The first autonomous farm in the UK at the start of its full operation.

After the Hands Free Hectare (HFHa) project, implemented by Harper Adams University and Precision Decisions, receives additional substantial funding to expand its operations, the UK will receive its first “Autonomous Farm”, which will allow you to grow and harvest crops without operators sitting behind the wheel, or agronomists on earth.

On 35 hectares of land in Shropshire, three different combinable crops will be grown. The project team is looking for solutions to problems such as fleet management, logistics and vehicle navigation.

Once the farm is fully established, it will become a testing ground for agricultural innovation. Companies will be asked to test and evaluate their technologies. HFHa began in 2016, the goal of the project is to become the first in the world to grow, care and harvest using only autonomous means.

The project went through two successful testing cycles and received a number of awards, including the BBC Food and Farming Future Food Award.

The new farm will be a three-year project, based on the campus of Harper Adams University in Shropshire. Launched in collaboration with Harper Adams, Precision Decisions is teamed up with its new partner, Farmscan AG, a UK-based Australian specialist in precision farming.

Jonathan Gill, a mechatronics researcher at the university, said: "We are moving from a feasibility study to a true vision of the future of agriculture."