Rothamsted Research Station

Rothamsted Research Station is "almost certainly the oldest agricultural research station in the world," dating back to 1843.

Rothamsted in Its Own Words

 * "Its foundation dates from 1843 when John Bennet Lawes, the owner of the Rothamsted Estate, appointed Joseph Henry Gilbert, a chemist, as his scientific collaborator.


 * "As a young man, Lawes had been interested in the effect of fertilisers on crop growth and, in 1842, started the first factory for the manufacture of artificial fertilisers. Lawes was not only a successful entrepreneur, he was destined to become one of the great Victorian scientists.


 * "The scientific partnership between Lawes and Gilbert lasted 57 years, and together they laid the foundations of modern scientific agriculture and established the principles of crop nutrition.


 * "In 1843 they started the first of a series of long-term field experiments - some continue to this day. The main object of these experiments was to measure the effect on crop yields of inorganic and organic fertilisers. These so-called "Classical Field Experiments" are an increasingly valuable experimental resource for today's scientists.


 * "By about the 1900, the vast amount of data accumulated from the "Classical Experiments", together with the inherent variability of agricultural field experimentation, led to the need for a sound approach to statistical methods. Indeed, Rothamsted is known as the birthplace of modern statistical theory and practice.


 * "Researchers at Rothamsted have made many other significant contributions to science over the years, including the discovery and development of the pyrethroid insecticides, as well as pioneering contribution in the fields of virology, nematology, soil science and pesticide resistance."

Leadership
The Board of Directors is as follows: Professor Sir David Read FRS
 * Professor Nick Talbot (Chairman)
 * Professor Mark Bailey
 * Professor Richard Bardgett
 * Dr Graham Birch (Deputy Chairman)
 * Dr. David Brightman
 * Philip Chamberlain
 * Professor Edward Cocking FRS
 * Caroline Drummond
 * Professor Michael Elves
 * Jonathan Flowers
 * Dr. David Lawrence
 * Paul Leonard


 * Institute Director: Professor Maurice Moloney
 * Secretary: Stephen James

Funding
Rothamsted Research Limited is an independent charitable company, limited by guarantee and governed by a Board of fourteen non-executive Trustee Directors currently chaired by Professor Nick Talbot. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT), as our largest funder and our landowner respectively, each nominate one Trustee. The Chair is jointly nominated by BBSRC and LAT."

In 2011, Rothamsted Research Limited received a total of £37,301,000 in funds. Of that amount, £26,623,000 (71%) came from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Another £3,786,000 (10%) came from the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and £2,943,000 (8%) came from industry.

Contact Information

 * Rothamsted Research
 * Harpenden
 * Hertfordshire
 * AL5 2JQ
 * United Kingdom
 * Ph: + 44 (0) 1582 763 133
 * Fax: + 44 (0) 1582 760 981
 * Web: http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk

Related Sourcewatch

 * Synthetic Fertilizer
 * Keith Goulding

External Resources

 * D.S. Powlson, D.S. Jenkinson, A.E. Johnston, P.R. Poulton, M. J. Glendining, and K.W.T. Goulding, Comments on “Synthetic Nitrogen Fertilizers Deplete Soil Nitrogen: A Global Dilemma for Sustainable Cereal Production,” by R.L. Mulvaney, S.A. Khan, and T.R. Ellsworth in the Journal of Environmental Quality 2009 38:2295–2314.