Agronomy-led conversations at Frontier Open Days
Over the past few weeks, the IntraCrop team has been attending Frontier Agriculture Open Days across the country, meeting with growers and agronomists to discuss some of the biggest challenges facing UK agriculture today.
These open days took place from Herefordshire and Holbeach to Walsham-le-Willows, Shuttleworth College, Melbourne and more, each individual event provided an opportunity to see and compare crops in the field, review trial results and, most importantly, hear directly from growers about the issues affecting them personally this season.
While every region faces its own unique challenges, one theme consistently emerged across all the events. Growers who attended the open days were looking for practical, agronomy-led solutions that deliver reliable results in real-world conditions.
One of the clearest trends was a noticeable shift in growers’ priorities. Rather than focusing solely on achieving maximum yield, conversations increasingly centred on building crop resilience. Drought, heat, inconsistent establishment and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns meant growers were looking for practical ways to help crops withstand stress throughout the growing season, rather than simply reacting once problems had occurred.
The vast majority of the UK is currently experiencing prolonged periods of heat and, in many areas, drought. This meant that many of the conversations our team had naturally centred around abiotic stress and the role biostimulants can play in protecting crop performance under these difficult conditions. However, there was clear recognition that volatility in fertiliser markets is now the new norm and considering that fertiliser is their biggest input cost, there needs to be further improvements to Nitrogen Use Efficiency to remain profitable.
Visitors were particularly interested in Status® and our patented single-molecule technology MTU®, discussing how improvements in photosynthetic efficiency can help crops maintain productivity during periods of environmental stress. As growers continue to balance input costs with protecting yield and ROI, improving crop resilience and Nitrogen Use Efficiency is becoming increasingly important part for growers and agronomists.
The team’s trial plots provided a fitting backdrop to start important discussions around nitrogen use efficiency and how this can be improved whilst also decreasing nitrogen inputs. With only around 60% of applied nitrogen typically realistically being utilised by the crop, there is growing interest in technologies that help make nitrogen more accessible to the crop. By improving photosynthetic efficiency, Status® helps drive increased carbon fixation, encouraging greater nitrogen uptake to maintain the plant’s carbon-to-nitrogen balance.
This year’s discussions also highlighted a changing mindset around crop nutrition. Rather than asking how more nitrogen could be applied, growers were increasingly interested in how they could make better use of every kilogram already being applied. Improving nutrient uptake, reducing losses and maximising Nitrogen Use Efficiency were recurring themes across multiple events, reflecting the industry’s continued focus on improving profitability alongside sustainability.
Another major talking point throughout the events was TFU® and the future of seed treatment technologies. There have been a number of intended changes announced to regulation over the last few years, which will continue to make the future of traditional seed treatments uncertain. This is leaving growers and agronomists looking for solutions that offer both reliability and long-term availability.
TFU® generated significant interest because of both its single-molecule formulation and the results demonstrated in the trial plots. Growers responded particularly well to seeing the technology in context, with side-by-side comparisons helping to demonstrate the benefits of improved rooting, establishment and early vigour in winter wheat. Without the complexity of multi-component products, it offers growers confidence that they have access to a seed treatment that will is future proof and capable of supporting strong establishment through enhanced root and shoot development from the earliest stages of growth. Strong crop establishment remains one of the most effective ways to build resilience throughout the season, particularly as weather conditions become increasingly unpredictable and more challenging.
The most important part of the Frontier Open Days was the opportunity for the team to discuss local-level challenges. Soil type, weather patterns, cropping systems and management priorities vary depending on where growers are in the UK, meaning there is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution. By visiting events across multiple regions, the team could have detailed conversations about how different biostimulant technologies can support individual agronomic programmes rather than offering generic recommendations. The team were pleased to be able to have these granular discussions and provide individuals with the advice they needed.
We’d like to thank Frontier Agriculture, ProCam and everyone who took the time to visit the demonstration plots, attend presentations and share their experiences throughout this year’s open days. The questions and feedback we receive at events like these are invaluable and help ensure that innovation continues to be driven by the needs of growers.
2nd July 2026
