Welcome to the latest issue of Direct Driller. Alongside our usual in-depth farmer focus coverage, this edition features a preview of our favourite show, Groundswell, where the conversations around soil health, resilience and input reduction are set to be more relevant than ever. And looking at the current global situation, that relevance is not just …
Mar 2026 Copys Green Farm, North Norfolk – 223 hectares, sandy loam over chalk with flint, pH averages 8, annual rainfall 600 mm. Our family have been farming in Wighton since 1912, but I only started in 2005 after the death of my father. After university, I was at the Scottish Institute of Agricultural Engineering, …
Written by Ben Makowiecki, Agriculture Sustainability Director, Lloyds Regenerative farming is rapidly becoming one of the most important strategic shifts in UK agriculture. At its core, it focuses on building healthier soils, reducing input dependency, strengthening biodiversity, and increasing the resilience of farming businesses to climate and market volatility. Although approaches might vary, the underlying …
The lay of the land: financing regenerative farming Read More »
Apr 2026 Our last year of farming seems to be racing past. To make life easier while we are moving house and clearing the farm, we only have some winter wheat planted as a cash crop, and all break crops are SFI 23 options, mainly AHL1 pollen and nectar crops. The wheat is looking good, …
Rob Bowes I’ve been an agronomist for over a decade, and I’ve seen my role change enormously over the years. A focus on crop health is simply one of the many hats I now wear as I collaborate with a range of specialist teams to better serve the growers I support. At Frontier, we believe …
How agronomy is adapting to better serve UK growers Read More »
Mar 2026 Spring has always been my favourite month, with autumn being a close second. I just love the sights of things coming alive again and new life being born; it is natural regeneration in action. At the time of writing, spring crops have been going into nice conditions, with all the hope and expectation …
For decades, a common piece of advice for boosting soil health and fighting climate change has been to rest grasslands by removing grazing animals. The thinking is straightforward: less grazing means more plant growth, and more plants should mean more carbon stored in the soil. Many environmental programmes and carbon-credit schemes are built on this …
Is Resting Your Pastures Always Best for Soil Health? New Science Says It’s Complicated Read More »
The annual BASE-UK conference has always been more than just a series of presentations; it is a shared journey for a community united by a shared belief in a different way of farming. This year, under the banner of “Growing without Government Support”, the gathering in Huntingdon felt particularly vital. It was a chance to …
A Dispatch from the Front Line: Two Days at the BASE-UK Annual Conference Read More »
It’s the middle of March already; this year is flying by. Even though in my last article I complained bitterly about the drought, the rain that fell in the latter half of 2025 brought our annual rainfall to just above the 30-year average, and of course, there has been an abundance of rainfall at the …
Agroforestry is an agroecological-based approach that combines trees and shrubs with crops, livestock or both, to help create diverse, productive and resilient farming models. Farmers are increasingly looking at integrating trees to help with climate resilience, biodiversity benefits and farm productivity, but knowing where to start can feel daunting. Agricology have produced an online Agroforestry …
