Overbury Estate — Jake Freestone, Worcestershire

Estate managed by Jake Freestone, a prominent UK no-till advocate. No-till since 2003, with cover cropping and companion planting added subsequently. Featured at an open day organised by QLF with Joel Williams and Simon Cowell (Direct Driller Issue 4).

Profile

Estate manager	Jake Freestone
Location	Overbury, Worcestershire (on Bredon Hill)
No-till since	2003
Drill	6m Cross Slot (11 tonnes; projected 20-year lifespan)
Tractor	9 tonnes
Fuel	13–15 litres/ha
Establishment cost	£52/ha (reported at Groundswell 2018)

System

No-till + cover crops + companion planting
Rotational grass used to clean land of blackgrass
Uses soil penetrometer to measure compaction at different depths — found minimal difference between tramline and non-tramline areas
Measures water infiltration using drain pipe in field
Straw baled and removed before OSR due to slug challenge
Cross Slot handles four products simultaneously: two hoppers with air (main crop + granular fertiliser) plus two side pods for small seeds, slug pellets, or low-rate product
Crop undressed Cruse wheat with Zn, Mg and 15 t/ha FYM plus pea residue — blackgrass populations declining

Soil on Stony Brash

Cross Slot chosen specifically for its robust NZ design — handles Bredon Hill’s stony ground
Machine designed for 20-year lifetime, justifying the investment

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

Expanded Profile (Issue 7)

Farm size	1,538 ha
Staff	6 full-time
Livestock	1,200 sheep (Texel cross Mules; Aberfields; Lleyn crossed Romneys); LEAF Marque certified
Rotation	6-year: winter/spring barley, OSR, winter wheat, peas, linseed, soya beans
No-till since	2013 (trial blocks); most of farm from July 2015
LEAF member since	2003; Demonstration Farm since 2012

Intercropping System

OSR with vetch + buckwheat (originally): 7 kg buckwheat, 2.5 kg OSR, 13.5 kg vetch/ha
Now: 2.5 kg/ha OSR, 2 kg/ha berseem clover, 10 kg/ha vetch (reduced pheasant attraction)
No pre-emergence herbicide on intercrops — rely on competition to smother broadleaf weeds
Astrocurb only broadleaf herbicide used (to kill buckwheat/vetch when needed); frost kills buckwheat at <5°C
Net benefit: ~£35/ha (£30 extra seed, but saves £35 herbicide + £25 fertiliser + £5 insecticide)

Undersowing and Leys

Undersow red clover + PRG + plantain + chicory into spring barley → 2-year ley for sheep
6 t/ha spring barley yield with no herbicide; chose brome-problem fields deliberately
Experimenting with kale undersown with white clover for fattening lambs → direct drill wheat into white clover
Vision: white clover understorey for the whole rotation

Blackgrass

“Now a diminishing issue — just a spot of leisurely hand roguing on a Sunday afternoon”
Attributed to: 5 years no-till, spring cropping, keeping cover at all times, later drilling

Inputs

No seed treatments — “effect on mycorrhizae is compromising essential soil life”
Farm-saved untreated seed (tested for fusarium)
Uses molasses and humates to break down straw

[Source: dd-issue-07, 2026-04-11]

Joel Williams at Overbury

Joel Williams (Australian plant and soil educator) presented at the open day covering:

Three interlinked pillars: soil physics, chemistry, and biology — all equally important
UK history of over-application of N, P, K while neglecting micro-nutrients and trace elements
Molybdenum (Mo) importance stressed — healthy soil with Mo, Fe, Ni, Co supports N-fixing bacteria
Mycorrhizal fungi can increase plant access to soil volume by 10 to 1,000%
Tissue tests can mislead: total N may show deficiency when the actual problem is trace elements
“Soil and plants are one”