OSR is usually desiccated whilst in the field.  This ensures that the crop dies off at the same time so should result in an even, dry, ripe field to harvest with the combine.  The combine should be set up to remove most of the straw, pods and weed seeds so that when the OSR arrives to be sampled before going into storage it has less than 2 percent admixture.  Sampling trailers is difficult due to access problems and ensuring a representative sample is obtained.  OSR testing and drying equipment is expensive and therefore a grant was applied for and awarded.

Project part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2007-2013: Europe investing in rural areas

A grant was received to assist towards the OSR sampling, testing and drying equipment.  The project was delivered through the South West of England Development Agency with Defra as the Managing Authority.

OSR sampling on intake

Each year the facilities and the protocols and procedures are inspected and certificated by NSF-CMI under the GTAS Scheme.

We have now been able to install solar photovoltaic systems providing ‘free’ electricity to three of our office units.  Needless to say the tenants have been very supportive of the project  and should save between 25-40% on their current electricity costs.

Solar array

The project is currently featured in Savills ‘Aspects of Land’ publication and the article can be read here: aspect of land.

When we set off down the direct drill route (a radical change from ploughing and following with a powerharrow / drill combination) there was always the nagging doubt or fear of exchanging a proven system to one that may not work.  Those involved in agriculture in the 1970’s will remember the failed experiments with direct drilling.

Using the Christmas period to sit down and work out the costs for the last harvest (2010) has proved to be a useful experience if not necessarily giving the results we wanted.  On the positive side the Oil Seed Rape, Linseed and Winter Beans established well using the Claydon Direct Drill and we have no intention of using any other method.  Whilst Winter Linseed was a novel crop to us, the OSR and Beans yielded well and were above the 5 year average.  The wheat is more of a dilemma.

We compared the yield of 6 fields,  3 established via the direct drill and 3 using the traditional plough and powerharrow / combination route all growing a veriety called “Alchemy”.  This is not a scientific experiment, more of a back of an envelope job with numerous variables not accounted for.  However the yield benefit of ploughing appears to be 0.35t / ha which at £150 / tonne is approximately £52 / ha  (£21 / acre).  However was there a cost saving in using the direct drill to establish the wheat crop?  In our small sample of 6 fields the answer is “no”.  It appears that the savings of making only one pass with the drill was largely swallowed up in making two more passes with the sprayer (plus spray) and one more pass with the slug pellet applicator (plus pellets).  The final costing incurred appear almost identical.

Where does this leave the direct drill when establishing wheat?  This Autumn we established all our wheat using the direct drill save one field.

Drilling Wheat in Rape Volunteers 21/9/10 (Left undrilled / Right drilled)

The wheat crop on the 11/11/10

It was a kind year to drill this time but it appears the soil OM and structure are changing for the better and should mean the yields improve.  Mistakes such as using low seed rates have been corrected.  In other words, we are confident enough in the system to keep trying.  Any suggestions for the perfect system would be most welcome.

Unit 10, The Hawthorns has become available at The Hawthorns Rural Business Centre, located just 10 minutes from Gloucester city centre. Unit 10 was converted in 2004 from a redundant cattle handling shed.

Unit 10 is the most popular suite of offices at The Hawthorns. On more than one occasion a client has joined us and outgrown this ideal ‘starter unit’ and moved within The Hawthorns Business Centre to larger offices.

View of Unit 10

The Unit retains many of its original character such as oak beams yet provides excellent modern office facilities such as broadband and good lighting. The three rooms form a detached building in a prime location in the original courtyard of the farm with ample free parking available

Unit 10 Interior

Unit 10 consists of a kitchen, two bathrooms, reception/office area and two large office/meeting rooms to the left and right of the first room. The building has been completed to a high specification. The unit is approximately 622 sq ft and is a single storey building.

Meeting room in Unit 10

Those that base their working life at The Hawthorns have the benefit of the use of the conservation area which consists of a lake and parkland area where picnic tables are provided for a morning coffee break, alfresco lunch or afternoon tea. The Rural Business Centre provides a lovely working environment where the natural environment can be enjoyed and appreciated through the seasons.

Environment around office units

The Hawthorns is easy to find, located close to the village of Staunton and is a quick 10 minutes from the centre of Tewkesbury and the market town of Ledbury. Our location benefits from easy access to both the M5 and M50.

Work on the farm, as with all modern day industries, is working to pressured time scales which makes you vulnerable when working with machinery and livestock.  In addition, there are often weather deadlines if it is harvest or planting, or bad weather means you have to work harder to feed the livestock, move fallen trees and work in the dark.  Some jobs are urgent because livestock are ill or machinery needs fixing.

