Unmoved stubbles can often be the driest land on the farm after heavy rainfall. Yet we are told that cultivation helps to dry land out. What are the factors that allow stubbles to move water downwards faster than cultivated ground? It’s now apparent that many cultivated soils are not draining recent deluges fast enough. Crops …
A network of cover crop champions is providing a practical view on the impact of cover crop approaches. Technical Content Manager Jason Pole provides an update on the AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds’ initiative. During summer 2024, we asked farmers growing cover crops ahead of various cash crops for harvest 2025 if they would be willing …
Regenerative agriculture has experienced a sharp rise from a niche concept to a commonplace strategy across the UK agricultural sector. It holds promise as a win-win strategy to address net zero and long-term farm productivity. Centred around improving and revitalising soil health, regenerative agriculture can be defined as any form of farming, which at the …
Written by James Warne from Soil First Farming Many years of looking at soil proves to me that cultivations never improve soil structure. They may help to overcome an immediate problem – like compaction. But they are only ever a short-term fix; and not a very good one, either. Cultivations always leave some sort of …
April 2023 Edition When Chris asked me to write this article, I gravitated into panic mode because this is a quiet part of the year and I was not sure what to write about, however we seem to have been continuously busy, so I had better fill you in on our out of season activities. …
Written by Mike Abram When prices of nitrogen rocketed ahead of last season, and supply looked anything but assured for a time, there was an understandable interest and move towards alternative sources of nitrogen fertiliser. One of those was foliar nitrogen with plenty of growers either trialling or increasing its use. Foliar feeding, particularly of …
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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 …
Written by Rosalind Platt, managing director of UK leaders in crop nutrition, BFS Fertiliser Services. BFS is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Foliar nitrogen fertiliser treatments later in the season can dramatically reduce the total amount of nitrogen needed while maintaining or increasing crop yields. The recent turmoil in the fertiliser market has …
In Autumn 2022, Anglian Water announced a grant scheme inviting farmers from across the catchment area to apply for funding of up to £7,500 towards innovative ideas that would help them to improve water quality, reduce chemical use and support the improvement of soil health. A total of 65 farmers were awarded grants for innovation …
Steve Holloway puts the case for biology and foliar KSM – potassium solubilising microbes – for a more natural supply of phosphate and a way of reducing the fertiliser bill. For a generation, farmers have taken their most valuable resource for granted, often considering it to be simple dirt. The focus has been on force-feeding …
