Conference Speakers

All speakers for the Direct Driller conferences are provided by our Knowledge Exchange Partner BASE UK

See all topics and timings here

CONFERENCE HOST

Edwin farms 800ha of combinable crops and 250ha of grassland, supporting 180 suckler cows plus followers in partnership with his father at 230m above sea level, in south Northumberland which is always going to bring its challenges! The journey into conservation/Regen Ag started back in the late nineties unknowingly, as the drive back then was more cost driven but that was definitely one of the first steps that changed his approach to the way he farms, and it has been and still is a “journey” (every day’s a school day). Back in 2012, he was asked to join a meeting which unknown to him turned out to be the launch of BASE-UK. He was later asked to join the committee, never thinking he would be sitting here today as Chairman, which he says is “a great honour and privilege.” He continues “The organisation has grown beyond expectations because I think there is nothing else out there that offers what BASE can. But its real strength comes from you the members, the committee and administrators, which we all owe a great thanks to. The team do a great job of keeping us all entertained and educated throughout the year.”

See Edwin on both the 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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SFI: WHAT TO CLAIM AND HOW TO PROFIT

9:30 – 10:30

Georgie has worked as manager at Hope Farm for 6 years, an 181ha arable farm in South Cambridgeshire working on heavy clay soils. She works with the team to research and demonstrate nature and climate friendly practices. That includes working on an agroforestry trial, soil monitoring, CSS and now SFI management, regenerative trials, running under the Fair to Nature scheme, and feeding into practical advice for the Farm Wildlife partnership. She also works back at home in Essex, with farmers in the local cluster and the family farm on stewardship work. Georgie has a 1^st Class Masters degree in Zoology, and holds the BASIS certificate in Crop Protection.  

See Georgie Bray on the 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings her

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Managing partner of TWB Farms Clive Bailye is a zerotill arable farmer from Staffordshire, and founder and owner of digital media company Agri Web Media Ltd which operates The Farming Forum , Farm Classifieds, Farm Marketplace websites and publisher of the very popular Direct Driller Magazine . Clive was awarded FCCT’s first ever Soil Farmer of the Year in 2016 is a 2019 Oxford Farming Conference Emerging leader and now regularly speaks internationally to groups interested in his innovative approach to his farming business and the environment.

See Clive on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Elliot Taylor is an Equity Partner at George F. White LLP leading a rural team of highly skilled Rural Surveyors and Farm Consultants, delivering property and business consultancy advice across the North of England.  Elliot is a Member of the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants with over 20 years’ experience in the academic and commercial sectors.  Elliot provides professional advice covering all areas of strategic business management.  His areas of expertise include farm and estate management, strategic business planning, whole farm appraisals and business restructuring.  Other areas of expertise include advising farmers on all aspects of environmental land use through the Environmental Land Management Schemes.

See Elliott on both the 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Passionate about removing the family arable farm in Oxfordshire from the input treadmill, Ben Adams has recently left the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot scheme to make the most out of the full Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 offer. Ben also works as a farming consultant so understands the balance between profitability, regenerative agriculture and getting the most out of schemes and grants.

See Ben on both 11th and 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Martin is a farmer and contractor in South Cambridgeshire, growing mainly arable crops on his family farm and rented land. He has a special interest in farm conservation management, currently running a Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement and has Countryside Stewardship schemes on land he rents and manages. He also supports the delivery of Stewardship schemes for a number of other farmers. Martin is the NFFN CEO and hopes to see the network grow with like-minded farmers and land managers who will work together, sharing best practices and demonstrating what can be accomplished for nature and the environment while producing great produce.

See Martin on the 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Oliver Rubinstein is Customer Success Manager at Trinity Agtech, whose Sandy software allows farmers to measure and take ownership of their natural capital. Oliver previously worked as the NFU County Adviser for Bedfordshire & Huntingdonshire as well as a having spent time as a sustainability consultant at ADAS and researcher at the Organic Research Centre. He has a particular interest in sustainable cereal production systems as well as how farmers can use environmental data to add provenance to their produce.

