• Molecular Technology Unit: cutting-edge molecular diagnostics and DNA analysis (including high-throughput real-time PCR, field portable DNA testing equipment and Next Generation Sequencing).
• Thomson Suite: one of the UK’s largest mass spectrometry facilities with over 40 different instruments.
  
• Quarantine Glasshouses & CE rooms: extensive suite of high-containment facilities for holding non-indigenous pests and pathogens, with its own dedicated horticultural team.
• Reference collections: Fera hosts internationally important reference collections including over 100,000 entomological specimens, the world’s largest collection of plant-parasitic nematodes and the NCPPB (National Collection for Plant Pathogenic Bacteria).
• Bee Research Unit: maintains over 60 experimental apiaries as part of its work with Defra’s National Bee Unit and  other work on bee and pollinator health.
• Remote sensing: Fera has its own small fleet of UAVs (‘unmanned aerial vehicles’) with trained pilots and GIS modelling capability.
• Agri-food datasets: custodians of nationally important long-term datasets including pesticide usage and disease monitoring.

In order to face future challenges, we need to continue to pioneer new diagnostic and measurement technologies. Fera’s glasshouses are deployed across a range of testing disciplines, from plant uptake experiments to potato brown rot analysis.

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