Update from the field: Matthew & Lloyd Smith
29.02.2024
Winners of the 2023 Rawcliffe Bridge Award, Matthew & Lloyd Smith, run a 182 hectare enterprise in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. A very wide rotation, which includes twelve crops, supports their overarching strategy to reduce the farm’s high black-grass weed pressure, improve their soil organic matter, and provide biodiversity within their landscape. Over the next twelve months, we will be checking-in with them to find out how their season is going.
“We’re quite fortunate that most of acreage has land drains that lead out to the North Sea through the middle level Internal Drainage Board, so we don’t suffer like some do,” says Lloyd. “Still, it’s been an exceptionally wet year with 149ml this calendar year so far.”
90% of the winter wheat has been drilled on the farm, though Mat admits some of isn’t looking very healthy. “With the weather it’s been slow to come through and it’s suffered from slug damage.,” he says.
“We’ve still got 10 hectares of sugar beet in the ground which should have been lifted in November. We’re hoping to be able to get that out before the campaign ends in a few weeks’ time.”
Commenting on their to decision to delay harvesting the crop, Mat adds: “We decided to risk frost damage rather than the soil structure. Fortunately, it has proven the right decision. We lifted some three weeks ago and the crop came out quite clean.”
Mat and Lloyd have had to disc back into the ground last year’s sunflowers following a difficult year for the crop, culminating in a damp autumn and extensive fusarium damage.
“With all the potatoes off the farm now, our winter workload has reduced greatly,” notes Mat. “Now it’s just a case of waiting for a break in the weather to start on the spring barley. We’ll be looking for an opportunity to create and spray off stale seedbeds ahead of drilling. Canary seed will follow the spring barley, after that it’ll be the potatoes and spring oats, and finally sunflowers.”
Naked oats will feature in the farm’s rotation for the first time this year. Without their husks, they are supposed to be better for wild bird seed mixes. “In theory, they are fairly straightforward to grow,” explains Lloyd. “They are low input and we’re intending on using them as part the SFI ‘no insecticide’ payment.”
Looking ahead, Mat has concerns. “The warmer conditions means there’s a higher risk for the carry over and early onset of disease, particularly in the wheat and barley. Green bridges have their positives but are likely to be a problem this year having supported pest insect populations.
Perhaps our biggest concern at the moment, is getting the land in good enough condition for drilling this spring. We need to get some air back into the soil, particularly for those smaller seeds and achieving the soil contact that’s needed.”
Flexibility has been key this year and one of the best-looking blocks of land on the farm is a 5 hectare field destined for wheat. “We started drilling back in the autumn but quickly decided to stop – the ground was just too wet. We’ll now be putting that into oats. Having flexibility in the rotation means we don’t chase our tails and push the land too hard. We’re able to change our plans and try to focus on the medium-long term as much as the here and now.”
With the weather putting a stop to field work, Mat and Lloyd are using the time in the office to calculate the margins on the most recent additions to the farm’s rotation - sunflowers, millet and canary seed.
“We tend to look at crops over 3-5 years especially as the weather has been so extreme. In the last couple of weeks, the final batches of seed have gone and we’ll be getting the final true weights in. It’s a chance to look at the numbers in depth.”
