Innovative Farmers is a not-for-profit network that gives farmers and growers research support and funding on their own terms. Many of the best ideas in farming come from farmers. But most research happens off-farm. Innovative Farmers changes that. It helps farmers and growers to find lasting solutions to practical problems, from managing weeds and pests with fewer chemicals to testing more sustainable animal feeds, cutting waste and pollution, and protect their farm from volatility.
In conjunction with Anglia Farmer, Innovative Farmers are now running a new field lab trial, which will be investigating alternative ways of establishing a successful minimum tillage system without the use of chemicals.
For organic farmers, finding ways to reduce their reliance on ploughing can help to enhance soil health and potentially reduces overall use of fossil fuels during successful crop establishment.
Lara Clabburn, Anglia Farmers Group Coordinator said; “This field lab is very exciting as it unites all farmers in finding better ways to cultivate soil, establish crops and maintain or improve soil structure. It is already catalysing new ideas for cover crop destruction and preparation for crop establishment.”
Already several organic farmers have joined the group and the field lab is expected to attract attention from both organic and conventional farmers looking to develop their minimum or no tillage systems.
One of the participants of the field lab group is Andrew Woof who is a member of Organic Arable and farms 500 acres of organic, mostly arable land at Weston Farm in Oxfordshire. After reading about work in Japan and the US, he plans to use a roller crimper to turn his cover crop into a weed supressing and nutrient providing mass of stems. He can then drill directly through it, meaning no plough, and minimum compaction.
Andrew said; “I started looking for a way that I could improve my soil by enriching it with biomass and keeping soil disturbance to a minimum – So reducing compaction and preventing nutrient mineralisation.
“Joining Innovative Farmers gave me the inspiration to start thinking of things from a different angle. I hope that, through the field lab with Anglia Farmers, we might be able to find some conclusive evidence for using minimum tillage in soil management, resulting in carbon capture through increased organic matter”
In most parts of the world, chemicals are not routinely used to terminate cover crops. Canada and the USA largely rely on extreme cold weather. In South America, it is more common to use rolling or other mechanical means if farmers are terminating cover crops. We should remember that in the UK, conditions are slightly different to most other parts of the world. In particularly milder weather and soils that do not always dry completely, therefore taking longer to warm up in spring is a challenge for UK farmers. Coupled with that, the UK also has different weed species to contend with and much more winter cropping. This is why more research is welcomed into increasing reliability and choice in farming techniques.
The network has a range of supporters, bringing significant knowledge and experience to the field lab. Research partners of Innovative Farmers include: ADAS; Duchy College; the Centre for Agroecology, Water & Resilience at Coventry University; the Food Security & Land Research Alliance; IBERS; Harper Adams University; Rothamsted Research; and the University of Bristol.
There will be a meeting on the 2nd of November 2016 at Shimpling Park Farms in Suffolk, for those wishing to find out more or get involved, it will include lunch and a farm walk. If you would like to attend please email bGFyYS5jbGFiYnVybkBhbmdsaWFmYXJtZXJzLmNvLnVr
Innovative Farmers is part of the Duchy Future Farming Programme, funded by the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation. The network is backed by a team from LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), Innovation for Agriculture, the Organic Research Centre and the Soil Association, and supported by Waitrose.
Find out more: www.innovativefarmers.org