Hawthorn Training is involved in the campaign through providing training on a number of SHADs – Safety, Heath and Awareness Days which operate around the country.  Farmers are encouraged to attend these events by HSE and in a morning or an afternoon will visit 5- 8 scenarios at one site on different aspects of agriculture.  The 20 minute presentations, led by Lantra Instructors include pesticide handling, working at heights, working with livestock and working with machinery.  It is an excellent forum for giving agricultural workers a nudge to remind them that their industry remains dangerous and life threatening. In addition, best practice can be discussed and demonstrated.

HSE is encouraging farmers to make or re-affirm ‘your promise’ so 2010 can be a safer year on farms. All farm workers at The Hawthorns have ‘Made the promise to come home safe.’ We sent for and have received a copy of ‘How lives are lost on British farms.’ This is a booklet that summarises some of the fatal incidents that occurred on farms between 2007 and 2009 including:

‘A 62 year old farmer was run over by a combine harvester driven by a worker. The combine became stuck in wet ground. The worker reversed it to drier ground and it struck the farmer who was behind the machine. The farmer suffered multiple injuries and died later in hospital.’

‘A 37 year old worker was entangled on an unguarded PTO shaft that connected a tractor to a slurry tanker. His arms were severed and he was found lying next to the PTO shaft.’

HSE have created the ‘Promise Knot,’ this is a knot of baler twine and is a simple reminder of the need to keep safety at the fore front of every operation on the farm.  We have placed these knots around the farm to help remind the farm workers to think twice and to come home safe.

A knot is placed in the tractor to remind drivers to ensure they have good visibility and to keep people and vehicles safely apart.

Another knot can be found near a field gate to remind everyone working with or around cattle to work using safe methods. Familiarity with livestock can be dangerous as it can lead to complacency and unexpected events can occur which unsettle the animals. It is better to have proper facilities and follow safe working practices than to trust livestock. In addition, a knot is located on the cattle crush in the handling shed. We were weighing the cattle today, a routine task but the livestock in unfamiliar surroundings get on edge and lose their footing easily. Measures are in place to ensure that workers and livestock are kept apart as much as possible but the potential for incidents is high.

The door to the grain shed is another danger zone where a knot has been fixed. Confined spaces such as the grain sheds could result in asphyxiation from lack of oxygen, drowning in the grain or risk of fire. It is important to receive training, have another person at the door, the right equipment available and know the emergency procedures for working in this situation.

The final knot has been placed on the pillar drill in the workshop.

Marlowe considered several options in the Gloucester area but settled on the Hawthorns Business Centre as the location and specification were ideal for their current requirements and it also offered the potential to expand in the future.

Marlow's new office

The Hawthorns Business Centre offered Marlowe the ideal solution to house their expansion as it is in close proximity to their existing base in Hartpury and the Estate offers high quality accommodation in an attractive working environment. The offices are situated in the original courtyard setting within the grounds of the 17th century Farmhouse in traditional stone buildings and are finished to a good specification. There is generous onsite parking and additional amenities such as the walled garden, Barbecue area and the Conservation area enabling occupiers to enjoy their lunch in a relaxing environment.

View to pinic area

The letting to Marlowe was the third completed in the past 12 months and other tenants include Pulse CRM, Big Dug and the Barrington Lloyd Group. There are several offices available on site, all in period buildings of various sizes. The suites are available individually or there is potential for them to be connected to suit occupier’s requirements.

For further information on the current availability please contact the Estate office direct on 01452 840227.

Linseed can be planted in the Autumn (Winter Linseed) or the Spring.  Historically, winter linseed has been quite a difficult and temperamental crop to grow because it is sensitive to the climate and could suffer badly in harsh winters but, if the winters are mild then often the crop becomes too thick.

The crop below was planted last Autumn and will be harvested on the farm this year, probably at the end of July or early August.

linseed - view from Newland bank

It was sown using the direct drill. It is a beneficial crop to grow on the farm as it allows the farmer to control some weeds more easily than in wheat, and should allow an easy low till entry into wheat.  Slugs do not appear to like linseed and no chemical pesticide control is normally required.

linseed flower

The yield for winter linseed should be in the range 2.5 – 3.5 t/ha (1.0 – 1.4 t/ac) however, as this is the first year we have grown the crop, we will have to wait and see if our expectations have been met.

Traditionally linseed has been grown because of the oil it produces; this is added to paints and varnishes and assists with the drying and hardening processes.  More recently linseed seeds are used in health foods because it is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega 3 and 6. It can also be added to animal feeds and has been woven to make a fabric.

linseed in flower

The linseed plants can grow up to a metre tall but height is normally controlled to about 50cm.  Linseed produces very pretty, light blue flowers.

The Granary - Unit 6

The Old Granary has become available for only the second time since the building was converted in 2002.

