On-farm trials at Strategic Cereal Farm North (2022 to 2028)

Host farmer: David Blacker

Location: Church Farm, Yorkshire

Duration: 2022–2028

AHDB Strategic Cereal Farms put cutting-edge research and innovation into practice on commercial farms around the UK.

Each farm hosts field-scale and farm-scale demonstrations, with experiences shared via on-farm and online events to the wider farming community.

Strategic Cereal Farms

This page features an overview of the most recent trial results (harvest 2025) and plans for next year (harvest 2026).

Active management of micronutrients for crop health

Overview

For harvest 2025, a winter wheat trial compared the farm’s standard nutrition strategy against an ‘active nutrient management’ approach.

The active approach uses tissue tests (from the standing crop) and the previous season’s grain analysis to guide the application of additional foliar micronutrients (applied twice during the spring).

Across the two nutrition treatments, the trial also compared the farm’s standard fungicide applications against no fungicide applications.

The trial field (Overton 4) came out of winter wheat (harvest 2024) and has two soil texture zones.

2025 was a relatively dry year with low disease pressures.

For the standard fungicide programme, the active management approach increased yield, but not quite enough to justify the additional costs (£48/ha on micronutrients).

The common claim that finely tuned nutrition can improve crop tolerance to disease was supported by the harvest 2025 results, but the extent of the disease reductions in the active management treatment were far short of being adequate to replace fungicides.

Gross margin was maximised by the standard nutrition and fungicide programmes, but the active management approach showed promise, especially if it can be refined further.

The benefits could be clearer if the active management programme is started earlier or in seasons with higher disease pressures.

Action points

• Investigate if nutrients are limiting crop performance (all nutrients)
• Crop monitoring can guide the optimisation of nutrient inputs
• Better information is needed to interpret crop analyses, such as to identify the best action to correct any nutrient deficiency identified

Harvest 2026 plans

We will include a similar trial in harvest year 2026 in another field (Newton 1) that will compare standard nutrition with an active management approach on winter beans.

Improving earthworm populations

Overview

Earthworms are a key indicator of soil biological health. They are often referred to as ‘ecosystem engineers, due to their role in breaking down organic matter, improving soil structure and helping water/oxygen to move through the soil profile.

Baseline soil sampling (in the first year) revealed depleted earthworm populations in all trial fields, despite the farm moving from a plough-based to a strip-tilled system.

David is keen to improve the health of the earthworm populations on his farm.

A tramline trial was established in the main trial field (Newton 1) to investigate the impact of a permanent legume (clover) understory and compost applications on earthworm populations and crops.

The clover was established in July 2024 with winter wheat drilled in October 2024.

The relatively dry spring and summer in 2025 increased the competitive effects between the wheat and clover.

An additional split-field comparison was set up in another field (New Farm 5), which compared with and without compost.

The field margin in New Farm 5 also had a legume seed mix, as part of Countryside Stewardship AB15 (legume fallow).

Action points

• Using green compost can provide a good supply of nutrients, particularly phosphate and potash, as well as organic matter
• The AHDB Nutrient Management Guide (RB209) Section 2 provides typical values for the nutrient content of a range of organic materials, but this can vary depending on the source and management of the material
• Consider getting a recent analysis from your compost supplier or sending a sample for analysis to better understand nutrient content
• Regular monitoring of earthworm populations can help gauge the impact of crop and soil management practices on soil biological health and guide management
• It may take more than one season to build healthy earthworm populations

Harvest 2026 plans

A second winter wheat was drilled in mid-October 2025 into the established clover in Newton 1.

VESS and earthworm assessments will be done in spring 2026 with the performance of the wheat assessed at harvest 2026.

The clover in the New Farm 5 did not establish with the field now growing winter beans. We are talking with PGRO to gauge whether to reestablish the clover.

Investigating the benefit of new drainage installations

Overview

This trial investigates the impact of drainage approaches on crop performance.

In 2022 (between May and September), the trial field was redrained with lateral drains installed at 10, 15 and 20m intervals.

The old drainage system was retained in one part of the field. Another area was left undrained.

The drains cover lighter (clay loam) and heavier soil textures (clay).

20m spacings are historically considered the economic optimum but narrower spacings may be required on David’s heavier land, especially to cope with increasing extreme wet weather events.

In autumn 2024, mole drains were also added to two tramlines in the ‘new drainage’ zone. The intention is to improve lateral movement of water to the pipe drains.

Water table height was measured throughout the winter period using dipwells (plastic perforated pipes installed at the mid-point between pipe drains to drain depth).

In terms of the effectiveness of drain spacing, the dipwell results indicated that 10m spacing significantly reduced water table height in this field (compared to 15m and 20m spacing).

However, drainage systems (all spacings) can still struggle with heavy and prolonged rainfall, with the water table height close to or at the soil surface following such events.

Overall (all trial years), the results show that a lack of drainage/well-maintained drains can lead to total crop failure (winter wheat has been grown, to date).

It has been difficult to pick out differences in crop yields due to soil texture or drain spacing, mainly because of the confounding impacts of challenging weather, such as winter waterlogging followed by drought. 

Action points

• Assess fields for evidence of poor drainage
• Look for ponding on the soil surface or saturated topsoil
• Issues below the surface may not be obvious but often manifest in poor crop growth and yields
• Refer to the AHDB Field drainage guide for tips on how to monitor and improve drainage 

Harvest 2026 plans

For harvest year 2026, Overton 5 will be entered into a stewardship scheme, which will retain the field in stubble until 31 July 2026.

During this period, we will monitor weed composition and growth in the drainage areas (we can spray off problematic weeds from 15 May) and continue to monitor soil condition.

Although there is no crop to assess, we will take the opportunity to dig a trench to conduct a visual evaluation of soil structure at depth (a sub-VESS).

Harvest 2025 update video

Watch this webinar for the latest findings and discover how the research is grounded, practical and shaped by real farming experiences.

You will hear from specialists on:

• Farm standard vs active nutrient management – what difference does it really make?
• Clover understories and compost – harnessing nature to boost earthworm numbers
• Upgrading drainage – see the effects on soil structure and crop health

See more videos from this farm (YouTube Playlist)

*Project costs

Costs cover investment to date (harvest 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 trials) and include VAT.

Coming soon: The full annual report for harvest 2025 will be published in early 2026.