MODEL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SOIL HEALTH
The challenge for UK agriculture is to build a sustainable and profitable future under a changing support structure, and restoring soil health to vast acreages of farmland will be key. That’s certainly the view of Rob and 1,600 arable acres and 1,000 acres of Jo Hodgkins, who as educated self- grassland in north Hertfordshire, all on starters in the farming industry have Farm Business Tenancy agreements, experienced first-hand the damage and 2,500 New Zealand Romney reeked over recent decades by modern ewes. They have developed a system large scale agricultural practices. with a four year arable rotation, alternating winter and spring crops to Both Nuffield Scholars and graduates help combat the inherent black-grass of the Worshipful Company of Farmers’ infestations. Cover crops are grown Advanced Business Management in between winter and spring crops, programme, the couple are committed crops such as winter oats and berseem clover providing over-winter grazing for ewes Cover are drilled directly into stubble straight after harvesting to a farming methodology that has and finishing lambs. winter cereals. soil health at its core. Their approach includes the integration of livestock “We tend to follow a winter cereal “We don’t aim to graze the cover back onto arable farms, with cover with a cover crop mixture of 100kg/ha crops to the ground as we prefer crops included in a rotation that can of winter oats and 5kg/ha of berseem to leave some crop residue on the see as many as six profit-generating clover, direct drilled into the stubble surface,” says Rob. “Overall, the cover crops grown in a four year period. straight after the combine,” says Rob. crops offer great flexibility and create “The earlier establishment makes all options the difference and creates a forage “This year, for example, we’ve crop that ewes and fattening lambs are been able to establish winter wheat turned onto from September.” in January following the cover crop, Around 200ha of over-winter cover effectively turning what would have crop grazing is supplemented with an been a spring crop into a winter crop. additional 80-90ha of stubble turnips “That’s potentially going to be really grown on a neighbouring farm. beneficial this year looking at the value of winter cereals.” Field Options’ Eco-Pasture legume and herb rich mix qualifies as a specialist GS4 mixture for Countryside Stewardship and delivers outstanding performance in terms of livestock output.
“We believe there is a sustainable business model that can work for a great number of arable farms, particularly where significant areas are compromised by poor soil health or by issues such as black-grass,” says Rob. “However, it requires a real change of mindset and a fully committed approach to be successful. “Through our own experiences, we’ve taken land with significant weed grass problems and poor soil structure – land that has been plundered for 20-25 years - and turned it around, making a decent return in the process.” Rob and Jo started with just 60 acres and 200 cull ewes back in 2013 and have now built their Kaiapoi farming enterprise that currently includes DIRECT DRILLER MAGAZINE
“We like the stubble turnips for what they provide in terms of winter fodder but we’re in an area that suffers badly with flea beetle so find them very difficult to grow,” adds Rob. “Our neighbour grows a lot of winter barley, which allows earlier drilling of the stubble turnips and this seems to make all the difference in terms of establishment.”
The combination of cover crops and sheep make a valuable contribution to soil health and fertility, adding an estimated 35-50kgN/ha of available nitrogen for the following crop, in addition to building soil organic matter.
Sheep genetics Key to the success of the system, according to Rob, is having the right sheep genetics. He’s an advocate for the New Zealand Romney, a breed that he rates due to its low maintenance characteristics, resistance to foot rot and its ability to be lambed outdoors with minimal trouble, achieving 170180% lambing percentage. “Our system relies on a sheep breed that we can lamb outside, so we have little requirement for buildings, infrastructure and bought-in feed,” says Rob. “We also don’t need straw for bedding, and that’s good because we aim for around 90% of it to be chopped and spread to go back into the soil as organic matter.” Rob describes his sheep as ‘Arable Romneys’, and that’s because they fit around the arable system, with lambing taking place in the early part
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