UK cover crop champions unveiled by AHDB

David Fuller-Shapcott, Sweethope Farm, Scottish Borders

With his heavy land (370 ha mixed cropping) prone to waterlogging, David has used cover crops and reduced tillage for several years to improve soil health, including organic matter levels. In Scotland, establishing cover crops is a particular challenge. This trial will examine if a biostimulant seed treatment (based on endophytes) can improve nitrogen assimilation and, ultimately, the establishment of a simple cover crop mix: phacelia, black oats, buckwheat and vetch. The trial will be compared with a no-cover control area. 

Chris Gill, Caledon Estate, County Tyrone

Chris has used cover crops for several years, broadcasting seed into forage maize stubble to help hold the steep and hilly terrain together and get spring crops off to an earlier start. In this trial, he will broadcast hybrid kale into the stubble in one pass (with the help of a nine-leg grubber). The land will be split into blocks to investigate the impact of grazing by sheep (provided by a local farmer). A no-grazing block (control) will be compared with two grazing blocks – the first grazed relatively hard and heavy, the second grazed more lightly (potentially providing the option for a second graze on the regrowth). Chris hopes to demonstrate the benefits to other farmers, as cover crops are not being widely used in the area.

Robbie Stephenson, Crawleas Farming, County Durham

Robbie grows potatoes in his rotation, which also includes barley, wheat, oilseed rape and winter beans. The farm also has some livestock (sheep and pigs). He uses cover crops before potatoes to condition the soil. The trial field is coming out of barley with the cover crop combination drilled into the stubble to get the cover established quickly before the weather turns. The cover will be in until around March before the potatoes are planted. Traditionally, he has used a mix of black oats, vetch, clover and phacelia. Now the mix has been tweaked to boost the biomass available for sheep grazing. The new mix is heavy on buckwheat, with the vetch component also increased. He has reduced the phacelia (due to its nematode interactions). Robbie has ordered the seed as straights and will make the mixes on the farm. A split-field trial will compare the new cover crop mix with the traditional farm standard cover crop mix and no-cover area.

Ian Matts, Brixworth Farming, Northamptonshire

Although Brixworth Farming continues to focus on winter wheat, the rotation has been diversified in recent years to help get on top of black-grass. More spring crops are now grown, with non-cereal-based cover crops (with a mix of root architecture) in place over the winter. With the legume species fixing nitrogen and the buckwheat scavenging phosphorus, Ian wants to better quantify how the cover impacts nutrient availability. The farm has incorporated sensors to track nutrients and moisture in the two trial fields (with similar properties). One field has a no cover (control), whereas the other includes the cover crop (sown with a one-pass subsoiler machine to help loosen the wet-season-challenged soil to get the cover crop rooting). The farm is also integrating SFI options into the rotation, such as legume fallows in NUM3.

Jonathan and Jane Clarke, Bury Farm, Great Canfield, Essex

Bury Farm has been in the hands of the Clarke family since the 1920s. The rotation features winter wheat, borage, spring barley and canary grass. They also have a herd of Red Poll cattle. They are part of an active farming community that works together to increase biodiversity and improve the local river catchment (the farm is near the River Roding). The team is relatively new to cover crops, which are being used for the second year. The farm’s rotation provides plenty of opportunities for short-term cover ahead of spring crops. In particular, the Clarkes are testing various establishment techniques to identify the best approach for their farm.

Rob Waterston, Welford Estate, Newbury

The Welford Estate has used cover crops for several years to build organic matter. Rob now wants to better understand the impact on nutrient dynamics, especially to reduce nitrogen inputs to following crops. Typically, the farm standard nitrogen for spring malting barley is 110 kg/ha. The trial field is coming out of spring barley, with straw chopped and spread during combining. A strip till machine has established the cover crop mix (includes buckwheat, phacelia, berseem clover, vetch, linseed and radish), which provides a good mix of root architecture and strong biomass (with the potential to graze sheep). The trial was drilled on 28 August 2024 (quite late for this farm) with slug pellets applied. Rob will destroy the cover in late winter (January or February) before planting a further spring barley crop.

Bob King, Lower Baynton Farm, Wiltshire

Lower Baynton Farm covers about 250 ha, 200 ha of which is arable. Cover crops are grown on 60 ha of the arable land. The farm uses a diverse, multi-species mix, comprising berseem clover, phacelia, vetch, buckwheat and brassicas (forage rape, stubble turnip and kale). The cover crops are raked into the soil soon after harvest and are grazed by sheep throughout the winter, before spring crops (oats, barley or beans) are direct drilled. Bob has used cover crops over a decade to protect the soil. He is eager to quantify the wider benefits, including to soil health and nutrient availability.

Charlie Copley, Reaseheath College Farm, Cheshire

Charlie (Arable Foreman) will explore how cover crops can help protect the soil and aid structure recovery after a maize crop. The trial will compare a cover crop mix with an area left to overwinter stubble (the no-cover-crop control). An early maturing maize variety was cut on 6 October, providing forage for dairy cattle. The cover crop (an off-the-shelf commercial mix) will be min tilled into the stubble about the middle of October. What makes the approach unique is that the trial will underpin discussions with students on the role cover crops play in soil health. The field is close to the college and the students have already been helping to baseline the soil’s condition with the AHDB soil health scorecard. The poor weather conditions mean that most of the field is sitting wet, with clear signs of compaction from machinery in the tramlines. At present, the plan is to put the land back into maize in the spring. The option to grow a continuous cover crop understory is being considered to help make the land more resilient to extreme weather.