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Know How / Cover crops

Get advice on the best cover crop mixture to improve the fertility and structure of your soil. Choices may be vetch, phacelia, mustard, oats or oil radish depending on the needs of your soil. See when the time is right to kill off your cover crops ready for drilling the next crop.

Advice and tips

CROP MANAGEMENT

SFI 2023: The support options for arable growers

Arable growers are being encouraged to enter the new 2023 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for England as it is simpler and more flexible than previous financial support packages. The new…

COVER CROPS

How frosty weather helps Cambs grower reduce glyphosate use

Cambridgeshire grower David White is taking advantage of the current cold and frosty weather to destroy his cover crops mechanically with a roller or crimper to allow him to reduce…

COVER CROPS

A guide to catch cropping before autumn cereals

While many farmers are growing cover crops over winter before spring crops, there is also the possibility of establishing a catch crop between harvest and an autumn-drilled crop. The key…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Cover crops help cut fertiliser costs for barley grower

As fertiliser costs spiral, Hampshire arable grower Ian Margetts is looking to cut nitrogen applications on his spring malting barley by up to 15% this season, as a result of…

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Case studies

SOILS

How one Leicestershire farm is tackling high magnesium soils

Soils with high levels of magnesium are often described as being tight and sticky which, combined with phosphate lock-up, can be difficult to manage. This was the challenge facing Dan…

SOILS

Five-year farm trial aims to find ultimate soil rejuvenator

For farming duo William and Andrew Pitts, a five-year trial hopes to pin-point a sustainable farming system which promotes food production, soil health and biodiversity. On a quest to find…

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

How a large-scale regen system is working at Dyson Farming

Implementing regenerative agriculture principles across 14,000ha is a central component of Dyson Farming’s long-term circular farming model, as it produces high-quality food with minimal environmental impact. The plan has been…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Notts estate cuts fertiliser rates with organic manure

Greater use of various organic amendments is part of Welbeck Estate’s strategy for reducing reliance of synthetic fertiliser inputs, alongside the use of cover cropping. Like most large estates and…

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Community

ARABLE

Farmer Focus: Cover crops v blackgrass control

One of my favourite meals is bangers and mash, but I definitely don’t like mush. When the first “Beast from the East” roared in, it certainly dried out the soils.…

ARABLE

Farmer Focus: Playing the long game with cover crops

Planting of our summer crops is in full swing here in South Africa. It might be summer but on 17 November we had a frost. Fortunately, my maize was young…

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Insights

COVER CROPS

Research quantifies role of cover crops in carbon capture

Five years of trial work in Northamptonshire have shown that cover crops in a direct drilling system removed 27t/ha of carbon dioxide equivalents, highlighting their role in reducing a farm’s…

COVER CROPS

Why Dyson Farming is trialling different cover crops

Cover crops are a key part of Dyson Farming’s commitment to improve soil health and transition towards a regenerative approach on its 14,000ha of farmland spread across Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, and…

COVER CROPS

Trial shows how to establish a good cover crop before harvest

Establishing a good cover crop stand can be difficult, as sowing often coincides with the busy harvest period along with seed-beds being too dry. One solution could be to establish…

SOILS

What to consider when increasing soil carbon stocks

Soil organic matter underpins soil health, providing numerous benefits to its physical and chemical properties. But what is it, and how can farmers effectively increase levels to get the most…

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News

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Farmers turn to flowers and bird cover after costly harvest

Farmers are seriously considering sowing more crops for pollinators and wild birds under the Sustainable Farming Incentive, rather than arable crops, as way of reducing their risks and future-proofing their…

SOILS

Carbon capture research to assess crop sequestration

A new carbon capture research initiative hopes to evaluate how a range of arable and forage crops can enhance atmospheric carbon capture and soil sequestration. The Centre for High Carbon…

BARLEY

Growers to benefit from new soil resilience service

Agronomy company Agrii has launched a service aimed at helping farmers improve the resilience of their soils and sustainability of their cropping systems. Developed following studies with the UK Centre…

LAND PREPARATION

Advice service launched to help farmers with regenerative ag

A new agronomy and consultancy service has been launched to help farmers adopt regenerative agriculture. Groundswell Agronomy, which comes just as farmers face reductions with the Basic Payment Scheme and…

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Video

POTATOES

Video: How a US potato grower is slashing pesticide use

Growing potatoes on a commercial scale with virtually zero synthetic inputs would seem impossible, but this is exactly what one US farmers has achieved using what he calls “biotic farming”,…

COVER CROPS

Video: Crimper trial aims to kill cover crops without herbicides

The holy grail of crimping is for cover crops to slowly die into a weed-supressing mat, covering the soil without the use of chemical sprays or the plough. For an…

DRILLING

Video: Min-till drill-off the highlight of Cereals 2018

Cereals show-goers were treated to a drill-off at this year’s event, giving them chance to see how five different low soil-disturbance systems deal with the challenge of a cover crop.…

COVER CROPS

Video: 5 key points for destroying your cover crops

Timing is key when killing off cover crops with one expert suggesting a herbicide needs to be used some three to four weeks before a spring crop is drilled. Some…

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