Farming across 15 different soil types, along with three seasons of extreme weather, has made rotation planning an interesting exercise for Ragley Estate farm manager Andrew Keyte.

This has not stopped him dabbling with new crops, to broaden risk and flexibility across the south Warwickshire estate’s rotation.

Andrew describes the estate’s soils as “all over the place” with everything from sand to blue clay, sometimes in the same field.

See also: The perennial crop offering a maize alternative for biogas

“Our average field size is 6.5ha, and we average 2.5 soil types per field.

“We simply don’t have one end of the estate that is heavy and another that’s not. That is our biggest challenge.”

Andrew Keyte © Ragley/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice

Prescriptive to niche

Milling wheat is the mainstay of the crop rotation, followed by oats grown on contract for Jordans, winter and spring barley and OSR. Andrew is keen to explore the potential for niche crops.

“We don’t want to rely on huge acreages of one crop and it helps to even out workload.

“Our way of farming has been quite prescriptive, but now we’re looking at different crops to grow and ways to do things,” says Andrew.

“Whether they benefit the soil, the environment or the wider business, it all links. We like to start by looking at what we can do on a small scale, and then maybe expand.”

The estate has close links to both the local community and sustainability. Andrew likes the idea of being connected to end markets, which many alternative crops offer the opportunity to do.

As part of this, in 2022, the estate started growing milling wheat on contract for Wildfarmed.

© Ragley/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice

The 50ha bicrop must be grown without pesticides, and crop management decisions are based on sap testing, and resolved through the use of nutrition, while weed control is done mechanically.

Although Andrew is not yet fully convinced the estate has enough time to dedicate to the practical management of the crop, he enjoys the way growing it challenges his thinking.

“With less chemistry likely to be available in the future, it means we can try this way of farming on a smaller scale at our own pace, rather than being dumped at the deep end.”

There is also a strong community of growers behind the brand.

“We all talk to each other and work together to discuss ideas. Wildfarmed has standards we must meet, but there are different ways we can choose to get there, so it’s much less prescriptive than a lot of crops.

“Gross margin-wise there’s not much between Wildfarmed and one of the estate’s conventional wheat crops, but I like that the bicrop is adding that bit of diversity.”

Keeping pressure off repeated use of the same pesticides is part of the reasoning behind dabbling with other crops including poppies, echium and meadowfoam.

Meadowfoam borage and echium

Until recently, the estate grew 60ha of poppies, for pharmaceuticals and catering, which presented a later drilling window and a perfect entry for wheat.

“Poppies really helped spread the workload and gave us access to different active ingredients. They were low input, and wheat crops behind them also tended to be the best of the year.

“We never managed to pinpoint exactly why, but their lack of trash and the bit of nitrogen left behind probably gave the wheat that better start, which always led to better yields.”

However, soil type was a key consideration, with poppies favouring lighter soils.

© Ragley/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice

80ha of the estate’s lightest soils are let annually to a local veg grower for handpicked peas, salad onions, tenderstem broccoli and french beans.

Andrew felt something that could also work across the estate’s heavier land would be more suitable.

“We had a 12ha block of meadowfoam, which looks lovely, grows well and harvests early.

“The incentive behind this was you can drill it until November, and it doesn’t mind wet, heavy land. It’s the first crop to be harvested, usually around the end of June or early July.”

The early harvest also meant a cover crop could go for the estate’s 1,000-head flock of North Country Mules to graze in September, when summer grass is starting to become short.

“The objective is to have around 100ha of cover crops available to graze over winter.

“The unfortunate thing for the meadowfoam was harvest challenges. When you come to combine it, it’s flat on the deck, so we left a lot in the field.”

Echium also made a name for being an easy, low input crop to grow, but with combining challenges. “You have to swath it short, but then because it’s so heavy and dense it sits damp on the floor,” says Andrew.

New crops are generally given three goes, before deciding if they are likely to work long-term. Of all the tried-and-tested break crops, borage settled best into the farm’s rotation.

Andrew says: “Borage copes well with quite a lot of different types of ground, plus it’s later drilled in the spring so that really helps with workload.

A lot of spring break crops like linseed and spring oilseed rape have very small seeds, but borage is that bit bigger and stronger so it can cope with more variable seed-beds.

“Similarly to the poppies, we’ve found we get very good crops of wheat after it.”

While borage is notorious for its volunteers re-emerging in crops years later, Andrew says because it is frost intolerant, a cold snap tends to wipe them out, so they don’t cause issues.

© Ragley/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice

SFI land

Finally, land in the Sustainable Farm Incentive (SFI) acts as an important break crop.

“We don’t just view SFI as something to make money from – we look at the benefits from a farm point of view and have more circular conversations about its role.”

A total of 70ha was put down to NUM3 legume fallow, after Andrew decided winter beans were too much of a gamble.

“NUM3 reduces the autumn workload because it can go in in August, straight after harvest; it takes pressure off the combine; and it creates that bit of extra grazing once it has flowered.

“We know we can direct drill an early wheat crop into it in September and get benefits there.

“The margin is as good as a decent winter bean crop, which we were only achieving about one in every five years due to the weather.”

About the Ragley Estate

© Ragley/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice

The 2280ha Ragley Estate near Alcester in south Warwickshire has 1,260ha of arable land.

This is split into five groups: 820ha of combinable crops; 100ha of short-term grass leys, 230ha of Countryside Stewardship and game cover; 80ha rented out for veg production; plus scrub orchards, yards and buildings

258ha of permanent pasture is grazed by the estate’s 1,000-head flock of North Country Mules.

A large chunk of this is usually lost to events held by the estate for 150 days of the year, so cover crops and SFI land make up an important part of the rotation

Ragley was one of the first Leaf demonstration farms to be established