Farmer Focus: 2024 will bring big agricultural change

2024 is going to be a year of changes here at Belvoir Farming Company.

Firstly, an extensive Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) plan has been made.

This will see numerous actions rolled out across the farm, including legume fallows, companion crops, winter bird food and multispecies cover crops, all of which are new to us.

See also: Why a fish-based soil improver may help plant growth

About the author

Keith Challen

Arable Farmer Focus writer

Keith Challen manages 1,200ha of heavy clay soils in the Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire, for Belvoir Farming Company. Cropping includes wheat, oilseed rape and elderflowers. The farm is also home to the Belvoir Fruit Farms drinks business.

Read more articles by Keith Challen

We are also withdrawing the use of insecticides. It all feels like a big step.

Secondly, and in an attempt to compliment our SFI actions, we will improve timeliness and soil management.

We are changing our crop establishment technique with the goal of moving less soil and releasing less carbon.

A new Horsch Avatar drill alongside a heavy duty framed low-disturbance subsoiler will be employed to establish most crops. While I am only too aware this may not be suitable for all acres, every year the goal is to establish most of the farm in this manner.

Thirdly, a long-serving member of staff has moved on. This has given an opportunity for us to review our labour profile and what roles we need to cover in future years.

With nearly 20% of our combinable acreage going into SFI options, we could potentially reduce trailed sprayers from two to one and share the operating.

This could give guaranteed alternate weekends off for the operators.

To keep good staff we need to get the work/life balance correct, but reducing our luxury over capacity is also a big step.

Before Christmas, I was fortunate enough to visit Agrovista’s Lamport site in Northamptonshire with a group of local farmers.

It was fascinating to see how they controlled very high levels of blackgrass with rotation and trap crops – certainly food for thought in our new system.

We also discussed soil health and nutrition, which is equally as important, particularly if we are direct-drilling and not mineralising nitrogen through cultivation.

Overall, it was a very thought-provoking and interesting visit.