The first in Direct Driller’s series of “Covering Soils” events took place on 21st September, after the remnants of a storm blew through the farm on the 20th when it had originally been planned. But most of the 100 registered farmers where still able to attend and enjoy the content we had on. Full write …
In June, Mike Abram visited three US farmers disrupting the norm in the Midwest states of Indiana and Ohio. Driving through northern and central Indiana there are a couple of things that strike you immediately – one, how flat it is, and two, how most of the cropping is either soybeans or maize. In a …
John Miles, Agrii seed technical manager, explains why variety choice is the primary consideration when planning cultivation regime, drilling date and fungicide strategy Not all varieties perform equally. It may seem an obvious statement to make, but it promotes the bigger question: which will do well on my farm, and which won’t? Given the interest …
Trials show value of stronger varieties in ‘lower input’ regimes Read More »
Precision in calculating emissions and sequestration in agricultural soils is crucial for the carbon footprint of crops, grass, and livestock, and for the valuation of natural capital. Dr Alasdair Sykes, Trinity AgTech’s managing director of sustainability, explores the latest advances in quantifying and understanding nitrous oxide emissions. According to industry reports, in 2019 nitrous oxide …
Written by Lizzie Sagoo from ADAS Earlier this month, ADAS, Rothamsted and Bangor University welcomed over 250 delegates from 25 countries to the 18th International RAMIRAN conference in Cambridge. The theme of this year’s RAMIRAN was maximising the utilisation of organic fertilisers against a background of changing regulation and increasing pressure on the environment and food production. Following …
Making the most of organic materials to reduce fertiliser bills Read More »
Written by Joe Stanley from the Allerton Project It’s well established, including by our own research (in part discussed in June’s article on our pioneering Conservation Agriculture trial), that a move to reduced tillage or direct drilling (DD) can generally be considered beneficial for the triumvirate of farm economics, soil health and environmental sustainability. With …
As growers grapple for grassweed solutions, Direct Driller looks at the results from the first year of on-farm trials investigating a novel way of controlling weed seeds at harvest. Written by Charlotte Cunningham Grassweeds are the bane of any arable farmer’s life, with control often an uphill battle when it comes to tackling particularly persistent …
On-farm trials make progress towards weed seed solutions Read More »
Written by Joe Stanley from the Allerton Project What it is to be ‘a good farmer’ in the UK is currently undergoing a transformation of grand proportions. Many will have spent much of their careers in the belief that farmed land was for one thing only – food production – and that soil health (to …
Proving the value of Conservation Agriculture in the UK Read More »
After five years of cover crops and reduced tillage cultivations, Kent farm manager Dom Hughes reviews his experience – and how good advice has been vital to not making a mess of it. “Slowly, slowly catchee monkey” has become my mantra. This old English proverb, which is another way of saying ‘be patient’, is perhaps …
High silt content soils make for a slow drilling transition Read More »
Written by James Warne from Soil First Farming Many years of looking at soil proves to me that cultivations never improve soil structure. They may help to overcome an immediate problem – like compaction. But they are only ever a short-term fix; and not a very good one, either. Cultivations always leave some sort of …
