Author name: Tom Sewell

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 […]

Well first things first! I just re-read my last article and how things have changed in just a few months! In many ways the whole world has changed. Since writing my last article on the 25th February the whole country has entered lockdown, the rain has stopped falling from the sky (although its been wet

In the midst of difficulty lives opportunity! Well, as I write this from my room at The Royal Agricultural University at Cirencester on the 25th February the rain is currently lashing against my window and its 3 degrees outside! Hardly the weather for spring drilling, applying fertiliser to backward crops and even clearing up grubbed

Back to Basics In 2013 I was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to look at the “Long term benefits of No-Till Farming”. My appeal to the Nuffield selection panel was that I wanted to visit farmers around the world who had been no-till farming for over 20 years and try to bring back some common threads

Priorities… but who’s to say which ones are right and which are wrong?! Since penning my last article for the team at Direct Driller I’ve been thinking what fresh and interesting things to write about for my next contribution. It seems that increasingly in recent years many aspects of farming, and life in general, have

“Everyone copies and no-one thinks” As I sit here in a Spain an hour north of Malaga in the mountains surrounded by Olive groves it’s a good time to think and reflect. I must admit I’m really not that good at doing holidays! Fortunately I have a wonderful wife who makes it a priority and

Learning from our mistakes! One of the strangely satisfying things about farming is the opportunity we get each year to wipe the slate clean and plant a new crop into a field. Whether the previous crop had ranged from outstandingly good to outrageously bad we all get the opportunity to start again! This year I’m

“To bale or not to bale” Life is full of compromises! Any of you who have been married for more than a few years will know this is to be true! I love my wife dearly and without her I’d be completely lost. Not only is she a wonderful woman, mother and cook. She also