We’re excited to share a series of five new videos that showcase some of the farms in Cornwall that are part of the Farm Net Zero project.
Each video shares a different farm’s journey as it works to improve the environment, produce nutritious food, while also responding to climate risks, such as flooding. There is a specific focus in these videos on how the farms are engaging within their local communities, to help tackle these issues. The Farm Net Zero project includes practical advice for farmers on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, showcases innovation, provides robust science through soil testing and carbon footprinting, and inspires other farmers to tell their stories to consumers on the steps that they are taking to address climate change and protect soil health.
The full-length video below includes all of the following five stories. If you prefer to view each story separately, please simply click on each of the links here:
Thursday 11th January 10 – 2pm, Trewidland Village Hall (with an opportunity to go to Anthony Ellis’s farm Pensipple if the weather permits).
Tim Parton is a world-renowned regenerative farmer and Nick Woodyatt is a soil health consultant with a wealth of experience. This meeting will focus on the finer details of how you can get started with foliar feeding to improve yields, soil health, and reduce input costs.
This event follows the meeting on Wednesday the 10th at Chapman’s Well and will focus on the practicalities of foliar feeding.
Please meet at the village hall PL14 4ST: (What3Words///headset.producing.tasters)
Welcome to our January Farm Net Zero update, sharing news for our farmers, growers and the wider community this project supports.
(Image above: Dr Dave Davies from Silage Solutions presenting to Farm Net Zeroat our silage event)
Recent news and events
Oxford Real Farming Conference: January 2024
On the 5th of January, Farm Net Zero will be presenting in a session entitled “It Takes a Farm Community to be Net Zero: A Case Study from Cornwall” at the Oxford Real Farming Conference. We are very much looking forward to showcasing the fantastic work our Demo and Monitor Farmers are doing and look forward to seeing some of you there. Hannah Jones will be introducing Farm Net Zero Demo Farmers Andrew Brewer, Mike Roberts and Anthony Ellis, who will be speaking about their experiences of reducing their farm carbon footprint. The session will also include a recent film of some of the Farm Net Zero farmers talking about the benefits of being part of a community. The film will be available on the Farm Net Zero webpage after the conference. Learn more here
Optimising Silage Production
On the 16th November, Dr Dave Davies from Silage Solutions spoke at our silage event hosted by FNZ monitor farmer Phil Kent at Higher Carruan, St Minver. Dave took us through how to optimise silage production to reduce waste and maximise the quality and quantity of feed from the amount of fossil fuel used in silage production. We were also able to look at the Kent family’s self-feed silage clamp; and how this is saving costs and reducing emissions from machinery used for feeding cattle over winter. Learn more here
Self-feed silage in action
Integrating Livestock and Trees
Dr Lindsay Whistance from the Organic Research Centre spoke at our event on integrating trees and livestock at FNZ Demo Farm, Blable near Wadebridge on the 27th September. Lindsay presented the results from a range of studies into animal behaviour in agroforestry systems and emphasised the importance of trees for optimal livestock performance through temperature regulation and feed value. Incorporating trees into the farm system benefits animal welfare and helps to reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. Learn more here
Attendees feeling the benefit of the hedgerow on a windy day
Lessons Learnt at Erth Barton
“Lessons Learnt at Erth Barton” on the 18th October summarised the work of Demo Farmer Tim Williams as he prepares to move on to new opportunities. Tim gave us a round-up of the successes and challenges he encountered during his time at Erth Barton, including introducing cattle rotational grazing of diverse herbal leys, pasture cropping and the use of compost as a soil health conditioner. We would like to thank Tim for his contribution to the Farm Net Zero project. Learn more here
Tim Williams and the power of plant roots
FNZ Agronomists’ Workshop
At the end of November, we organised a workshop for agronomists at Trethorne Leisure Farm where we were able to discuss some of the findings of the Farm Net Zero trials. This was a great chance to develop ideas and bring together the knowledge and experiences of agronomists and the Demo and Monitor Farmers. We had some excellent conversations on the results of the trials and the potential opportunities they present for farmers as the new Sustainable Farming Incentive comes into force. Learn more here
This year’s soil sampling is now complete and it has been exciting to see how the soil has changed since 2021. The soil carbon results are now being used to update carbon footprints, and it has been good to see some footprints reduced through soil carbon sequestration. We have a range of farm types on the project, to reflect the variety of farming found in East Cornwall. There are 4 market gardens, 10 dairy farms and 29 mixed livestock and arable producers (ranging from pasture-fed livestock to varying levels of cropping) on the project, and we hope to be able to pick out trends in carbon footprints based on farm type as we build the database year-on-year.
