Are you advising farmers on production and use of compost? Or do you have findings from on-farm composting trials that could support others in their decision making for production and use of compost on-farm?
The Compost Knowledge Hub Community of Practice is bringing together several organisations, farm advisors, researchers and farmers trialling innovative approaches to composting to compile existing trials, research and ideas about making and using on-farm compost. It aims to both accelerate development of knowledge and prevent duplication, ultimately providing a one stop place for all evidence based on-farm composting resources.
What is a Community of Practice?
A Community of Practice is a group of people who come together to address a common interest, challenge or concern through deepening their knowledge on the subject through research, collaboration and ongoing communication.
As part of the EU Climate Smart Advisors project, IfA is running six Communities of Practice on topics relating to agriculture and climate change, the first of which is for the Compost Knowledge Hub.
Innovation for Agriculture currently has several projects facilitating Communities of Practice (COPs), which will develop over the next few years. As part of this we are upgrading our existing Communities of Practice portal – an online space to collaborate, share learnings and investigate new topics, sharing just within the Community of Practice.
Joining the Compost Knowledge Hub Community of Practice
Led by The Organic Research Centre, with The University of East Anglia, The Agronomy Research Circle, Groundschool and Innovation for Agriculture involved, we are in the early stages of forming the Compost Knowledge Hub.
The Hub will work towards creating practical, reliable resources for farmers about making and using compost, as well as bringing together a library of well evidenced information about compost. The Community of Practice is an important part of this.
To launch the Community of Practice we held an informal meeting at Groundswell to start connecting individuals and existing projects. Innovation for Agriculture ran the session with support from the other organisations involved in the Compost Knowledge Hub, and from this a network has begun to form. Experiences were shared from informal farmer trials, ADOPT trials, university research and wider projects which has given a broad foundation from which the Community of Practice and the Compost Knowledge Hub can grow.
The Community of Practice is for farm advisors and farmers who are carrying out research projects on farm. By taking part, you can be involved in the acceleration of industry wide knowledge of on-farm composting. It will include both sharing your own expertise and findings, and benefitting from information shared by others, enabling you to expand your knowledge, connect the dots between different research findings and trials and stay ahead of the curve as you advise on composting with farming clients.
Want to get involved? Email megand@i4agri.org to find out more.
