'Innovation hub' plan for Harper Adams University
Plans have been submitted for a new agricultural engineering centre for Shropshire.
Harper Adams University wants to create a state-of-the-art 'innovation hub'.
It would be built at the edge of a field on the south side of the campus in Edgmond near Newport, opposite the new Dairy Crest Innovation Centre.
It has sent outline plans to Telford & Wrekin Council.
The Agritech Innovation Hub will house offices, a display lobby and project halls, capable of accommodating large machinery.
It is not yet known how much it will cost or how many jobs will be created. But it comes after the government announced £18 million would be provided for four technology centres, including the one at Harper Adams.
Chancellor George Osborne announced the move in his Budget as part of an effort to increase the productivity and sustainability of UK agriculture.
Bosses at Harper Adams say it will provide a "world-class" innovation centre that will help improve productivity and quality, reduce waste and enhance crop and animal welfare.
Vice chancellor Dr David Llewellyn said: "Substantial opportunities are open to UK farming through development of precision farming systems and building a resilient agri-food supply chain.
"Many of these opportunities cannot be realised without substantial innovation in agricultural engineering.
"The proposed Agritech Innovation Hub will provide a world-class innovation centre that will underpin an increase in the economic performance and competitiveness of UK farming.
"This will be done through development and uptake of advanced engineering technologies aimed at solving challenges faced by UK farming.
"The Innovation Hub will provide a national focus for collaborative applied R&D between industry and academia, demonstration of new technologies and their integration in to precision farming systems.
"This includes their economic benefits through the network of satellite farms.
"The hub's outputs will result in improved productivity, reduced waste, improved product quality and enhanced crop and animal health/welfare – leading to increased efficiency, thereby reducing costs and increasing competitiveness.
"An important role of the hub will be to increase farmer uptake of innovative technologies."
Harper Adams will hold workshops with farmers and smallholders in Shropshire as the centre develops, sharing their expertise with experts.