Community engagement
In September, Westcountry Rivers Trust held a Beneficial Bugs ID session at Community Roots market garden, near Porthtowan. On-site, there are many wild boundaries and herbaceous borders running across the beds to encourage pollination and provide year-round habitat for beneficial predators.
Westcountry Rivers Trust – Beneficial Bugs ID Session
Project officer Zoe Smith said: “Even this late in the year, we turned up plenty of interesting specimens from different areas of the garden with our pooters.
We also looked at some companion planting within the polytunnels and participants made a bee hotel log to take home to support bees in their own gardens.”
A Soil Health Indicators session at Loveland, Penryn, in October also took place. Several enthusiastic people brought soil samples from home to analyse, as well as digging soil pits in the garden itself and comparing compacted areas on the track with less intensively used grassland areas.
We’re still looking for new locations to run climate friendly gardening workshops.
If you have an allotment, community garden or smallholding within east or central Cornwall you are proud of, and are willing to share your story, please get in touch with Zoe via [email protected].
Current farm field trials
A little insight into some of the fab field trials currently underway as part of the FNZ project:
Targeting pathogens and weeds with compost managementThe first year of the compost field lab has produced some exciting results. Making compost on site can help growers capture carbon, retain nutrients, and reduce the dependence on bought-in fertiliser. But there is always a fear of spreading disease and weeds within the compost. To see if they could safely compost weed seeds and diseased material, one trialist tried burying them in the compost in bait bags. After 12 weeks they found that composting had killed the plant pathogen and turned weed propagules (bindweed and oxalis) to dust. For more information on how the trial was carried out, and other results, have a look at the Innovative Farmers website: Optimised compost management for productivity and soil health (innovativefarmers.org)
Update on Innovative Farmers field lab looking at reducing tillage in maize trialBy testing alternatives to ploughing, farmers are hoping to reduce the harmful impact of maize growing on soil structure, causing less erosion and runoff and reduce costs by using less fossil fuels. Results from the trial are still being processed but our initial thoughts are noted here. There are 3 fields with different systems:
The first set of results comparing strip till with ploughing showed that a strip till system didn’t result in visibly lower yields than a standard plough based system. When the weight of the yields were compared they showed that strip tilled plots had 5% less yield than ploughed strips, but with a significantly lower cost of production with less time and fuel use. There were more weeds present in the strip tilled area despite the same herbicide treatments on all plots. However, this was mainly grass weeds and biennial crops like thistles which were not effectively controlled by the pre drilling glyphosate.
In the second field the comparison was between a strip till, light cultivations and direct drilling. Drilling system and pre drill cultivation did have some effects, with the highest yield being a strip till plot followed by Min-till , and the lowest yield being direct drilled although differences were not large. There was again little to see from what the crop looked like to determine which was better without the weights.
The third set of results are still to be analysed.
