Strategic Cereal Farm South

Name:

David Miller

Location:

Basingstoke, Hampshire

Farm sectors:

Cereals & Oilseeds

Twitter:

@fowell103

View on Google Maps

About Strategic Cereal Farm South

Wheatsheaf Farming Company will host the programme over six years (2021 to 2027)
David Miller, who is the Strategic Cereal Farm host, has been the farm's manager since the late 1990s
The farm has 700ha of owned arable land (670ha cropped)
David has embraced regenerative agriculture practices for over a decade
The farm has adopted cover crops and been fully no-till since 2015
He will continue this journey and aims to reduce input use on the farm
This farm’s goal is to be profitable, while maximising carbon sequestration and biodiversity

Current trials

Soil and crop health under different management systems

Comparing conventionally managed fields against fields that have been no-till since 2015, this trial will investigate the impacts to soil and crop health.

Soil health at crop establishment

A variety of approaches to enhance the soil–plant interaction at drilling are being tested to see if early crop growth can be improved.

Cover crops and water quality

This trial tests the effect of using cover crops on soil health, water quality and the following crop.

Learn about the on-farm trials at Strategic Cereal Farm South

Strategic Cereal Farm results month

Every November, we run weekly webinars to showcase the latest results from across our Strategic Farm Network.

Find out about Strategic Cereal Farm results month

Background to Strategic Farm South

The vision

To accelerate and ease the journey in regenerative agriculture of the wider industry.

The mission

To conduct relevant trials where results can be financially quantified. From these, the aim is to provide some basic principles that are attractive for arable farmers to follow to grow nutritious crops in a more biological way with less reliance on mechanical and chemical interventions including inorganic fertilisers. By adopting these principles, the industry will become financially and environmentally more profitable and sustainable.

Core pillars of work

To develop principles and guides for a more biological production of crops avoiding complexity, time and cost for arable farmers by distilling the work of the Strategic Farm (and existing practitioners) to basic principles of what you need to know and do for successful regenerative farming
To learn how to confidently reduce crop inputs evidencing what is possible without detriment to net margin
To financially evaluate the benefits including non-financial benefits of Regenerative Farming (e.g. food nutrient value)
To simplify the messaging of a reliable roadmap to successful regenerative farming communicated in a language attractive and applicable to any type or scale of farm

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