Home-made compost, massively reduced tillage and determined cover cropping have been central to the single-minded drive to improve the arable sustainability of the Green Horizons Network farm at Salford Lodge, Pitchill just outside Evesham over the past decade. A combination of challenging silty clay land contract-farmed with heavy kit for many years and lighter sandy …
Soil-Centred Worcestershire Sustainability Drive Read More »
Farmers are reporting positive benefits of drilling primed seed Despite 37 years’ industry experience, Agrii agronomist David Vine readily admits that growing oilseed rape successfully year-in, year-out can still be a huge gamble for many growers with significant challenges posed by slugs, pigeons, cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) and, given this year’s weather, the …
Written By Sarah Hill and originally published by No-Till Farmer in the USA The combination of a 3-way crop rotation, covers and grazing is resulting in big savings by reducing the number of tillage passes, increasing yields and improving soil health. Pictured Above: SHORT GROWING SEASON. No-tiller Kurt Stiefvater has a very short fall season to get cover …
Joel Williams, Integrated Soils In part 1 of this article, we highlighted that both urease and nitrification inhibitors have a minor impact on soil biology but there remains some concern over the negative impact of urease inhibitors on the plants ability to take up and metabolise the urea form of nitrogen [N] – a favourable …
Last week I was at an event where inspiring farmers – in this case Nick Down, David Miller, and Nik Renison – showcased, with the pictures to prove it, some of the brilliant innovations they have pioneered on their farms. And they really were inspiring, with a palpable buzz in the full-house audience as they …
Farm Facts: January 2023 140Ha Home farm plus 60Ha Share farming arrangement Arable, Beef & Sheep Crops: Wheat, Oats, Barley, Spring Beans, Clover/Herbal leys & Permanent Pasture. In some parts of the country getting livestock back out onto farms after decades of their absence has been the cause for much excitement of late, this is …
In the first week of August a range of farmers and industry professionals met at Moor Farm in south west Wales to hear the 2022 Runner-up to the Soil Farmer of the Year competition, Andrew Rees, explain how he has developed a dairy system with soil health at the centre. Moor farm is a 160 hectare grassland …
Farm walk with 2022 Soil Farmer of the Year Runner-up Andrew Rees Read More »
By Laura Nolan and Cliona Howie, Foundation Earth With sustainability being placed higher and higher on consumers’ agendas, people are turning to high-emitting industries to ask how they are playing their part in reducing environmental impacts on the planet. The food industry alone accounts for one third of emissions globally – and with population rising, …
Sustainable food: how can ecolabels help transform entire value chains? Read More »
Written by Tony Gent It doesn’t work if just removing some elements of what you are doing now and leave others in is “OK I’m doing less”. A couple of articles caught my interest in the July additional of this magazine, first What’s Your Colour written by James Warne and Farmer Focus by Andrew Ward. …
Written by Thomas Gent It’s no secret that employing regenerative farming techniques – minimal soil disturbance, the use of cover crops and organic manures, applying carbon-rich fertilisers – both reduce the amount of farm-generated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and add to the amount of carbon stored in the soil. These GHG reductions and carbon storage …
