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 …
Arable & Pig Producer – Newport Shropshire 200ha Owned (Wheat / Barley / OSR / Sunflowers / Beans) 350ha Contracting 100 Sow Indoor/Outdoor Herd Our arable business has always traditionally been a poor relation to the livestock enterprise. It has however dutifully had the important task of growing combinable crops to feed the hungry mouths …
Written by James Warne from Soil First Farming It seems everyone is doing ‘regen’ these days. There is a lot of confusion and miscommunication around what it means. I was at a meeting recently where I heard someone proclaim that their arable business was carbon neutral even though they were still ploughing, combi-drilling and using …
With the farming landscape in the UK changing so dramatically in recent years, leaving many generational farmers facing reduced financial support as well as increased costs, the pressure is really on over how to make land generate a return. Many farmers today are facing the stark reality of dwindling subsidies, so it’s never been more …
How Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is delivering alternative farm funding Read More »
January 2023 After a very easy and early harvest, followed by a few stressful weeks of unbelievably dry conditions when most drilling and land work was impossible, we finally had the autumn we had all been waiting for. For us the rain fell little and often from mid-September until the beginning of November, when the …
Inspired by history for the future of farming Using fish in arable farming is not a new phenomenon. The practice can be traced back to the ancient Roman empire on this side of the Atlantic, and there are stories of Native Americans showing the Pilgrims how to grow corn by planting a fish with each …
In the final part of our series on sap analysis, Mike Abram talks to a farming business that’s incorporated sap analysis into a wide range of cropping Extensive sap analysis, first in trials, but increasingly in commercial practice is starting to change the way Cambs Farms Growers, part of G’s Growers, is managing its wide …
Sap analysis proving valuable for large, diverse farming business Read More »
Written by Emma Adams on behalf of The Farm Carbon Toolkit The second in our series of farm walks was with David Miller in Hampshire. This year’s Arable Soil Farmer of the Year, David is keen to demonstrate how a regenerative system can be both simple and profitable even on challenging soils. Managing 700ha of …
Arable Soil Farmer of the Year – A farm walk with David Miller Read More »
Pasture and Profit in Protected Landscapes is a free, farmer-led programme of farm walks, events and webinars open to everyone farming in the Protected Landscapes of Surrey Hills, High Weald and Kent Downs. The programme is being run by Pasture for Life in partnership with the Protected Landscapes. We believe that farmers learn best from …
Pasture and Profit in Protected Landscapes Programme Read More »
I can’t be certain when you will be reading this contribution to the UK’s formative regenerative publication, but what I do know is that most of you will be about to, or will just have, sat around the Christmas table with your family. It can be tricky territory. Especially if you are all working together …
