The drought in Norfolk continues. We’ve had 5mm of rain since my last article.

It is certainly the driest spring in my memory and our poor crops reflect this.

Harvest will be a quick affair this year, with straw in short supply.

See also: 3 key factors to help hit milling wheat protein specs

About the author

Robert Scott

Robert Scott farms 1,450ha of arable in mid-west Norfolk for seven different landowners. He grows combinable crops and sugar beet together with cover crops, grass leys and extensive countryside stewardship schemes. He also finishes 2,000 lambs a year. robert@thscottandson.co.uk Instagram: @thscottandson

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We trialled establishing a field of sugar beet with strip tillage in April, next to a ploughed field. Both haven’t really seen rain since planting.

The difference is stark, with poor germination and growth on the ploughed area, in contrast to strong even growth on the strip-tilled field.

If beet remain profitable, strip-tillage is certainly something for the future with our thin soils.

I see a lot of buzz words used in ag media. Most are promoted by companies trying to take money out of my business.

One word thrown about is “resilience”. The next 12 months will certainly put ours to the test.

I’m thankful we’ve begun our slow progression back to mixed farming given that meat prices are strong.

Demand projections look promising, but scaling this opportunity is difficult in a drought, with forage scarce.

I have been searching West Norfolk for more grazing, and it is startling how much ground is out of production and tied up in environmental schemes.

I suppose this is short-term income “resilience” for land owners, but in my eyes, it is not a long-term platform to build businesses, reduce debt or capitalise on opportunities as they arise. 

That said, environmental stewardship has worked well for my business over the past four years.

We have taken low-margin field corners out of production to make arable operations more efficient and generated contracting income in quiet periods.

We have just finished planting 65ha of AB9 and AHL2 winter bird food plots, and are now topping AB15 legume fallow fields again to stop blackgrass heading. 

The answer, like most things, is everything in moderation. Much like having a mixed farm and diverse rotation, putting some land into stewardship is a good income protection tool for most.

I fear our industry has gone too far in one direction. Perhaps replacement schemes will be more restricted.

Despite the drought and lack of available land, I am optimistic about the future. The current challenges will equip me to make better business decisions going forward.