Adapted for Direct Driller readers based on a paper by Dr Stephen Pearce from Rothamsted Research and the Czech Institute of Experimental Botany If there’s one crop that keeps British farming grounded, it’s wheat. From milling and feed markets to exports, it sits at the centre of most arable rotations. Yet after decades of breeding […]
Unlocking the Genes Behind Wheat Growth and Grain Size Read More »
THE NEED TO CONTROL COSTS Below-average yields and low prices this harvest underline the importance of maximising efficiency across every aspect of crop production, emphasises Jeff Claydon, Suffolk arable farmer and inventor of the Claydon Opti-Till® direct seeding system. August 2025 In the article I wrote last August I mentioned that after an exceedingly difficult
Challenging Season Highlights Read More »
I know I’m biased as I was involved in the first Groundswell, but the event proved once again why it is the UK’s flagship event for regenerative agriculture. As always, held at Lannock Manor Farm in Hertfordshire, this year’s festival brought together farmers, scientists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, and policymakers for a celebration of soil, food, sustainability
Groundswell 2025: A Regenerative Festival That Goes Beyond the Soil Read More »
Water is central to sustainable farming, but too often, it’s the part we leave out. At Groundswell 2025, we set out to change that. As a water supplier working across some of the UK’s most environmentally sensitive landscapes, we were proud to join the event to share our work, listen to the farming community, and
Why we need to talk about water and the land it runs through Read More »
Writing this article (while the season is coming to a close in the midst of a 30C heatwave) is the perfect opportunity to reflect on yet another exciting year of arable farming. I’m usually idealistic on which directions to take my farm and arable clients, always striving towards ambitious goals. However, for each new season
Featured Farmer – Frederik Larsen Read More »
June 2025 I get asked a lot of questions about farming stuff, most of which I have no idea what the answer is. So I usually make something up that sounds right. However, I do suspect that there will always be an element of truth in whatever I say in those situations because after 40
Farmer Focus – John Pawsey Read More »
A new benchmarking report comparing 78 regenerative farms across Europe provides evidence of how regenerative farming can outperform the average conventional system Written by Mike Abram Pioneering regenerative farms across Europe are delivering 20% higher gross margins than the average conventional farm, while using 61% less synthetic nitrogen and 75% less pesticide. Yields were only
Report suggests regenerative farming pioneers are outperforming conventional approaches Read More »
Autumn Crops Despite another wet autumn crops are relatively clean and well established. OSR had reduced CSF grazing this year and pigeons/slugs aside, looks well. The dry spring has kept diseases down throughout flowering and crops are now podding up nicely. Harvest will soon be upon us and we’ll see how yields have fared. Premium
Agronomist in Focus – Hannah Foxall Read More »
Joe Stanley, Allerton Project and Graham Redman, The Andersons Centre Joe Stanley Since 2017, the Allerton Project has been conducting a nationally significant long-term rotational field trial in partnership with Syngenta across five fields of our heavy-land site. The initial five-year phase of the trial, as outlined in the June 2023 issue of Direct Driller,
Revisiting the Syngenta Conservation Agriculture Project. Read More »
Cutting per-tonne costs, boosting yields, maximising income and building healthier soils; these should be key priorities given the challenges facing the farming sector, says Jeff Claydon, Suffolk arable farmer and inventor of the Claydon Opti-Till® direct seeding system. 25 May 2025 Hanslope series clay certainly brings significant challenges and makes timeliness essential, but this spring
Time to Focus on key priorities Read More »
