46 MANOR FARM AUG / SEP 2022 • farmers-mart . co . uk
REGENERATIVE FARMING IS THE WAY FORWARD AT STOKESLEY
Chris Berry talks with farmer , sprayer , agronomist and newly married Matthew Nichols of Manor Farm
MATTHEW Nichols is having a big year ! He has been nominated in a major award as Young Farmer of the Year , he ’ s vice chairman of Stokesley NFU , he runs his own contract spraying business , he ’ s an independent agronomist , he ’ s four years into running what was his grandfather ’ s farm at Manor Farm , Stokesley … and he got married to the lovely Kate ( Lowcock ) in late July ! And he ’ s not even turned 30 yet !
“ When I was a kid I wrote down what I wanted to do ,” says Matthew . “ And it was that if I ever got chance to farm I was going to go into pigs and no till drilling on the arable land I ’ d have , because they ’ ve always done that in America and growing up I thought why is no one doing it over here ?
“ The whole thing about regenerative agriculture is that hopefully I ’ m going to leave the land in a better state than I found it . It ’ s about looking at your soil health , carbon levels , the organic matter , nutrient levels . The state of your farm is reflected by your soil . You ’ re trying to reduce emissions while maintaining and stimulating improved food production . “ Zero till drilling is part of it but I ’ m also looking at the longer term rotation , looking away from standard winter cropping , more spring cropping and different crops and varieties , putting these legume herbal leys in your rotation .
“ Most arable farmers would never do that because it could be a bit of a
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Matthew is the fifth generation at Manor Farm , which he now rents from his gran Rita Nichols .
“ It was my great great grandfather Howard Nichols who bought it in 1908 . He was followed by my great grandfather Thomas Buckle Nichols , and then Thomas Geoffrey my granddad . My father Michael Nichols passed away when I was 19 and had never got involved in the farm . He ’ d worked on other farms in the area .
“ Granddad had in his later years run half of the farm on his own and had used contractors on the other half . I used to work for that contractor , Mr Bainbridge just up the road before going on to work as an agronomist for ProCam .
“ Around the time dad passed away granddad had said he ’ d like me to take the farm on . When I ’ d left ProCam I ’ d set up for contract spraying work having passed my BASIS and FACTS certificates and so I already had some of my own gear .
Matthew wasn ’ t certain how it would all work out , but he knew that his grandfather ’ s wish had brought about the opportunity to fulfil his boyhood ambition .
“ We set up a new partnership with granddad involved , started the farming business afresh and because of the need
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01609 772034 info @ northallertonauctions . com to reduce fixed and input costs I went straight down the regenerative route . If I had gone intensive I would have needed a lot more machinery and tackle and that would have been more cost and would have put increased pressure on my contracting business and independent agronomy work , which makes the whole farm operation work .
“ The farm runs to 150 owned acres and I rent 20 acres two and a half miles away . It is by no means a farm that can survive off purely its arable cropping . I have around 18,000 acres of contract spraying each year that also employs a self-employed man who works with me ; and my agronomy work is across 4000 acres with costs of software and insurance attached . If everything else failed I would still have that and could go out and find more work .
“ When I was starting from scratch it just made sense . If I had been stepping into a business that had a portfolio of machinery to trade in against other stuff I might have gone down the route of minimum tillage or standard cultivations , but I wasn ’ t as granddad didn ’ t have the kit to trade .
“ My focus has been and continues to be on how I can cover acreage quickly and cheaply . I have had crop failures but that has not been down to regenerative methods .
Matthew says that he sees many more farmers adopting regenerative farming as input costs have continued their seemingly inexorable rise .
“ They are absolutely out of control . You ’ ve got machinery costs that have
gone up 80 per cent since 2008 ; fertiliser costs that have risen 400 per cent in 12 months . Everything has just gone crackers .
“ I am certain there are lots of drivers behind it but basically it looks like those in charge want us to farm this way and they are determined to do anything they can to push us down that route .
“ Personally , I am convinced that the regenerative approach works , but you ’ ve got to take the time to get it right and the first rule is don ’ t just go out and buy a fancy drill for 90 grand . Start by looking at your rotation and why you want to do it .
“ I have a Horsch 8 metre drill that I bought secondhand and converted . The coulters on it were pretty new and I sold them because they weren ’ t the ones I wanted . What I sold them for bought me the ones I did want and I received great help from JJ Metcalfe & Son at Newby Wiske with my 12mm wide low disturbance coulters . As a result I am now moving as little soil as we can get away with .