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The Agronomy Research Circle unites farmers, researchers and advisors to understand what works on-farm through explanations, evidence, experiments and exchange.

We connect tools, resources, networks and organisations to enable collaborative on-farm research, to test and share ideas, products and practices that improve farm performance.

We offer support for the new Defra ADOPT programme, as facilitator, contractor or full partner. Get in touch if you have ideas you'd like to test-on farm or check us out on the Connections Hub.

We are now launching ARC Innovators for farmers who like to get involved in research opportunities - sign up below, or become an ARC Follower if you'd just like to stay in the know.

Explanations

Effective on-farm research starts with a clear question and a shared understanding of the system. By involving farmers and stakeholders early, we build explanatory frameworks that connect the local farming context with existing knowledge, helping to clarify what matters, what’s known, what to measure and what to test.

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Evidence

By sharing relevant farm data, making meaningful measurements, and combining these with soil, weather, and satellite-derived datasets, we enable benchmarking and analytics that help farmers compare performance, build shared insight, and develop hypotheses about what works on-farm that can then be tested in experiments.

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Experimentation

To understand if something works we need fair comparisons- ideally replicated within and across farms. Field variability makes this challenging, but with good design and the right tools, robust trials are possible. The ARC Farm Trials Tool coordinates experiments using satellite imagery to place and monitor trials. Robust statistics can be applied to yield map data.

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Exchange

Real progress depends on listening. Capturing farmers’ experiences, feedback, and ideas is essential — not just for sharing results, but for shaping the direction of research and innovation. We help bring together tools like FarmPEP and support facilitation through groups like BOFIN to enable meaningful exchange and distil shared knowledge nuggets.

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Facilitators for on-farm projects

Interested in the Defra ADOPT programme? We have researchers and project managers who are experienced with Innovate UK processes and are registered as facilitators. We can engage as a facilitator, as a contracted supplier or as a full project partner.

Product testing on-farm

Do you have a product or technology you are taking to market and need to test with farmers? We offer a bespoke service tailored to your needs, creating new networks of farm testers or working with your existing contacts. With links to farm research networks & triallists around the world we can offer a global solution.

Trial management & Data analysis

Are you already running on-farm trials but would like to maximise the learnings from them, and your confidence in the results? We can bring your trials together in an easy to use platform, accessing free satellite imagery, statistically analyse yield map data and run meta-analyses across trials series. .

Improving on-farm performance

Do you represent a group of farmers striving for a common interest? We work with supply chains, levy bodies, farm clusters, water companies, agronomy groups and university networks to support sharing of ideas and co-ordinate experiments, measurements and results.

What works on your farm?

Are you a farmer who wants to be part of a network that is continually striving to learn what works on your farm? Join our ARC Innovators network to get involved in exciting projects and opportunities, and be first to access results and learnings.

Industry intelligence

Do you want to better understand the agronome, what's driving variation in performance and where there might be opportunities? We connect datasets from soil, weather, satellites and farm management to quantify what works where.

The Agronomy Research Circle is a unique collaborative initiative that unites researchers, farmers, advisors, and industry professionals to advance on-farm research. Our mission is to explore and identify effective agricultural practices through a comprehensive approach involving explanations, evidence, experimentation, and exchange. We provide essential tools, resources, and services designed to foster the generation and sharing of knowledge that truly impacts the agricultural community. The ARC was initiated by Dr Daniel Kindred, run through his ARC Agronomic Sciences Ltd company. We are exploring the most appropriate structure for ARC, including setting it up as a co-op or community interest company.