Robotic farm machines will be put through their paces in a Norfolk field as growers seek new ways to tackle labour shortages and reduce chemical use.

The Norfolk Farm Machinery Club (Normac) is organising the event near Fakenham on May 24, which it says is the first public demonstration of this technology in the county.

The club is known for hosting working displays of agricultural machinery, including its popular biennial cultivations demonstration, last held at Downham Market in September.

But the new event was driven by an upsurge in interest in weed control technology, and the growing need to rely less on manual labour and chemical solutions.

A field of maize has been supplied by the Raynham Farm Company for manufacturers to show the latest robots and camera-guided hoes in action within the growing crop.

Normac county organiser Chris Thomas said: "We have often been asked by many farmers if we could organise a field-scale demonstration of robotic farm machinery and the latest technology in inter-row weeding.

"A lot of it will be purely for interest's sake, but there are a number of people who are actively looking at this kind of equipment, because there is an acute labour shortage in the industry and, as far as weed control goes, there is not the same armoury of herbicides available as there used to be. At the same time there are new government grants to purchase this sort of equipment.

"Those three factors all concentrate the mind, and all interested parties are welcome to attend what will be an interesting day."

The field will be open for visitors all day on Tuesday May 24, when machine manufacturers and distributers will be actively hoeing the crop with their equipment. There will also be some static displays of ancillary equipment connected to this new technology.

Visitors have been advised the site is near the postcode NR21 7LJ at Hempton, near Fakenham, and Normac signs will direct people to a central car park close to the field.

For more details and updates on the manufacturers attending, see www.normac.org.uk.