Other

What’s in a Name?

Welcome to the 5th Anniversary issue of Direct Driller / Normal Farming magazine. When we started the magazine, we really didn’t know what to call it. We knew it should focus on soil health, reduced cultivation, conservation agriculture (remember when it was called that), sustainability, efficiency and profitability. Lots of good words and I’d hope …

What’s in a Name? Read More »

What do you read?

January 2023 If you are like us, then you don’t know where to start when it comes to other reading apart from farming magazines.  However, there is so much information out there that can help us understand our businesses, farm better and understand the position of non-farmers. We have listed a few more books you …

What do you read? Read More »

Reading more

Written by Chris Fellows We have recently taken part in an Innovate UK competition to try and encourage farmers to read from formal material.  Trial results, papers, research, on-farm projects and so forth.  The assumption being that farmers who are better informed, make better decisions and thus become more profitable or sustainable (or both hopefully).  …

Reading more Read More »

Introduction – Issue 18

There’s quiet confidence in farming at present, and it looks like there will be more money than normal available for investment. Andersons ‘Loam Farm’, their virtual 600ha of combinable crops, is forecast to have a business surplus of £840/ha (on an output value of £1966/ ha) this year compared with £573 in 2021 – but …

Introduction – Issue 18 Read More »

The Problem with Vegans

Getting a confession out the way. About a third of my meals are 100% vegan. But in balance, an evening dinner rarely doesn’t contain meat. I like to think this is normal. Nutritionally balanced. A healthy diet, that supports a healthy farming ecosystem of arable and livestock. What’s not to like about that? Well, everything …

The Problem with Vegans Read More »

Thank You

As executive editor of Direct Driller I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new sponsor Trinity AgTech and its founder and executive chairman Dr Hosein Khajeh-Hosseiny. At the same time, give most sincere thanks to ProCam for their support and inspiration from the magazine’s first issue. Procam have been great from the …

Thank You Read More »

Introduction – Issue 16

Farming is not the only industry to face tsunami-sized variations in product prices and input costs. Think airlines, oil, retail, manufacturing, restaurants, hair dressers, theatres… I recently had a very interesting conversation with a very senior oil man who explained the hugely difficult and expensive process of shutting down a refinery and the equal cost …

Introduction – Issue 16 Read More »