SAM2 Mulitspecies cover, who is doing it and what's your plan?

[farmerm]

I had previously been overlooking SAM2 mutlispecies cover. Is it really as simple as we drill autumn cereal crop as usual, give it a light sprinkle of some other species and claim it as Sam2? Seems to have the potentially to be the most reward for least cost/effort option of all SFI... Pro's and cons? Aside from having to submit an "I have failed notification" when we get a repeat of this wet autumn and in many place I have established no cover, never mind multispecies

What are people plans? What would be best companion mulitspecies option and at what seed rate for moderate to brick heavy Shropshire soils, Sept/October drilling to accompany wheat or barley...

 

[Derrick Hughes]

The obvious on is Rye ,pretty bomb proof however late
Just choose a few of the others that do best if its getting late and wet

Your pretty safe early Setetmber but October is to late for Herbs and Legumes and Most Brasicas



establish the multi-species cover crop you must sow a mix containing at least 2 species from one or more of these plant families:

brassicae
legumes
grass or cereals
herbs

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

I had previously been overlooking SAM2 mutlispecies cover. Is it really as simple as we drill autumn cereal crop as usual, give it a light sprinkle of some other species and claim it as Sam2? Seems to have the potentially to be the most reward for least cost/effort option of all SFI... Pro's and cons? Aside from having to submit an "I have failed notification" when we get a repeat of this wet autumn and in many place I have established no cover, never mind multispecies

What are people plans? What would be best companion mulitspecies option and at what seed rate for moderate to brick heavy Shropshire soils, Sept/October drilling to accompany wheat or barley...

Problem is that not many species apart from cereals will grow sown in late September.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Problem is that not many species apart from cereals will grow sown in late September.

No two September's are ever the same but yes it is true ,unless your down in Cornwall,
Westerwolds would though
Hairy Vetch is about the latest legume
All you can do is mix a few things with the a Rye and hope they grow

 

[rijowi64]

Has anyone tried growing beans with wheat this time? It needs something that will survive autumn herbicides and beans seems the most obvious but plant population is critical so as not to compete with the wheat too much.

 

[4course]

Has anyone tried growing beans with wheat this time? It needs something that will survive autumn herbicides and beans seems the most obvious but plant population is critical so as not to compete with the wheat too much.

yes we are doing that spread the fss beans fairly thin( could have been thinner ) on the stubble plough in sow the wheat , ours is in a second wheat position on lets call it moisture retententive soil and as the winter has gone since the day it was sown im fairly happy with the crop /s . The beans will be allowed to succumb to a dose of herbicide 1st march but the biggest advantage totally un thought about at least by me is the benefit of a pathway for rainfall to follow the emerged/emerging bean down to below plough depth and then follow the roots further down . Its fair to say the beans have certainly improved drainage in what has been the highest rainfall year in my time. I never saw this was a benefit mentioned anywhere, but nor am I convinced im getting any nitrogen as a bonus but I am convinced I wouldnt have had a full crop unlike atm. without the beans and I took some convincing to try the idea last backend

 

[farmerm]

Problem is that not many species apart from cereals will grow sown in late September.

We don't need many, one will do and given it is worth almost 30% of BPS for a modest seed outlay it has to be worth investigating. Beans and OSR will both germinate.

yes we are doing that spread the fss beans fairly thin( could have been thinner ) on the stubble plough in sow the wheat , ours is in a second wheat position on lets call it moisture retententive soil and as the winter has gone since the day it was sown im fairly happy with the crop /s . The beans will be allowed to succumb to a dose of herbicide 1st march but the biggest advantage totally un thought about at least by me is the benefit of a pathway for rainfall to follow the emerged/emerging bean down to below plough depth and then follow the roots further down . Its fair to say the beans have certainly improved drainage in what has been the highest rainfall year in my time. I never saw this was a benefit mentioned anywhere, but nor am I convinced im getting any nitrogen as a bonus but I am convinced I wouldnt have had a full crop unlike atm. without the beans and I took some convincing to try the idea last backend

Biggest challenge is getting the seed rate right, danger is the second species will barely appear one year and take over entirely in different conditions the next. Can you define "fairly thin" in terms of kg per ha, or seeds per m/2?


So am I mad thinking its a good idea to apply to do SAM2 for all my autumn cereals, I though the regenerative farming chaps would be pilling into this thread with all the tips and tricks!

 

[e3120]

... I though the regenerative farming chaps would be pilling into this thread with all the tips and tricks!

At least for the bean option, Mr Plough is likely to have a starring role.

