A £20m government fund has been launched to help develop robots and automated systems capable of planting, maintaining and harvesting crops.
The funding will support agricultural technology companies working with researchers and farmers to bring new automation systems from development into use on farms.
The government said the technology could help address labour shortages, particularly during busy harvest periods, while improving productivity and resilience in the farming sector.
The funding is part of the Farming Innovation Programme and follows a recent £53m investment. It brings the total funding available this year for farming research and technology to £123m.
Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said robots could help farmers who struggle to find enough seasonal workers at key times of the year.
"This funding will help put cutting-edge robots and technology into their hands," he said, adding that it would help ease pressure on farmers while increasing yields and profits.
Among the companies already developing agricultural robots is Fieldwork Robotics, which has created a machine capable of picking raspberries. Government funding is being used to improve the robot's durability and reliability ahead of wider commercial use.
The latest funding round will also support projects involving livestock.
One example is Roboscientific's DETECT project, which is developing technology that analyses the breath of dairy cows to identify signs of illness at an early stage.
The system is designed to detect bovine respiratory disease before it becomes more serious, potentially reducing animal losses, veterinary costs and the amount of labour required to care for affected cattle.
The competition will also cover a wider range of agricultural and environmental applications than a previous automation funding round in 2023.
Projects involving ornamental plant propagation, growing and monitoring will be eligible, as will forestry technologies for tree nurseries, planting, woodland monitoring and management.
Chris Danks, head of agrifood at Innovate UK, said robotics and automation were becoming increasingly important in helping farmers improve productivity and build more resilient businesses.
The programme is being delivered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Innovate UK as part of a government commitment to invest at least £200m in farming innovation by 2030.
Applications for the latest funding round opened on 3 August. Photo by Garnacott Farm by Roger A Smith, Wikimedia commons.
