Using agroecology to enhance arable production Sharing ... · The 9 practice partners co-ordinated by ORC Bionet Austria collaborative KE project represented by FIBL Austria (2 groups)

Using agroecology to enhance arable production

Sharing knowledge from organic research and practice

The speakers

Chair: Susanne Padel

• Dominic Amos, ORC

• Mark Measures, IOTA & ORC and consultant

• James Jones, Rickyard Farm

• Richard Morris, Wimpole

• Katie Bliss, ORC & Tim Field, Daylesford Foundation

Exchanging knowledge to improve organic

arable cropping

Dominic Amos, Susanne Padel,

Katie Bliss, Anja Vieweger, Mark Measures (ORC)

Overview – sharing knowledge, connecting people, tackling challenges

• The OK-Net Arable thematic network aims to improve the exchange of knowledge among farmers, farm advisers and scientists to increase productivity and quality in organic arable cropping all over Europe.

• Funded through EU Horizon 2020

• Started in March 2015 and will last for 3 years.

Improving Organic Yields

1. There is a yield gap between conventional and organic agriculture (20-25%) and there is potential to close/narrow this gap.

2. Yields between organic farms vary considerably, and the yield gap is smallest for more experienced organic farmers.

Effective knowledge exchange can be used to close the gap.

The role of ORC

• Co-ordinate the interaction and exchange between the national/regional farmer innovation groups.

• Develop a framework that facilitates structured exchange of experiences in the area of arable crop production; developing conclusions for a general application in Europe.

• Test innovative end-user and educational material, (e.g. manuals, web-based tools, interactive workshops etc.) to understand reasons for acceptance and successful implementation (Task 2.3- ongoing )

• Develop recommendations/research agenda based on the experiences (Task 2.4 – not started)

Farmer groups Other project partners

Bionet Austria (FIBL AT)

BioForum Flanders

Bioselena ConMarcheBio

ITAB

EOFF

ÖMKi

SEGES

VÖP, Bioland

ORC

The 9 practice partners co-ordinated by ORC

Bionet Austria collaborative KE project represented by FIBL Austria (2 groups) BioForum Flanders non-profit sector organisation for organic farming and food, Belgium Bioselena Foundation for Organic Agriculture, Bulgaria ConMarcheBio Consortium of 5 co-operatives, Italy ITAB Technical institute for organic farming, France (2 groups) EOFF Estonian Organic Farming Federation (EOFF), Estonia ÖMKi Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Hungary SEGES Knowledge Centre, Denmark (3 groups) VÖP Network of organic farming organisations, Germany (represented by BIOLAND & FIBL-DE) ORC - Co-ordination Organic arable group (1 group in collaboration with Organic Arable & OF&G)

European Farmer Group Network – Farmer to farmer contact

Getting to know more about:

– The groups & their members

– The soil, climatic and local context

– Crops grown and rotations

– Main challenges faced (as experienced by the farmers)

– Solutions tried

– How they communicate with each other

206 farms are group members

Highly variable soil and climatic conditions Range of farm types

– Specialised cereal producers (stockless) most frequently mentioned

– Mixed (cereals, livestock and field vegetables) – Horticulture

Farm sizes are also variable – Group averages range from 10 ha (BE) to > 200 ha (EE) – From 0.5 ha in Hungary and 1,110 ha in Estonia – Generally appear larger than national averages There is no one typical organic arable farm

Crops grown are diverse

Cereals: less dominated by wheat and barely, also rye, triticale, spelt, oats, millet, durum wheat are grown

Grain legumes: all groups grow at least one type, peas and field beans most common

Grass-clover: mixes are part of typical rotations

Root crops: grown by some groups with potato most common

Examples of typical rotations

• 3 to 9 years long

• Include grass/clover ley

• Some with pulse crop or forage legume

• Variability within groups

• May not describe what group members implement in practice

Typical proportions (%)

Cereals

Grassclover

Grainlegumes

Root crops

Detailed analysis of rotations and implications for yields is only possible with individual farm data

Wide range of crop yields reported Yields vary within and between groups

– BG & EE lowest yielding

– DK & BE highest yielding

Variability in soils and climate

Yield limiting factors reported

– too much rain (spring & summer),

– unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events

Data suggest there is a need but also a clear possibility to improve yields on farms

Crops Farm group range (t/ha)

Compared with wider literature

Wheat 0.3-8 Cereals:

7-26 % lower than

conventional

Gap is bigger for wheat & barley, lower for maize

Barley 1-7

Triticale 1-9

Rye 1.2-6.5

Spelt 0.8-5.5

Oats 1.6-6.5

Maize 3-15

Peas 1-4.5 Legumes: 5-18% lower

Higher for pulses than

mixture

Faba Beans 0.5-5

Grass/ clover

5-12

Weeds: Top issue for 12 groups Commonly occurring problem weeds

Thistle (Cirsium) Fat hen (Chenopodium album) Docks (Rumex L.) Couch grass (Elymus repens)

