Robots Direct Drilling
Many think we are on the verge of the next farming shift. Like when tractors took over from horses, will autonomous implements take over from tractors? Farming is arguably one of the last analogue industries. But many farmers are ready to go digital and already embracing a number of new technologies. Robotics, artificial intelligence, drones, satellites, autonomous vehicles and blockchain: these are all elements of the ecosystem which will make up the Digital Farm...
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Direct Driller Magazine
Direct Driller is a new farming magazine, designed by farmers for farmers to educate and inform the industry about no-till techniques
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Leaving the Comfort Zone - For a Greener No-till Future
Written by John Dobberstein in No-Till Farmer USA, first published on December 17, 2016 in the Cover Crops, Equipment and Water Management Section Allen Below’s 7,000-acre farm in southeastern Missouri is undergoing a rapid transformation with the help of no-till practices, aggressive cover crop adoption and elimination of tillage.
For the last few years, Allen Below has been working on a learning curve, but he’s moving toward a...
Organic’s potential for whole farm improvements to come under focus at largest organic on-farm event
Opportunities to drive improvements across entire farm operations will come under the spotlight during the UK’s largest organic on-farm event next month.
The National Organic Combinable Crops (NOCC) conference will bring organic and non-organic growers together to hear the benefits organic systems bring to farm business and the farmed environment.
Held by OF&G at Green Acres Farm...
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Modern Wheat Varieties
Procam have been working with a number of no-till farmers to look at ways of maximising crop yields whilst reducing inputs. One of the key areas which Procam have been looking at is the use of growth promoting bacteria and fungi to help stimulate root development and increase nutrient and water uptake by the crop. One such trial now in its second year, has been looking at the potential of modern varieties of wheat to be colonised by...
It isn't all about Direct Drills when it comes to Soil Health
SEEDBED MANAGEMENT KEY FOR YIELD AND PEST CONTROL
Good seed bed management and crop establishment alongside controlling blackgrass and reducing the slug risk is farm manager Simon Hill’s main priority on the 687 hectare Strattons Farms LLP in Hampshire. The land is roughly split into two types, approximately half is chalk land with a clay cap and the other half is a silty clay loam. The vast majority of the land is down to a...
Drill Manufacturers - SimTech
Simtech T-Sem tine drills are probably the most versatile of all the direct drills on offer today. Their heritage is from the inverted T-slot coulter, initially developed in New Zealand for establishing new seed into living grass, which is probably one of the most difficult direct drilling challenges. From Simtech importing these drills, the European T-Sem was born and has progressed from a simple 3m machine to the range of drills we see today. The unique...
Featured Farmer - Steve Lear
Taking a leap of faith into Direct Drilling
My name is Steve Lear and my family and I run 1000 ha of farmland in Buckinghamshire. We run a mixed farm of beef and arable. We have a suckler herd of 400 pedigree Limousin which are either sold as breeding stock or fattened on the farm. So, with 1000 head of cattle on the farm we have a lot of farm yard manure to spread come the summer. On our arable side we grow milling wheats, hybrid barleys and spring oats in...
Influence of Cutting Height on Stubble Management
Written by Frederic Thomas, TCS Magazine n°95. November/December 2017
The experiments and measurements that follow were carried out by Étienne Mignot (engineering student) on the farm of David Guy in Loire-Atlantique (sky France).
In order to observe the quality of emergence and the development of machinery, a variety of plants were sown with a (EasyDrill) disk drill as soon as the harvest was completed (July 10, 2017) with 3 modes of...
Farmer Focus: Alex Shutes
Written by @shutsey
It’s now been well over a year since I wrote my first Farmer Focus piece and I have continued to learn as I go on with our strip-tillage system having had some good and not so good results on the way.
As with a lot of farming much can depend on the weather, and despite the strip-till systems ability to conserve moisture the summer of 2016 was so dry here that we lost 40 of our 70 acres of OSR to lack of moisture and slugs that refused to...
TRACTOR 3-PT COMPOST TURNER USES A TRUCK AXLE
Having turned more than 5,000 cu yards of compost with no problems, Paul Bernier is happy to say that his home designed and built compost turning machine is up to the job. It works on the Californian vineyard which he manages alongside his brother. They grow 45 acres of grapes without irrigation, which means they need to conserve moisture in the soil, and composting is an important means of doing this. This year they didn’t get the spring...
