How we farm...
A sustainable approach to farming and the environment.
Key to achieving our goal and reducing our carbon footprint is the application of renewable fertilisers, including compost which we make on the farm, and digestate collected from local AD Plants. Not only does this improve the soil structure and bio-diversity of our soils it significantly reduces our dependence on fossil-fuel based synthetic fetilisers.
We embraced the start of precision farming in 2004 with yield mapping, now all the arable farmland is GPS SOYL sampled. This coupled with the GPS technology in our tractors makes it possible to apply variable rate applications, increasing efficiency and productivity.
Currently farming about a thousand acres, Blackbirds has always been the base for all our operations. Our main crops are wheat, barley and oil seed rape. After harvest we plant cover and catch crops, usually forage radish and mustard to improve and maintain the soil structure and protect the soil between crops. The main crop where possible is then direct drilled into the cover and catch crops either in the Autumn or Spring, keeping the soil protected nearly all year round.