Oxford Real Farming Conference, Oxford (various locations)4th-5th January 2024FCT is proud to be presenting at the famous Oxford Real Farming Conference next January. FCT’s Liz Bowles joins the panel for the ‘Capturing Carbon: Joining the Dots Between Policy and Practice’ session at 11am on Friday 5th January. At 2pm, FCT’s Hannah Jones chairs a panel session with farmers Mike Roberts, Andrew Brewer, and Anthony Ellis, asking ‘How can a farm reach net zero?’, along with a 20-minute video that features 5 farmers from the Farm Net Zero project FIND OUT MORE
Rootstock, Westpoint Exeter, Devon14th February 2024Organised by the Devon County Agricultural Association charity and hosted at its headquarters at Westpoint Exeter, Rootstock is a one-day, forward-looking conference for farmers in Southwest England. In its second year, this new conference brings farmers and researchers together to explore how farmers can build sustainable profitable businesses in tune with natural processes. Full details of the 2024 conference will be available shortly, including the topics for discussion and speaker announcements. FIND OUT MORE
You’ll find a full range of relevant events on our website.
We will be continuing to run a series of Farm Net Zero events in 2024, drawing on the needs and interests from the community of farmers. These will be advertised on our website and through this newsletter. If you have any suggestions for events we could run, please let us know.
Getting in touch
As ever, if you have any questions or ideas that would further support the community of farmers that we are working with, please get in touch with the project team (contact details below).
All information about the project including upcoming events and resources are available on the Farm Net Zero website. If there is anything you would like to see featured please let us know.
Improving the quality of homegrown feed is an important consideration for farms looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Dr Dave Davies from Silage Solutions Ltd spoke about optimising silage production and quality at Farm Net Zero Monitor Farmer, Phil Kent’s, Higher Carruan dairy unit. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.
Dave recommended that the best forage for silage production is young, highly digestible material under a multi-cut regime. This is easier to make into high quality silage than older material, and because it has a higher feed value can help to reduce emissions associated with bought-in feed, as less is required when homegrown forage is improved.
Dave explained that the ideal dry matter for silage is 30-32%, this should be achieved by wilting rapidly and for no longer than 36 hours. When making clamp silage, grass should be layered in at 15cm depths as this is as far down as effective compaction occurs. Side sheets should be used, along with a cling film barrier and then a top sheet. There should be pressure all over the clamp, and especially at the sides where ideally gravel bags should be overlapping. The aim is to seal in carbon dioxide to create anaerobic fermentation and prevent any oxygen entering. For bales, a chopper baler is best and ideally bales should be wrapped at the stack to avoid puncturing the wrap. Bale handlers are better than spikes for the same reason.
Silage with an appropriate dry matter will increase the amount of lactic acid compared to acetic, which is good because lactic acid helps to lower silage pH and prevent dry matter and energy losses. A higher proportion of lactic acid is also important because it locks up hydrogen molecules that can otherwise form excess methane in the rumen. This excess methane is an energy loss for the animal, as well as a greenhouse gas emission.
In the UK, average losses between mowing and feeding out silage can be 25% for clamps and 10% for bales. This waste is obviously a financial cost to the farm, both from the money lost making waste silage and from the cost of buying replacement feed. But it also affects the farm’s carbon footprint per unit of feed, because there are carbon emissions associated with using diesel to make this lost silage. By focusing on methods of reducing waste, a farm can increase the amount of silage it gets for the same amount of diesel used.
Phil Kent then took the group to see the self-feed silage clamp. Phil and his team milk 300 autumn-calving Friesian-type cows on a grazing system, supplying milk for a cheese contract. Three cuts of grass/herbal ley silage, plus wholecrop peas and barley were put into a clamp measuring 80 metres by 20 metres, aiming to fill to a height of 2 metres.
By allowing the cows to feed straight from the clamp face, Phil is reducing the amount of diesel used over the winter. This has a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions compared to using machinery to carry the silage to the cows.
Key takeaways:
Reducing waste in silage production reduces the carbon footprint per unit of feed
Improving the quality of homegrown feed reduces the need for bought-in feed
Self-feed silage clamps can have a lower diesel requirement, with lower emissions.
