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 …
October 2022 Power Corrupts There are two occasions in my farming year that remind me of the anticipation and trepidation felt as a child when my exam results or end of term school report were received. The first is of course harvest, yields being the score card for the team effort of all involved in …
October 2022 The build up to harvest is always mixed with a bit of trepidation and excitement, this year was no exception, Harvest 2022 was our first harvest following direct drilling with the Opico Sky Easy Drill. After the hard work and cost of growing a crop, there’s always a bit of uncertainty of how …
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 …
Straw management for successful direct drilling Read More »
October 2022 Many farmers have been surprised at their yields this year, the starting point must have been a kind autumn and winter, but it appears that sunlight in June contributes more to yield than we thought and rainfall to the beginning of harvest (6 months), was 207mm, could be of less importance. Like the …
October 2022 Harvest 2022 arrived fast and was completed without a pause. The wheats yielded 8.8t/ha, with only applied 155kg/ha bagged N applied, which was 16% less than 14yr average.  85% of this was direct drilled and we are seeing soil structure continue to improve. The oilseed rape yielded 3.3t/ha, with the highest yielding field …
