A RESEARCH facility near Okehampton that carries out vital work into agriculture's most pressing challenges could lose up to 12 members of its workforce, following spending cuts.

The North Wyke research station is run by Rothamsted Research. It has been told to make a 20% reduction in salary costs by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), which supplies its strategic funding.

The station has a regular staff of 70, with around 30 supplementary summer workers, made up of students and research workers.

As of April 2011, staffing levels at Rothamsted Research's three sites — North Wyke, a second in Suffolk and another in Hertfordshire — stood at 427, equating to the loss of 85 jobs in total.

The cuts will bring the overall number of people employed by Rothamsted Research down to fewer than 350, a reduction of almost two thirds since 2000.

Head of site operations Carol Newman said: 'It is possible that between ten and twelve posts could be lost from North Wyke.

'North Wyke is part of one department within Rothamsted Research, sustainable soils and grassland systems. So it is areas within this that are affected, such as anaerobic digestion. There will be a reduction in effort in other areas such as soil entomology.

'These changes are part of a strategic realignment which would have happened anyway. It is part of normal business to periodically review our strategy and our last five-year strategy has come to an end.

'Staff morale always suffers at times of change, but the future of North Wyke is not at risk and the recent multi-million pound investment at the site by the BBSRC should reassure those that remain of the importance of this area of science.'

North Wyke has a fully resourced research farm with extensive facilities. The land area extends to 250 hectares, with a variety of woodland, free draining redland and poorly drained Culm Measures clays. The unique mixture of land types allows staff to undertake experiments on contrasting land types.

Staff carry out research into mitigating and adapting to climate change, protecting natural resources and sustaining the rural economy in grassland dominated regions such as the South West.

The North Wyke laboratories underwent an extensive refurbishment in September 2008, including the establishment of a larger microbiology facility.

The site also has a library which houses 1,700 specialist books covering their research remit, and subscribes to approximately 70 journals in the soil.

Nigel Titchen, president of the union Prospect, which represents the staff at each site, said: 'Despite rising food prices and global issues of crop security and climate change, it appears that BBSRC's mandate to focus on food security is just empty rhetoric.

'The work that will be lost is of direct relevance to British farmers in their struggle to develop sustainable systems as they face the twin challenges of climate change and the economic downtown.

'Once lost, the intellectual expertise represented by these dedicated scientists will be impossible to replace.'