Rothamsted

Rothamsted Discover the science of feeding the world! at a molecular level) as well as from their interactions with the environment (e.g. with air, soil, water etc.).

Established in 1843, our mission is to deliver the knowledge and new practices to increase crop productivity and quality and to develop environmentally sustainable solutions for food and bioenergy production. This is delivered through a comprehensive scientific strategy that uses a dynamic and integrated approach to crop science, allowing us to study plants from within (e.g. This strategy is deliv

ered through four interdependent programmes:
• 20:20 Wheat: Increasing wheat productivity to yield 20 tonnes per hectare in 20 years TM Designing seeds
• Designing Seeds: Harnessing our expertise in seed biology and biochemistry to deliver improved health and nutrition through seeds Delivering sustainable systems
• Cropping Carbon: Designing, modelling and assessing sustainable agricultural systems that increase productivity while minimising environmental impact
• Sustainable Systems: Optimising carbon capture by grasslands and perennial energy crops, such as Willow, to help underpin the UK's transition to a low carbon economy

These programmes are underpinned by four national capabilities:
• North Wyke (Devon) Farm Platform: a 250ha experimental farming system where inputs and outputs can be accurately measured in situ.
• The long-term experiments, sample archive and eRA database: running since the mid-19th century and provide a unique experimental system and archive.
• The Insect Survey: operates two national networks for monitoring insect populations in the UK.
• PHI-base: is a database of multiple pathogen-host interactions maintained at Rothamsted Research with considerable input from the international community. Rothamsted Research is truly unique, offering:
• 170 years’ experience of delivering agricultural science and innovation.
• extensive international and multi-sector collaborative networks developed over many years.
• a truly multi-disciplinary workforce, bringing together knowledge from many different fields.
• the ability to combine detailed laboratory studies (using state-of-the-art scientific equipment) with extensive fieldwork (over 700 ha of experimental land) all within a single facility.

Struggling with on your farm? Contact our scientists!Please share with anyone in the community.
23/04/2025

Struggling with on your farm? Contact our scientists!

Please share with anyone in the community.

New paper: One fifth of global farmland contaminated by toxic metals, according to a new study published today in the jo...
17/04/2025

New paper: One fifth of global farmland contaminated by toxic metals, according to a new study published today in the journal . Researchers have mapped soil pollution at an unprecedented scale, finding that more than 14% - 17% of cropland is affected by dangerous levels of metals such as arsenic, lead, and cadmium.

The study, which used data from nearly 800,000 soil samples from around the world, identified a previously unrecognised high-risk zone stretching across southern Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. The contamination is linked to both natural geological processes and centuries of industrial activity, including mining and smelting.
Read the full story:
https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/fifth-global-farmland-contaminated-toxic-metals-study-reveals

Join us tonight for our next Café Scientifique 🌟 Astrophysicist Dr Calum Morris will be talking constellations and plane...
15/04/2025

Join us tonight for our next Café Scientifique 🌟 Astrophysicist Dr Calum Morris will be talking constellations and planet formations at The Harpenden Arms pub!

That first munch of spring grass just hits different 🐮🌿 Our team in Devon have been turning out the cows from their hous...
14/04/2025

That first munch of spring grass just hits different 🐮🌿 Our team in Devon have been turning out the cows from their housing - this group will be techno-grazing, a type of rotational grazing where they are moved frequently to different pasture areas and has several benefits:
🐮Increases how much grass cows eat so little is wasted
🌱Increases the amount of high quality grass that grows
🍂Increased soil organic matter

This week we welcomed 40 sixth form students from 24 different schools to ‘Experience Rothamsted’. They took part in a r...
11/04/2025

This week we welcomed 40 sixth form students from 24 different schools to ‘Experience Rothamsted’.
They took part in a range of talks, tours, and workshops to learn about the agricultural STEM careers available to them!

A huge thank you to all the staff members who participated and inspired the next generation of scientists 👏🏻

Want to Experience Rothamsted in 2026? Applications will open on our website in January.

The bluebells are starting to poke through in Knott Wood - we've opened up the footpath so you can enjoy them responsibl...
10/04/2025

The bluebells are starting to poke through in Knott Wood - we've opened up the footpath so you can enjoy them responsibly 💙

Our scientists in Devon are setting up wind tunnels as part of field trials for the NICCEE project - this data will help...
02/04/2025

Our scientists in Devon are setting up wind tunnels as part of field trials for the NICCEE project - this data will help improve our understanding of the impact of nitrogen and “green ammonia” on climate change and the environment.

