The “3.5% rule” refers to the claim that no government or organisation has withstood a challenge of this percentage of their population or membership mobilised against it during a peak event. This rule is based on an insight that political scientist Mark Lichbach developed in his 1995 book “The Rebel’s Dilemma”. In it, he speculates that no government could withstand a challenge of 5% of the population; and that no rebellion could hope to mobilize more than 5% of the population anyway...
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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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Over the last two years there has been an evolution in the way that soil nutrient mapping is carried out. This has been driven by the launch of TerraMap by Hutchinsons in 2019. Terramap came at the perfect timing for farmers looking for that next level of accuracy in understanding their soils in order to reap the most benefit for their crops through nutrient mapping and soil conductivity scans.
TerraMap uses gamma-ray radiation technology to deliver resolutions of over 800 points/ha...
There is so much talk about carbon at the moment, and there is no doubt that farmers will make some income by changing practices to sequester a bit more carbon. Buying HVO versions of Red Diesel is just an example of a way to do this. It costs you a little more to fill the tank, but the costs are outweighed by the carbon you save. But I think carbon is the sideshow. Carbon could be worth £90 a hectare, maybe a bit more, but imagine if you could get an extra 10% on your sale price for your...
Optimising Soil Biology and Nutrition for Crop Production
Written by Joel Williams
When we begin to unpack the complex world of soil, of course there are many factors that contribute to the optimum functioning of a ‘healthy soil’ – be that chemical, physical or biological. That said, it is clear that soil biology specifically has played an instrumental role in catalysing the recent interest in soil health and with good reason – soil biological interactions are key in driving so many...
The phrase “Regenerative agriculture” is a relative newcomer to our collective vocabulary, and although it roughly describes the type of farming I attempt to practice, it is not a phrase that sits easily with me, as it is so vulnerable to being hijacked by special interest groups, and can mean very different things to different people. Rather than aspiring to any particular farming system, my strategy has always been about making the most resilient and de-risked business I can. Mine is a...
Featured Farmer: Julian Gold
Farm Manager
Hendred Estate, Wantage, South Oxfordshire
FARM FACTS
FARM SIZE: 800 hectares
MANPOWER: - 3
FARM TYPE: - Arable
OTHER FARM TYPE INFORMATION: - Arable with sheep that graze cover crops and permanent pasture
TENURE: - Owner occupied
REGION: - South East England
RAINFALL: - 679 mm
ALTITUDE: - 100 m above sea level
SOIL: - Highly alkaline, silty clay loam over chalk
APPROACH: Regenerative agriculture
KEY FARMING PRACTICES:
Mulching
Soil monitoring...
Growers Dismayed at the Unlevel Playing Field of Grain
By Steve Ridsdale
Combinable crop direct drillers have found ways to cut establishment costs, whilst at the same time aiming to increase the resilience and productive capacity of their soils. At the other end of the production cycle, comes our output in the form of crop sales. We want to be competitive producers and competitive sellers.
What would you think, if I told you it was easier for competitor imports to access our UK markets...
For when the chips are down – preserving UK soil microbial biodiversity for sustainable agriculture
A UK wheat crop – one of the six to have its microbiome held and curated as part of the UK Crop Microbiome Cryobank (Credit: Pixabay).
Written by Wayne Coles at CABI
Scientists from the UK’s foremost agricultural research institutes have teamed up to create a new UK Crop Microbiome Cryobank (UK-CMCB) to safeguard future research and facilitate the sustainable yield improvement of the UK’s...
Written by Jerry Alford from the Soil Association
There has recently been a lot of interest in the potential of organic no-till and it has been described by some as the holy grail of organic arable farming. It is also something that is of interest to non-organic farms because of the potential to reduce inputs, particularly on less profitable break crops.
Organic arable farming systems have always been built around the use of cover crops, diverse rotations and animals. Building fertility...
Does Regen Ag matter?
Written by Richard Pike from COOK
A broken System
My interest in sustainable food began somewhere in the mid 2000’s when, working for a UK farming group, we ended up importing lettuce into the UK, by air, in spring, to satisfy the demands of a major customer. I was shocked that no one seemed to be particularly concerned about the impact that sort of practice had.
