Written by cpm
Download PDF Kent grower Andrew Howard has been pioneering ways in which pulse crops can be grown together with other spring breaks to shore up returns. CPM visits to find how research through the farmer-led network could significantly boost benefits. Mother Nature never has a monoculture, and there’s a reason for that. By Tom Allen-Stevens As the spit of soil splits open on the fork, no fewer than three worms are caught like pink ribbons across the freshly cleaved surfaces, and retreat quickly into their interrupted burrows. “I counted 60 worms in a spadeful I dug up last year,” remarks Kent grower Andrew Howard, who’s poised to plant not one spring break crop, but two, in the same pass, into this field of alluvial loam that edges the River Stour near Ashford. “Everything we do is about improving the soil and geared towards creating a healthy environment around the seed, and that’s allowed us to reduce our inputs,” he says. Each horizontal slot created on either side of the disc can be set at different depths, allowing two seed types to be planted in the same pass. Since 2001, the plough hasn’t touched the 300ha of arable land, farmed by…
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