British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN)

What British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) does

BOFIN (British On-Farm Innovation Network) is a UK-based, farmer-led innovation network founded in 2020 by Oxfordshire farmer Tom Allen-Stevens and operated by a four-person core team. It connects approximately 700 farmers, 350+ scientists, 450+ agri-professionals, and nearly 3,000 citizen scientists to validate agricultural innovations under real farm conditions. Its portfolio spans four major Defra-funded research programmes — SLIMERS (£2.6M, sustainable slug control), TRUTH (£1M, soil and root health), PROBITY (£2.2M, precision-bred cereals), and LLS-ERASED (£2.5M, light leaf spot in oilseed rape) — plus the NCS pulse project and an ADOPT Project Facilitator service. Underlying technologies include AI-powered slug detection (Fotenix), multispectral imaging (UK Agri-Tech Centre/Rothamsted), slug patch prediction models (Harper Adams, ~80% precision), hyperspectral satellite nitrogen imaging (Messium, 85% accuracy vs. lab), precision nematode applicators (Farmscan Ag), and the in-beta BOFIN Trialist App (integrating Insight ML's wheat emergence AI). To date, BOFIN has delivered 127 on-farm trials, distributed over £350,000 to farmer trialists, and contributed to the first UK Precision Bred Organism marketing notice for a crop (gene-edited high-lipid barley, 2026).

BOFIN's revenue model is fundamentally grant-funded rather than commercial. The Defra/Innovate UK Farming Innovation Programme grants function as multi-year, mission-based operational funding (collectively ~£8.3M across active projects), though pass-through allocations to partners and farmer trialists absorb the majority. Commercial revenue is limited to two newer streams: the Launchpad service (B2B professional services for agri-tech companies requiring on-farm trial design, farmer recruitment, and data collection with success-based rewards) and ADOPT facilitator fees (supporting farmers in applying for Defra's Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies fund). Distribution is community-led for farmers (digital sign-up, Farming Forum, WhatsApp knowledge circles, Innovation Days, BOFIN Buzz podcast) and direct sales for agri-tech and ADOPT enterprise customers. The company is a privately held, non-listed UK membership organization with no disclosed equity funding or institutional ownership.

Name

British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN)

Legal name

British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN)

Website

https://bofin.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BOFIN is a UK farmer-led innovation network that connects 700+ farmers, 350+ scientists, and 3,000 citizen scientists to coordinate on-farm trials for Defra-funded agricultural research projects in slug control, soil health, and precision-bred crops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Innovation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Trait Performance Trials & Field Testing (Multi-location, pre-commercial) (AFABALAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Results-Based Financing (RBF) & Performance-Based Grants (BPADAOAF)

Keywords

• Agricultural research services
• On-farm trial networks
• Precision breeding projects
• Agri-tech validation services
• Sustainable farming innovation

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxfordshire

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Government-Funded Research Projects: BOFIN leads Innovate UK and Defra-funded projects including SLIMERS (£2.6M), LLS-ERASED (£2.5M), TRUTH (£1M), PROBITY (£2.2M), and NCS project. These provide core operational funding for the organization.
2. Commercial Project Services: BOFIN's Launchpad service supports commercial agri-tech projects, providing trial design, farmer recruitment, data collection, and success-based reward models for companies bringing products to market.
3. ADOPT Facilitator Services: As approved ADOPT project facilitators, BOFIN supports farmers with developing ideas, engaging partners, and producing proposals for Defra's Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies fund.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BOFIN is a farmer-led on-farm innovation network that runs paid agricultural trials connecting UK farmers with scientists and agri-tech innovators. It leads four major Defra-funded research projects (SLIMERS, TRUTH, PROBITY, LLS-ERASED) plus ADOPT facilitation services and a commercial Launchpad service that recruits participating farmers, manages trials, and delivers evidence and data to agri-tech clients.

Product overview

BOFIN (British On-Farm Innovation Network) is a farmer-led agricultural innovation network, not a traditional product company. Its offering consists of a portfolio of farmer engagement programmes, research projects, and trial platforms. The core portfolio includes: (1) BOFIN Launchpad — a commercial service for agri-tech companies to run on-farm trials; (2) ADOPT Programme Support — BOFIN acts as an approved Project Facilitator for Defra's ADOPT funding programme; (3) Four major Defra-funded research projects — SLIMERS (sustainable slug control), TRUTH (soil/root health), PROBITY (precision-bred cereals), and LLS-ERASED (oilseed rape disease); and (4) Supporting tools including the BOFIN Trialist App, BOFIN Buzz podcast, BOFIN Insight newsletter, and various farmer knowledge circles. BOFIN works with partner technologies including Fotenix (AI slug detection), Farmscan Ag (precision sprayers), and Messium (hyperspectral nitrogen imaging) embedded within its project ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BOFIN Launchpad A commercial service for agri-tech companies to develop and bring products to market through robust on-farm trials, recruiting farmers from BOFIN's trusted network for trial design, product supply, data collection, analysis, and PR/communications. Manages multi-farm trials with success-based reward models and turns farmers into long-term product advocates.
• ADOPT Programme Support

