Tom Sewell's Nufield report

[Clive]

With his permission here is a link to Tom's excellent Nufield report

It's a great read and for me brings together much of what I have learnt and seen so far since we started zero-till on our farm

An absolute "must read" for anyone considering moving to a zero-till system on their farm

Thanks Tom


http://nuffieldinternational.org/rep_pdf/1411117208TomSewelleditedreport.pdf

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I agree, a very good read. At last he has banished the word sustainable to history with his advocating "regenerative agriculture".

 

[ajd132]

Brilliant, it has cemented what me and father have been thinking and inspired us to take the plunge.

 

[Steevo]

Very interesting. Halfway through reading it but I can't help thinking soil type makes a huge difference. All the soils discussed so far are light, blow-away soils. The clays we have in UK are less helpful in terms of water infiltration.

That said, I 100% agree with his thoughts, hence why we are now in Y4 of direct drilling, and 10 years since using a plough.

 

[Clive]

I'm going to do some inflaltration tests when I get a moment

Think that's a really good way to monitor soil improvements over time

We had rain this morning (at last) an hour latter you would never have known, things are without doubt getting better and better here fast

 

[Barleycorn]

Thanks for putting this up Clive, I skipped through it and thought it very well done. Will have a good read when I have a bit of time.

I loved one of the given downfalls of DD

1. Unfortunately, there are some downsides. For almost every farmer I visited, profits have risen leading to an increase in income tax liability. Yields have improved meaning new storage is required for the same cropping area.
   

 

[Steevo]

We had rain this morning (at last) an hour latter you would never have known, things are without doubt getting better and better here fast

I'd be careful of being too quick as spotting improvements that you are looking for as such.

The ground everywhere is so dry after almost zero rain this month that you could say that about a lot of places. The real test will be when the soil is saturated come the winter. Winter saturation is something few farms in Tom's report seemed to experience, to them it was months of dry weather that caused their woes. Agreed you are on light land so that will apply to some extent however.

 

[Clive]

I'd be careful of being too quick as spotting improvements that you are looking for as such.

The ground everywhere is so dry after almost zero rain this month that you could say that about a lot of places. The real test will be when the soil is saturated come the winter. Winter saturation is something few farms in Tom's report seemed to experience, to them it was months of dry weather that caused their woes. Agreed you are on light land so that will apply to some extent however.

I know what your saying but heavy rain can also run off hard dry ground if soil is poorly structured, I'm amazed how quickly some of these changes are happening, I always though it would be at least 5 years before tangible difference in my soil could be seen

Despite being extremely dry here right now my soils are still spongy to walk, I can (and am) direct drilling into them without a problem they wouldn't have been like that a few years ago as comparison I can go to a few fields with more recent tillage history (due to potatoes in 2013) that are set like concrete that would not be possible to drill until we get some rain and took this mornings heavy shower much worse still walking wet after lunch

Last time it was this dry here through autumn establishment I recall a bill for Simba solo wearing metal of near 30k !!!! That's more than my drill is worth now !

 

[SilliamWhale]

Data from aber uni last year:

Attached are photos of how we do the infiltration measurements – it would be quite easy for you to set up yourself. The rings are knocked into the ground about 40mm, make sure there is a good seal by pressing down around the outside of the inner and outer ring (don’t disturb the inside of the inner ring as it would affect the infiltration) We just calculated the weight of water that sinks into the ground over a given time within the inner ring. As long as you know the diameter of you inner ring you can convert to cm/hour.

Water infiltration (cm/hour)

Ryegrass Zero N

1.77

Ryegrass 200kg N/year

1.52

Chicory 200kg N/year

11.78

White Clover

23.44

Red Clover

29.68

 

[rob1]

fascinating reading and lots to ponder on, only thing I have some concerns about is cover crops on heavy land from my own limited experience they dont work for spring crops as they stop the land warming up, maybe grazed off ones might work tho.

Every day is a school day

 

[homefarm]

I quite like this U-tube clip
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1aR5OLgcc0

 

[York]

yes, indeed. Even for people which are limited in time they just need to read
17.0. Conclusions, PDF page 47
18.0. Recommendations, PDF page 48
my best quote is:  Just do it! - if you think it will work and you’re willing to make it work
York-Th.

