:

Work package 1: Tailoring nutrient and disease management in winter wheat

Work package 2: Soil health and increasing earthworm numbers

Work package 3: Investigating the benefit of new drainage installations

More detailed information on the assessments required within each of the trials are provided on the following pages. Applicants should respond to each of the work packages detailed in this call. Your application should address each work package separately, and you should provide detailed costs of each assessment on a work package basis.

Proposals should include a time schedule and protocol (including number of samples and analysis) for the following assessments in accordance with standard operating procedures and to address the aim of the work package.

Site description

3 fields have been selected at Strategic Cereal Farm North for inclusion in the programme, and 2 additional demonstration fields for the summer open day.

WP1

 Main trial field name: Overton 4 (13 tramlines, including the headlands)

What3words location: pulse.beams.bought

Harvest 2026 Cropping: Fallow

Harvest 2027 Cropping: Wheat

Demonstration trial (for summer open day) field name: New Farm 4 (9 tramlines including headlands)

 What3words location: advances.disposing.melt

Harvest 2026 Cropping: Winter Beans

Harvest 2027 Cropping: Wheat

WP2

 Field Name: Newton 1

What3words location: slimming.roost.february

Harvest 2026 Cropping: Second Winter Wheat

Harvest 2027 Cropping: Winter Oilseed Rape

Demonstration trial (for summer open day) field name: New Farm 5

 What3words location: averages.zone.sinkhole

Harvest 2026 Cropping: Winter Beans and AB15

Harvest 2027 Cropping: Wheat and AB15 (established on headland in 2023)

WP3

 Field Name: Overton 5

What3words location: privately.note.shirt

Harvest 2026 Cropping: Fallow

Harvest 2027 Cropping: Wheat

Work package descriptions

The work package descriptions below are provided as a guide. Where appropriate, please include alternatives to the proposed methodologies in your application based on your experience. Alternative trial designs and assessments should consider the intended aim of the Strategic Cereal Farm, budget and logistics of establishing and managing trials with farm scale machinery. 

WP1: Tailoring Nutrient and Disease Management in Winter Wheat

Background

Previous work at Strategic Farm North has indicated that targeted nutritional interventions can influence both crop performance and disease severity, but the economic value of these approaches remains unclear.

This work package aims to improve understanding of how nutrition and disease management interact in winter wheat, identifying opportunities to maintain or enhance yield whilst improving input efficiency and economic returns. The work should provide practical evidence to support decision-making around nutrient management and fungicide strategies.

Design

Applicants should propose a replicated field-scale trial evaluating contrasting nutrient and disease management approaches. Treatments may include combinations of:

• Farm-standard nutrition and fungicide programme
• Enhanced or targeted nutrition programme
• Reduced fungicide inputs

Alternative designs that meet the objectives of the work package are welcomed.

Assessments

Applicants should propose appropriate assessments, which may include:

• Soil health measurements
• Soil mineral nitrogen (SMN)
• Crop growth assessments
• In season crop nutrient status
• Wheat disease assessments
• Wheat yield analysis
• Grain quality assessments
• Economic analysis

WP2: Soil Health and Increasing Earthworm Numbers

Background

Strategic Farm North has previously investigated the use of clover understories and organic amendments to improve earthworm populations and soil health. Further work is required to understand which management approaches provide the greatest benefits under commercial farming conditions and whether improvements translate into measurable agronomic and economic benefits.

Design

Applicants should propose a replicated field-scale trial comparing contrasting soil health management approaches. Treatments may include:

• Farm-standard management
• Clover understory (Currently 2 double tramline plots are established)
• Organic amendments (FYM has been applied to half of the trial and demonstration field. Analysis of the FYM has also been done)

Alternative methodologies are welcomed where they align with the objectives of the work package.

Assessments

Applicants should propose appropriate assessments, which may include:

• Soil health assessments
• Manure analysis
• Crop growth assessments
• Crop yield analysis
• Grain analysis
• Soil mineral nitrogen (SMN)

WP3: Investigating the benefit of new drainage installations

Background

Strategic Farm North provides a unique opportunity to assess the benefits of drainage through the comparison of newly installed drainage systems at 10 m, 15 m and 20 m spacings, existing historic drainage, undrained controls and mole-drained areas. The moles have been reestablished summer 2026 and the whole field was subsoiled to 12 inches and disced. The field requires assessment of the agronomic, environmental and economic benefits delivered by these systems.

This work package aims to quantify the impact of drainage improvements on soil performance, crop production and resilience, providing evidence to support future drainage investment decisions.

Design

Applicants should propose an approach to compare the different drainage areas and assess performance across differing drainage treatments. Proposals should consider both short-term and longer-term impacts of drainage on crop and soil performance.

Assessments

Applicants should propose appropriate assessments, which may include:

• Soil health measurements
• Water table/ drainage performance measurements
• Crop growth assessments
• Nutrient availability and utilisation
• Grain analysis
• Crop yield analysis
• Economic assessment of drainage benefits
• Environmental impact indicators