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced slug control costs through targeted application enabled by slug patch prediction models
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability10 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UK Agri-Tech CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Key consortium partner in multiple BOFIN-led projects including SLIMERS and LLS-ERASED. Oversees project delivery and integration, supporting collaboration across partners and ensuring outputs remain focused on adoption, scalability and real-world impact.
• Harper Adams UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Academic partner led by Professor Keith Walters, focusing on slug behaviour research and development of patch prediction models for the SLIMERS project. Provides scientific analysis and trial design expertise.
• John Innes CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Leading research partner contributing expertise in wheat genetics, plant breeding, and entomology. Scientists including Dr Simon Griffiths, Dr Victor Soria-Carrasco, and Dr Rachel Wells lead work on slug-resistant wheat varieties, gene editing, and precision breeding.
• FotenixcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Technology partner developing AI-powered slug detection using multispectral imaging. Building software pipelines that can spot slugs earlier and more accurately than human or drone scouts.
• Farmscan AgcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Technology partner developing precision application systems for targeted nematode delivery to control slugs. Working on automated spray systems integrated with autonomous farm vehicles.
• AgrivationcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Provides high-resolution soil mapping and sampling using electromagnetic induction scanning, RTK GPS-referenced soil sampling, and drone imagery to identify slug hotspots and support trial design.
• ADAScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Technical partner in LLS-ERASED and other projects, contributing expertise in disease management, agronomics, and integrated pest management. Dr Faye Ritchie leads technical work on disease management tools and IPM testing protocols.
• University of HertfordshirecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Academic partner led by Professor Yongju Huang, focusing on plant pathology and light leaf spot research for the LLS-ERASED project. Leading development of disease forecasting and decision support systems.
• University of NottinghamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Academic partner in TRUTH project, providing X-ray CT scanning of soil cores through the Hounsfield Facility and expertise in root-soil interactions from Dr Craig Sturrock.
• PES TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Technology partner in TRUTH project providing sensor technology that can detect more than 10 soil health indicators through a 'scent fingerprint' for on-farm soil testing.
• CibuscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023US-based partner in LLS-ERASED using Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) for precise genetic edits in elite breeding lines, enabling faster trait development for oilseed rape improvement.
• Scottish AgronomycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Industry partner in LLS-ERASED bringing practical agronomic expertise and grower perspective to the project alongside ADAS.
• Farm Carbon ToolkitminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in NCS project providing carbon footprinting expertise and the Farm Carbon Toolkit calculator for farmers to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Rothamsted ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Research partner in PROBITY and SLIMERS projects. Professor Nigel Halford leads work on gene-edited wheat varieties while Professor Peter Eastmond leads high lipid barley development.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• EIT Food: European public-private partnership funding and connecting agri-food innovation projects across the EU, including on-farm pilots and farmer engagement programmes. EIT Food operates a comparable funder-bridged innovation network model but at a pan-European scale and from a continental funder base.

Broad incumbents

• SRUC (Scotland's Rural College): UK rural college delivering agricultural research, consulting and farmer-facing advisory services across Scotland and the UK. SRUC's research-and-knowledge-exchange function is broadly comparable to BOFIN's farmer-led innovation network, though at much larger institutional scale.
• Frontier Agriculture: UK agronomy and grain marketing business running farmer trials, variety demonstrations and knowledge-exchange events across arable sectors. Frontier's trial-and-demonstration activities directly overlap with BOFIN's on-farm trial engagement with arable farmers.
• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB): UK statutory levy-funded body coordinating agricultural R&D, knowledge exchange and on-farm monitoring across multiple crop sectors. AHDB is the closest institutional analogue to BOFIN's farmer-led knowledge-exchange and trial-coordination model, but operates at much larger scale with statutory funding rather than competitive grants.
• Hutchinsons (Crop Production Specialists): UK agronomy service company providing crop advice, on-farm trials (Helix demonstration farms) and precision agriculture services to arable farmers. Hutchinsons' Helix farm network competes for the same farmer-trial mindshare that BOFIN recruits from.

Emerging players

• Farm491: UK agritech incubator based at the Royal Agricultural University supporting agricultural technology start-ups with farm-trial access and investor connections. Farm491's on-farm trial support for agri-tech start-ups is a narrower, more start-up-focused analogue to BOFIN's Launchpad commercial service.

Direct peers

• ADAS: UK agricultural and environmental consultancy delivering crop research, agronomy and integrated pest management trials for farmers and government. ADAS is a current BOFIN consortium partner in LLS-ERASED but operates a comparable service business — designing and running on-farm trials — that competes for the same grant pool and commercial customers.
• NIAB (National Institute of Agricultural Botany): UK crop science organization providing variety testing, agronomy research and on-farm validation services to plant breeders, agronomists and farmers. NIAB's variety-trial and applied-research work is directly comparable to BOFIN's trial-coordination model across cereals and oilseeds.
• Crop Health and Protection (CHAP): One of the UK Agri-Tech Centres delivering crop health innovation, translational research and on-farm validation projects funded by Innovate UK. CHAP operates the same publicly-funded, consortium-led on-farm innovation model as BOFIN, particularly in crop protection and precision breeding.
• Agri-TechE: UK agri-tech membership network and innovation cluster connecting farmers, researchers, technology providers and investors. Agri-TechE competes with BOFIN as a focal point for UK on-farm innovation collaboration and partner matching for agri-tech companies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bofinfarmers
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/british-on-farm-innovation-network-bofin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN)