Interest In Cover Cropping

In the run up to Christmas I hosted almost 100 farmers on three different visits to look at the Cover Crop trials that we planted back in August and September.  The seed was generously supplied by Kings and used in a trial to look at the benefits and costs of using cover crops in the farm rotation. Cover crops have only recently come to my attention through my Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust award to look at increasing wheat yields n the UK.  Although we have been using turnips and forage rape for years as a sheep feed through the winter period, there is so much more a cover crop can deliver other than feeding ewes or lambs through the winter.  The cover crop idea has also sprung into life as they can count towards Ecological Focus Areas (EFA's) in the the new Common Agricultural Policy.  In total we have planted 11 different mixes or single variety species to see what benefits or negative effects can be measured..

Paul Brown (above) from Kings, demonstrating the tap rooting ability of radishes to push down into the soil to break up compaction caused by farm machinery.  The ability of all of the mixes to scavenge for nitrogen and phosphate that would otherwise be lost from the field is tremendous, and if your include vetches into the mix their ability to fix nitrogen form the atmosphere is staggering.  The plot of straight vetch analysed at over 30% protein and was holding over 200Kg/Ha of nitrogen that will be available for the following crop!  Species in the various mixes included, mustard, forage rye, vetch, radish, oat, berseem clover, phacelia, buckwheat and linseed.  The mixes have been assessed by NIAB as part of our Kellogg's Origins Group, looking at ways in which we can farm in a more environmentally and financially sustainable way.

The crops certainly tick all of those boxes by: intercepting sunlight through the autumn and winter, turning it into carbon (plant matter) to improve soil organic matter levels (when decomposing); help remove compaction by aggressive rooting; locking up nutrients that would otherwise be washed through the soil into the environment; provide valuable late season pollen and nectar sources (bees using ours until November), provide a nutritious balanced diet for overwintering stock: stabilise and protect the soil surface from heavy rainfall events.  It is almost all positive effects form these crops bar the creation of a lovely slug habitat.  This will need watching and monitoring through the winter and into the drilling period to keep on top of the slippery problem!

20 by 20 Fact or Fiction - My Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust Study Topic

Here are a few questions that I regularly find myself thinking about:-

Why have the UK wheat yields plateaued?

Where is the next 'green revolution' going to come from?

How are we going to feed the estimated world population of 9.5Bn people by 2050?

How can we persuade the general public and the law makers of Europe that we need to use biological technology (new words for GM - Genetically Modified) to help feed the ever expanding world population?

What are the key ingredients to a world record wheat yield?

I think that is probably enough for me, for now, but I am sure that I will ask a lot more questions before I answer these ones!  Last July I filled in my application form to apply for a Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust award to look at my chosen subject (20t/Ha of Wheat in years time).  After the interviews in October the awards were handed out at the Nuffield Conference in November, (see previous blog).

I have to thank the Central Region Farmers Trust for sponsoring me on my scholarship.

So what happens next?  Well I am planning trips around the UK to talk to the scientists that are working on projects in this country.  I plan to visit, Rothamsted, The John Innes Centre, The James Hutton Institute, Cranfield and Bristol University.  My thoughts are to assess where the research is currently going in this country before looking at projects abroad.  I have to say that there are some great research projects happening here; I will have my work cut out to get round these institutes before the Contemporary Scholars Conference which starts on the 7th March in London.  I will see what I can do!

On the 7th of March all 22 of the 2013 Scholars and I think 2 of the 2012 scholars are meeting in London for a couple of days before heading out to Guelph, Ontario, Canada for the Contemporary Scholars Conference with all the other Internationals Scholars!  This will be an incredible experience and a fabulous opportunity to make some new friends and talk world farming for a week.

I hope to stay on in Canada to visit the University of Guelph, then the Experimental Farm in Ottawa and then a trip up to Quebec City to explore wheat projects there.  After that it's back to the farm here at Overbury.

My plans after that are a little loose, so I'm looking for contacts and idea's but I want to explore Oregon and Washington States where some high yielding wheat crops are produced, then onto CIMMYT in Mexico, where there is a lot of wheat and maize research.  After that, who knows you will just have to tune in and keep following, to see where I end up.