Examples of specific weed problems Blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides) in UK Quickweed (Galinsoga) in Belgium

Solutions used: Crop rotation & crop management, mechanical weeding and min-till Strong interest in weed suppressing rotations

Soil fertility: Top issue for 8 groups

The groups use rotations for fertility building Key questions and knowledge gaps • How to effectively design rotations and manage system for

maximum fertility? Particularly for stockless systems? • What off-farm inputs to include, when to apply them and

how to get hold of them? • How to cultivate soils to maintain fertility (tillage)? • How to measure soil fertility? (Soil testing is done on

average only once every 5 years) Solutions used: working with reduced tillage (3 groups) Interest in catch crops and intercropping, mycorrhizae and use of compost

Conclusions so far If we compare results with research experts and EIP-AGRI focus group

– Main challenges identified are similar

– Key issues are likely to affect the wider organic arable community

However, site and system specific solutions are required

– Generic approaches will not necessarily address problems of individual farmers.

– Inherent complexity/conflicting goals in management approaches – no silver bullets!

Potential Solutions to Yield Gap

• ICT support systems

• Increasing soil microbial activity

• Joint purchase of machinery; “machinery rings”

• Use of organic fertiliser; digestate, compost, sewage

• Selection of new varieties resistant to biotic/abiotic

stress

• Companion planting/Intercropping

Knowledge exchange! Innovation and experience can be shared and adapted

Outcomes

• To synthesise the practical and scientific knowledge already available and to identify the best methodology in knowledge exchange to develop easily understandable education.

• To create a European network of farmer innovation groups to exchange experiences and test the educational material developed in the project

• To create an online platform for knowledge exchange across Europe unique in organic farming

Exchange Knowledge, Enhance Farming

http://farmknowledge.org/index.php

Closing the Gap

Mark Measures Institute of Organic Training and Advice & Organic Research Centre

Experiences of organic arable farmers

Objectives: genuinely sustainable production which:

• Produces quality food

• Minimises the use of finite resources

• Avoids pollution

• Works with natural systems

Organic Arable Yields: Winter Wheat

Farm Average for Lowest year

Average for Highest year

Lowest field 2016

Highest field 2016

Average all years

1 2.4 5.5 2.3 4.9 4.05

2 3 5.5 4.12

3 2.4 3.4 2.87

5 3.2 (2012) 6.9 (2015) 4.5

6 2.12 4.98 3.53

7 2 1.7 3.9 3.18 Yellow rust

8 3.65 4.8

9 3.4 4.5 4.05

10 3.5 4.4 3.85 NIT

Average 3.85 4.2 OFIEW 14/15 8 non org (mill/feed)

Organic Arable Yields: Spring Oats



Lowest field 2016

Highest field 2016

Average all years

1 5.34

4 3.47

7 3.91

9 3.4 4.83 5.3

10 3.5 4.4 3.85 NIT

Average 4.51 3 OFIEW 14/15 5.5 non org.

Organic Arable Yields: Winter Beans



Lowest field 2016

Highest field 2016

Average all years

1 0.81 4.6 2.92

5 1.6 (2012)

6 (2015) 3.33

8 3.5

10 2.47 NIT

Average of farms

3.05 4 Non org.

Observations • Generally the rotations and systems used are working

adequately but “could do better”

• Extreme yield variability between years, between farms and between fields,

• The likely causes: – Soil fertility appears to be the most critical limiting factor for cereals

– Weed incidence not generally limiting but serious problem in individual circumstances, and particularly for pulses

– Pest and disease incidence is not generally limiting but is a serious problem in individual circumstances and particularly for pulses

– The weather plays a major role, greater than non organic?

– Modern wheat varieties are not suited to organic farming, the effect less marked with oats

Actions • Fixing more N and making better use of it, (ley

mix, green manures, soil N test, manure use) • Establishing optimum P, K and possibly S levels • Routine soil and plant tissue analysis • Better nutrient cycling, including sewage • Variety breeding, mixtures and populations • Weed control – management and machines • Greater farm diversity • Soil management – structure, life, SOM,

Reference: Organic Farm Management Handbook 2017 Lamkin N., Measures M., and Padel S.

