Chelmsford Monitor Farm

Name:
Christy and Hew Willett
Location:
East Anglia
Farm sectors:
Cereals & Oilseeds
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About Chelmsford Monitor Farm

  • Parklands Farm was a Monitor Farm from June 2017 to February 2020
  • The farms spans 475 ha of arable cropping, with a mixture of owned and rented land
  • The rotation is typically two wheats followed by spring beans/oilseed rape, although this has become more flexible and now includes spring barley and spring oats, based on the condition of each field
  • The farm has diversified into horse liveries, as well as office and industrial lets

Christy and Hew Willett farm at Parklands Farm in Galleywood on the fringe of Chelmsford, Essex. This mother-and-son team farm in partnership across 475 ha of arable cropping, with a mixture of owned and rented land. Their rotation is typically two wheats followed by spring beans/OSR, although this has become more flexible since 2012 to include spring barley and spring oats, based on the condition of each field. The farm has recently moved to a strip-till system and is focussed on the significant challenge of grass weed management, including black-grass and ryegrass. Most of their wheat is destined for local millers. The farm has diversified into horse liveries, as well as office and industrial lets. Christy and Hew see their greatest challenge as keeping their cost of production as low as possible without sacrificing yield. They are keen to use benchmarking, on farm trials and discussions from the Monitor Farm programme to improve and develop their farm business in these critical years for the industry.

Read Christy's blog for the latest on the Chelmsford Monitor Farm

Previous meetings and reports

Farm Video

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