Managing 300ha in South Staffordshire on sandy/clay loam soils, I first became aware of how important soil was in the mid-90s. Presently, nothing in my mind is more important than our soil. It provides the population with food, air and clean water through plants and trees, that keep us nourished and sustained in life. Additionally, …
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 …
I farm 155Ha owned at Greenknowe and around 100Ha contract farmed in Berwickshire, Scotland just 6 miles from the border at Coldstream. The land is clay and sandy loam, deep, very variable but the best of products to run an arable business on, any limiting factor is probably me! I do all the farm work …
“Driver Farms is a family run 1200ha contract farming business based in Suffolk farming hanslope series clay. They practice a regenerative agriculture system based on zero and min till. All agronomy is carried out in house. They are also five years into running a 12m CTF system’ I have just been to look at a …
Farming in Transition This year on our farm we have used no tillage, 40% less Nitrogen fertiliser than standard practice, over 50% less fungicides and only one insecticide on a 3ha field of Spring linseed. Has getting to this stage been easy? No. Has it all gone perfectly? Definitely not. It has been a hard …
Staff changes and opting for a bigger drill Someone once told me that one of the great skills of good management was not being afraid to change your mind. Over the last decade our move to conservation agriculture has created the need to change machinery and labour profiles to match the workload and give us …
“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 …
There has been a bit of a backlash towards conservation agriculture methods in the media of late. Mostly from two camps of people. Those that are afraid of trying it and those that are afraid we might succeed…. When we first started our journey into no-till I was a little bit worried about row spacings …
Going into my second year as a farmer I feel a lot more confident than I did last year. I have learned what soils I have, what challenges I face, and the exciting times ahead for UK agriculture and decided on a long-term approach to improve my soil health. This year we are growing Sugar …
Writing on 28th Feb 2019, David White brings readers up to date on early spring work on this Cambridgeshire farm. Farming 160ha of combinable crops on light “boys” land over chalk between Cambridge and Newmarket. I’m 100% combinable having been a sugar beet grower since the days of hand hoeing as well as offering a …
