A precision agriculture company from Angus is to join dozens of the UK’s leading high-tech firms at a major innovation showcase.
SoilEssentials based at Hilton of Fern near Brechin will have the chance to impress more than 2,000 delegates from UK industry and government as well as international investors from more than 30 countries worldwide at the two-day Innovate UK 2014 event in London.
The firm is one of only handful of Scottish companies that has been invited to take part in the conference which will feature speakers such as Innocent Drinkers founder Richard Reed and UK Business Secretary Vince Cable.
Director Jim Wilson said his company’s involvement with Innovate UK – then known as the UK Technology Strategy Board – stemmed from a chance meeting with the group’s sustainable agriculuture and food programme leader Calum Murray at a conference they were both presenting at in China three years ago.
SoilEssentials is now involved in four Innovate UK projects including a £1.2 million research programme into potato blight spore detection in conjunction with Cambridge University, the James Hutton Institute and Syngenta.
The technology which the firm will exhibit at Innovate UK 2014 is its new fully automated crop and disease-modelling system which uses real-time data gathered from European Space Agency satellite images, unmanned aerial vehicles and tractor mounted sensors to produce an enhanced spatial farm management programme.
“What we have been asked to show is our cloud-based agricultural modelling software which gives crop recommendations based on soil potential, weather and crop performance,” Mr Wilson said.
“It queries all of the historic data available and together with near real time data from weather forecasts, satellite and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) images we build the spatial crop models.”
SoilEssentials was founded in 2000 and has since grown significantly into a leading precision agriculture business with a staff of 20.
The firm is split into three divisions and combines site specific soil testing to produce maps of soil variability which can be used to design bespoke agriculture production plans for individual farms.
The company can then use those plans to programme agricultural machinery to automatically treat a certain section of ground in a particular way – for example by increasing or decreasing the amount of fertiliser applied in a certain spot in order to maximise yield.
Other Scottish companies exhibiting at the conference include Edinburgh-based Holoxica – which produces 3D holograms and holographic displays – and mLED Ltd of Glasgow, which is a major player in the micro-lighting sector.
Iain Gray, chief executive of Innovate UK, said the companies chosen to exhibit were operating at the cutting edge of their fields.
“The UK is brilliant at innovation and the calibre of exhibitors at this year’s event is testament not only to the UK’s position as a world class centre of excellence, but also the extent to which we are supporting, encouraging and facilitating business growth and technological advancement,” Mr Gray said.
“Having access to the right funding, connections and support is essential for businesses to succeed in today’s global economy, and Innovate UK is playing an integral role in driving and accelerating growth for companies such as these.”
UK Trade and Industry chief executive Dominic Jermey said: “Innovation is recognised as a leading driver for economic growth. It fosters new industry developments and creates the right environment to stimulate exports and inward investment.
“The exhibitors at this year’s event have a huge amount of knowledge and expertise to share across multiple sectors; they really do represent the ‘best of the best’.”