11 minute read
Putting a Price on Regenerative Agriculture
PUTTING A PRICE ON
REGENERATIVE FARMING
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Written by Thomas Gent from Gentle Farming Regenerative Agriculture is becoming We are offering businesses the with farmers championing regenerative a buzzword in the non-agricultural opportunity to work with a group of agricultural practices. Corporate social business community, sustainability the most innovative and prominent UK responsibility will also play a large part and the circular economy will become farmers leading the way in regenerative in the potential payments farmers could more impactful in the coming years. practices. receive for farming regeneratively. Consumers are now aware of the eco credentials of the businesses they are spending their money with. This is driving businesses across the country to consider their own environmental impacts. Major companies are Using online calculators, research and previous soil testing we can build a picture of the amount of carbon our farms are storing and sequestering each year. With subsidies coming to an end this could be an opportunity for farmers to access funding. Businesses will want to be able to work with an established credible committing to achieving net zero in the I believe carbon offsetting money community of farmers. Our potential coming decades. from the private sector will become a group of farms are spread across the UK farming and food production has a significant opportunity to play an important role in this. major part of the payments farmers will be able to receive in the future. We are working with several country and so can be local to any business. We plan to facilitate the opportunity for clients to visit farms to learn hands-on what we are doing day I am Thomas Gent, we have a family farm in South Lincolnshire and organisations including a in and day out and to share our values. have been farming regeneratively for around 12 years. I have founded group of leading universities This is a huge opportunity for UK farming and if we act decisively Gentle Farming. Gentle farming is and UN climate change and quickly we can become actively an organisation looking into this opportunity and how we can connect international partners to involved in the market and the conversation around pricing. Through farmers with businesses who are interested in supporting regenerative find a certified solution this opportunity farmers can have a significant impact in mitigating climate farming. The health of our soils directly to carbon offsetting. It is change, working towards net zero impacts the health of society. We began by focusing on soil carbon looking very likely that this and providing many environmental benefits. The possible funding streams and soil testing but quickly realised may be certified within the are an incentive for farmers across this is a complex problem and there are currently no concrete answers. Soil year. As soon as these pilot the country to implement sustainable farming practices to the benefit of all. testing is notoriously inconsistent and volatile. However, it will be a crucial part schemes come into action, of the picture as methods develop. This led to the thinking of regenerative agriculture as a whole farm system. Using the regenerative agricultural we will be in the position to sell certified soil carbon credits. Find out more here: principles, we are creating a brand But until this happens we are and giving business the opportunity to focusing on the corporate social invest and play a part in this important responsibility sector allowing us to work. build a system and a brand for working
DRILL MANUFACTURERS IN FOCUS...
MORE MECHANICAL WEED CONTROL OPTIONS FROM OPICO
OPICO has widened its mechanical weed control line-up to include a new range of inter- and intra-row hoes.
Joining Hatzenbichler comb harrows and hoes, German-built KULT machines add to the Bourne-based company’s offering with specialist cultivators designed for high-value vegetable and salad crops. In addition, the firm’s steerable headstocks provide a simpler, lighter, lower-cost option for implements with narrower working widths.
KULT’s inter-row hoes can be equipped with a wide range of working tools from A-shares to L-blades with tines positioned to suit the narrowest 10cm spacings in wheat to row crops like pumpkins set up to 1m apart.
While dealing with weeds between the rows of crop is critical in maximising yield, in these high-value specialist crops it’s equally important to manage those in amongst the rows of plants. That’s where KULT’s innovative intrarow finger weeder comes in.
Specialist weeding wheat: 25cm row width: 3m Kult headstock with Tillett and Hague guidance, fitted with inter row vibro spring tines and standard shares
A much simpler approach than other solutions on the market, pairs of plastic tined wheels either side of the row work in tandem to pluck weed seedlings out from between the crop plants. This intra-row weed control option is also available on Hatzenbichler’s line-up of inter-row hoes.
“With its success firmly rooted in the vegetable industry, KULT’s philosophy is very much about building bespoke machines to suit the customers’ requirements,” explains OPICO managing director James Woolway.
Specialist weeding lettuce: 25cm row width. 2m Kult headstock with manual guidance, fitted with inter-row standard spring tines & shares and 250mm intra-row finger weeders.
“Its weeders can be made to suit any bed size or working width and can be equipped with a wide range of tools to deal with different crops, soil types and weeds. That concept of configuring bespoke machines is exactly how we at OPICO are handling our mechanical weed control offering here in the UK. Our product specialists will work with growers to build exactly the right specification implement for the job.”
To that end, there is a range of options for the KULT’s steerable toolbars. At the most basic level customers can opt for manual guidance with an operator seated on the frame steering the unit either mechanically or hydraulically. This is often chosen where there is less
of an emphasis on covering the ground at high speed.
Moving to the next level of automation, growers can opt for camera guidance. Like Hatzenbichler machines, KULT weeders employ the British-made Tillett and Hague system. These camera-guided machines work closer to the crop and hence provide improved weed control at higher work rates.
While Hatzenbichler comb harrows and inter-row hoes provide herbicidefree weed control options for broadacre crops, the KULT line-up is a much more bespoke offering to cater for a widerange of specialist crops.
“Although we’ve been selling Hatzenbichler comb harrows for weed control in organic arable crops for some 25 years, it was only last year that we introduced the Austrian firm’s inter-row hoes to the UK,” says James Woolway.
