Aberystwyth University’s forage breeding work features in a new UK report examining how sustained research investment delivers better varieties and practical benefits for farmers.
Developing improved grasses and legumes can take 15–20 years, making the path from scientific discovery to farmers’ fields dependent on sustained funding and strong partnerships.
That work at Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is highlighted in the State of Agricultural Research & Innovation 2026 (SARI) as an example of how long-term investment can help prepare agriculture for future challenges.
“The inclusion of IBERS as a case study reflects the importance of long-term investment in agricultural research and innovation which are so essential to our food security and environmental sustainability. Developing improved crop varieties is a process that often spans decades, requiring scientific excellence, sustained investment and strong partnerships across the sector,” said Professor Iain Donnison, head of IBERS and a member of the SARI Steering Group.
Moving Crop Discoveries Into Farmers’ Fields
Researchers at Aberystwyth have worked with industry partners for decades to develop improved forage varieties. Those relationships help connect early discoveries with commercial breeding and farmers’ needs.
“At IBERS, our national capability in crop science and plant breeding enables us to take discoveries from the research pipeline through to commercial application. Working closely with industry partners such as Germinal, Germinal Horizon and Senova helps ensure that research delivers tangible benefits for farmers while contributing to the future sustainability, productivity and resilience of UK agriculture.”
Produced by the Centre for Agricultural Research Impact (Ag.Impact) and launched on 20 October 2026, SARI analyses £1.2 billion in public agricultural research funding between 2022 and 2026.
The report compares investment with priorities identified by more than 600 survey respondents, including more than 300 farmers, alongside interviews and workshops. Most farmers surveyed identified profitable farming as their top priority.
Connecting Research With Farming Challenges
Across the survey, farmers, researchers and other stakeholders agreed that research should address practical challenges and involve farmers and growers from the outset.
“Research must help farming respond to today’s pressures and prepare for the challenges ahead. Farmers and researchers are telling us they want work to answer real questions, grounded in what happens on farms and producing evidence they can use,” said Professor Tom MacMillan, chief executive of Ag.Impact.
The report recognises the UK’s strengths in foundational science and applied agricultural research while identifying opportunities to connect investment more closely with the sector’s needs, according to a press release.
“This report gives us a clearer picture of where funding is going and how this compares with what people say is needed. There are strong foundations to build on, and we can see where changes could make research more beneficial to farming, anticipate future needs and deliver greater public value.”
Funding Today’s Trials and Tomorrow’s Varieties
The report highlights Defra’s ADOPT programme, delivered by Innovate UK through the Farming Innovation Programme, for enabling groups of farmers to test ideas on farm with research support and share the results.
“ADOPT shows the sector can rise to the challenge of putting farmers at the centre of research. Alongside this practical work, we need sustained investment in programmes preparing for the future, where decisions made today will shape the options available to farmers decades from now,” MacMillan said.
However, interdisciplinary and cross-cutting projects account for only around 7% of the funding analysed. Recommendations include closer coordination, reliable long-term funding pathways and investment in farm networks, skills, data-sharing, specialist facilities and long-term experiments.
“Better coordination helps organisations share plans, avoid unnecessary duplication and make more of the expertise and resources we already have. We want this evidence to be a useful tool for funders as they decide what to support next.”
Ag.Impact plans to update the analysis annually, drawing on contributions from across agriculture.
“This project has brought together organisations right across the sector. We are grateful to everyone involved; on the steering group, the survey respondents, workshop attendees, interviewees and everyone who advised the project, reviewed draft findings or shared data. I would also like to thank our funders who made this work possible; the Agricultural Universities Council, Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust, Innovation Research Caucus, and the University of Reading.”
