I’m finally and Agroforester! It has been 5 years in the making, but we have finally planted our first 16 hectare field of Agroforestry. We decided to do most of the work ourselves and I am so pleased we did. Farming has become quite an isolated world of technology, screens, twitter and stress along with …
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, I am sitting here thinking of how the last eight months have been since my debut article back in April and I do not think there is any way to sugar coat it, it’s just been bloody moderate (in fact probably less than moderate) with all that is going on in the world but …
Fake news? Harvest 2020 was never going to be great, the perfect storm of a wet autumn and winter followed by a spring drought was always going to end in disappointment. When it came to yields any usual excitement and anticipation was replaced by simple desire to clear ground of such uninspiring crops and start …
Harvest now seems like a distant memory; thank goodness you say! We seemed to get away reasonably light here in S.E. Scotland compared to many others around the UK. I still run two systems on some crops, and I can compare the results rather than wonder what if? It started with the poorest crop this …
Déjà Vu? Another fun drilling season….I am pleased to say we are drilled up bar about 50 hectares on some poorly drained blackgrassy land which was always on the list to do last. This will now be better off as spring barley. Last season was very difficult, we did not get enough drilled and were …
We didn’t think we would get a wetter autumn than last year……we were wrong. I definitely remember farmers telling me that last autumns rain was only a freak occurrence and it wouldn’t occur twice in as many years. Well nature had other ideas and it has meant that after 130mm of rain over the first …
I have always found that pioneering a different system of farming is a lonely task, there is lot of contradicting advice out there but ultimately you have to make the decisions yourself. I have read stacks of books on soil biology and regenerative agriculture and follow all the latest ideas from around the world, but …
Tim Parton looks to the future in farming and sees microbes taking a leading part in crop and animal production To quote Rudyard Kipling, “If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs….” – seems quite appropriate at the moment. Something, as farmers, we are good at living with, is uncertainty: …
Clean Slate Harvest has been and gone and was fairly straight forward here in Kent, all bar the Linseed came in dry. Harvest ended well with the Linseed and the Lentils performing well, previous to them it was a real mixed bag. Glad to being starting with a clean slate for harvest 2021. I had …