Find out more about the project at https://niccee.org/

Nice to see our willow team in action at Woodoaks Farm!
27/03/2025

Nice to see our willow team in action at Woodoaks Farm!

Our next Café Scientifique promises to be out of this world 🌟 Join astrophysicist Dr Calum Morris on 15th April at The H...
19/03/2025

Our next Café Scientifique promises to be out of this world 🌟 Join astrophysicist Dr Calum Morris on 15th April at The Harpenden Arms pub!

New paper: Smart Roots - Plants are able to modify their root hydraulics to maintain water status . When soils are dryin...
19/03/2025

New paper: Smart Roots - Plants are able to modify their root hydraulics to maintain water status . When soils are drying, plants can decrease water use from topsoil whilst boosting uptake at greater depths. Conversely, when topsoil is rewetted, the plants can instantly rearrange their water uptake to be more energy efficient by making maximum use of water near the surface and reducing uptake lower down.
Full story: https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/smart-roots-make-strategic-use-water
(image: Shutterstock)

Can't make our Café Scientifique's in person? We've just posted a full recording of Andy Gregory's talk 'Rothamsted Long...
14/03/2025

Can't make our Café Scientifique's in person? We've just posted a full recording of Andy Gregory's talk 'Rothamsted Long Term Experiments, From 19th Century Trials to 21st Century Science' on our YouTube. Watch now👇

The Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments, established by Lawes and Gilbert, are world-renowned and are as important to scientists now as they ever have been. Joi...

It’s and we want to celebrate all our scientists conducting field work in this very British weather ☀️🌧️❄️
13/03/2025

It’s and we want to celebrate all our scientists conducting field work in this very British weather ☀️🌧️❄️

New policy brief with partners Pasture for Life: Research funding should prioritise scientists and livestock farmers wor...
13/03/2025

New policy brief with partners Pasture for Life: Research funding should prioritise scientists and livestock farmers working more closely together on co-designed, co-delivered farm-level research projects.
The joint brief says that evaluation of what constitutes the best use of land for sustainable food production requires farm-level research based on the place-particular conditions prevalent in the UK. The brief offers a vision and practical measures that take forward place-based research.
Read the full story: https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/more-funding-scientist-farmer-collaborative-research-farm-level-key-delivering-sustainable-uk

Tomorrow! How can we know what landscapes looked like thousands of years ago? Unearth the answers at our next Café Scien...
12/03/2025

Tomorrow! How can we know what landscapes looked like thousands of years ago? Unearth the answers at our next Café Scientifique with external speaker Lexi Diggins.

Free and open to all, join us at the Harpenden Arms on March 13th.

Today we celebrated with impactful talks and discussions, it's clear we've made a lot of progress but still more work ...
12/03/2025

Today we celebrated with impactful talks and discussions, it's clear we've made a lot of progress but still more work to be done to support .

Thank you to our speakers:
Caty Batten - Co-founder of Intaconnected
Frances Holmes - CEO of Speak Out Revolution
Mary Quicke MBE & her daughter Jane Langdon-Davies - Managers of Quicke's Cheese
Professor Lin Field CBE - Insect molecular biologist and Professor Emerita at Rothamsted

In the UK, we've been monitoring insect populations for hundreds of years- so what have we found out?Watch now:
12/03/2025

In the UK, we've been monitoring insect populations for hundreds of years- so what have we found out?

Watch now:

The UK has an unmatched collection of data that records how insect numbers are changing over time. In this video, the DRUID project (Drivers and Repercussion...

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Our Story

We are world-leading, non-profit research centre that focuses on agricultural science to benefit the environment, farmers and society worldwide. Our work addresses food security, malnutrition, poverty, climate change and the environment. Our people are experts in their field and come from all areas of the globe.

We are home to three unique National Capabilities that are open to researchers from all over the world; The Long Term Experiments, Rothamsted Insect Survey, North Wyke Farm Platform for grazing-livestock systems research.

Rothamsted Research is the oldest continually operating agricultural research station in the world. Its foundation dates from 1843 when John Bennet Lawes the owner of the Rothamsted estate appointed Joseph Henry Gilbert, a chemist as his scientific collaborator.