We are often asked how much of the UK’s farmed acres are direct drilled. It isn’t easy to answer exactly, but the easy answer is that it is always increasing. Data seems to suggest between 8% and 12% is no-tilled, but given all the confusion over naming, we are not sure that even this is …
We’re all becoming more and more familiar with the ‘internet of things’ – the burgeoning range of sensor-laden devices that collect, exchange and analyse information through the internet Domestically, IoT (as it’s commonly referred to) is big business, with wellknown brands such as Alexa, Nest, Ring, Hive and even children’s toys taking advantage of IoT …
Remote Weather Data? Make Use Of A ‘Hidden’ Network… Read More »
Cost of production? Cash only net margin? Machinery depreciation per hectare? Holly Shaw, AHDB’sKnowledge Exchange Manager for Benchmarking in East Anglia looks into the detail. AHDB’s Farmbench online benchmarking tool hopes to take the mystery out of physical and financial performance of multiple farm enterprises. The updated tool now incorporates cross-sector recording, including combinable, potatoes, …
Welcome to this sixth issue of Direct Driller. We guarantee you will discover new facts and information on many aspects of no-till crop management. You’ll be aware the ‘soil’ topic has moved rapidly from being a quirky idea to something of which all farmers have become aware. This leads me to think of all those …
Just when you thought there was a lot of choice in terms of which drill is right for you, there is now even more choice. Both Novag and Virkar have written about their own drills in this issue and we are looking forward to hearing more from them in the future. We also have information …
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. Tom Sewell mentioned a great book earlier called “Dirt to …
It’s perhaps not so important whether Einstein said “ insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results” or not. The powerful phrase initiates progress and of course has considerable relevance in farming, where doing the same thing can be a bit of a habit. That is, of course, if you …
Written by Ian Gould, Director of Oakbank Game and Conservation Ltd In an attempt to take myself out of my own comfort zone and into a new learning arena, I decided to venture across the “Pond” and immerse myself in US Agriculture for a week. Arriving in Indianapolis in January 2019 I was intent on …
MIKE DONOVAN Homo sapiens are hard-wired to be critical and suspicious of the unknown. We apply the maxim ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ where we can, and look for excuses to maintain the status quo. It applies to farming methods. The big gaps in no-till knowledge slow the progress of those who are …
By Edward H. Faulkner With a Foreword byS. Graham Brade-Birks M.Sc. (Manc.), D.Sc. (Lond.), of the SouthEastern Agricultural College (University of London), Wye, KentFirst published 1945 Traditions of the Plough Continued from Issue 1 of Direct Driller Ploughing done when the furrow slice is plastic creates clods; every clod is so much soil mustered out …
