September on the farm
It’s been a difficult month for Andrew Huxham at his farm in West Sussex. He reflects on the chaos of the latest SFI window and the personal pressures of farming:
Last month’s gamble on oilseed rape paid off, with establishment generally good despite some flea beetle pressure in later-drilled crops
All cover crops are now drilled and emerging well, and winter cereal drilling began around 21 September
The SFI first come, first served system underlines how reliant many farms have become on environmental payments for profitability
Farming can be isolating – check in on one another and reach out if you’re struggling
Content warning: This video discusses suicide and mental health in the farming community.
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Transcript
Andrew
Hello and welcome to my “September on the farm” update. Welcome to a rather sunny Sussex again and we’re stood out in a field of oilseed rape. As you can see it’s looking good. It’s a bit stripy where the volunteers have been sprayed off but it’s all coming through and it’s all there.
So what have we been up to in September? Well we finished drilling the oilseed rape on about 4 September. This was one of the blocks which was drilled before the rain so this was the gamble where we didn’t know if we were going to get very much. Actually the earlier drilled stuff is all looking pretty good. The later drilled stuff, we drilled after the rain, is the stuff that probably had more flea beetle pressure so that’s a bit of an anomaly. Normally the later you drill it the less pressure. Having said that, it’s all there, it’s all OK and it’s all looking good. So the rape’s in and up and looking OK.
We then finished establishing our winter cover crops so they’re all in now and they’re up and looking good and you’ll see some videos of those. That generally has a mix of crimson clover, buckwheat, linseed and phacelia is the general mix we use and that’s all gone in in nice conditions. The weather continues to be kind to us in actually letting us get on with lots of fieldwork.
We then started drilling our winter cereals, so oilseed rape and winter barley. We started on about 21 September so quite early and we’ve got on really, really well. A bit earlier than a lot of people would start but we had had a decent flush of blackgrass and bits and pieces. We generally prioritise the heavier ground earlier especially up in the Downs because once that gets wet it can be really problematic.
So that’s all gone in really nicely. We’ve got about, as of today which is 28 September, we’ve got about 100 hectares left of first wheats to put in and we’re going to leave those until next week now because where there were big rape volunteers I think there’s probably going to be a little bit of blackgrass underneath which has been shaded from the glyphosate by the rape volunteers. So we’re going to leave that until next week which, I’m very impatient and it feels really strange to be parking up the drill at this time of year, but I think it’s the right thing to do.
We’ve had our usual spate of fly tipping and hare coursing to deal with this month which is really irritating and becoming an increasing problem. Sometimes cars left out in fields and set alight to. So that takes up quite a bit of our time and all we can really do is put up more gates and dig more ditches and try and keep people out and make it difficult.
But actually for me, in a management role, I think this month has been dominated with the SFI on the 22nd. As I’ve said historically in previous videos, our business is quite reliant on SFI. I was very lucky in that I had two applications to get in and I managed to get both the applications in. So we’ve got two SBI numbers because one’s for a contract farming agreement. I got both of them in.
I didn’t get in everything I wanted, so I’m down quite a bit because “computer said no”. I have emailed the RPA because I can’t see why it wouldn’t allow me to put them in. So hopefully that’ll come back. The second biggest scheme I got in, I got in at 15.30 – so 15.48 the application windows closed – so it was very close and very worrying. But I have got them in and I do find it absolutely bizarre that we’ve got to this stage where it’s a rush like that.
Interestingly, as a farmer and I think lots of other farmers instantly assume well this awful government has cut funding etc etc. I don’t think that’s the problem. I think actually the funding for ELMs is at the moment something like £2.4 billion or something like that, and actually, you know, because it’s encompassed BPS and everything. So there’s been a small drop in real terms but not huge. What this does mean is that there’s a massive over-demand for it because farming businesses are so reliant on it now for overall profitability.
So while it’s easy to blame the government, the problem is the way they’ve gone about it. I think every farmer should be entitled to a certain amount if they do a certain amount of environmental work rather than this massive mad rush and this gamble to see who can click the button the quickest and get the application in first. Because the issue it is causing for all farmers, I think, is massive.
But we did manage to get both of ours in. I feel for people that didn’t. It’s a rubbish system at the moment and a rubbish situation and something does have to change. I especially feel for agents that had 20 or 30 applications to get in because they didn’t stand a chance. So a real challenge. We’re OK in terms of our applications but a lot of stress that day and for the week before making sure we kind of had everything lined up.
And then on 17 September we hosted our first ever Hectare Roadshow at Little Rollright Farm in Chipping Norton. Massive thanks to Tom Macfarlane for hosting us and showing us around the farm and also to our industry experts Kieran Walsh and Jake Freestone who also gave up their time to give fascinating talks. It was a great way to come together and address some of the biggest challenges farmers are currently facing in our industry.
And then, unfortunately, where are we now, Monday. Last week we had some really, really tragic news and one of our, one of my childhood friends, a guy that worked in the farming industry, took his own life…
I’m going to try again. So as you can tell it is something I find a little bit difficult to talk about. Last week we had some tragic news. A childhood friend of mine, who I don’t see much anymore but, you know, he spent a lot of time at our place, at our farm growing up. I got news that he had decided to take his own life.
He worked within the farming community, he worked for quite a large farming business. And the reason I wanted to mention it in this video is because this is the second time I’ve had his news in as many months. And I think when someone gets to the stage where they don’t feel there are any other options or they feel this is the best option, it’s a really, really, obviously a very tragic situation. But as I think a fairly famous comedian once said, it is a very long-term solution to a short-term problem. And it is always preventable.
And I think in our industry it can be quite an isolated working environment. You know, he was a main tractor driver for a large farming business, I think many thousands of hectares. And it is quite isolated. And I don’t know the exact cause and reasons behind this situation. But what I would say is, I think we all need to check in a bit more with friends and family and make sure that people realise that there are always alternatives and better options.
So yes, a bit of a low point to end on. Farming-wise, crops are looking OK and we’ve had a busy month and it hasn’t been too bad. But along with SFI and obviously these really, really tragic events then, you know, it’s been an interesting month.
Let’s hope things get better. And don’t forget to check in on your mates and your family.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the content at the time of publication, Hectare Trading makes no guarantee regarding the data provided.