This event was designed for agronomists to learn about the results of some of the Farm Net Zero (FNZ) trials. Dr. Hannah Jones of the Farm Carbon Toolkit was joined by the farmers who hosted and designed the trials to discuss the findings. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.
Throughout the discussions, the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) payments were referred to as a potential method of reducing the risk of adopting the practices trialled by the Farm Net Zero demo and monitor farms. This report will summarise the trials presented and the discussions that followed, including the views of the agronomists present at the workshop.
Outwintering on Cover Crops
Cover crops can be useful for protecting soil by reducing erosion and nutrient leaching and preserving soil carbon stocks. In Cornwall’s mixed farming systems, cover crops can provide an opportunity for outwintering livestock in a cost-effective manner. Therefore, it is pertinent to think about the plant species included in a cover crop mix and balance up their soil health benefits with the potential feed value.
A Farm Net Zero trial was set up in winter 2021-2022, where five cover crop mixes of varying complexity were grazed by beef youngstock. Full details of the trial can be found on the Farm Net Zero Project Resources page here. The most diverse mix had the biggest improvement in soil quality, reducing compaction and attracting the most earthworms. In terms of feed value, any mixes containing black oats were the most popular with the cattle and had high dry matter, crude protein and sugars.
It was suggested that the SFI SAM2 “Multi-species winter cover” payment of £129/hectare could be used to support this practice.
Maize Establishment
FNZ Monitor Farmers, Malcolm and Catherine Barrett, have trialled different methods of establishing maize crops. In spring 2022, two fields were taken and divided into thirds – one where maize was established conventionally (plough, power harrow, drill), one cultivated with a Sumo machine, and one direct drilled with a Mzuri drill. The direct drill had the lowest fuel requirement and therefore cost. Cob weight assessments found that cobs were smallest in the ploughed area and highest where the crop was established after the cultivator. Soil sampling showed that organic matter levels dropped following ploughing, with worm numbers also reduced.
One further area of interest developed when Malcolm and Catherine noticed that the sprayed-out clover regrew in the direct drilled area. This could potentially provide nitrogen for any following crops, and so a trial was designed for the barley drilled after maize harvest. In this trial, part of the field had no nitrogen applied in order to observe any influences of the clover. Quadrat yield assessments found no significant difference between the full nitrogen fertiliser regime and the no nitrogen area and further analysis of grain nitrogen found that both the full rate and zero nitrogen well exceeded the recommended level for feed barley. This prompted discussions on the opportunities for reducing nitrogen fertiliser (and therefore reducing carbon emissions), with most of the agronomists present agreeing that this is achievable, particularly on mixed farms where livestock contribute to healthy soil. One suggestion from the group was that where soil is in good condition, nitrogen could be applied as a foliar feed direct to the plant because the healthy soil is providing good support for the plant roots.
Soil Rejuvenation after Potatoes
On FNZ Demo Farm, Ennis Barton, some ground is let for vegetable production, when this comes back in hand Andrew Brewer wants to find the fastest method of restoring soil health and returning the fields to cattle grazing. In one of the potato fields, a variety of cover crops (eligible for SAM2) were undersown with ryegrass, clovers and plantain, these were then grazed over winter. Soil quality assessments found that mixes containing Westerwolds ryegrass had the most positive effect on soil aggregate stability. However, in the following summer the Westerwolds rapidly went to seed, which made managing grazing quality a challenge. Therefore, the next best cover mix was forage rape or rye and vetch. This is another example of considering the trade-offs of mixed farming when designing systems that optimise soil quality.
