Farmer Focus – Andy Cato
September 2024 The deluge of the last few days, following the wettest winter since 1836…
Timing is everything
Reflecting on last season’s challenges and the lessons learned Jeff Claydon, Suffolk arable farmer and…
Early sown winter wheat returns to heavy land blackgrass site
High yielding, profitable early-sown winter wheat crops are once again a regular feature on the…
Farmer Focus – Andy Howard
Innovation: Fun but potentially painful I was recently nominated for the BBC’s food and Farming…
Have you ever had a lightbulb go off in your head? A true ‘Aha’ moment?
Daniel Iddon of Woodland Grow came to the realisation that the soils we use to…
Your SFI questions answered at Cereals
The new regen agriculture section at Cereals provided growers the chance to receive advice from…
Farmer Focus – Julian Gold
September 2024 Harvest 24 has been surprisingly good. We were blessed with fairly good weather…
Agent in Focus – Peter Roberts
Integrating Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions into Arable Contract Farming Agreements provides a number of…
BASE UK
We are the premier organisation, dedicated to promoting independent, farmer led, regenerative agricultural knowledge across…
Adapting nitrogen at Strategic Cereal Farms
Senior Knowledge Transfer Manager Henny Lowth introduces the nitrogen trials at AHDB Strategic Cereal Farms,…
Drill Manufacturer – Amazone and Ian Partridge
Based in Aberdeenshire, Ian Partridge owns and runs, along with the family, 800 acres of…
Rotational complexity increases cropping system output
A summary of the paper published in One Earth, Volume 7, Issue 9, 20 September 2024,…
Turning soil, crop and cow health around on tricky land
A move towards biological farming is setting one mixed farm up for a better future….
Farmer Focus – Tom Sewell
September 2024 Is 2024 the year to forget? Three weeks ago Chris asked me to…
Green Farm Collective Regenerative Agriculture Conference 2024
The Regenerative Agriculture Conference 2024, organised by the Green Farm Collective, brought together industry experts,…
Agronomist in Focus – Hannah Foxall
The 2023/4 seasons weather has presented significant challenges. Despite these difficulties, Winter crops sown in…
Enhancing Crop Establishment: The Advantages of Wider Seed Bands in Modern Agriculture
Written by Ian Clayton-Bailey from BTT UK At Bentfield Bury Farms, the winter wheat and…
BYDV-resistant wheats prove their worth in a difficult season
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Farmer Focus – Philip Bradshaw
September 2024Â Â A year since my last article here and it has been an interesting…
Why scientific credibility and standards compliance are vital for farming and rural communities
Find out why scientific credibility and standards compliant natural capital analytics are critical for farming…
Adapting to the Unpredictable: The Importance of Soil Resilience
Written by Louise Penn from Ceres Rural As much as I’d like to avoid discussing…
Securing sustainability
A move to biological seed treatments has helped a Borders grower move away from chemical…
Land sparing and land sharing – considerations for farming with nature
Written by Dr David Cutress: IBERS, Aberystwyth University. Land sparing and land sharing are two…
Tillage with simultaneous fertiliser placement in classical direct seeding regions
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2022 US Census of Agriculture Reports Increase in No-Till Acres, Decrease in Conservation Tillage
Among the wins for conservation reported in the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture was…
Welcome to the first tech focussed edition of Direct Driller Magazine. From now on, issues will rotate between soils issues and tech issues.
Contents –
Old-fashioned farming with modern technology – page 4.
It’s 2030, so how have we done? – page 4.
Labour pains push robotic pickers – page 6.
Industry-leading research in robotics and automation – page 12.
Flash, crackle, pop – page 14.
Agronomist in Focus – Todd Jex – page 16.
The win-wins of regenerative agriculture – page 19.
Robots find their way into farmers fields – page 22.
Bayer and Microsoft forge a new frontier – page 26.
Robitics and perception in agriculture – page 28
What will appear at FIRA24? -30
Farmer Focus – Thomas Gent – 36
From hands-free hectare to aerial delivery – 37
Farmer Focus – Daniel Davies – 39
Catapult plans for UK agritech – 41
Shedding light on LED grow lighting – 46
Drilling down into fixed costs – 48
Farmer Focus – Simon Beddows – 50
Making methane practical – 52
Hitting rock bottom – 53
Basics best for hi-tech wine – 56
Biochar venture wins equity investment – 59
Farmer Focus – Clive Bailye – 61
Manufacturer Focus – Vaderstad – 63