It’s perhaps not so important whether Einstein said “ insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results” or not. The powerful phrase initiates progress and of course has considerable relevance in farming, where doing the same thing can be a bit of a habit. That is, of course, if you …
Large parts of Germany have struggled for years with very erratic rainfall patterns. Some farmers are now tending toquestion the usefulness of cover cropping in dry and even semiarid regions largely on the basis of their experience inthe dry summer and autumn of 2015. Does cover cropping conserve water or squander it? Written by Markus …
Wheatsheaf Farming Company (WFC) farms around 700 Hectares of grade 3 land in Hampshire for 3 landowners. 2 of the landowners also own WFC as a method of farming their land more cost effectively. David Miller, their farm manager, describes details of their move from conventional to no-till farming. I have worked in farming full …
We started Groundswell out of a sense of frustration that no-one was putting on a Summer Show to which we mightwant to go. Having gone down the no-till route, we realised that we only really needed a good seed drill and not a barnfull of expensive cultivating equipment, so Cereals and all those Tillage events …
As based on information found on Agricology (www.agricology.co.uk) Richard Smith, farm manager of Daylesford Organic in Gloucestershire, is a regular contributor to a series of videoblogs produced by Agricology. One topic that he favours for the organic system is growing sainfoin as a forage crop.In this article he reveals some of his experiences of growing …
FOUR ISSUES TO CONSIDER You probably know that crop rotation is a good thing. Growing different crops back to back provides several benefits,such as preventing pests and disease, improving soil health and reducing fertilizer inputs, all of which can boost yourcrop yields and your bottom line. By adding cover crops to the mix, you’re diversifying …
Think “soil quality” rather than “new drill” when planning your change to zero-tilling. Min till and no till are quickly becoming part of everyday agriculture. Whether used to increase soil health and the productivity of soils, or as part of a Black Grass strategy, or both, we are seeing this type of tillage being accepted …
Dr Ian Shield, Rothamsted Research, explains how this venerable farming research institution is now working directlywith farmers to increase knowledge transfer Whilst you’ve probably heard of Rothamsted, the world’s oldest agricultural research centre, it’s possible you won’t have dealt with us directly, or maybe even been aware of what impact we’ve had on the way …
How can you keep weeds and disease at bay this spring? As warmer weather arrives and the season gets underway, we explore here the role of adjuvants in boosting the performance of herbicides and fungicides on farm to optimise weed and disease control. Right time, right place Bumper harvests are made in spring. Where every …
Writing on 28th Feb 2019, David White brings readers up to date on early spring work on this Cambridgeshire farm. Farming 160ha of combinable crops on light “boys” land over chalk between Cambridge and Newmarket. I’m 100% combinable having been a sugar beet grower since the days of hand hoeing as well as offering a …