Inter-Crops for Cabbages
Some of the ground rented out at Ennis Barton is used for Savoy cabbages. Following a Farm Net Zero meeting looking at managing these “risky crops”, Andrew and the cabbage growers were keen to develop methods of reducing soil erosion between the cabbage rows. A trial was designed where a mix of low-growing, deep-rooted species (chicory, plantain, white clover and buckwheat) were intersown between the cabbage rows at the beginning of October after all cabbage hoeing was completed. This trial is still being monitored, but there are hopes that intercropping will protect soil from erosion, provide feed for livestock and also reduce the amount of disease/damage to the cabbage leaf from “soil bounce” after rain. Again, this could be eligible for the SAM2 SFI payment.
Grazing Winter Cereals
Grazing winter cereals was a common practice to manage plant disease, growth rates, fertility and livestock wintering. FNZ Monitor Farmer, Anthony Ellis, tried a return to this practice on his family arable and sheep farm during winter 2022-2023. Part of a field of winter wheat was grazed with ewe lambs, with the wheat grazed right into the ground. This allowed Anthony to reduce growth regulators and fungicide and slightly reduce the nitrogen applications compared to the ungrazed remainder of the field. Septoria was reduced early in the season, but there was less difference closer to harvest as the grazed wheat caught up with the ungrazed. Some discussion followed concerning how although this is an old practice, it is now possible to put some firmer figures on the carbon savings of reduced inputs from grazing cereals.
Conclusion
Overall, this workshop for agronomists provided an excellent opportunity to share some of the project’s results so far, and to learn from agronomists who work across the project region and further afield. The ability to work collaboratively with the wider agricultural community is very valuable and helps to ensure the Farm Net Zero project reflects as many farming systems as possible.
Tim Williams has now completed three years of a contract farming agreement with Antony Estates, working to convert Erth Barton into a regenerative farming system, rebuilding soil fertility. This event was a chance to hear about some of the successes and challenges encountered during the transition. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.
Tim took on the 300-acre (121 hectare) farm in two halves, arriving with very little kit and limited funds for inputs. This has meant he has built a simple, zero-input system focusing on restoring and feeding the soil microbiology in order to provide fertility.
A very diverse cover crop/herbal ley was drilled to increase rooting depth and diversity and then grazed with beef cattle (averaging 0.8 Livestock Units per hectare) with the aim to eat a third, trample a third and leave a third. Tim has learnt that it is best to focus on managing grass to build up a reserve rather than eating into it. Frequent moves leave grass to regrow, meaning there is always grass ahead of the livestock throughout the rotation.
Another method Tim has trialled to improve soil microbiology has been applications of compost created using a system called “complete microbial composting” developed by the Land Gardeners. This involves mixing brown (cattle dung, soil, straw) and green (fresh cut plants) material from around the farm in long windrows and turning. Three methods of application were trialled – direct spreading, compost tea brewing and “biopriming” (mixing compost with the seed prior to drilling). Tim felt that the biopriming technique has the potential to be the most successful. However, soil microbial testing conducted by the University of Exeter showed no difference so far between areas with and without compost application.
Tim has also experimented with pasture cropping alongside WildFarmed, this involved using a Moore Unidrill to direct drill a heritage wheat blend into a hard-grazed herbal ley. The aim was for the existing ley to provide ground cover and nitrogen-fixation. Tim described the first attempt at pasture cropping as a “disaster”, with chicory swamping the wheat and making harvest impossible. A second attempt meant tweaking the herbal ley mix to make it less competitive, grazing tight, sub-soiling and spring tine harrowing for seed/soil contact and then direct drilling. This appeared to have good establishment up until May, at which point Tim noticed that about two-thirds of the crop was Westerwolds grass. Again, harvest was abandoned and the field grazed instead to utilise the crop and keep organic matter in the field. In future, Tim plans on removing grass from the mix and replacing with a species that has more winter-kill such as sunflowers/millet/sorghum.
As Tim’s time at Erth Barton draws to a close, we would like to thank him for his work on Farm Net Zero and wish him all the best for his future endeavours.
Key takeaways:
Bringing pasture and livestock back onto the farm has helped to improve soil quality.
Fertility extraction should be balanced with fertility building. This can be done as part of a rotation.