Unit 6  is said by many to be the ‘Premier Suite’ of offices at The Hawthorns because of the retention of many of its original features yet providing modern office facilities such as broadband and air conditioning. Visitors have often commented what a lovely home it would make! The Suite offers a prime location in the original courtyard of the farm. The traditional buildings have been converted to a high specification.

Pigeon loft in first floor office - Unit 6

Inside an office - Unit 6

Consisting  of 5 well proportioned office/meeting rooms, The Granary has been cleverly bespoke designed to include the original beams, brickwork and unusual features.  In addition there are two bathrooms and a kitchenette. The unit is approximately 1,200 sq ft and is a two storey suite.

Ground floor office - Unit 6

The Granary has the bonus of the secluded walled garden which can be enjoyed by employees at break times, especially at lunchtime or even alfresco meetings! The garden is designed in the style of a country cottage and compliments the original features in the farm court yard such as the old cider press. The Rural Business Centre provides a lovely working environment.

Garden Wall - Unit 6

Flowers - Unit 6

Generous onsite parking is available. The Hawthorns is easy to find, located close to the village of Staunton and is a quick 10 minutes from the centre of Gloucester. This Suite benefits from easy access to both the M5 and M50.

The Walled Garden - Unit 6

The Conservation area provides additional outside facilities including the barbecue and picnic benches

Conservation area - Unit 6

Please contact the Estate office – 01452 840227 if you would like to view The Granary and the facilities available at The Hawthorns

Worm counts were carried out using the Visual Soil Assessment method (Landcare Research, 2000).  Numbers of worms in a 20cm³ soil sample were counted over a 5 minute period.  Penetrometer readings were taken to assess soil compaction at each sample site and a visual note of soil structure in each soil sample was made.  Five sample sites were tested in each field.

The results below include the penetrometer readings taken in Cobb Hill in October 2009 for comparison.

Notes:

Topsoil structure in Hornfield was coarsley granular but rather wet and easily smeared.  The subsoil became increasingly compacted with depth but had a good blocky structure.  Numbers of worms in each sample were variable, the worms were rather small in size and were found in the upper 20cm of the soil profile.

The soil on Cobb Hill was compacted, especially below 10 cm depth.  The majority of the worms found were in the top 10cm of the soil profile where the soil structure was good, coarse granular.  Below 10 cm depth the soil formed a typical argillic clay enriched B-horizon, generally having a coarse prismatic or blocky structure but with horizontal plates in parts.

General analysis / comment:

There is a clear difference in worm numbers between the two fields, with much higher numbers of worms in the direct drilled field.  This is probably because of the previous year’s crop debris (organic matter) available in Cobb Hill (direct drilled) for the worms to feed on.  Organic matter from the previous year’s crop debris has been ploughed in in Hornfield.  Cultivations carried out in Hornfield will also have disturbed the worm ecosystem, reducing numbers.

Soil structure in the two fields reflects management.  Hornfield (ploughed and harrowed) has a much looser soil structure compared with Cobb Hill (direct drilled) with little compaction until below 30cm depth.  Previous examination of Cobb Hill had already identified the soil compaction in this field, and the apparent easing of the compaction between the October and April readings will be because of the increase in moisture content in the soil after the winter (which allows easier penetration of the penetrometer) and not a reduction in the soil density.

The higher worm population in Cobb Hill will be responsible for the good soil structure in the upper 10cm of the soil profile and their activities will be increasing organic matter content so increasing the moisture and nutrient retaining capacity of the topsoil.  However the compaction lower down the soil profile will be reducing the potential of the crop roots to exploit the full depth of the soil profile.  A point for debate is whether the increased worm population in Cobb Hill and the improvement they will make to the topsoil makes up for the compaction and reduced root exploitation lower down in the soil profile.

Dr. Nancy Oakes conducting a worm count

Cobb Hill oil seed rape on the 22-9-09 (a month before this test)

However we wanted to see if there was any benefit to the soil structure nearer the soil surface from a pass of the Claydon drill.  Therefore Dr Nancy Oakes and I selected two fields, Cobb Hill and Days Ground which had not been subsoiled.  On the 22nd October 2009 we used a penetrometer to measure the pressure required to push a probe into the ground thus giving an indication of soil compaction.   Cobb Hill had already been planted into oil seed rape resulting in some well established plants.  We tested the pressure inbetweenwhere the drill legs had passed and in the actual seed row.  There is clearly a small reduction in soil compaction in the seed row.  However this result would lead me to mark the field for flat lifting next year.  The results for Days Ground were very encouraging.  The field was being drilled into wheat as we checked for compaction.   The first set of results show a part of the field pre- drilling.  The second set show the exact same spot after the drill had passed by.  There is a notable improvement in soil compaction down to a depth of 25cm.

The full results can be downloaded here.  Penetrometer results October 2009.