Loomio
Sat 24 Mar 2018 1:30PM

2018: What are we going to plant in the year ahead?

AR Abby Rose Public Seen by 49

As we start farming OurField for 2018, with the slightly larger area of 28 acres and 60 members we promptly need to decide what we want to plant or how we want to farm the field this year, as John needs to order seeds on Mon 9th April. So here is the timeline:

24/25 March: FARMER'S THOUGHTS Farmer John Cherry will kick of the conversation with the options he thinks might work.
25 March - 4 April: DISCUSSION we will discuss these ideas, with members asking questions and adding in any extra research or ideas.
5 April - 8 April: THE VOTE based on the discussion a series of options will be put to vote.

9 April: JOHN ORDER SEEDS

JC

John Cherry Sat 24 Mar 2018 4:06PM

Ok, I'll try to keep this brief and on topic. What to plant...

Our main problem is that the #ourfield field has had two crops of wheat grown on it in a row and so it is ready for a break. Before the wheats we grew a crop of peaola (pea and oilseed rape companion crop). We could do that again, but it is a bit close together rotation wise, there are diseases of both peas and rape that could lurk in the soil and ambush either if we try to grow them too frequently.

I was keen to offer you buckwheat as a radical new break crop. Buckwheat is a 'false grain', it is actually a broadleaved crop that is grown in quite a big way in Canada and Russia and places like that, that have a continental climate. We grew a field as an experiment last year and it seemed quite successful, except the entire harvest went mouldy as I was too slow drying it. It turns out the reason that it suits a continental climate is the hot summers suit the plants ability to grow fast and the dry frosts kill the plant and make dry harvesting easier. Processing the grain is tricky too and there are precious few people in the UK with the necessary tackle or inclination to do so. It needs dehulling, like spelt, but the hull is attached much more strongly to the endosperm or whatever the middle bit is called. To summarise: we could grow it, but you probably won't get anything back from harvest, if we get a harvest at all.

There are a range of standard spring break crops grown around here, like peas, beans and linseed. These are all realistic options, if a little dull. Peas come in a range of colours and harvested dry (like little bullets) for making into mushy peas, Hodmedod snacks, pet food or animal feed...all depending on the quality. We are not on the best soil for top quality peas and we've grown them a bit too recently as mentioned above. Also pigeons love them and ourfield is hard to watch against pigeon predation.

Beans will do ok on our soil, but tend to end up in animal feed as they normally get attacked by bruchid beetles, which leave annoying holes in the seed which buyers for human consumption don't like. Last year we talked about a companion crop of beans and wheat...this is still a possibility, but I don't know whether it would compromise our chances of growing a really good 'first' wheat next year. Also, it might be a dreadful mess and we'd get a tiny dirty sample of both beans and wheat (looking on the gloomy side).

Linseed is very pretty when flowering and will leave the ground in cracking order for a good wheat next year. But it is sensitive, so won't want drilling for a while and won't be ready to harvest until late autumn. Being a relative of flax, the straw is incredibly strong (linen) and can be a pig to cut with the combine if conditions aren't perfect. I'm not making an effort to sell this as it is making work for us, but it might earn a (little) bit for ourfield. When we've grown it before, 1tonne/acre is the most we've managed, usually rather less. Probably get £200/tonne at the moment. Don't plan a Caribbean holiday on the back of a linseed harvest.

There are other crops like soya beans which are becoming more mainstream in the UK. I'd rule this out unless we could get an ourfield rota of 24/7 pigeon frightening. We grew a test plot once and they had every plant as it emerged. We have a lot of pigeons here, there are so many woods they can lurk and wait for your attention to wander then flock in. I'd rather grow things they don't eat.

Richard the agronomist was suggesting we grow squashes of some sort. He was saying that potatoes are so damaging to soils and inappropriate for our climate (though we grew a test crop of no-till potatoes last year quite successfully), squashes that grow on top like marrows would be far more suitable and store more easily than spuds. But presumably have to be harvested by hand. And marketed. How keen are you guys to get involved...?To be honest, if we were to do this, I'd want to plant a cover crop of forage rye in the autumn and then come May I'd crimp it and set the squashes/pumpkins into the dead (we'd hope) rye which would act as a mulch and carpet for the gourds to grow on without becoming contaminated with soil. So that's another side-track...

Lentils are a possibility, but I know nothing about them and I've been told to expect crop failure. Happy to give it a go if you are...

@harryboglione was suggesting hemp as possible break. Harvesting the seed is something that I don't think anyone has managed with any success in the UK. We've grown it before for the fibre and it grows like a weed (no surprises there). Unfortunately it looks fantastic but never really repays the work that goes into it. If anyone has a decorticator and wants to weave some scratchy homespun trousers, then this is the crop for you. Hemp fibre is fantastic stuff, but I think the guys making the money aren't the farmers. It's also good for hiding your illegal cannabis crop in, but you might not be able to renew your Home Office licence the next year. However, when the idiots in charge finally legalise it, we'd be a step ahead of the competition in knowing how it grows...

