Six new farms will join AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds’ Monitor Farm network this summer, as the organisation launches the next phase of the programme.
The new hosts are spread across the country and build on the success of the previous farms at a time when the first English and Welsh projects come to the end of their three-year term.
Tim Isaac, Head of Knowledge Exchange for AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds, said: “We’ve learned a lot from the first three years of the Monitor Farm programme in England and Wales. The scheme has exceeded all expectations in its positive impact on the industry, with a wide spectrum of participants getting involved, sharing and taking improvements back to their own businesses. So now is the right time to take the programme to the next level.
“We’ve also seen that famers really value the opportunity to share their experiences and learn from one another and this will become even more valuable as the industry prepares for the challenges of the future.”
The six new farms are:
Chelmsford: Christy and Hew Willett
Saltburn: John Aynsley
Malmesbury: Roger Wilson
Brigg: Colin Chappell
Hereford: Russell Price and Martin Williams
Basingstoke: Hugh Crosbie Dawson
Benchmarking will continue to be an integral part of the project, helping farmers to measure and manage their input costs and margins on their way to building more resilient businesses.
Adrian Joynt, farm manager at the Apley Estate and host of the Bridgnorth Monitor Farm said: “Benchmarking has helped me to identify our strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes they’re not where you think they are. We’ve certainly learned a lot, especially from the discussions within our group.”
The new groups will use AHDB’s Farmbench programme, which for the first time brings together cereals, oilseeds, beef, lamb and potato enterprises into one piece of software. It will allow farms to benchmark multiple enterprises on one system, saving time and effort and encouraging a whole-farm approach.