Dr James VH Jones Rickham Farm

Copyright of Dr James V. H. Jones

Oxford Real Farming Conference 5th January 2017 Organic Research Centre session ‘Using agroecology to

enhance arable production: sharing knowledge from

organic research and practice in the OKNetArable project’

Agronomic challenges growing organic

cereals at Rickham Farm and how

OKNetArable have helped us to meet them

by

Dr James VH Jones

Rickham Farm

[email protected]


Our farm

• Rickham Farm is on the coast of South

Devon opposite Salcombe

• We farm 202 ha (c.500 acres) of which

41 ha (100 acres) is rented on FBTs

• My wife and I bought the farm in 2009

• We converted the 135 ha (333 acres) of

arable land to organic

• The permanent pasture and woods

remain conventional

Copyright of Dr James V. H. Jones Dr James V. H. Jones, Royal Agricultural College

Copyright of Dr James V. H. Jones Dr James V. H. Jones, Royal Agricultural College Copyright of Dr James V. H. Jones





Agri-environment

• With help from the RSPB we put the farm

into a big HLS agreement from 1/1/2010

• Some of this has a significant influence

on the organic arable farming system:

– Over-wintered stubble on about half the

arable area = spring cropping, cereals &

delayed cultivations

– Under-sowing on > 5ha

– Non-inversion tillage on 4 fields


The organic arable farming

system

• Rotation:

– Spring wheat

– Spring barley/spring oats

– Red clover/PRG/HRG ley (alternately white

clover/PRG/HRG ley) for 2 years

• Aim is for human consumption end use

• All straw is chopped

• Leys are grazed for <120 days on keep




Weed problems

• Wild oats

• Couch grass/agrostis

• Docks

• Thistles (spear and creeping)

• Charlock

• Redshank

• Volunteer clover & ryegrass


Strategy for controlling weeds • Cultivations – plough early, work the

seedbed and drill (late) with a combi drill

• Undersowing (which creates competition)

• Clean machinery to avoid transfer

• High seed rates (with home saved seed)

wheat 260, barley 235 & oats 200 Kg/ha

• Rogueing (especially wild oats)

• Raking with spring tine & grass harrows

• Topping/grazing in the ley phase


Other agronomic issues

• Achieving the quality standards for

human end use (low N in barley &

proteins in wheat)

• Harvesting - especially with barley

(short straw and competition from

weeds and volunteer clover)

• Pests and disease (choose good

varieties and be philosophical)

• Nutrients (correct as permitted)


Specific issues on which I have

sought advice from OKArableNet

• Harvesting barley in the face of big

competition from volunteer clover

(2015)

• How to manage cultivations etc. to

control a couch grass infestation but

without depleting soil nitrogen reserves

(2016)


This is what the field looked like in 2014 in wheat – with no

volunteer problem


This is what it looked like the following year in barley…



The advice

• Harvest as soon as you can (I was

aware of that one!)

• Pick a bright dry sunny day (I wish!)

• Stick it straight through the drier (we

couldn’t but we ventilated it)

• Be prepared to clean out the combine

afterwards (long suffering contractor did

just that)


Success! (after a longish wait for a fairly dry sunny day). A nice

bonus was a ‘free crop’ of clover which we successfully bulked

up by over-sowing in the following spring


This looks like the answer to this kind of problem in the future

– spring oats with nice long straw and plenty of competition!


Couch grass control

suggestions

• Don’t plough/do plough! (we cant plough all

of it any way – so we shall see)

• Don’t use rotational cultivation/do use it!

(understand the reason but the power

harrow is just so useful)

• Make false seed beds over the summer or

autumn (difficult with our rotation, the grass

keep agreement & HLS requirements)

• Rake up rhyzomes and burn them (good!)


The field was ploughed in early December – the next stage (as

conditions allow) is to rake up the rhyzomes…wish me luck!

Richard Morris Wimpole Estate

Wimpole Estate

• 'Our vision is for land and landscape that is: healthy, beautiful, rich in culture and nature, enjoyable - and productive as a result.'

• Peter Nixon, Programme Sponsor.

Fieldwork: May 2009

417 soil samples taken for %SOC

40 samples taken for bulk density calculation

174 samples analysed so far: Preliminary results!

Soil Carbon Map

Wimpole Estate Preliminary Results:

Wimpole Estate

Wimpole Estate Earth Worm study on Rectory Farm

Combine yield map Spring Wheat 2016

Putting agroecological solutions into practice: Knowledge exchange for

productive arable systems

Katie Bliss and Tim Field

All farmers in the UK are adopting agroecological practices to

improve economic, social and environmental bottom line

Farmers have the knowledge and inspiration to make changes to

their farming systems

Farmers have easy access to

independent, world-class

information on ecologically-

orientated production in a clear

and practical format

Farmers exchange knowledge

and experience on

agroecological practices

Thank you for your attention

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge support

• Of the EU under Horizon 2020 for OK-net arable

• Of the Daylesford Foundation for

• We also thank all the farmers and collaborators in both projects

Documents

Using agroecology to enhance arable production Sharing ... · The 9 practice partners co-ordinated by ORC Bionet Austria collaborative KE project represented by FIBL Austria (2 groups)