YOU cannot fail to miss Andrew Manfield ’ s passion for arable farming and his use of new technology when in his company . I first met Andrew at an event at Bishop Burton College many years ago where he was leading a session about precision farming and field traffic . His enthusiasm hasn ’ t dulled since and he had just returned from Agritechnica in Hanover when I visited his Hessleskew Farm just outside Sancton in the East Riding late last year .

Andrew set up Manterra , a company specialising in new technology , in 2011 just at the time when the farming sector was starting to take on board such as autosteer and variable rate spreading more seriously than it had done so previously .

“ I ’ ve always been analytical and interested in the science behind the way things can be improved in arable

farming ,” says Andrew . “ If you don ’ t start out with that kind of thought when you ’ re young , with hope and expectation , trying to make the world a better place farming-wise and pretty much in any sphere , then it would be a pretty poor world .

“ I was very fortunate that my father Brian was a very forward-thinking guy . We made a good team , a blend of youthful hope and aspiration and his experience . He always encouraged me and recognised that I had skillsets in more technical areas that complemented his vast generational knowledge .

“ The first time I got interested in how technology could really benefit our farm and others was when I ’ d met a German agronomist , Christophe , whom I met up with once again at Agritechnica . We are still discussing things today , following years of doing so . What is clear is that technology is moving very fast and at an

ever-increasing pace , while the challenges remain the same .

Andrew says that he and Christophe have shared a mutual interest in efficiency of fertiliser use .

“ We farm over an aquifer , here on the Yorkshire Wolds , and as a result we have our own water supply . We drink that water every day and that means we have an obvious reason to use less fertiliser on the land , as less will then go into our water courses .

“ That agenda of not just regulation and control of pollution of water and nitrogen but everywhere has been the story of agriculture for the last 20 years .

“ Efficiency in fertiliser usage has never been more important than the past two years when we have seen fertiliser prices sky rocket . Efficiency of using inputs is in the interest of farmers and the environment , in the benefit to the soil , the farmer ’ s bank balance and the sustainability of farming and land management . Andrew believes that the systems and techniques now available to arable farmers are the best they have ever been , but that it is vital to take things carefully when applying new technology .