See Emily on the 11th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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MACHINERY

11:00 – 12 NOON

Gary started out with a direct disc drill and soon found that this wasn’t going to do everything he wanted it to do. He needed a tine drill to complement this, and whilst looking around at affordable used tine drills, nothing took his fancy. So, Gary set about making a simple 3m tine drill utilising a seed hopper from a combi drill already on the farm. The concept worked so well, he’s now made an 8m tine drill with 4 seed hoppers and a liquid applicator.  

See Gary on both the 11th & 12th of June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Joe is an arable farmer in Nottinghamshire, growing 560ha of crops across medium-clay loams. He began transitioning the family farm in 2016 towards a more sustainable way of operating, starting with direct drilling but soon taking a wider approach to utilising cover and catch crops, widening rotations and reducing synthetic inputs. Field scale trials are undertaken to test new techniques or products, ensuring profitability is at the centre of the decision making process.

See Joe on the 11th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Mike has built the business up into a renowned Agricultural Manufacturing Business, designing, testing, and manufacturing durable, soil dynamic parts for Direct Drilling, Minimum Tillage, Strip Till and other soil engagement systems. Mike has designed innovative parts for many agricultural manufactures, as well as parts that are sold for self-build direct drills and conversions for subsoilers into min till, or low draft.

See Mike on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Stephen is the third generation in his family farming in South Northamptonshire and started his journey into regenerative agriculture in 2000. As one of the founder members of BASE-UK, Stephen joined because he wanted to meet with likeminded people who would give him the confidence to continue with the system. He now farms with his wife Rebecca, son David, and daughter-in-law Jess.  They have re-introduced livestock into the arable system to enhance the soil even further by mob-grazing cattle and over-winter grazing of cover crops.  They are using schemes to help pay for proper fencing of fields to ringfence the land.

See Stephen on the 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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COVER CROPS AND INTEGRATING LIVESTOCK

13:00 – 14:00

James farms 550ha in Suffolk. After years of intensive root and cereal cropping which resulted in severe degradation of soils, he started focusing on soil health from 2018, initially with the use of multi-species cover crops. He soon realised that more was needed and from 2021, he developed a more diverse rotation, began experimenting with companion cropping, introduced livestock into the rotation, adopted min-till practices and massively reduced the farms’ reliance on pesticides and artificial fertiliser.

See James on the 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Toby is an arable farmer from Cambridgeshire where he farms in partnership with his family. The farm has been focused on soils for over 20 years, more recently moving into a direct drill establishment system. Toby is a 2022 Nuffield Farming Scholar where he travelled to different countries looking at ‘Catch and cover cropping opportunities in UK arable agriculture’. He has a passion for all things soil health and is always exploring new ideas and trials on the farm.

See Toby on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Kate is a senior soil scientist at ADAS with specialist knowledge of soil and nutrient management and diffuse pollution of air and water from agricultural systems. Kate is FACTS (Fertiliser Advisors Certification and Training Scheme) qualified and a member of the British Society of Soil Science and a member of the Association of Applied Biologists CATE committee group. Her current research focuses upon cover cropping, sustainable grassland systems, improved nutrient management and efficacy testing of enhanced efficiency fertilisers. Research involves both experiments carried out on commercial farms and evidence reviews.  Kate frequently presents at farmer workshops/meetings and at national and international conferences.

See Kate on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Stephen is the third generation in his family farming in South Northamptonshire and started his journey into regenerative agriculture in 2000. As one of the founder members of BASE-UK, Stephen joined because he wanted to meet with likeminded people who would give him the confidence to continue with the system. He now farms with his wife Rebecca, son David, and daughter-in-law Jess.  They have re-introduced livestock into the arable system to enhance the soil even further by mob-grazing cattle and over-winter grazing of cover crops.  They are using schemes to help pay for proper fencing of fields to ringfence the land.

