Issue 27 – Contents
Inside this issue:
Issue 27April 2024
Introduction – Issue 27 – Following the money
It looks like arable movers, shakers and advisors seem to be moving away from yield, costs and profits towards the birds, bees and ecology. They’re ‘following the money’ as Warren Buffett might say. Today they are making the choice between AHL1 (pollen and nectar flower mix) at £739 / ha/year or leaving their Sustainable Farming …
To be or not to be
Never fear, I’m not venturing into Shakespeare here. Not only are my writing skills lacking, but I can’t see Direct Driller ever making it to the stage either. However, I am questioning the desire to be labelled a “regenerative farmer”. Do you want or need to be labelled at all? This is not quite weighing …
Farmer Focus – Ben Taylor-Davies
January 2024 Neurodiversity and oubaitori, 2 words that presented themselves to me towards the end of 2023, 2 words which answer a lot of questions to many of my life’s struggles, thankfully something that seems to have been put well behind me since finding regenerative agriculture and realising this would cure my mental health issues. …
Is regen farming producing more nutritious food?
Can how you grow crops impact on the nutrient and health value of food? It’s what farmer and doctor Hannah Fraser is trying to find out on a Nuffield Scholarship By Mike Abram For a long time there has been a suspicion that how you grow food will determine its nutrient status and ultimately impact …
Is regen farming producing more nutritious food? Read More »
Long awaited clarity for carbon accounting tools
After a year-long investigation, Defra’s report: ‘Harmonisation of Carbon Accounting Tools for Agriculture’ is providing much-needed guidance on appropriate standards for carbon reporting.
Farmer Focus – Tim Parton
February 2024 Water, water everywhere! I bet it turns off just when we need it! What an Autumn/Winter! The rain keeps coming, which makes you wonder if it will turn off just when we rely on it. On a positive, it is wonderful to see how well my soil copes with these extremes, with fantastic …
A sky-high revolution in crop research.
Drone technology is poised to bring about a significant transformation in crop research in the coming years, according to leading agronomy company Agrii. This technology has the potential to not only enhance the capacity of plot assessments traditionally conducted by researchers but also to improve the consistency of results across all Agrii trial sites throughout the UK.
Farmer Focus – Anna Jackson
March 2024 February is supposed to be quiet? For those that I haven’t met before, hello, my name is Anna and I’m 4 years into farming. I grew up on our family farm but made the move to return 4 years ago and haven’t looked back since. You may have met my Dad, Andrew Jackson, …
BYDV-Resistant Wheat
BYDV-resistant wheat is a relatively new concept in the UK that is creating significant interest among farmers and the seed trade.
Pressure from BYDV is building after the ban in 2019 of seed treatments that controlled the aphid vectors, while resistance to insecticide sprays is increasing and government policy on insecticide use is tightening.