5 hours ago
11
Spring has sprung, and with warming soils we start planting our more delicate crops such as peas. With the chatter of skylarks in the background, we slowly drill our way across this 15-hectare field using a three-metre precision drill that carefully places the seed. Six weeks ago, this would have cost £7.50 per hectare on fuel, now it’s £15 per hectare – a severe shock to the farm’s finances.
It’s not often that an arable farmer’s mind is so focused on global events, but our fuel use tops 50,000 litres a year and the Middle East conflict is having profound consequences. Thankfully, we’re partly protected. Over the last seven or eight years, we have transitioned to a low-disturbance approach to establishing crops, disturbing the top inch only. This means less tractor use and healthier soil – a big priority here. Fertiliser prices are also a worry. Common practice is to buy a year’s worth every June, but prices are skyrocketing, and there’s no UK production any more to help us out.
Minimising inputs such as fuel and fertiliser is part of our wider regenerative approach. This is a 485-hectare carbon-neutral (as of 2024) arable farm, using no insecticide and with more than a quarter of land in environmental measures. For us, the chemical can is the last thing we reach for, rather than the first. We produce mainly human-quality combinable crops such as milling wheat (which goes to Warburtons), milling oats, marrowfat peas (which end up in fish and chip shops), seed wheat, forage barley, spring barley, feed beans, forage maize and miscanthus.
Following a regenerative approach has enabled us to unlock the farm’s potential for wildlife as well as crops, so both can thrive as much as possible. We’ve created a mosaic of habitats that are interconnected, so wildlife can escape human activity. It’s worked too – fish have returned to our ditches, otters are back in the River Ancholme, and we have plenty of indicator species such as curlew and yellowhammer (my favourite).
Of course, we are totally at the behest of mother nature, and rain is another worry going into this year’s cropping season. Since 1 October, we’ve had 550mm of rainfall, out of an annual average of 650mm-670mm. Sod’s law, the tap will be turned off soon – until about August, just when we don’t need it.
