January 2026. Time for a review and plan for the future So, a new year! Time to reflect, take stock and plan for the future?! Well, when Chris asks for an article I always say yes then think “What on earth have I done that’s remotely interesting?” Having just reread my last article, it does …
Since last harvest:• Oats bales• Rain• Budget and consequences• Our values• Winter• Concrete and tanks• Poor prices• From wet to four very dry months• Reunion and cereals• Purchase of a bowser• Where we are today• Harvest planning• Future outlook, basics good limecompost balance soil indices• Do less better! Assess priorities,given past week and budget.• Other …
September 2024 Is 2024 the year to forget? Three weeks ago Chris asked me to write another article for DD and at the time we were still busy combining so I marked the email as unread and started to think about what to write! And to be honest for the past three weeks it has …
Dec 2023 This summer my eldest 2 children sat their A-Levels and GCSE exams. Both did very well and their grades have earned them places at their chosen University and sixth form to continue their studies. Last year I spent quite a few days taking Emma, my eldest, to University open days. It was fascinating …
Well, it’s always interesting sitting down to write an article and thinking of things to wax lyrical about. Quite often, the farmer contributions are all about success stories! Like how to grow 12 tons per hectare of 13% milling wheat on 20 kilos of N and an application of home-brewed compost tea, how a 15-way …
Direct Driller Christmas 2022 Well here we are again! It’s the end of November and as I sit down on a wet Sunday afternoon to write this article at 3.35pm its getting dark outside! Yesterday we heard of the very sad loss of Scottish rugby great Doddy Weir to MND after a brave and long …
Staying sane in a crazy world! Every time I sit down to write my contribution to Direct Driller the world seems to be in a more crazy place. Who would have thought a year ago that we would be selling new crop wheat at over £300/ton and paying virtually double for fertiliser and fuel? It’s …
The good the bad and the ugly! As I sit here on the 30th November furiously tapping away to get this written for tomorrow’s deadline I reflect on what has happened since I last wrote. My last piece mentioned how well the crops looked before harvest! How things have changed in just those few short …
For the last 5 years, in the spring when the Oilseed rape is in flower, I’ve had the privilege of travelling to a very different part of Kent to offer our contract drilling services (planting spring beans into grass) for another farmer. Nothing particularly interesting about that you might think? But there is something quite …
As I sit down to write my latest article, I’m reminded that 8 years ago today I was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship. I was selected as part of the #Nuffield13 year group to study “The long-term benefits of no-till farming”. I remember walking onto the stage at the Nuffield conference to be presented with my …
