Written 1st June 2023 Trials and learnings of livestock integration at BHF. So, calving happened, with a few more issues than we expected. Through our breeding choices we have managed to significantly reduce the level of human intervention at calving over the last 5 years. However, we hit a small bump in the road this …
Written by Dr Alastair Leake from The Allerton Project “There’s a reason why we use the plough” a colleague sagely advised me when I questioned this fundamental agricultural practice; “It works” – and I was treated to a history lesson to-boot. Having transitioned from growing heated glasshouse salad crops in hydroponics, the ultimate zero-till system, …
The evolution of tillage techniques on heavy arable land in the East Midlands Read More »
April 2023 As this magazine is entitled Direct Driller I’ll start off with a couple of drill comments. The CO4 has had a set of replacement Dutch 2” tips fitted as the first set had worn very thin in places and changing the odd failed one resulted in uneven depth across the drill. I’d deliberated …
Written by Jeff Claydon April 2023 Issue Spring is the ideal time to check your soils and consider how to improve them, says Jeff Claydon, Suffolk arable farmer and inventor of the Claydon Opti-Till® direct strip seeding system. Spring is an excellent time to focus on soil health and how to improve it, because regardless …
January 2023 What livestock means at BHF? Balbirnie Home Farms in hand farming operation comprises some 1200ha, two thirds of which is in an arable rotation, the remainder is permanent grass. Additionally, there is 380ha woodland and commercial forestry. The arable rotation currently consists of winter wheat, winter and spring beans, winter and spring oats, …
January 2023 As I write on this very wet December day (yes very last minute) it’s nice to look back on such a dry year. I wrote in June that the area looked the best it had ever looked, crops were full of potential, and for once they carried that into what was our record-breaking …
Farmers and growers flocked to the sixth annual Groundswell, the UK’s largest regenerative agricultural show in lateJune this year. It was another sell-out event with 5,500 attendees who travelled to North Hertfordshire for two days ofinformation exchange, inspiration and a bit of liquid refreshment during the worst drought since 1976. Written by Alex Cherry With …
This year the University of Leeds has launched a project researching regenerative farming systems in Yorkshire. This project is part of the FixOurFood programme led by the University of York, funded by UK Research and Innovation, a government fund to support research to investigate ways to transform the UK food system. As the challenge to …
Martin Lole of Springfield Farm and Mzuri, reflects on drilling into stubble and his recipe for successful straw management. As farming systems become more productive, arable enterprises are faced with increasing levels of straw to manage post-harvest. For many this provides a valuable secondary income source when baled, but for others, whether through environmental objectives …