Two generations of shoppers have been taught to expect a 12-month supply of everything, from...
With harvest either underway or on the horizon for most growers in the U.S., now is a good time to prepare for your soil sampling program.
Most universities and the NRCS recommend taking soil samples in the off-season, after the last crop harvest, and before the next cash crop is planted. Mississippi State University Extension advises collecting samples 3-6 months before planting, to allow any lime recommendations to react and change the pH.
But before you can grab your soil probe and head...
Cover and catch cropping may work well for many managing lighter and erosion-prone soils but for those on heavier and more difficult ground they remain very far from the answer to any sort of maiden’s prayer
The right covers managed in the right way can help structure even the most challenging soils. However, in many cases they are unlikely to repay their investment in the medium term, if at all. They can also get in the way of both grassweed control and subsequent crop performance. This is...
Written by Dan Robinson from Eurofins
We have created new soil tests that will help farmers and agronomists understand their soil in a more detailed way than ever before. The tests have been launched in the UK and Ireland to provide chemical, physical, and biological insight, offering farmers a better way to monitor, manage and improve the health and fertility of their soil. Three new products are now available to UK and Irish agriculture. Fertilisation Manager®, Soil Crop Monitor® and...
If you are like us, then you don’t know where to start when it comes to other reading apart from farming magazines. However, there is so much information out there that can help us understand our businesses, farm better and understand the position of non-farmers.
We have listed a few more books you might find interesting, challenge the way you currently think and help you farm better.
Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web Smart gardeners know that...
A Blank Canvass
Written by Tom Chapman, Head of Regenerative at Innovation for Agriculture
How would we design agriculture now, in the 21st Century, if we were starting from scratch? What would we do differently, given what we know about regenerative agriculture and about farming with, not battling against, nature? Would we continue with the same cropping, the same machinery, the same fertiliser & spray regime and the same field layout or would things be radically different?
We should...
Written by Natallia Gulbis BSc(Hons), MSc, Technical and Arable Farming Lead, PlantWorks Ltd
Let’s get straight to it and ask a simple question: ‘Is there a monetary return to be had from managing the biology of your soil?’
With every major agronomy company now having expanding soils programs and Government, post Brexit, replacing the common agricultural policy subsidises with payments in part based on environmental empathy, what is the strategy that underpins this?
In the spirit of...
The future of solid urea fertilisers is on trial.
James Warne from Soil First Farming defends urea and shows it may well be an easy scapegoat for the rise in atmospheric ammonia levels
It seems as though we are due to loose solid urea fertilisers very soon, or at least that is the conclusion I take from reading the current ‘Consultation on reducing ammonia emissions from solid urea fertilisers’. Out of the four options given, the stated preferred option is an outright ban on solid urea...
Farmer Focus Clive Bailye (Dec 2020)
Fake news?
Harvest 2020 was never going to be great, the perfect storm of a wet autumn and winter followed by a spring drought was always going to end in disappointment. When it came to yields any usual excitement and anticipation was replaced by simple desire to clear ground of such uninspiring crops and start again in the hope of a better season next year, an endless instinct of optimism that seems bred into all farmers. As combines started rolling...
Wet on Top - Dry Underneath
Written by Niels Corfield
The winter of 2019/20 has been challenging for farmers to say the least. Incessant rain meaning fields were not accessible, and winter crops were not sowed, large areas of flat or low lying country flooded (sometimes repeatedly) and otherwise generally redefining the concept of mud. However, now that we're at the end of 2020, how's the ground shaped up over the year? Did the moisture seem to disappear, even after the wet winter of...
Farmer Focus Edwin Taylor (Dec 2020)
Well, I am sitting here thinking of how the last eight months have been since my debut article back in April and I do not think there is any way to sugar coat it, it’s just been bloody moderate (in fact probably less than moderate) with all that is going on in the world but the focus does lie at what is going on, on the farm and again faced with weather patterns that are not always conducive with farming above the snow line. Let’s start with some...
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Tractor Chat #01
Feb
20
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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.