Sadly, Jason who had worked on the farms for over 35 years passed away after his short battle with cancer.

Jason started as relief cow man when there used to be a dairy on the farm, and then moved onto the arable side and became our sprayer operator when the cows were dispersed.

He will be greatly missed.

See also: Pea crop yields being lost to previously undetected virus

About the author

Robin Aird

Arable Farmer Focus writer Robin Aird manages 1,500ha on the north Wiltshire and Gloucestershire border, with a further 160ha on a contract farming agreement. Soils vary from gravel to clay with the majority silty clay loams. The diverse estate has Residential, commercial and events enterprises. He is Basis qualified and advises on other farming businesses.

Contact:

Email: robin.aird@charltonpark.estate

Read more articles by Robin Aird

The patch direct-drilling we did on the frost in January has not enjoyed the 170mm of rain since.

Our neighbours’ fields, which were ploughed and power-harrowed on the frost, and drilled with wheat, look very good – well, two out of the three fields do.

Onto plan C with our holes, which is to stitch some spring wheat in just to keep the soil biology ticking over until the autumn.

We have had a busy time in the workshop over the last few weeks, remetalling the cultivators and drills.

We put new Metcalfe legs on our Sabre tine drill, redisced and coultered the Rapide, put new discs on the Terrano and stuck cross-cutter discs on the Carrier. This should keep us going for the next five years.

Our 6m Weaving DualDisc has landed and we are just waiting for a dry day to try it in cover crops before we sign on the dotted line.

This, along with the Carrier, will allow us to plant our spring crops into the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options we have incorporated into the rotation.

Talking of SFI, I did another application for a client recently and the offer came back in under 24 hours, which meant we got a start date of 1 March. I was extremely impressed with the turnaround. Well done to all involved.

The efficiency on our crops sadly is not so great.

With constant rain we have not spread any fertiliser or digestate yet this year, and crops will shortly be starting to lose tillers so time will be of the essence when it is dry enough.

Finally, I would like to welcome Harvey who has recently joined the team and is settling in well.

I can always tell if someone is going to fit into the team by how quickly they start taking the mickey out of other members of the team. Two days is the new record.