Even when experiments do not go the way we first thought, we can still learn valuable lessons from them.
Farm Net Zero was pleased to host Dr. Lindsay Whistance from the Organic Research Centre. Lindsay specialises in animal behaviour and welfare and her talk presented results from a range of research studies on animals in agroforestry systems. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.
The talk was hosted by Demo Farmers, Mike and Sam Roberts, at Blable, Wadebridge. Mike and Sam spoke about the different motivations for tree planting, with Mike being interested in trees with a useful end value (having experience of growing a small fir plantation on the farm) and Sam wanting to learn more about the benefits that trees can provide to cattle daily liveweight gain in their rotational grazing system.
Firstly, Lindsay explained that good welfare is about maintaining homeostatic equilibrium – or balance, both physiological and emotional. Most of an animal’s daily behaviour is about trying to maintain that balance, and farming should aim to support this wherever possible.
Lindsay spoke about three main themes of animal behaviour and welfare in agroforestry systems. The first was temperature regulation; if animals are too hot or too cold, then they will spend energy on trying to reach a balance. Where there is access to trees, animals are able to reach that balance faster as the trees provide shade and shelter from wind and rain. This is particularly important as climate change brings greater extremes of weather.
The second theme was the feed value of browsing on trees. Leaves on a number of tree species have been analysed and found to contain high levels of micronutrients and trace elements. This can provide additional benefits to the animal’s diet.
Finally, Lindsay spoke about the calming effect trees have. There is evidence that animals in woodland have better social relationships with less fear and aggression.
Overall, if livestock are in good welfare then they are able to use energy for fulfilling their potential. This improves efficiency of livestock production, which has benefits economically and for the farm’s carbon footprint.
Key takeaways:
Most livestock species benefit from access to trees/woodland.
Incorporating trees into farming systems helps to reduce the carbon footprint.
Welcome to our August Farm Net Zero update, sharing news for our farmers, growers and the wider community this project supports.
(Image above: Attendees at the Lucerne event)
Recent news and events
FNZ session at Oxford Real Farming Conference 2024
Filming has been underway as part of preparation for the FNZ session to be at the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2024. The title of the session is ‘It takes a community to be Net Zero’ and is to be hosted by Hannah Jones from Farm Carbon Toolkit. The session will feature a 20 minute film focusing on FNZ farm communities, and speaker sessions from contributing farmers with chances for questions.
It is an exciting opportunity to showcase the fantastic work our FNZ community has been doing in moving towards net zero, and demonstrates the power of learning collaboratively to address the common goal of reducing on-farm greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing farm resilience.
Filming with Blackbark film crew underway at Martin Howlett’s Deer park farm with neighbour Bonny Lightfoot of Alren Farm.
Recent events
Lightfoot, Alren event for Stoke Climsland community – This was a great chance for non-farmers to learn about the FNZ project and what our monitor farmers are doing. It was put together and led by Tim, Bonny and Jake Lightfoot and was designed for the local community to understand the breadth of business and innovations taking place at Alren Farm. Robin Jackson (Rural Business School, Duchy College) set the scene with an accurate overview of economic and policy challenges facing farmers, including the central role agriculture has in the communities and viability of the South West. James Harbord and James Coumbe from the Westcountry Rivers Trust provided a background to the cropping on farm, and the improvements in soil health fed into the discussion providing insights into water quality and good farming practice. This event had a great atmosphere, excellent attendance and many good questions.
Some quotes from the day:
“This was such a great opportunity to get detailed info from real experts who understand the whole picture of farming and land management”
“Wonderful community event thank you so much”
“It brings home how much local residents benefit from the good farming practices – pleasant walk, shady and beautiful landscapes, good water quality and so on – all of which we get for free”
Attendees at the Alren event.
