• AUG / SEP 2022
FOXBERRY FARM 43
Established on 30 years of industry experience to serve the farmers of today
Growing our business to serve the farmers of tomorrow
AgriSource Machinery would like to wish Philip Metcalfe every success as a finalist for Arable Farmer of the Year
VALTRA - MERLO - KRONE - AMAZONE - POLARIS - JOSKIN - HE-VA - STORTH
Celebrating 40 years in business ! Well established family run company based in East Cowton , North Yorkshire
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Your independent machinery partner , offering fantastic value for all your machinery and attachment needs .
Call Paul today or visit www . agrisourcemachinery . com
Tel : 01748 352123 www . agrisourcemachinery . com Paul Mobile : 07769221261
Proud to support Philip Metcalfe and BRM would like to congratulate Philip on his recent nomination !
www . brianrobinson . co . uk 01325 378552 enquiries @ brmltd . co . uk
tonnes on what is predominantly sandy clay loam over limestone . This year we ’ ve grown mainly Gleam winter wheat across 60ha with a further 11ha of Champion and Palladium grown for seed on an agreement with a local seed producer just five miles away . Philip says that yield is still affected more by weather than anything else .
“ Having the right conditions for establishment and a good growing season are the main factors that influence overall yield , as well as a little bit of intervention from me along the way , but it is the weather , as we all know , that has the biggest say .
“ Looking after the soil through less disturbance in the cultivation process has little impact on yield . It just means that hopefully we can all farm for many more years .
Philip ’ s other cropping this year has been 14ha of winter barley variety Bolton ; 24ha of Prospect spring barley and 28ha of oilseed rape .
“ Our barley all goes for feed and we seem to do well on spring barley yield even though
I ’ m not a massive fan as harvest is a little later and it has a reputation for not being as productive as winter barley . We can put chicken muck on the spring barley ahead of sowing in the spring which helps with nutrients being a lot better utilised as there is little leeching going on at that time .
“ Growing oilseed rape is more difficult with the ban on neonicotinoids . It ’ s an issue but we have to just manage it better and my wife Sara says I ’ m obsessed with it to the point that you might as well call me Mr Slug at certain times of the year .
“ It ’ s not that I ’ m slimy or anything , but it ’ s just that I know that once a slug or flea beetle has been on it the crop in that area is gone , so you have to do everything you can to prevent it . That ’ s why I ’ m so vigilant .
“ We have also grown 13ha of winter beans this year and we have rented out 9ha for potatoes to my neighbours . That ’ s the largest area we ’ ve rented out , but it was largely down to the field size where it was grown .
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PRESTRESSED PANELS CAN BE USED FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS , INCLUDING :
· Agricultural ( livestock , grain , roots , silage ) Depth 0.500 , 0.600 , 1m , 1.2m , 1.5m . Thicknesses 100mm , 150mm , 180mm , 225mm )
· Warehouses · Storage · Soil retention · Security
Proud suppliers to Foxberry Farm wishing them continued success
Tel : 01325 718498 | 07876 491766 Austen Email : austen @ lowgrangequarry . co . uk www . lowgrangequarryltd . co . uk
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AWSM Farming Ltd wish Phil Metcalfe continued success
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Tel : 01833 627 207 Email : info @ awsmfarming . co . uk www . awsmfarming . co . uk