Arable Farmer Focus FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: More land needed to maximise machinery useNovember has been a typically slow month. We lifted more sugar beet when conditions allowed, and store lambs continued to arrive on our farms to graze cover crops. The machinery… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Soils looking healthier than farmer sentimentIt is so nice to finally have some frost to slow the crops down. Wheats had been flying along and were getting too far advanced from my point of view.… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Herbicide trial reveals shows blackgrass controlAll land work and spraying is now complete until February, leaving hedgetrimming and general estate maintenance as the remaining tasks for the season. Both wheat and oilseed rape crops are… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Umpteen jobs and a recycled shedSince it’s now distinctly “back end”, and for a change we’re pretty much worked up, focus here has turned towards winter jobs. Alongside the usual machinery and shed maintenance, we… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: The problems caused by a hungry squirrelWe’re in the very fortunate position of having full fibre broadband connection at the farm. This means that day-to-day administrative tasks that were once painfully slow online can be done… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Stones skew soil indices and manure rulesThe farm looks a picture at present. We have corner-to-corner wheat and barley. The wild bird mixes have been flowering and setting seed, and the cover crops have put on… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Dark days made darker by loss of a loved oneAutumn is normally a favourite season in our family and an opportunity for more time at home as jobs on the farm are completed. This year, though, as the light… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Prospects for year ahead do not look prettyFrom a work point of view, 2025 has been a successful season, with all the major field work now complete. We finished our potato harvesting in the second half of… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Why not fund farmers to benchmark ecology?The kind autumn continues, and the oats are romping away. Slugs haven’t been an issue, even following cover crops. Blackgrass has emerged since drilling, which was always going to happen,… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Too wet to too dry means a challenging springToo wet has been replaced with too dry, and a little bit of too windy thrown in for good measure. They say it is always dry after a wet spell,… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Volcanoes, vines and variable costsBuenos días from a very sunny Lanzarote. I thought farming in the UK was hard, but compared to growing grapes here, it’s a walk in the park. See also: How oxygen… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Pumpkin picking and classic politician styleOctober meant pumpkin picking season for us. It was a slightly different arrangement this year, as we were only open on the weekends. I can safely say that was the… More articles