See Stephen on the 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS FROM REGEN AG FARMING

14:30 – 15:30

James is from a farming family in South Devon.  He studied agriculture at Seale-Hayne college before moving into farm management roles and as a technical specialist in an organic recycling business, and as an advisor for the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group. He now delivers practical advice on farms across the country on Regen & Conservation Agriculture techniques.  He’s a firm believer in no-till establishment techniques combined with soil management and crop nutrition techniques for lower-cost crop production. James believes Conservation Agriculture has the potential to deliver tangible social and economic benefits to farming communities, enhance and improve the local and wider environment through cleaner air, water, and greater biodiversity.   These beliefs are derived from practical experience gained working with farmers nationwide. 

See James on both the 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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Steve studied at Hartpury and Brackenhurst Agricultural Colleges and spent 44 years working in agriculture, ex RHM, Kenneth Wilson & Monsanto. He headed up Monsanto’s UK Ecotillage team for 4 years. For the last 25 years Steve has been working with farmers advising them on conservation agriculture systems in the UK, Ireland & Europe. He started Soil First Farming which is a company dedicated to making farmer’s more profit by improving their soil’s structure and fertility. Steve is a founder member of BASE-UK. Steve is also a hobby farmer keeping sheep and occasionally pigs in Gloucestershire.

See Steve on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals . See all topics and timings here

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IPM METHODS AND THEIR ROLE IN SFI PAYMENTS

15:30 – 16:00

Phil is currently Land and Estates Director for Albanwise Limited, moving from Chair of Albanwise Farming and Environment in 2023. Albanwise manage landscapes for food, energy and the environment in Yorkshire and Norfolk. Phil is a former Head of Farming, Training and Partnerships at the GWCT Allerton Project where he worked and farmed for 29 years.

See Phil on both the 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals. See all topics and timings here

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David is a mixed farmer in East Fife with cereal, beef, potato, and environmental enterprises over his own ground and contract farming ground. He was on the steering group of the Fife monitor farm and previously sat on the Barley and Oats Recommended List Committee, as well as the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee for Cereals and Oilseeds. He is a director of SRUC, SQC and Tayforth Machinery Ring, and is active within NFUS. Amongst other duties, he is on the AHDB Combinable Crops Committee and is a national Voluntary Initiative IPM champion. David has a strong interest in IPM and hosts a range of on-farm trials including establishment, seed dressings, fungicides, nutrition, and applications.

See David on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals . See all topics and timings here

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Ollie is AHDB national lead on Farming Systems and Agronomy and brings a wealth of experience from 10 years as an agronomist across the Midlands. He is a Voluntary Initiative Integrated Pest Management Champion and supports the work of the Crop Protection and IPM team within AHDB to help deliver actionable outcomes for agronomists and growers.

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John Gadsby is an Agricultural Consultant with ADAS with 2 decades of experience in practical farm management and consultancy. He is a member of the BASIS Professional Register, NROSO, and holds a BASIS Diploma in Agronomy. As part of his role, John delivers advice on farm business, soils, irrigation, farm infrastructure, IPM / agronomy and nutrient planning across Eastern and Southern England. Prior to joining ADAS, he managed a variety of combinable and root crop enterprises in East Anglia and in Eastern Europe.

See John on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals . See all topics and timings here

Richard has a particular interest in environmental management and improving soil health. He has introduced zero-till/regenerative agriculture to the farm, but will still cultivate where needed, and takes a flexible approach to farming. Richard has always known that farming is his calling. After school he studied Agriculture at Harper Adams University and did his placement year on an organic farm in Berkshire. After university he went to work on farms in Australia and New Zealand. He is now a partner in the family farm business. 

See Caroline on both 11th & 12th June for Direct Driller at Cereals . See all topics and timings here

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