Trees planted at popular ice cream farm as part of agroforestry scheme A popular ice cream farm in Cheshire is set to introduce more flavours to its menu thanks to the range of trees they’ve planted this season as part of an agroforestry scheme. Snugbury’s is a family run ice[…]

·       The Mersey Forest ·       Malpas, Cheshire ·       Lower Moss Farm ·       Partners: ELM Associates Volunteers from the local beaver and cubs group enjoyed helping to plant and getting muddy Local community join together to plant new woodland on Cheshire farm Volunteers, including residents and a local cubs and beaver[…]

With Sustainable Farm Incentive (SFI) payments for establishing grass legume swards under action NUM2 there has been a lot of talk around how best to get these established within existing grass swards.  In a well-balanced grass/clover sward (20-30% clover), the potential nitrogen generated through fixation by the clover nodules is[…]

If you have been keeping an eye on the Defra blog posts you’ll have noted that new actions are available through the Sustainable Farming Incentive from later this summer, to add to the current set of 23 actions. You may already be in an SFI agreement, in which case you’ll[…]

While it’s been a challenging season, our 11 woodland creation projects with the Mersey Forest in Cheshire are now completed with 33ha of new woodland established this year through a mixture of natural colonisation and planting. All projects are different, and the grant assistance is tailored to the farm’s objectives. […]

Slurry testing programme Knowing the fertiliser value of the farm’s slurry and FYM can help you target your nutrient applications from available manures and save on fertiliser costs.  Slurry nutrient levels van vary hugely, leading to inaccurate recording of rates, and impacts on yield and quality. We also recommend slurry[…]

Planning and Biodiversity Net Gain The majority of planning applications now require 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.  While this may seem onerous most typical applications by farmers and landowners for new sheds, slurry lagoons etc will be able to meet the requirements on farm through modest areas of habitat enhancement or[…]

Case Study  103 ha mixed arable and beef farm  74 ha arable land – maize, winter wheat, spring barley and oats.  25 ha of permanent grassland  Already in Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship with bird cover, pollen mix, over-wintered stubbles, grassland margins and hedgerow management.  Annual income £6,900.  Annual scheme income approx.[…]

Rachel and Jane attended the agroforestry show recently and have come away inspired! Agroforestry covers many things and is a set of practices combining agricultural crops or livestock with trees and shrubs.  There are many forms from alley cropping in arable fields to tree blocks for livestock shade and shelter. […]

Countryside Stewardship capital grants remain open for applications, and with the removal of the funding limit, enable farmers to undertake larger projects with environmental benefits.  In 2023, payment rates for most options were also increased.   Stand-alone applications can be made for items from 4 broad ‘themes’ which include:  management and[…]