High street giant M&S has announced a three-year collaboration with Yorkshire startup AgriSound in moves to help farmers better manage pollinators and increase crop yields.
The deal will see two M&S Select Farms install the agritech company’s in-field sensors for the next three years, allowing the farmers to track the number of pollinators visiting their farm in real time. Biodiversity specialist AgriSound is based in York St John University’s Enterprise Centre where it has developed specialist listening devices, which combine acoustic technology and environmental sensors to monitor the density of key pollinators, including bumblebees and honeybees, as well as the wider insect community remotely.
The devices collect and send data via mobile data, with users able to see results via a smartphone or web app. At Plumford farm in Kent the sensors will be set in a new orchard, to help assess the effectiveness of different densities of wildflowers in attracting pollinators. At G’s Growers in Cambridgeshire they will be placed in hedgerows, pollen and nectar mix and wild bird seed mix, to explore the value of different habitats in attracting pollinators at different times of the year.