My final suggestion is to grow a summer cover crop. This sounds a bit bonkers, as it'll cost you for seed, but you won't get a harvest. But we'd have a fantastic cheap wheat crop next year. If we could graze the cover, we'd get some income back and possibly an even better wheat from all the poo. This is something I'm looking at on one or two of our fields that don't look like they are going to grow much of a spring crop. A good cover will pulse energy and carbon into the soil, opening up root channels deep in the subsoil, foraging nutrients and bringing them to the surface. We could terminate the crop with a crimper and drill wheat through (as suggested with the squashes above) or graze it, which would involve fencing and water provision (neither of which need be too expensive). This all appeals to me as I think it will all be an important component of organic no-till, which at the moment is nothing more than a happy pipe-dream, but could be a transformative regenerative form of agriculture in the UK. They have managed to create a form of it at the Rodale Institiute in the USA and also Gabe Brown in N Dakota is getting near it, but with a completely different climate. We need to work out a UK way...

Sorry, that wasn't at all brief. Have a think and get back to us...

John

TA

Tony Allan Sat 24 Mar 2018 6:18PM

Dear John
Thank you for all the information and for the comments on the options. I would be happy with the best possible cover crop to establish the soil health for next AND FUTURE YEARS. It would be good to keep a close accounting watch on the bottom line impact of the grazing by livestock.
Could you say something in general about the soil health of OurField. Best Tony

JC

John Cherry Sat 24 Mar 2018 8:33PM

Hi Tony, thanks for your comment.
I think the soil is quite healthy, but as it happens Abby is coming up with Neils Corfield on Monday to show me how to use her Sectormentor soil app and we'll be testing #ourfield amongst other fields so will report back then. John

AR

Abby Rose Sat 24 Mar 2018 7:16PM

Amazing thank you @johncherry !! Brilliant start laying out all the options! I am excited by many of those options...I'm wondering why do you favour the cover crop and grazing option over planting rye and then squash? With Rye and squash would we still be able to plant a winter wheat or grain of some sort in October? And why would you do rye and then squash and not just let the left over spelt and clover act as the cover before planting the squash?
Also sorry one more question - do you now have a crimper? Is it possible to use the animals to graze down the clover and spelt left overs (or rye) before planting the squash?

Also for any new (and existing) members - realise there is lots of 'farming jargon' going on such as crimping, no-till, cover crop and talk of terminating crops then direct drilling etc. There are a few co-investors who do know more about farming including other farmers, so please do ask questions however simple they seem. Someone in the collective will be able to answer or if not then John certainly can!

JC

John Cherry Sat 24 Mar 2018 8:43PM

Hi Abby, good questions. Really to get a clean spring squash bed we'd have planted rye in the autumn as it gets away very quick in the spring and hits maturity very early. Crimping works best when you squash the crop at anthesis, ie when the flower bud opens. This shocks the plant such that it dies, if you do it too soon there's a good chance it'll grow again from the base. This would likely happen if we grazed it early too. The trouble with trying it with our volunteer spelt is that there is probably too much weed grass in the field that will hit anthesis, or even seed, before the spelt is ready. But it might work, we can take a view on Monday...

We don't have a crimper, but I think I can lay my hands on one if necessary.
John

TA

Tony Allan Sun 25 Mar 2018 6:22AM

Dear John

Thank you for getting back.

I am looking forward to catching up with Abby. The app looks interesting on the website.

Best

TonyA

CL

Christine Lewis Sun 25 Mar 2018 8:38AM

Thanks John and hello to all our new people. Quick question to @johncherry - could we graze on the field over the summer and then put in an Autumn crop instead of a Spring crop. Would this give the field the break it needs and offer any other benefits?

JC

John Cherry Sun 25 Mar 2018 2:04PM

I'm sorry that it all sounds a bit gloomy money-wise this year, especially the idea of a summer cover crop. Spring crops like linseed or beans will give some income, but not very much and the harvest will be quite late, meaning we don't get the best chance of getting a good autumn planting of whatever wheat we might want to put in this back end. By suggesting the summer cover, I was taking a long-term view and looking to great riches in autumn 2019 with a bountiful wheat harvest then. The whole point of this idea was growing a fertility building/weed suppressing crop for this year to give an excellent start to next years cash-builder (as @christinelewis1 suggests - we want to plant an autumn crop in 2018).
But nothing is guaranteed in farming. It's very much up to the Collective. You decide what we do...
John

GH

Grahame Hunter Mon 26 Mar 2018 11:51AM

How to cope with a loss this year

Some of John's crop suggestions do imply spending money in this year to build soil fertility, perhaps to recoup that with a grain crop in 2019
We do also have a few extra members - and the costs of having a break-crop would be low - therefore, if any newly joined members wish to change their minds within the next 14 days I can arrange a refund of the entire £200 stake to the account it came from. It is not a problem, we will still remain friends! @cliffcooper

A

andrea Fri 6 Apr 2018 11:43AM

As a new investor I don't mind paying for the cover crop, as long as my investment is not diluted by new investors next year who would be getting a free ride. So maybe there should be an investment cycle which starts from the unproductive period. Anyone who comes after that, has to contribute for the accrued investments. @cliffcooper

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