New legislation now allows the growing of certain gene-edited crops in England. Professor Jonathan Jones, group leader at The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, calls for a fresh approach to rules preventing the cultivation of GM crops. But Roger Kerr, chief executive at Organic Farmers & Growers urges caution over moves into new genetic technologies.
Dec 2023 This summer my eldest 2 children sat their A-Levels and GCSE exams. Both did very well and their grades have earned them places at their chosen University and sixth form to continue their studies. Last year I spent quite a few days taking Emma, my eldest, to University open days. It was fascinating …
Dec 2023 We have had a very busy few months since my last article, with non-farming activities sometimes compromising the day job of farming. The beans and mustard planted in the spring established well, and we also planted some home-made wild bird seed mix on the old stewardship plots. With a reduction in farmed area …
Written September 2023 As I write this the sun shines, almost ironically as the cereals are all cut and only the beans remain to be harvested. It has been a very stop start affair from the very start, but not impossible, and easier and more rewarding than many around the UK have experienced. This is …
Coping with the ups and downs of the farming industry necessitates being as efficient as possible, says Jeff Claydon, Suffolk arable crop producer and inventor of the Claydon Opti-Till® direct strip seeding system. The contrast between this season and last is dramatic, not just in terms of the weather but also the finances of farming. …
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 …
July 2023 With my year as 2022 FSOOTY winner coming to an end here are a few thoughts on the spring workload and how the new sprayer has performed. First off, I’m Steve May and I work for Fromant and Sanders at Kislingbury near Northampton, a family arable farm with extra contracting work in the …
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 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 …