 

[4course]

my view is 4st/acre in old money is plenty . 2nd wheats only here as reckon if sown in sept in a good backend could swamp the crop by destruction date. god speed the plough

 

[farmerm]

my view is 4st/acre in old money is plenty . 2nd wheats only here as reckon if sown in sept in a good backend could swamp the crop by destruction date. god speed the plough

Yes, seen volunteers get a bit too vigorous in wheat before now, that said i reckon individual plants can get tall without being too much of a problem, its clumps that smother out the wheat... there are thousands and thousands of plants, there must be others that share the same late autumn germinating, slow developing winter hardy plants like their cereal cousins, ideally ones that scavenge nutrients, manage soil moisture and kill slugs Finding that plant would be a better use of Levy payers money than bloody digital grain passports

I really was expecting more to have jumped in on making this option work. As I recall having a significant area of multispecies cover crop was a mandatory component in the despised first version of the scheme they tried to roll out! Now it is optional nobody wants to touch it

 

[woodylane]

As far as I’ve been told, you can’t have a cash crop in at the same time as the over winter cover crop

 

[rijowi64]

Been confirmed here

 

[farmerm]

As far as I’ve been told, you can’t have a cash crop in at the same time as the over winter cover crop

Told by who? Trust no bugger, read the handbook yourself. What the ecologic folk would like us to do in an ideal world and what the flexibility built intentionally in to this scheme allows are not one and the same..

Their rules break broken down to basics:
1) You need to sow a minimum of 2 species of plants
2) Establish good ground cover with 2 more more species present until end of February,
3) After Feb you are free to do as you do like.

That is it. Everything else is voluntary guidance. Nowhere is there any mention of a restriction against the presence of a cash crop. Janet confirmed it as that screenshot above. Come March you can spray out the companion and take the other though to harvest, or you could take both though and whole crop or you could even bi-crop, and sort the grains after combining if really brave. Given it is worth about 30% of a BPS payment I think people are really missing the open door.



"SAM2: Multi-species winter cover What you’ll be paid You’ll receive £129 per hectare per year. This action’s aim This action’s aim is that there’s a well-established multi-species cover crop over the winter months.

To establish the multi-species cover crop you must sow a mix containing at least 2 species from one or more of these plant families: • brassicae • legumes • grass or cereals • herbs
You can choose any mix that works for your farm.

If the multi-species cover crop is not sufficiently well-established to protect the soil surface for the duration of the winter months, for example, due to prolonged adverse weather, you must let us know about this.

You must not mechanically apply any fertilisers or manures on the areas of multi-species cover crops. You can graze the multi-species cover crop, but it still needs to be well-established over the winter months. You can maintain existing areas of multi-species cover crops to meet this action if they: • meet the requirements explained above • are not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option

When to do it Each year of your SFI agreement, you must have a well-established multi-species cover crop that’s present for the duration of the winter months. The winter months will usually include December, January and February. If your agreement starts too late for you to complete this action, you can complete it within 12 months of your agreement’s start date. 26 SFI 2023 handbook v4 January 2024

After the winter months, you can destroy the multi-species winter cover crop if you choose. You may destroy the multi-species winter cover crop before the end of the winter months if you’re establishing an early-sown spring crop. This includes grazing the cover crop with livestock. You must not do this more than 6 weeks before you establish the early-sown spring crop. When you destroy the multi-species winter cover crop, you should try to minimise risks such as compaction, poaching, soil runoff or erosion.

How to do it It’s up to you how you complete this action, as long as you do it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim."

 

[farmerm]

Anyone tried linseed alongside wheat, by intent or accident? What about a 3 way mix with the cereal and linseed and beans? I figure the more species the more benefits to the crop and the less risk of having either insufficient or excessive growth but perhaps needing multiple chemicals come spring.

 

[watfordfrosty]

my plan was buckwheat with OSR and spin the beans on before combi drilling the wheat on early ploughed ground or plough beans down on later ploughed ground

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Is it not possible to spin some Brassica Seed on a few weeks before havest , then drill some rye into it , all you need us a bit to take and Brassica Seed is dirt cheep

 

[farmerm]

my plan was buckwheat with OSR and spin the beans on before combi drilling the wheat on early ploughed ground or plough beans down on later ploughed ground

Now I should know this but why is deeper better for the later beans? Is it just to slow them down later? as temperature drops wheat emergence and development slows?

 

[farmerm]

Is it not possible to spin some Brassica Seed on a few weeks before havest , then drill some rye into it , all you need us a bit to take and Brassica Seed is dirt cheep

I would have thought it was, if you are planning on growing rye rather than wheat or barley....

 

[farmerm]

Is it not possible to spin some Brassica Seed on a few weeks before havest , then drill some rye into it , all you need us a bit to take and Brassica Seed is dirt cheep

Hurrells are marketing a Forage rye/mustard mix specifically for SAM2

https://www.hmseeds.co.uk/product-page/SAM2-eco-cover-crop-seed-sfi

 

[AndrewM]

do you have blackgrass, do use a pre-em if so how strong ? you need something to grow through the pre-em, not too competitive with the wheat over winter, can be taken out by spring herbicide. beans will grow through liberator application. oats usually survive 1/2 rate liberator. do you have capability to precision drill. i imagine drilling the other species inbetween the rows of the cash crop would work best