Downpatrick Monitor Farm

Richard Orr farms with his father at Meadow Farm in Downpatrick. He grows winter wheat and winter and spring barley in a 75 ha arable area. The rotation also includes potatoes, oats and maize, as well as wildflowers. The soil is a dry, free-draining medium, stony loam with good organic matter.

Prior to becoming a monitor farm, Richard has hosted AHDB winter barley variety trials for the Recommended Lists. His aim is to grow the business while becoming more efficient, and to add value by marketing produce more directly to the end user, such as with his potatoes which he sells in the farm shop.

During the three years of the Monitor Farm programme Richard hopes to share learning with fellow farmers and challenge his thinking, to ultimately become a better farmer. Full suggestions as to which direction to take future meetings at Downpatrick can be found in the initial launch meeting report. From this list you can see what is important to Richard.

Downpatrick Monitor Farm meetings and reports

North West & Northern Ireland Monitor Farm summer meeting – 25 June 2020

See Richard talk through his farm video, give an update on his crops and talk through plans and results from various trials taking place on the farm in the summer meeting recording.

Technology – 11 February 2020

Richard outlined his upcoming manure trial as part of some AFBI research. The trial involved testing a wide range of organic manures and observing their effect on soil health, crop performance and pathogen fate.

More details regarding the trial can be found in the meeting report, as well as details from a talk by Craig Patrick (Precision Decisions) on precision farming techniques.

Manures and soil – 21 January 2020

Phillip Wright (Wright Solutions Ltd.) returned to meadow farm for a second Monitor Farm meeting along with Sajjad Awan (AHDB) to discuss a new initiative to reduce Ammonia emissions and explain what urease inhibitors are.

Cover crops – 9 December 2019

As part of the Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership, AHDB have developed the Soil Health Scorecard. The scorecard consists of several key soil health indicators that, once tested for, are ranked against national and regional soil scores.

Analysis using the scorecard took place at Meadow Farm following a trial that used cover crops to see if they had improved the health of the soil.

pH levels were identified as concerning other indicators returned a positive result, the full scorecard can be seen in the meeting report.

More information on the Soil Health Scorecard along with more case studies of its use can be found here: Testing the soil health scorecard | AHDB

IPM – 12 November 2019

Charlotte Rowley, Crop Protection Scientist at AHDB, answers commonly asked question regarding IPM, see the full transcript in the meeting report.

Summer farm walk – 18 June 2019

In the summer farm walk meeting report you can find results from Richard’s year of trialling. This includes his experimentation with different establishment techniques, soil tests and plant counts, tissue test data, as well as information regarding Richard’s YEN entry.

Yield Enhancement Network – 2 April 2019

Sarah Kendall (ADAS) gave an introduction to the The Yield Enhancement Network and holistic advice to help improve your yields.

Full meeting details can be found here: Downpatrick Monitor Farm YEN Meeting | AHDB

Soil and cultivations – 5 March 2019

Phillip Wright (Wright Solutions) gave a talk about the impact different cultivation techniques have on soil structure – in the meeting report you can see images from soil assessment at Meadow Farm. 

Labour & machinery review – 19 February 2019

An extensive machinery and operational cost assessment took place at Meadow Farm. The results were then compared to averages from across the Monitor Farm network.

The outcomes of this assessment were that previously contracted work was brought in-house, and liquid fertiliser options were considered to make better use of the sprayer.

The full machinery review along with a quick update from Richard on the farm’s progress can be found in the Downpatrick Monitor Farm Labour & Machinery Review meeting report.

Rotation, soil nutrients & weed management – 8 January 2019

Richard gives a general update on his first season as a Monitor Farm and then goes into greater detail on soil management, weed management and the rotation at Meadow Farm. Full details can be found in the Downpatrick Monitor Farm Rotation, Soil and Weed Management meeting report.

Padraig Shelvin (Sustainable Soil Management) and Richard Hackett (Hackett Agricultural Solutions) also deliver a talk outlining the key aspect of soil nutrient regulation.

Information on current Monitor Farms in the North West can be found here: Monitor Farms | AHDB