Soil health


Conservation agriculture trial yields pr A


dopting a minimum tillage sys- tem and moving less soil can increase profi tability despite


crop establishment challenges, sug- gest interim trial results. The impact of differing cultivation types has been assessed for the past three years by the Syngenta Sustaina- ble Farming Initiative in partnership with NIAB and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Allerton Project. Interim fi ndings from the half-way point of the fi ve-year project – which aims to quantify the effects of a move


towards conservation agriculture – were presented at last month’s Cere- als 2021 in Lincolnshire. The trials are on heavy soil at Lod-


dington, Leicestershire, and on a light- land farm at Lenham, Kent. A plough- based system is being assessed against minimum-cultivation and direct drill- ing across a rotation of barley, oilseed rape, wheat, beans and wheat. Financial data shows that direct drilling has resulted in reductions in fuel usage of between 50-65%, while work rates over the ploughed system


Belinda Bailey: positive results


The eff ects of yield penalties are largely mitigated


“


are around 50% improved. This has driven operational cost improvements of some £8-£10/ha.


Yield reduction


But crop establishment has suffered – especially in the challenging soils at Loddington – with a drop of around 8% helping contribute to an overall re- duction in both yield and grain mar- gin/ha of 9%. Even so, net profi t per hectare has so far increased by 5% at Loddington and by 18% at Lenham. Soil green- house gas emissions dropped by 16- 17% at both sites, and the measured carbon footprint of the cropped area fell by some 10%.


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Syngenta head of sustainability Mark Hall said: “The research has proven the potential for conserva- tion agriculture techniques to huge- ly cut greenhouse gas emissions, by around 16%. “With these results, when you com- bine the environmental gains with the improvement in net profi t, of 18% on light land and 5% on heavier land, there is clear direction for a more sus- tainable farming system.”


The two contrasting soil types has


identifi ed some key challenges for growers moving to conservation agri- culture systems – but also pinpoint- ed potential for future research to ad- dress those issues.


Syngenta project manager Belin- da Bailey said: “Over the course of the trial yields have been slightly lower with the direct/light till establishment, down by around 3% on lights land and 9% on heavy land.


“That would appear to be primarily due to correspondingly reduced crop


23/07/2021 10:19


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