How to Grow Lucerne, Peter Cox, Mearfield – FNZ Monitor Farmer Peter Cox led an excellent talk on how he grows and manages lucerne for his dairy ration. Lucerne has the potential to provide a high-yielding, high-protein crop with fewer carbon-intensive inputs. A summary of the event is available on the FNZ Resources page here.
A demonstration of the deep roots of the lucerne plant (top: April 2023 sown plant showing nitrogen fixing nodules, bottom: 4 year old plant)
Demo and monitor farms update
It is great to be back out on farms seeing all the updates since our last visits. The wetter weather has certainly made soil sampling and hole digging a lot easier! If any of your Farm Net Zero sample fields are in cereals, please keep in touch with your FNZ contact so we can sample them after harvest and before cultivation. Our 3rd year of carbon auditing has been going well and we have now completed a good number. For those of you who have not had your farm carbon footprint done yet this year, the FNZ team will be in touch soon.
One of our brilliant monitor farms (The Real Food Garden) is hosting a harvest festival, HarFest, near Bodmin on September 9th. At this celebration of regenerative food production, you’ll enjoy a fresh organic lunch, learn some fab eco-gardening tips, there’ll be folk tunes and you’ll have the chance to learn about soil health indicators from Westcountry Rivers Trust Farm Advisor, Zoe Smith. Bring a soil sample along for assessment and get to know your soil!
Earlier this month, the FNZ project received a lot of attention at the Westcountry Rivers Trust stall at the Truro BIG Summer Market, with visitors pledging to ‘plant more bee friendly flowers’ and ‘stop using peat and fertilisers’ on their plots.
Stall visitors making their pledges.
We’ve got some exciting dates for your diary!
After the success of the ‘No-Dig Gardening’ workshop, the Westcountry Rivers Trust will be holding another of their FNZ climate-friendly gardening workshops with the Community Roots Garden on September 21st. This session will focus on beneficial bugs; how to welcome them into your garden, what environmental benefits they can bring, and how this all helps fight the climate crisis. You’ll even go home with your own home-made bee hotel!
Head here to keep up with other future events, and if you’d like to hold one of the Westcountry River Trust’s climate-friendly gardening workshops on your land contact Zoe at [email protected].
In addition, if you’d like to support the Westcountry Rivers Trust with their incredible work, get involved in their riverside challenge throughout September. Explore the length of your favourite river by walking, cycling, swimming or paddling 24km in the 24 days running up to World Rivers Day! Find out more on their campaign page launching on September 1st.
Current farm field trials
A little insight into some of the fab field trials currently underway as part of the FNZ project:
Nitrogen use efficiency at Trenance – is urea needed alongside digestate or is digestate enough to produce high quality silage grass?
Legacy effect of clover under maize for winter barley at Tregooden
Intercropping savoy cabbage at Ennis Barton with Riviera Produce.
Other news
It was lovely to see so many familiar faces back at Groundswell Agriculture in late June, including several of the FNZ monitor farmers (and some demo farmers). The weather held out and it was great to get a sense of the FNZ community that is ever growing.
September – Livestock and trees with Lindsay Whistance at Blable Farm on 27th September
Silage making and silage quality with Dave Davies of Silage Solutions – date TBC
Getting in touch
As ever, if you have any questions or ideas that would further support the community of farmers that we are working with, please get in touch at [email protected]
All information about the project including upcoming events and resources are available on the Farm Net Zero website. If there is anything you would like to see featured please let us know.
Our very own Becky Willson features on the Cornish Mutual podcast Farming Focus.
‘Farming Focus’ – the new farming podcast for Cornish Mutual Members and the wider farming community was recently launched.
Farming Focus aims to bring its listeners the latest on what really matters to farmers. Featuring industry experts and farming professionals, it expects to kickstart conversations across the South West and give farmers the knowledge and solutions to face today’s demands in agriculture.