“Since then we’ve had enquiries coming from all sectors of both agriculture and horticulture. That
Specialist weeding spinach on raised beds: 2m Kult headstock with manual guidance, fitted with duo solo, inter-row weeding units and ridging discs
demand prompted us to look at widening our offering. With a strong established following in vegetable and salad production, KULT was the natural solution. The company’s product line gives us a full armoury to deal with the increasing demand for chemical-free weed management.”
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IDEAS FOR EVERY ARABLE FARMER 11 FACT FILLED PAGES
PIC: WHY HE’S MAKING MONEY WITH 710MM TYRES AND LEAVING HIS ROW CROPS IN THE SHED
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2020 VOLUME 29 / ISSUE 2 WWW.FARMIDEAS.CO.UK #114
MADE IT MYSELF
We feature some of the most practical, innovative ‘one-of-a-kind’ farmers who show us how they solve problems, save time, work safely.
PG 5 Home made fodder beet / potato chopper
Their methods, sometimes very simple, can help many others, from large or small, arable or livestock farm businesses. Here’s a big thank-you to those who have contributed to Practical Farm Ideas and a warm welcome to all who want to join them. Mike Donovan editor@farmideas.co.uk www.farmideas.co.uk
9 PAGE 20 PRACTICAL SHEEP MANAGEMENT ARTICLES INSIDE: 48 PAGES OF THE MOST USEFUL FARMING IDEAS, WITH NO ADVERTISING
FINANCE: FOUR RATIOS THAT CAN SHOW IF YOUR FARM FINANCES MIGHT FACE A REAL CRISIS 770968 0130399 14> £5.00 00_LAYOUT_Aug 20.indd 1 12/08/2020 23:54 MADE IT MYSELF the rotor having the end cut at an angle. Some 110mm round tubing was used as a guard to protect anyone from getting caught in the shaft between the sprocket and the hopper. The tubing sits inside the two bearing housings snuggly and can only be removed when the bearing housing is unbolted. The chain and sprockets are also covered by 2mm sheet made into a box. It’s good to see that user safety was high priority in the design and manufacture of the beet chopper as this can often be overlooked on home builds. If he were building again he would make the legs 1ft longer to give space for a bigger bucket. Followup: Thomas Tiernan, Co. Armagh, Ireland Story from Niall Murphy MADE IT MYSELF DOES YOUR DIGGER HAVE A THUMB? You can call them power clamps, grippers or whatever, and there are commercial ones as well as those from the workshop. They are gaining popularity in the US. Excavator digger buckets are great for digging, but get used for other jobs. Adding a hydraulic thumb allows the excavator to grip objects, making it an indispensable tool for loading brush, logs or debris. Picking up slabs of concrete, awkward stones and so on is made a whole lot easier when it is held in a jaw instead of resting on one side. Digger thumbs fit on the arm in a variety of ways, and much depends on the arm. Some arms already have mountings for a pin on the underside which is in the right place for a thumb to swivel. Most don’t so a bracket will need to be welded on. Likewise at the other end of the arm on which the ram is mounted for the second pin. Added safety Using the back-hoe bucket as a handler rather than a digger is always a temptation and is often done. Things can drop off the bucket and this is when they hit somebody. Holding the item tight increases the speed the work is done, and prevents accidents. Fixed thumbs Users say they certainly make some moves a lot easier, and are a cheaper and easier workshop project. They do of course get in the way when using the bucket, but can be designed to fold away. With no extra hydraulics and less weight on the arm they make a useful halfway house for the farm digger which is not in regular daily use.
• Carries no advertising or paid content • Focuses on time and money saving ideas • The farming optimiser!
Above: Fodder beet chopper has useful hopper size and space Right and far right: In use - the rotor turns anticlockwise with the static cleaners on the right and chopping blades on the spring loaded panel on left
Above left: The Amulet Powerbrute Excavator thumb for 1 - 3 ton machines is low profile when in the storage position and measures 7” wide x 20” long for pin style buckets and is 25” long for quick couplers. The base plate is 4” wide x 31.5” long to weld to the boom. Above centre: The Amulet Powerclamp is built for 5 - 6 ton machines and increases excavator’s versatility. They make the whole machine with high strength steel alloy and heavy duty hydraulic rams and the machine is regularly fitted to machines doing demolition work, and separating recyclables - high duty cycle operations. Above right: A neat way to hold timber for chainsaw work which adds to safety and work effort with the timber never pinching
Made it Myself - Soil+ Cover Cropping Financial Focus - Farm World - Safety
6 PRACTICAL FARM IDEAS AUGUST - NOVEMBER 2020 Far left: Shows the covered drive and sheet metal put around. Also shows the 80 x 80mm ladder frame
Left: Chain drive uses 44 and 10 tooth sprockets
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Followup: www.everythingattachments.com Above left: This fixed thumb hinges on the frame which is bolted to the digger arm, allowing the angle to be altered by changing the position of the pin. It can then fold away using a second hole in the support part of the attachment. Above centre: A small ‘Tom Thumb’ design has a double curve on the gripper blades and fits neatly on the short length digger armAbove right: A more complex design with the ram located on the inside of the clamp arm.
10 PRACTICAL FARM IDEAS AUGUST - NOVEMBER 2020
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12/08/2020 23:54 * Intro Offer - Save £4.20 and pay just £20.00 (includes p+p) for all four issues for 2020/21 plus two extra. Use link on farmideas.co.uk ; Offer code DD11Saving farmers ££thousands since 1992 editor@farmideas.co.uk or call/txt 07778 877514
