Alex Shutes

Farm manager on a 200ha all-arable farm in Essex. Harper Adams graduate (2012), aged 28 at time of writing (2018). Transitioned from conventional plough-based establishment to strip-till (Sumo DTS) in 2015.

Profile

Field Value
Location Essex
Farm size 200ha, all arable
Role Farm manager
Qualified Harper Adams University, 2012
System Strip-till (Sumo DTS3 from 2015)
Drill Sumo DTS3 (3m) + Weaving 6m stubble rake
Tractor Claas Arion 630

Rotation

7-year rotation: OSR, Wheat (×2), Winter Barley, Spring Barley, Spring Beans

  • 1st wheats: low-pesticide biscuit wheat for Heinz (baby food products)
  • 2nd wheats: feed
  • Winter and spring barleys: malting (W barley switched to Volume hybrid for feed from 16/17 season)
  • Spring beans: human consumption spec

[Source: dd-issue-01, 2026-04-11]

Soils

“Considerable variation”: light sandy loams, gravelly sandy clay loams, clay loams, heavy Essex clays

Previous System (Pre-2015)

  • Plough + furrow press → power harrow (×2 sometimes) → tine drill → roll
  • High labour; high fuel; wore metal
  • Reliable but 2-man operation, not suited to reduced labour

Reason for change: farm needed 1-man establishment operation; reduce costs; improve soil health.

Sumo DTS3 Strip-Till System

  • Purchased summer 2015: ~£25k–£40k (chose DTS3 over tine drill, combi, or no-till drill)
  • DTS capability: drill into any seedbed type — important because 1st wheats must be established into ploughed ground
  • All other crops: direct into stubble or overwintered cover crop

Year 1 Issues (Summer 2015)

  • Blocked frequently in large amounts of freshly-cut straw
  • Fix: cut stubbles shorter; wait for straw to become brittle
  • Sumo provided progressive modifications — “haven’t blocked once” from Autumn 2016

Straw Rake

  • Added Weaving 6m stubble rake after first season
  • Benefits: better trash flow; more even chaff/straw spread; slug control; weed germination; residue breakdown; air into topsoil
  • Problem solved: combine without chaff spreader was leaving 18ft chaff rows that caused N lock-up, slug pressure, and soil smearing under thick chaff

Results (Harvest 2016 — First Full Year)

  • 1st wheats (both drills, into plough): no difference in yield, quality, or blackgrass vs previous system
  • 2nd wheat (direct vs ploughed comparison): very little yield difference
  • OSR and winter barley: below average but similar to local area — weather not system
  • Spring beans: better than previous year (limited data; need more years)
  • Spring barley: biggest disappointment — heavy land + wet spring + slug pressure = difficult strip-till challenge

[Source: dd-issue-01, 2026-04-11]

Economics

  • Establishment cost saving: ~£60/ha vs previous plough/powerharrow/drill system
  • Fuel usage: 11–12 l/ha (vs ~45+ l/ha just for ploughing alone)
  • Return to drier fields sooner after drilling vs ploughed fields — more spray/fert windows

Cover Crops

  • Started cover crops before spring beans and spring barley
  • Legume-free mix before spring beans
  • Grass species-free mix before spring barley
  • Using stubble rake to work air/sun into topsoil before spring drilling and after cover crop termination

Future Plans (as of 2018)

  • Introduce organic matter: compost, manure, or biosolids in addition to chopped straw and cover crops
  • Try hybrid winter barley and Belepi wheat for blackgrass control
  • Investigate alternatives to OSR if CSFB/slug/pigeon pressure worsens: soya, sunflowers

Year 2 Update (Harvest 2017 — DD Issue 2)

[Source: dd-issue-02, 2026-04-11]

OSR (2016 drilling)

Lost 40 of 70 acres to drought and slugs — extreme 2016 dry summer. Slugs refused to surface for Sluxx pellets, eating chitting OSR seed underground. Cover crops also ~80% failure due to lack of moisture.

Response: Changed OSR strategy — only drill when rain is “almost certainly on the forecast”; increased to higher conventional seed rates; liquid N+P placed with seed; double-roll at different angles; Ferric Phosphate slug pellets placed with seed. Implemented summer 2017 with good establishment results.

Winter Barley — Volume Hybrid (first time)

  • Best ever winter barley yield on the farm: 9.4 t/ha
  • Crop looked great all year

JB Diego 2nd Wheats

  • Badly affected by late spring dry spell
  • On lighter land pulled average down to ~7.5 t/ha
  • Switched to KWS Kerrin as 2nd wheat for improved yield potential

Propino Spring Barley

  • Last year on farm
  • Difficult dry spring + lack of PGR → crop brackling badly
  • Estimated ~1 t/ha lost from combine chopping heads
  • Still managed 5.5 t/ha
  • Switched to KWS Irena for improved lodging resistance, straw stiffness, and yield potential
  • Irena not drilled until 3rd week April; received 200 l/ha of 14-7-7 via liquid fert system

Claire 1st Wheat

Did “ok” — final tonnage still awaited at time of writing. Described as probably the best performer in the dry spring.

Spring Beans

3.8 t/ha; not all human consumption quality (drought victim). Considering alternatives — blackgrass control is poor in beans, though 1st wheats after look very good.

Liquid Fertiliser Trial (spring barley 2018)

Installed liquid fert system on drill for OSR; extended use to spring barley — 200 l/ha of 14-7-7 placed with seed. Test areas without liquid fert “considerably behind” 5 weeks after drilling (still visibly shorter). Awaiting yield result.

Other Developments

  • New combine with wider header (fewer wheelings) + chaff spreader (improved trash distribution)

Harvest 2018 and Autumn 2019 Plans (Issue 5)

2018 Drought Impact

  • 2018 even worse than 2017 for drought in Essex — virtually no rain from April drilling through to August
  • One light/gravelly 1st wheat block: ~60t off 40 acres (~3.7 t/ha) — severely drought-stressed
  • Kerrin 2nd wheat: 7.7 t/ha — “will take that in the year we just had”
  • OSR: 15 of 70 acres lost to wet feet over winter; remaining 55 acres cut 3.4 t/ha
  • Bazooka hybrid winter barley: disappointing ~6 t/ha; some fields drilled too wet in Sept 2017
  • Spring beans: 28t off 28 ha (1 t/ha) — severe drought; aborted flowers; “no more said”
  • Spring barley: died before fully ripe; heads still pointing skywards; came off at 12–13% moisture
  • Earliest harvest start since 1976 (16 July); everything except beans done by 3 August
  • Positive: no grain through the drier; new combine with chaff spreader gave visibly better residue distribution

Autumn 2018 — Harvest 2019 Crops

  • Switched 1st wheat from Claire to Elicit — looking good (Jan 2019)
  • KWS Orwell barley: warmer weather causing above-ideal mildew; may need T0
  • OSR sown 3rd week August (waited for rain): got away well; first N dose applied; CSFB larvae present but not holding crop back — held off spraying insecticide
  • Cover crops (radish + oats): destroyed with Kyleo mid-January
  • Dropped beans for combinable peas; switched to RGT Planet spring barley

[Source: dd-issue-05, 2026-04-11]

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