Heroes of Energy: How Leeds champions the future of farming at the National Pig Centre
The University of Leeds is at the forefront of sustainable agriculture innovation, as showcased in a new video featuring the National Pig Centre.
A new six-minute video, filmed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) at the university research farm in North Yorkshire, highlights our groundbreaking research in sustainable agriculture and insect farming, and how academia and industry can work together to reach the UK’s net zero targets.
Central to this effort are researchers in the School of Biology, Drs. Gesa Reiss and Katie McDermott.
In the video, Dr McDermott talks about her research journey into livestock agriculture and how the research farm is enabling projects, such as DELIVER: decarbonising emissions from livestock: innovative valorisation of waste for energy resilience, and InSAFE: Securing the Future of the UK's Insect Farming Industry which can improve the sustainability of pig farming.
I fell in love with livestock while studying my degree.
Dr Gesa Reiss, Senior Research Fellow who works across the Faculty of Biological Sciences and the Global Food and Environment Institute, also talks about her research into insect bioconversion, a process which converts a waste product into something more useful.
Dr Reiss is using the newly installed insect bioconversion unit, developed by insect company Entocycle, to develop safety protocols for rearing insects, such as black soldier flies, on waste.
The National Pig Centre, which opened in 2019, prides itself on offering a place for researchers to collaborate across disciplines, including Biological Sciences, Engineering and the Physical Sciences and Environment.
In the video, FBS researchers are also joined by Professor Kang Li, Chair of Smart Energy Systems in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, underscoring the variety of expertise needed to develop a fully circular and sustainable farming system.
To learn more about our cutting-edge work, watch the full “Heroes of Energy” video at YouTube. A shorter version is also available.
