PROFILE R H Maddever Farms >>
main driver: the economics stack up, and it satisfies a lot of people.” A further 30ha of Breckland is in arable reversion, along with 30ha of low input spring cereals, and two 1ha stone curlew nest- ing plots which yield a successful breeding pair most years.
Overcoming challenges Most of the land, though, is Hanslope series clay, growing wheat, malting spring barley – largely for blackgrass control, spring oats, marrowfat peas and beans. Oilseed rape is becoming “extremely risky” to grow, with so many potential difficulties in the first month of crop growth. While some of his landown- ers remain committed to sugar beet, Andrew doesn’t grow it on the family farm, regarding the economics of sugar beet as “very questionable” now. Cultivations have undergone a gradual transition in the past 15 years, from deep heavy tillage to shallow cultivations, with a cur- rent depth of 5-10cm working very well, albeit in two relative- ly easy autumns. But there’s no question in his mind that econom- ics, as well as uncertainty around continued support, will drive fur- ther change.
“I’m assuming there will be no
support, and trimming costs to suit. But whatever we do has to maintain yield.”
Direct drilling With that in mind, last autumn, having previously experimented with various direct drills, Andrew set aside a field to trial three ma- chines: a Weaving GD, a Horsch Avatar and a Sly Boss. He was looking for evenness of establish- ment, design and longevity and dealer back-up and spares avail- ability. “The drills were used in a sec- ond cereal position, so it was a tough test, with dry conditions and a lot of residue. One drill seemed to shine above the oth- ers, but harvest will be the de- ciding factor. “When I was trying to direct drill four or five years ago I wasn’t in the right mindset, I was still in a cultivations mindset and I wasn’t allowing the process to work as it should. Now I know there’s far more to it than just drilling with a different machine, and that I’ll need to make more radical changes to the rotation.
84 ANGLIA FARMER • JUNE 2019
Sarah and Andrew Maddever and their son, Henry
“It’s essential we roll it out across a large part of our own farm first before implementing it at scale on the contract farms. At the moment I’m very nerv- ous of sowing spring sown cere- als without light cultivations – my overriding concern is what happens in a wet year when un- disturbed ground takes forev- er to dry – so autumn sown first wheats are the most likely can- didate.
“
If we do lose glyphosate I’ll certainly be asking if we should be organic
But I get the principle: direct drilling sells itself on improved soil health, long term sustaina- bility, a reduction in fertiliser run- off and leaching, and ultimate- ly a way to continue farming – if that’s what’s required by our gov- ernment – at a lower cost.” The continuing loss of chemi- cals is a big worry. The announce- ment earlier this year of a ban on chlorothalonil, used to control septoria in wheat and ramular- ia in barley, will be yet another dent in the armoury against crop diseases.
“Then there’s Reglone, which we use to desiccate the pea crop
pre-harvest to retain green colour and ensure even ripening. This will be the last harvest before its use is banned. We shall consid- er carefully the implications of planting the crop next year now it will no longer be available. “Every time we lose another
product we rely more on the ones that are left, increasing the risk of resistance to them and the likeli- hood of them leaching, therefore the risk of these being revoked in the future also increases “I worry that going forward
we’ll be channelled into growing varieties that offer superior dis- ease resistance but possibly don’t offer the quality traits the domes- tic market requires. I also worry about the seemingly increasing rapid breakdown of resistance in some varieties.
“I can see a situation where wheat and spring barley are the only crops worth growing.”
Future plans Then, of course, there is the un- certain future of glyphosate, and the impact of such a ban on di- rect drilling. The prospect has had Andrew looking over the hedge of one of his neighbours, organic farmer John Pawsey, with grow- ing interest.
“There are definitely organic principles that can be and prob- ably will be used going forward.
I remember saying 20 years ago, the day I have to go organic is the day I stop farming … but as you get older you change your views. If we do lose glyphosate I’ll cer- tainly be asking if we should be organic.
“The thing that interests me at the moment is John’s inter-row hoeing. While it looks like it would be difficult in a no-plough scenar- io, it’s the principle I’m looking at: if we lose glyphosate I’m sure this kind of operation will become a necessity.”
It seems he’s not the only one looking over the hedge: Andrew sees a new enthusiasm for com- munal learning: “Current eco- nomics mean making any mis- take is costly, so farmers are more prepared to learn from their neighbours through benchmark- ing and farmer meetings.”
BUSINESS FACTS
• Suffolk farmer and contractor • Direct drill trials • Simplified Stewardship • Communal learning
CONTACT DETAILS
T: 07899 665180 E:
andrew@maddeverfarms.co.uk Twitter: @MaddeverAndrew
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