How growers can build resilience on arable farms
© GNP Growers must be prepared to adjust their farming operations and management to make businesses more resilient in the event of adverse weather and volatile market conditions.
That’s the message for growers who are looking to reduce their exposure – both physically and financially – to the more erratic weather patterns that the past few years have thrown at them.
Building agronomic resilience means that the system will be better equipped to absorb and recover from these events – whether they take the form of market volatility, climate change or pest and disease outbreaks, or a combination of the three.
See also: Why one Essex arable farm faces difficult decisions in 2025
How bad has the weather been?
During the 2023-24 growing season, rainfall was higher than average in every month, except June and August. Temperature was also higher than average across the season, except for June and July.
Soil focus
Start with soil health, which will help to weather-proof the farm and create free-draining, moisture retentive soils in which healthy crops thrive.
Where infiltration rates are poor, the result is wet winter ground and dry summer ground – or the worst of both worlds, in which yields are down and costs are up, says independent consultant Niels Corfield:
“It impacts drilling and operations windows, which then results in yield and quality issues. That in turn puts pressure on farm incomes.”
Healthy soil is loose; it allows water and air to move through it and you can feel its sponginess underfoot and when you dig it, he adds.
“Standing water at this time of year tells you quite a bit about the soil structure underneath.
“If needed, make a plan to fix your soil, using year-round management as far as possible, then supplementing it with the most appropriate mechanical and biological action.
Five focus areas for arable farms
1. Soil health
Make use of cover crops, increasing organic matter, undersowing and reduced tillage, where possible, to lessen the impact of extreme weather events, improve soil biology and eliminate capping and compaction.
2. Water management
Field drainage, ditch maintenance, buffer strips and rainwater storage or harvesting all have a role by removing water from fields, preventing run-off or pollution and ensuring that water is available when it is needed.
3. Spreading risk
Widen the rotation to bring in greater crop diversity, consider the use of companion cropping and variety blends to derisk the farm and integrate livestock where appropriate.
Use Sustainable Farming Incentive actions to replace break crops and ease cashflow pressures where economics dictate.
4. Natural infrastructure
Trees and hedges provide shade and shelter, help to protect crops and can have a role in flood management, so are an integral part of any climate-friendly farming system.
They also bring biodiversity benefits and can be an alternative income stream in terms of carbon.
5. Machinery
Smaller, lighter machines may be more relevant in wet conditions, when windows are restricted and soils are saturated.
Consider ways of increasing the options available – machinery sharing and collaboration with others may be a viable solution.
Contractors can also increase the possibilities.
See also: Tips on making arable soils more resilient to extreme weather
© GNP
Transition farmers: Kit and Beth Speakman
Farm facts: Little Braxted Hall Farm, Witham, Essex
- Farm size 275ha
- Annual rainfall 610mm
- Soil type Loamy clay
Transition goals
- Bridging income gap after stewardship
- Creating integrated farm business
- Increasing grass and widening rotation
Farmer Kit Speakman and his daughter Beth, will be taking on the Transition Farmer mantle in 2025.
Building agronomic resilience into the 275ha Essex farm business has been a family commitment for some years.
The farm’s light land and drier climate is prone to drought, so preparation for climate change in terms of wetter winters and drier summers has been essential.
Beth says that the hot, dry summer of 2022 was a wake-up call.
“We are very lucky because we have a reservoir and lakes on-site, so we can irrigate if necessary,” she says.
“In that year, we were forced to irrigate wheat for the first time and for several months, as there was no rain between April and October.
“It added to the costs but it ensured that we did have a crop to sell, rather than a failure.”
Organic matter
Beth describes future-proofing the farm as a slow and steady challenge, but one that they are taking very seriously.
“We have been building soil organic matter as much as possible for the past 25 years, to help with water retention and infiltration, improve soil function, boost nutrient cycling and provide protection from the elements,” she explains.
That’s been done predominantly by using farmyard manure, although winter cover crops are also being grown and the straw from feeding and bedding the beef cattle is incorporated.
As a result of these efforts, soil organic matter has risen from 2% to 5-6%. “We are seeing a reward,” she notes.
“The trade-off is that we aren’t getting an income from straw sales. Instead, it’s an investment in the future of the land.”
Rotation
A wider rotation is also playing its part, and Beth believes that having livestock in the form of both beef cattle and sheep on the farm is a huge benefit.
“We’ve taken some of the risk out by being less reliant on one or two commodity markets, which are very volatile.
Having sweetcorn, potatoes and grass for seed, as well as cereals, means we are able to suppress weed, pest and disease burdens, minimising the need for intervention.”
The grade 3 soils require heavy rotation planning to improve cereal yields. “We don’t grow second wheats at all – we really believe in diversity.”
The Speakmans are moving less soil than they used to and have included a bit of direct drilling into the system, helping to keep soils in good condition.
However, having potatoes in the rotation and the need to incorporate farmyard manure means that some ploughing remains essential.
Variety choice
Variety choice is changing too, with an emphasis on those that are more tolerant and can cope with the stress that comes with extreme weather patterns.
Going to trial sites and speaking to advisers has helped.
The farm has changed from Skyfall to Extase as its milling choice and is still hitting the bread-making specification, which Beth credits in part to the use of manures.
Other alternative crops are always being considered, as they continue to look for ways of derisking the business.
Spring crops are kept to a minimum, as the lighter land allows for autumn drilling, even in wetter autumns.
A turnip mix is broadcast into standing cereal crops in the summer, so that the cattle can be overwintered on them before the following spring crop is drilled.
“That sequence means that we get three crops in two years, with a Sustainable Farming Incentive payment to negate the cost of the cover crop.”
Hedgerow management is an important part of the farm’s agronomic resilience, continues Beth.
“They really help with the drainage of any wet edges of fields, and also act as a windbreak, to keep crops upright during risky Junes with high wind.”
Cost considerations
However, the detail contained in the recent Budget does mean that some of the business’s priorities will now be adjusted, acknowledges Beth.
“We were hoping to focus on carbon capture and raising environmental and biodiversity standards.
“But that money isn’t forthcoming now and we don’t know when or if it will be.”
While doing the right thing has always been important to the family, the costs of some of these measures must now be weighed up carefully.
This is especially the case since Basic Payment Scheme money has been cut.
Instead, they are putting time and effort into financial and tax planning.
This will ensure that the farm can remain in the family and continue to produce food in the most sustainable way.
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