Final Monitor Farm meeting: Newark

Join us for the final meeting of the Newark Monitor Farm where we'll be taking a look at the last three years, focusing on where the programme came from and where we are now.

Programme

• Registration/refreshments
• Welcome and introduction (Judith Stafford – AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds Knowledge Exchange Manager - North)
• Monitor Farm update (John Miller – Monitor Farmer)
  • How are the crops looking?
  • What could have been done differently?
  • Management going forward
  • Autumn cropping plans
  • Any updates on marketing
  • Questions
• Farm walk – travel by trailer to view wheat, oilseed rape, oats and linseed (discussion led by John Miller and Andrew Wells - Agronomist)
  • View crops and invite comment from group
  • Crop establishment
  • Yield estimates
  •  Include discussion of any problems of headland compaction and how it has been dealt with – link with last November’s meeting on drainage and cultivations
  • What improvements can be seen?
• Dealing with challenging weather conditions
  • Comments on establishment and growth/development and any effects of water shortages
  • Any particular disease challenges?
  • What strategies were used?
  • Developing strategies for future conditions, e.g. prolonged dry or wet/late Springs
• Crop protection strategies
  • Focus on wheat and oilseed rape
  • Sclerotinia monitoring (including use of AHDB Sclerotinia monitoring tool
  • Aphid monitoring (tool)
  • Use of monitoring tools to reduce crop protection inputs and costs
  • Comments on overall effectiveness of fungicide strategy
• Nutrient inputs
  
  • Micronutrients including silicon
  • Using liquid nitrogen
  • Discuss reasons behind applications and expectations
  • Identify any differences and discuss in relation to manufacturer’s claims
  • Application method
  • Variety effects
  • Using the Brix refractometer
• Options for alternative crops
  
  • Discuss reasons for changing/extending the rotation
  • Why grow linseed
  • Availability of contracts
  • How linseed fits in – previous cultivations, sowing method, expected harvest date
  • Other possible alternative crops for this region
• Return to farm buildings
• Review of monitor farm programme (John Miller; Judith Stafford)
• Summary and outline of further AHDB activity
• Meeting close and lunch

Meeting reports are available at: https://cereals.ahdb.org.uk/get-involved/monitor-farms/newark.aspx 
For more information: email judith.stafford@ahdb.org.uk or call 07891 556623

About Newark Monitor Farm

John Miller is a third generation farmer at Manor Farm, Kelham, Newark on Trent. He farms 685ha on a mix of tenanted and owned land in the Trent valley. Soil type ranges from blowing sand, sharp gravels and silty clay loams to heavy clay with a rotation including winter wheat, oilseed rape, spring beans, sugar beet, forage maize, malting barley and winter oats, with the occasional field rented out for potatoes. The farm is predominantly min-till with some ploughing as required. 5000 tonnes of farmyard manure comes onto farm from a local beef unit to help improve soil organic matter content. John has just become chairman of the Nottinghamshire Farm Business Group and is keen to get a better grasp of soil management and investigate cover crops with the intention of reducing costs of production.