Monitor Farm summer meeting: Blandford

Meeting programme

Registration and tea

Philip Dolbear – AHDB Knowledge Exchange Manager: AHDB news and developments

James Cossins and Georgie Cossins, Monitor Farmers: farm update.

Farm walk  

• Variety performance traits to reduce input costs
• Review of T3 management
• OSR – review of performance and future place in rotation
• OSR establishment strategies - cost vs risk
• Pre harvest weed assessments, future biological and mechanical control strategies
• Cover crop try out – which mix and which destruction strategy?
• Post cover crop spring crop management - Spring Beans and Spring Barley
• Stale seedbed management
• Blackgrass control strategy – is it working?
• Straw removal – compaction management
• RB209 recommendations - theory and practice
• ELMS - future plans
• AHDB Market Intelligence crop marketing update

Return to Langton Arms, DT11 8RX

Breakout session: End of Monitor Farm programme review.

Review  of original SWOT analysis. Achievements and value?

Close and supper

About the farm

The Cossins family have been farming at Rawston Farm since 1877. Since then the farm has expanded to 670ha with a further 385ha rented or contract farmed. The five-year arable rotation covering 600ha includes winter wheat, winter and spring barley and oilseed rape. All operations are carried out by farm staff including a combination of minimum tillage and ploughing, with grain stored on farm. The business also has 300 dairy cows and 180 head of beef cattle, the majority of which are sold through their own farm butchery. James Cossins currently runs the family business, working closely with his daughter Georgie.