06/25/2022
Oilseed r**e drilling. If variety is the spice of life then this seed mix is the arable farming equivalent.
As farmers we all sometimes get a bit too hung up on how our crops look, and I’m as guilty of it as anyone. However I’ve managed to let go of the need to see a field with only one plant species in it, and learnt that diversity is king if you want healthy soil, clean water, functioning ecosystems and lower carbon foot print. Nature doesn’t produce mono-cultures and for good reason, plants work together in an ecosystem, wether that be grasslands, woodlands, bogs or riverbanks. Each species takes something different from the ecosystem and gives back something different in return in the form of rooting, habitat and food. The same principles can be applied to commercially grown crops. oilseed r**e is a tricky thing to grow, it gets attacked and eaten by a myriad of pests in the form of beetles, molluscs and birds, it’s a lazy rooter and doesn’t like compaction, water logging, acidity or alkalinity.
All these problems can be solved artificially in modern farming but they come with a price both financially and environmentally. Looking to nature we use a mixture of “companion” crops when we drill our Oilseed r**e, each bringing something different to the table. Buckwheat for phosphate mining, fast deep tap rooting, and plant shading from flea beetle attack, and a mixture of clovers that provide habitat for beneficial predators, pollen and nectar late in the year for bees, fibrous rooting systems, soil bacterial engagement and a high protein diet for the sheep that will graze it later in the year. This combination of factors means we can get away without having to apply anything artificially manufactured to this crop, making it more financially viable for us and more beneficial to the environment we farm in.
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