Innovation for Agriculture United Kingdom
Innovation for Agriculture (IfA) connects farming and research while working with leading agricultural researchers, businesses, landowners, and farmers to develop the knowledge and technologies that will make modern farming more sustainable, resilient, and productive. Through practical and interactive workshops, farm walks, and on-farm demonstrations, IfA help agricultural businesses to put this knowledge into practice.
For BIOFRAME IfA leads the dissemination and knowledge exchange work package (WP5), ensuring project outputs reach farmers, advisors, policymakers, and the broader agricultural community. IfA will coordinate communication materials, events, newsletters, social media, and farmer-facing resources, translating research into accessible guidance. The organisation will also support pilot farm recruitment, stakeholder networking, and the delivery of training to maximise uptake and impact across the livestock sector.
Tasks: Dissemination, UK pilot farms, training & communication materials
Lead: Holly Shearman
Role: WP5 Lead
Funder
Department for environment, Food and Rural Affairs: DEFRA is the UK Government department responsible for safeguarding the environment, supporting food and farming and sustaining the rural economy.
Holly Shearman
Holly grew up on a mixed livestock farm in South-East England, her background is in project managing livestock disease eradication programmes, helping farmers engage with vets and industry to improve the health and welfare of their livestock and ultimately the efficiency and sustainability of their businesses; she is also a Registered Animal Medicines Adviser (RAMA) and feed adviser. In her spare time, she helps run her family farm, and manages their flock of sheep with her partner. She is passionate about helping farmers farm in a sustainable way, the benefits that this can bring to their businesses and in educating the general public on where their food comes from and the importance of supporting our farmers by buying locally produced, high welfare produce.
Heidi Gibbs
Born and raised on a mixed family farm in Worcestershire. Heidi has spent the majority of her career in the outdoor learning sector, driven by a mission to bridge the gap between the public and their engagement with where their food comes from. Having recently earned a MSc in Sustainable Food and Natural Resources, Heidi is now pivoting her focus towards farmer engagement with regenerative agriculture. Heidi is passionate about empowering farmers to embrace innovative, nature-friendly practices and creating the dialogue necessary to transition toward a more resilient food system.
Henry Holder
Henry has just completed his BSc (Hons) in Rural Land Management at the Royal Agricultural University and has worked in multiple areas in the farming industry. Before going to university, he worked at a local contractor as well as on his family farm in Gloucestershire and during his degree at an agricultural merchant. Whilst there, he became a Registered Animal Medicines Advisor (RAMA) and developed a passion for livestock health and welfare, specifically parasitology, which led to his dissertation (awarded a first) being focused on parasite management in ruminants and how we can integrate several control measures and localised frameworks to maintain best practice approaches. He is passionate about ensuring that farms can operate sustainably and profitably, ensuring education is accessible to both farmers and the public and bridging the gap between research and practice.