 

[Clive]

What I really like in the report is the emphasis towards quality of life and work life balance and the opportunities that zerotil can bring in that respect rather than the usual having to justify every move on a purely financial return basis

There is more to life than spreadsheets, when things are a little less tight you don't have to waste energy worrying about them

 

[SilliamWhale]

What I really like in the report is the emphasis towards quality of life and work life balance and the opportunities that zerotil can bring in that respect rather than the usual having to justify every move on a purely financial return basis

There is more to life than spreadsheets, when things are a little less tight you don't have to waste energy worrying about them

Also I think it helps encourage you to take risks and then don't worry if a new experiment goes wrong. What you see as a bit risk become a smaller risk when you know a bit more and if you don't try some new things you don't know what you can and can't do.

 

[Daniel]

An interesting read, asa downside though, where does the livestock farmer get his straw if all the arable farmers are chopping it, and what happens to all the farm staff who are made redundant when their cultivators and tractors are sold?

 

[SilliamWhale]

An interesting read, asa downside though, where does the livestock farmer get his straw if all the arable farmers are chopping it, and what happens to all the farm staff who are made redundant when their cultivators and tractors are sold?

All depends on price vs benefit on the straw. I can sell my straw and get muck back. I think if you sell straw every so often if you have good OM its ok to do if there is some money in it.

As for the labour argument its a pointless one. What did we do with all the typists when we stopped using dictaphones? I do think that it is important to keep people around/ connected to farming and the land so maybe we can innovate our farms as well to keep people involved?

 

[Daniel]

As for the labour argument its a pointless one. What did we do with all the typists when we stopped using dictaphones? I do think that it is important to keep people around/ connected to farming and the land so maybe we can innovate our farms as well to keep people involved?

Broadly speaking you are right, the labour market will right itself. But for many farms in the immediate future they have long standing staff they are unwilling to sack. Even here on our small patch the unskilled cultivation jobs that occupied hours of the apprentices/junior members time has gone.

Well, it would have if I had my way, I'm fairly sure that when 'im off next month Dad will hook the kongskilde on and send the apprentice out to cultivate some stubbles to A) Give him tractor experience and B) Get him out the way for a bit.

You will also end up with a skills gap, the next generation of tractor driver will be expected to go from nothing to drillman? Where does the youth get his experience if not whiling away countless hours discing and cultivating?

Non of these are reasons not to no/strip-till just observations on the practicalities.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Broadly speaking you are right, the labour market will right itself. But for many farms in the immediate future they have long standing staff they are unwilling to sack. Even here on our small patch the unskilled cultivation jobs that occupied hours of the apprentices/junior members time has gone.

Well, it would have if I had my way, I'm fairly sure that when 'im off next month Dad will hook the kongskilde on and send the apprentice out to cultivate some stubbles to A) Give him tractor experience and B) Get him out the way for a bit.

You will also end up with a skills gap, the next generation of tractor driver will be expected to go from nothing to drillman? Where does the youth get his experience if not whiling away countless hours discing and cultivating?

Non of these are reasons not to no/strip-till just observations on the practicalities.

They don't have to sack the staff. If its a cheaper establishment method then just get them to a do a tidy job of it and spend the spare time doing other stuff - hedging, cleaning drains etc. You don't have to have staff turning tractor wheels or be sacked.

 

[Clive]

i've sacked noone, I have saved a contractor bill that was over 50k pa though I guess

I hope that in the future I can get in a position to afford to be able to pay people more, and that they can also maintain a work/ life balance, failure to address issue like that will ultimately see skilled staff shortages that have already been discussed on here in other threads

 

[warksfarmer]

With his permission here is a link to Tom's excellent Nufield report

It's a great read and for me brings together much of what I have learnt and seen so far since we started zero-till on our farm

An absolute "must read" for anyone considering moving to a zero-till system on their farm

Thanks Tom


http://nuffieldinternational.org/rep_pdf/1411117208TomSewelleditedreport.pdf

It is very good actually and a long way from what Tom was doing when I was at uni with him. Big change.