The Farmers Mart Feb-Mar 2019 - Issue 61 | Page 47

DIKES MARSH FARM 47 • FEB/MAR 2019 WE COVER SMALL FARMS, LARGE FARMS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN The UK’s leading rural insurer At NFU Mutual we offer tailored insurance and a local service. We cover all farms from arable and horticulture to sheep and poultry. For a real conversation about your insurance: call 01757 704336, email [email protected] or pop in NFU Mutual, 9 Finkle Street. crops followed by a break and on more challenging land wheat, beans, wheat, rape but we have also introduced spring barley again and we’ve reintroduced linseed again after a break.’ Richard, his father and James are all agronomists with BASIS and FACTS qualifi- cations. ‘We’ve not had an agronomist on the farm since dad left college nearly 40 years ago. Agronomy is like playing chess. You’re constantly looking forward as well as back when planning your next move and we are always analysing what has happened. We know that our soil is improving as a result of what we have done. I have a golden rule with cover crops, that have become more sexy as soil quality has become so high profile, and it is that the seed mix in my cover crop doesn’t cost more than £20 per hectare because once I put on the cost of drilling that is a sensible limit. There are mixes costing £40-£50 out there that aren’t offering any more. My advice is to box clev- er. I also worry that the number of brassicas and legumes may have an impact on future cash crops.’ Richard was awarded a Nuffield schol- arship in 2016 that saw him visit farms and crop industry businesses in North America, South America and Australia looking at herbicide resistant weeds and investigating a sustainable future in arable farming. ‘We are in the Dark Ages in the UK when it comes to working together as an industry and sharing information. Many farmers abroad have been into No Till for over 30 years and have realised that when soil needs restructuring you need the right equipment to provide low disturbance. I spent 12 weeks traveling the USA, Argentina and Australia where Perth is the Herbicide Agent of The National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited. Resistance capital of the world.’ ‘The Australian Herbicide Resistance Initi- ative is based there, and all manufacturers, sales operations and farmers are involved. It’s vastly different to the UK where differ- ent distribution companies are just in it for themselves. In Australia it is all about good solid collaborative research so there is no confusion. What really got me was when Professor Stephen Powles who set it up realised all his great research wasn’t being acted upon, he decided to spend one third of the total budget on communication. That’s the way forward. In the past couple of years over here I’ve found there is a much greater willingness to share farmer to farmer learning and that gives me a buzz. We need the crop companies to do the same. Collaborative research from one pot rather than spin for commercial gain is the way forward.’ Richard is currently NFU branch vice chairman for Goole, Thorne & Selby and is a past member of Goole YFC. ‘You’ve got to be involved in the conver- sation to move things forward.’ He’s married to Rebecca and they have two sons William (6) and Thomas (4). His mum is Patricia and his grandfather Norman still takes a healthy interest in the farm. RUSSELL GROUP www.russells.uk.com LEADERS IN AGRICULTURE, CONSTRUCTION AND GROUNDCARE EQUIPMENT SUPPLYING NEW HOLLAND HARVESTER PRODUCTS FOR RICHARD HINCHLIFFE OF DIKES MARSH FARM BRANCHES THROUGHOUT YORKSHIRE Please contact our Head Office on: 01653 698000