Stand Practical Farm Ideas

Hello - there's a warm welcome to you all at the Farm Innovations webinar at Cereals 2020 which I am chairing.

Innovation is central to progress. If we don’t change our methods we’ll get the same results. As farmers we are bombarded with new ideas and products, and it’s difficult to decide what to take up and where to go. The five speakers in the session each plays a different role in helping farmers take a positive direction. As Chair I’m delighted to introduce you to LIZ BOWLES from The Soil Association, DANIEL KINDRED from Adas, WILLIAM MACALPINE of Rothamstead Research and BEN RAYNER of DEFRA.

I’m Mike Donovan and edit Practical Farm Ideas, which I started in 1992. My contribution to the Innovation Session is a small selection of 'Made it Myself' arable ideas which I think will be of interest.

There's a harvest trailer for those who move their combine from one farm to another, either because the business is more than one farm - the inventors farm three units - or as contractors or custom harvesters. Grain pusher, grain buckets, mobile weighbridge and other essentials are loaded on the trailer. No back and fore moving stuff.
There's a home built machine for laying rabbit netting which does 300 metres an hour while the mini-digger manages no more than 800 in the day. Again farm designed and made, largely using scrap parts.
There's a grain pusher designed in the farm workshop with a specially designed blade which lifts the grain rather than compressing it. Made from high strength steel so it weighs just 480kg.
There's a soil/grassland aerator I made in 1988 which improves water percolation and cuts through surface compaction.
Also a home built grain cleaner based on perforated augers made by a farm which had light grain samples and therefore stoppages which amounted to £3k a year. Since completing this machine, which cost just £1k, the grain quality has been right.
And more!.... a tractor wheel weight handler. How many leave the weights on because they are tricky, and dangerous, to handle. This loader mounted machine lifts the weight which you can rotate so the lugs or bolts line up.

Between us you have agri- innovators from the laboratory to farm yard.

In this session you’ll how they develop and test new farm systems and methods.

They all work with groups of farmers and are keen to engage with more, as this means more information, data, to analyse. The farmers who have got engaged with them have benefited with a greater understanding and knowledge, so I encourage you to consider joining. Everyone benefits.

Go to session here:


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There's little mention of spiking machines or aerators for increasing water and air absorption in the soil. I wonder why this is? The process is simple, cheap and very effective. Water runs down the slits rather than staying on the surface and forming rivulets. Stops slurry getting washed off into the ditch. I made this in 1988 using a Vicon trailed mower see
for the innovation . Search aerator on www.farmideas.co.uk for download
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SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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