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 own compost and trialling different machinery, and has been able to see the impact and success of building his soil health and fertility, while maintaining yields.
In light of uncertainty around future fertiliser costs, he is encouraging other arable farmers to follow his lead and improve their soil health to help with input costs.
Simon farms 400 acres on the Essex coast, and says his soil health has dramatically increased, allowing a reduction in inputs with no adverse effect on yield.
“I no longer use any phosphate and potash fertiliser, or seed dressings. I’ve also totally removed growth regulators from my system and I’m using less fungicides, which has really helped my bottom line,” he said.
“This is all due to the fact that my soil biology is working for itself. It’s able to digest and make available all the nutrients that the plants need to grow so I don’t need to add anything extra.
“I’ve achieved this by reducing tillage to decrease soil erosion, including my home-made compost to give the soil biology a boost, and incorporating a wide range of crops into my rotation, which not only improves soil structure, but can also reduce nutrient leaching.”
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