DID YOU KNOW ONE OF THE AHDB MONITOR FARMS IS A DIRECT DRILLER?
Rick Davies is one of the latest to join the AHDB Monitor Farm programme, where farmers meet at a host business to share ideas and expertise and learn from experts.
He said: “There is a lot to be learned from other farmers. It will be good to get a group together to talk openly. “I want to dig deeper into our business, to focus more on my costs.” During the three years of the Monitor Farm programme Rick hopes to increase his...
Introduction
Mike Donovan
Many thanks to all those farmers who made contact with favourable comments about Direct Driller Issue 1. The challenge of creating a new magazine that farmers want to read cover to cover is one which is very close to my heart. It is a vital topic is of major importance to everyone.
You’ll find a lot of hands-on practical advice in these pages which will help you achieve success. Success in anything involves knowledge, experience and application, and here you...
Groundswell 2018
Written by John Cherry @martian
Two years ago, we hosted the first Groundswell No-Till Show and Conference. The idea for doing it came from a visit we made to the No-Till on the Plains Conference in Salina, Kansas some years ago. It’s a marvellous three-day event that takes place every January and, although conditions in the Great Plains are quite different to what we’re used to here, I can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone with an interest in Conservation...
Talking tillage
https://audioboom.com/posts/6841442-talking-tillage
Written by AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds
This month, AHDB machinery guru Harry Henderson hears from five different farmers on their different approaches to tilling. Is no-till for you? Listen and see what you think.
We also hear from AHDB's Sajjad Awan and Jason Pole on a review of autumn N applications.
For more on no-till, visit cereals.ahdb.org.uk/notill
Soundtrack files created by: Serylis, Rutgermuller, Barrelcarb ...
High winds on Sunday and Monday of this week led to black-out dust storms crossing Interstate-80, causing multiple-car accidents both days with one fatality and multiple injuries. Both days Interstate 80 had to be closed for several hours.
The situation there was not unlike what occurred in other areas of eastern Nebraska where the force of high winds across open, tilled fields led to blowing soil and dust storms. Clark Poppert of Geneva, Technical Support Agronomist with Servi-Tech, Inc...
An Essex arable farmer says his yields have not suffered since he switched to a no-till system 12 years ago.
Simon Cowell uses his own home-made compost at Motts farm, St.Lawrence, Southminster, which lies on the Dengie Peninsula between the Blackwater and Crouch estuaries Picture: SIMON COWELL
Simon Cowell farms at Motts Farm, Southminster, on the Dengie peninsula and has seen the benefits of a no-till system.
He manages his farm on a field-by-field basis, using cover crops, making his...
In this three-part video series, associate editor Laura Allen interviews No-Till Farmer founder and editor Frank Lessiter about no-till, the key moments that have impacted its movement, his achievements in promoting the practice, and what he sees happening with the future of no-till.
In this video, Lessiter discusses what no-till is, the importance of getting back to the basics of no-tilling, and why he decided to start the No-Till Farmer newsletter more than 40 years ago.
Rainfall Highlights Variation In Soil Conditions
The recent heavy rain has been a challenge for farmers and growers all across the UK. For one group of no-till farmers in the North East, the changing weather has highlighted the need for their AHDB-sponsored field lab.
The group are trying to understand the cause of in-field variations, and are exploring amendment techniques for improved soil conditions, with a focus on gypsum application. Gypsum, composed of hydrated calcium sulphate...
Farming What Needs To Change
Mike Donovan reviews the seminal Hugh Bunting Memorial Lecture given by Professor Amir Kassam titled The Future of Farming: What needs to Change?
The audience learned that, in the opinion of the professor at any rate, it was quite a lot. His concern is that agriculture has moved dangerously off course onto a path of declining productivity, and at the same time has negative impacts both ecologically and socially.
His concern reached tipping point in 2011 when...
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Tractor Chat #01
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Tractor Chat #01 - with Direct Driller Magazine Farmer Focus writer Phil Rowbottom
Discussing direct drilling wheat, Oil seed rape growing in the UK, Fendt 724 tractor and his Sky Easy Drill.
Discussing direct drilling wheat, Oil seed rape growing in the UK, Fendt 724 tractor and his Sky Easy Drill.