HUTCHINSONS DIRECT DRILL DEMONSTRATION Written by Mark Hatton East Yorkshire is a part of the world I’ve always enjoyed spending time in, I wasn’t expecting a North sea breeze to be quite as cold as it was when I visited the Hutchinsons Direct Drill demonstration at the beginning of March. With well over 100 visitors throughout the day, the group was split into two for the opening presentation. Dick Neale (Hutchinsons Technical Manager) took the audience through a very interesting discussion on Healthy Soils, soil structure and the benefits of cover crops.
Cover crop selection is also a topic that also requires careful consideration, farmers that have tried cover cropping with little success and dismissed it as not worthwhile, have possibly chosen the wrong mix for their soil type. Oats for example, often used as being a cheap cover, lock in moisture near the surface, as seen on site at the demo.
Mark Hatton
The event was put on by Hutchinsons North team with the kind permission of M.Meadley and Sons, Grange Farm, Driffield. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the day, with a lineup of speakers discussing everything from soil health to the transition from BPS to environmental schemes and everything in between.
The switch from conventional plough based or minimum till systems over to Direct Drill is not overnight, the most successful transitions seem to be 3-5 years, with current input costs now becoming a much bigger consideration the temptation to go ‘cold turkey’ and put the whole farm under direct drill, would need some very careful consideration.
Soil structure assessment pit
Brassica and Legume choices should be matched with soil types to help improve soil structure. A soil structure assessment pit had been dug along with trial boxes of the same soil with different seed mixes to demonstrate the effects of correct mix choice. As well we know, worms are critical to soil health and soil structure, trials have shown that worms take material from the surface, even distribution of chopped straw is critical, with straw rakes becoming much more widely used to ensure much better coverage. One of the biggest questions was
72 DIRECT DRILLER MAGAZINE
ISSUE 17 | APRIL 2022
