AFBI Crossnacreevy

Today marks a significant milestone for AFBI as we launch our Science Strategy 2030 in front of key stakeholders. The event started with a welcome from Board Chair @GraceMulcahy, a keynote address from @AndrewMuirNI @daera_ni Minister & presentations on AFBI's key research areas.

AFBI Loughgall staff, Josh McKitterick, Patrick Prunty and Barrie Walker, led by Dr Christian Pulver, making great headway in @DAERA @agriculture_ie Beyond Peat project developing specifically designed sustainable peat replacements for horticultural crop production #AFBIScience

Inspiring the next generation! At the @QUBelfast Science at Queens Careers Fair, AFBI's Gary Lyons & Ashley Cathcart shared invaluable advice with NI students from schools across NI about career prospects in AFBI! #FutureScientists #AFBICareers #AFBIScience #AFBIResearch

AFBI Employment Opportunity: Head of Plant Research and Testing Station based at AFBI Crossnacreevy. For more information and to apply visit bit.ly/3QaG5hd. Closing Date 12 noon on 07.03.25. #AFBIScience #AFBIResearch

Today we celebrated #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience by showcasing some of our teams’ achievements, acknowledging the wonderful and dynamic work of our female scientists here. Check out the full article bit.ly/4hzmIuk #womeninscience #AFBIScience

Great talk by @QUBelfast PhD student @Naoisemckenna00 (based @afbi_cross) on potential mitigation strategies for mycotoxins in oats.

Key message from John Spink of @teagasc is that CO2 emissions from ploughed systems are not significantly higher than those from min-till cultivation in cold, wet climates, like those found in the island of Ireland. @UlsterArable Conference

@AKMurchie from @AFBI_NI presented a really interesting talk on biodiversity in arable cropping systems @UlsterArable Conference covering a wide range of entomological challenges relevant to Northern Ireland growers.

The Seed Testing team from @afbi_cross @AFBI_NI are at the @UlsterArable @UFUHQ Conference @DiscoverCAFRE Green mount today, ready to answer questions on all things seed testing

Come talk to our PhD students today at the @DiscoverCAFRE @UFUHQ @UlsterArable Conference at Greenpoint today @Naoisemckenna00 @mycotoxi

Great @AFBI_NI stand @UlsterArable Conference today showcasing work from the Agronomy and Plant Science Branch #arable #novelcrops #plantvarieties @Innovar_EU

A beautiful sky over Crossnacreevy this morning

Thanks QUB for inviting us to yesterday’s careers fair. Adam Gauley @agauley spoke to students about careers in plant science at @AFBI_NI

During this period our industrial staff here at Crossnacreevy are clearing out the sheds and updating their training. This week it's Gator training!

AFBI Employment Opportunity: Post Doctoral Scientist in Statistical Genomics – 36 Month Fixed Term Contract based at AFBI Loughgall. For more information and to apply bit.ly/4agcBIe. Closing Date 12 noon on 31.01.25 #AFBIScience #AFBIResearch #AFBIJobs.

AFBI Employment Opportunity: Dairy Herd Manager, AFBI Hillsborough. For more information and to apply bit.ly/4jfNTvp. Closing Date 12 noon on 17.01.25 #AFBIScience #AFBIResearch #AFBIJobs.

Out with the old, in with the new as it’s now sufficiently cold!! These will be the basis for GEMINI’s near isogenic lines to be analysed hopefully by the end of ‘25!

Next week the @Innovar_EU team are off to Brussels for part 1 of the final stakeholder conference where we'll be discussing results and next steps. There's still time to register: h2020innovar.eu

The VCU team are inspecting Winter Cereal Recommended List trials in Limavady and applying slug pellets

We are having a gap in the fieldwork on site at the moment, so staff are working on farm maintenance, site clean up, and have started preparation for next year's field experiments.