 From LEAF Farmer Duncan Farrington
May Newsletter We now move into spring properly with the hedgerows full of blossom; birds singing and dancing, parading their fluffed up plumage of colourful displays to attract mates; warm sunny days that make us want to get out and enjoy the fresh air. The crops are growing well, with the wheat looking a healthy lush green, whilst the rapeseed although a bit more variable, it is now growing rapidly. At least the field from our kitchen window is looking fantastic this year; this has more to do with luck than judgement, but is good to have your best crops near by for other farming visitors to see when they visit. Meanwhile, the spring beans are coming through the ground nicely showing their heads and really starting to grow. We are busy on the farm applying fertiliser to the crops as their carefully formulated diet of nutrition is balanced to give them exactly what they need for healthy growth. Additionally we regularly walk the fields with our agronomist, who is trained ‘crop doctor’ advising us on the crops health throughout the season. During the autumn we to try and control weed competition from the young plants, so that they do not become overrun with weeds later in the year. In the spring we are looking at crop diseases, and insect attacks as the weather warms up and the crops become lush habitats for attacks from both. Both disease and insect attack are controlled by several means. Firstly we grow a good crop rotation so that specific disease and harmful pests do not build up in fields over time. Then we choose varieties of crops that have good natural resistance to a pest and disease attack. We try to create ideal growing conditions in the soil, giving the plants the best chance of germinating, rooting and growing well; obviously this particular area needs a little help from mother nature if we are to succeed. Then there is the biological control aspect which is the idea of creating healthy wildlife areas around fields, and even within them with the use of beetle banks and field margins for example, harbouring the predatory creatures that like nothing more than to feed on the aphids, pollen beetles, midges and slugs that attack crops. Once all the various methods of natural control methods are use, the agronomist takes into account the weather conditions, crop health and thresholds of a particular pest or disease to the come up with a recommendation for any extra help we may require from applying a particular fungicide or insecticide. Although some people have concerns over such chemicals, they are in fact completely safe products, and should be thought of as no different to humans taking a medicine (following advice) if we need to for a particular ailment. In fact the chemicals we use on our crops are often copies of natural chemicals found in nature, for example a group of very successful fungicides are based on wild forest mushrooms; whilst the natural chemical resistance in a chrysanthemum was the inspiration for a manmade equivalent. These medicines are so safe that we also use them in little tubes and packets to treat symptoms such as athlete’s foot, thrush and head lice in humans. A date for your diaries for you to see how farmers work first hand is Sunday 13th June when farms all around the country will be opening their gates inviting the general public for a farm walk. We shall be open for the event - look out in next month's diary for more details of what we shall be getting up to. In the meantime, you can visit www.farmsunday.org to find out more about what is going on around the country.
check out what's happening on the farm...
make a delicious dessert...
mellow yellow spotted on nigella express...
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