Headland Management

Diss Monitor Farm meeting

Everyone has headlands on their farm but how do you manage yours? Are you thinking about your footprint and how to minimise it? Join us for this monitor farm meeting for a practical look at headland management.

We will look at the effectiveness of different headland management methods: looking at different tyres, tracks, pressures and weights on a headland at Rookery Farm; see the effects on the field.

David Purdy, John Deere, will lead the discussions on how to minimise this compaction, getting the best effect from correct machinery set-up and look at tracks versus wheels.

Mark Wood, JPF Clay Farms will take us through the methods they employ to minimise the headland effect. We’ll talk through the options available for Diss Monitor Farmer Richard Ling to increase his yield potential and gross margin on the headlands on his farm.

Speakers and topics

• David Purdy – Minimising compaction, tyre pressures and axle weights
• Mark Wood – Precision farming and headland management in practice

Programme

• Meet and farm walk to see headland management try-out at Rookery Farm
• Registration and sandwich lunch
• Welcome and introduction: Teresa Meadows, AHDB
• Farm update: Richard Ling, Diss Monitor Farmer
• What is stopping ‘32 Acres’ from achieving yield potential on the headlands? Group discussion
• Minimising headland compaction and trafficking – tyres, pressures, weights and best practice: David Purdy, John Deere
• Refreshment break
• Using precision farming for optimal headland management: Mark Wood, JPF Clay
• Creating an action plan for ’32 Acres’ Group discussion
• Meeting summary and close: Teresa Meadows, AHDB
• Depart

For more information: Please contact Teresa Meadows by e-mail teresa.meadows@ahdb.org.uk or call 07387 015465.

Diss Monitor Farm

Richard Ling farms 400 ha on varied soil types from sandy loam to heavy clay loams. His arable rotation, on 380 ha, includes wheat, oilseed rape, winter barley for feed or spring malting barley. The farm employs one full time member of staff and casual labour when required. Richard mainly operates a min-till system but assesses each field based on soil health. The farm also has a beef finishing unit for Morrisons, aiming to finish 150 British Blues per year; business and residential lets; and a self-storage business. Richard’s ambition is to carry on building a resilient and profitable farming business, with a good work-life balance for all. Through being a monitor farmer, Richard is keen to learn with others and better understand the industry and the challenges facing it.

For more information please visit the Diss Monitor Farm page.

About Monitor Farms

AHDB Monitor Farms bring together groups of like-minded farmers who wish to improve their businesses by sharing performance information and best practice around a nationwide network of host farms. AHDB organises and facilitates Monitor Farm meetings for farmers, who own and operate the scheme – by farmers, for farmers. Monitor Farms are part of the AHDB Farm Excellence Programme. Each Monitor Farm project runs for three years.