Written by Ian Gould and Ethan Powell from Oakbank Game and Conservation As we inch ever closer to knowing more detail regarding the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and the new government portal for applications (possibly in September), many farmers are trying to make sense of what we do know. So far there has been little …
Written by Dr Alastair Leake from The Allerton Project “There’s a reason why we use the plough” a colleague sagely advised me when I questioned this fundamental agricultural practice; “It works” – and I was treated to a history lesson to-boot. Having transitioned from growing heated glasshouse salad crops in hydroponics, the ultimate zero-till system, …
The evolution of tillage techniques on heavy arable land in the East Midlands Read More »
Written by Emma Adams on behalf of The Farm Carbon Toolkit The second in our series of farm walks was with David Miller in Hampshire. This year’s Arable Soil Farmer of the Year, David is keen to demonstrate how a regenerative system can be both simple and profitable even on challenging soils. Managing 700ha of …
Arable Soil Farmer of the Year – A farm walk with David Miller Read More »
Excellent soil health is fundamental for maximum farm productivity With autumn drilling on the Claydon farm completed and crops developing well, Jeff Claydon, inventor of the Opti-Till® direct strip seeding system, discusses the importance of excellent soil health and the role of effective stubble management in achieving it. 30 November 2022 Excellent soil health is a …
By Brian O’Connor originally published by No-Till Farming Wisconsin no-till dairyman Chris Conley thwarts heavy rain and hills with no-till, covers and planting green. No-tiller Chris Conley took two big steps where other farmers might take one. Conley farms 120 acres for feed (silages, dry hay and high-moisture corn) for his 52-cow dairy, located down …
Written by Megan Hesketh – Senior Analyst – Arable We are fast approaching harvest 22 and looking now to harvest 23 for cropping decisions, but the cost and margin picture looks very different to this time last year. UK feed wheat new crop futures (Nov-22) closed yesterday at £340.10/t. This is almost double the price …
Analyst Insight: How Are Margins Looking For Harvest’ 22 And 23? Read More »
Written by Ian Gould from Oakbank Oakbank have been looking at ways to include a “Living Mulch” in an arable rotation for a number of years and we would like to thank Roger Davis and his team at Indigro for their collaboration with this work. Some of you may be familiar with this concept, but …
Joel Williams says this season presents some wonderful opportunities to test and trial some new approaches towards optimising N inputs – valuable lessons can be learnt for future seasons ahead. With fertiliser prices the way they are, I’m sure everyone is already thinking it is going to be an eyebrow raising season ahead. This year …
Using A Diversity Of Nitrogen Forms To Enhance Foliar Efficiencies Read More »
A new approach to crop trials will provide an essential insight into how seed varieties perform under different establishment systems, enabling better advice aimed at maximising performance in the field, including specifically for direct-drill systems. While the Recommended List (RL) trials have historically been designed to accurately reflect the genetic potential of a variety, and …
Detailed trials assessing a broad range of regenerative farming strategies on a progressive Durham farm are putting some solid science into efforts to improve arable sustainability by making the very most of above and below-ground biology. Now into their third season, the Agrii Green Horizons trials with David Hankey on his family’s 160ha Dunkirk Farm, …
Durham Farm Trials Put Solid Science Into Biological Farming Read More »