The first 10-episode series of the fortnightly podcast will focus on resilience with host and Cornish Farmer Peter Green chatting to guests about how South West farming businesses can be resilient for the future. They’ll explore everything from soil to rural crime, policy to future markets and farm safety to animal disease.
Becky Willson features in episode 6 – How can South West farmers reduce emissions and be more climate resilient?
Continuing their series on resilience, this episode looks at climate resilience. Becky explains why farmers are in the unique position of being able to reduce emissions while increasing carbon capture with Wadebridge farmer Mike Roberts explaining the gains he’s seeing from the changes he’s made. Mike Roberts is one of the Farm Net Zerodemo farmers, find out more here.
Mike went from using over three artic loads of fertiliser a year to none in his pursuit of climate resilience. Hear how he’s done it in Episode 6 where he discusses the practical ways farmers can ‘stack up the gains’ to achieve resilience and balance.
With rising feed costs and extended periods of dry weather, many farmers are looking for a high feed value, drought-resistant crop. Lucerne is one option grown successfully by Farm Net Zero Monitor Farmer, Peter Cox who hosted this meeting to share his extensive knowledge of managing lucerne. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.
4th generation dairy farmer, Peter Cox, milks 150 Holsteins averaging 11,000 litres using robots. He started growing lucerne after visiting Australia and New Zealand in 2010 where it is a very popular forage crop (often known as alfalfa). Originally, lucerne was grown as a replacement for straw in the milking cows’ ration, providing useful rumen scratch. Now, Peter grows 10-15 acres a year for its high protein feed value, achieving 20-24% protein and a yield of 18 tonnes/acre across four cuts.
Establishment and Management
Lucerne is sensitive to pH, requiring a pH of at least 6, and the seed requires inoculating with rhizobia bacteria for nitrogen fixation to occur. The seed should be drilled into a shallow seed bed at a rate of 20-25kg/hectare. In it’s first year, the crop can be cut once then left to establish. In subsequent years, four cuts can be taken between May and August, no cuts should be taken after August because lucerne needs to build its root reserves before it goes into winter dormancy.
Peter mows the crop with a mower-conditioner on its highest setting first thing in the morning when there is still a dew to reduce the risk of leaf shatter. The lucerne is then left to wilt and is baled with an additive to increase the sugar content and ensure fermentation doesn’t stall. Bales are wrapped with six layers away from the field because the lucerne stubble can puncture the wrap.
Lucerne at Mearfield is a four-year crop, becoming stalky and thin by year four with increasing weed ingress. There are few herbicide options approved for lucerne, however the winter dormancy period can provide a chance to spray out weeds with glyphosate. Building on his success with lucerne, Peter is trialling a mix of 70% lucerne and 30% red clover to see if the clover can suppress weeds during the lucerne’s dormant period. There is also the potential for this lucerne/red clover mix to qualify for GS4 payments.
Resilience
Lucerne is very deep-rooting and as a result is extremely tolerant of drought. Peter commented that during dry periods, the lucerne remains green and returning consistent yields when grass starts to burn up. The deep roots also help to improve soil structure by breaking up any compaction. There is the potential for the deep roots to increase carbon deep in the soil profile, this year’s Farm Net Zero sampling will investigate that.
As a legume, lucerne improves soil nitrogen for itself and for following crops. At Mearfield, only 2000 gallons/acre of slurry is applied to the lucerne in spring with no other fertiliser required. Peter also finds the soil quality is improved after lucerne, with following maize crops benefitting substantially from the nitrogen fixation. This has clear benefits to the farm’s carbon footprint, by reducing both the amount of artificial fertiliser used and the amount of imported feed.
Key takeaways:
pH is key for growing lucerne – aim for 6 as a minimum
Don’t mow lower than 10cm, and allow a period of rest before winter dormancy
Lucerne can provide a large amount of high-protein feed with few artificial inputs
Photo demonstrates the deep roots of the lucerne plant. On the left: April 2023 sown plant, with nitrogen-fixing nodules visible.
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