Tony Reynolds

One of the UK’s foremost zero-till pioneers. Farms Thurlby Grange Farm near Bourne, Lincolnshire. Converted to zero-till in 2003 after two years of experimentation. 2,000ha across three separate farms.

Profile

Field Value
Farm Thurlby Grange Farm
Location Near Bourne, Lincolnshire
Farm size ~2,000ha across three farms
Conversion 2003 (after 2 years trialling from ~2001)
System Zero-till / Conservation Agriculture
Key quote “Either plough it or don’t touch it” (ADAS advisor, early 2000s)

Journey to Zero-Till

  • Catalyst: ADAS advisor walking the land in wet October, observing soil running into ditches: “Wouldn’t it be better to keep this topsoil on your own farm?”
  • Initial trial ~2001: no cultivations on beans and spring barley (100 acres + 200 acres)
  • 2003: farm meeting with son-in-law Clive and daughter Terry → committed to full zero-till
  • Developed 6-year transition plans for light, medium, and heavy soils to manage yield dip

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

Documented Data

Fuel Use (litres/ha)

Season Litres/ha
Sept 04–05 96
Sept 05–06 91
Sept 06–07 49
Sept 07–08 46
Sept 08–09 42
Sept 09–10 44
Sept 10–11 43
Sept 11–12 42
Sept 12–13 43
Sept 13–14 41

Fuel stabilised at ~41–44 litres/ha after year 3 — a ~57% reduction from conventional (96 l/ha).

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

Crop Establishment Cost Comparison (£/ha)

Process Conventional Zero-till Auto-cast OSR
Sub-soil 59 0 0
Plough 55 0 0
Disc 40 0 0
Spring tine 23 0 0
Power harrow 44 0 0
Drill 30 30 0
Roll 15 0 0
TOTAL 266 30 0

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

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) — measured by University of Reading

Year SOC % Rating
2003 2.1% Low
2007 4.6% Good
2014 6.3% Very good

Result: P and K applications have fallen by 80% each, N by 50% over the same period.

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

Earthworm Counts

  • Tony’s zero-till soil: 47 earthworms per sample
  • Neighbour (same soil type, ploughed annually): 1 earthworm per same volume
  • Farm average: 80–90 worms/m²
  • Target: 140–150/m²

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

Yield Pattern After Conversion

  • Year 1: no noticeable drop
  • Years 2–5: dip on some soils (not all — soil-type dependent; Tony continues to investigate why)
  • Year 6: pre-conversion levels re-achieved
  • Year 8+: stabilised at level higher than year zero

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

Transition Strategy (Seed and Fertiliser Rates)

To bridge the gap while soil biology establishes:

Year Soil type Seed rate Fertiliser
1 All Standard Standard
2 Light/Med/Heavy 0/+5%/+10% 0/+8%/+10%
3 Light/Med/Heavy +5%/+10%/+15% +5%/+10%/+12%
4 Light/Med/Heavy 0/+5%/+10% 0/+8%/+10%
5 All Standard Standard
6 Back to standard

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

Drilling Equipment

  • Home farm (500ac): Weaving GD 4800T (4.8m, 24m tramlines), pulled with Case 140hp
  • Second farm: 6m Weaving, drilling 860ha on 30m tramlines
  • RTK satellite guidance for precise row placement; relay drilling cover crops between growing crop rows
  • OSR: broadcast via Autocast (seed hopper behind combine header with fan/manifold)
  • Combine fitted with Shelbourne Reynolds stripper header — leaves stubble standing for windblown soil trapping

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

Position on Reduced Tillage

Tony is emphatic: reducing tillage rather than eliminating it does more harm than good.

  • Fine soil particles in disturbed stratum seal soil pores
  • Water infiltration reduced, root growth restricted, yields suffer
  • “Either plough it or don’t touch it”

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

Autocasting OSR

  • Cost: £0/ha for establishment (compare: £266/ha conventional, £30/ha zero-till with drill)
  • Seed broadcast directly with combine, covered with chaff and chopped straw
  • Works well on established zero-till land with fertile surface and friable soil

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