Contract Farming

We have a full fleet of machinery, equipment and qualified staff to undertake the day-to-day practical operations to manage any farm, from land preparation and harvest to care of crops in store. We have a comprehensive training programme and public liability to ensure our staff are fully trained and insured to work on your farm.

Robert Barnes Horche Sprayer

Farming Ethos

We believe a minimum till, controlled traffic approach to farming is the way forward and provides the very best cost efficiency for our customers but without reducing yields or the attention to crop management. This has meant a more responsible approach to farming and the environment and financial savings in farming operations.

We know the soil is our most important asset; it needs to be treated with extreme care. It is our intention to improve the organic matter, worms and soil biota as this will enhance the soil health and improve the plants ability to extract nutrients from the soil and improve yields.

We operate combines on tracks supported by chaser bins all equipment is fitted with GPS, RTK making sure we drive the same tracks time after time. This investment means that the Agri Chemicals and Fertilisers is applied very accurately through our sprayers which have automatic 2m section controllers.

Spraying and Spreading

We work extremely closely with our agronomists who have Basis, FACTS and ICM. We have over the years looked at methods to reduce our Agri-chemical inputs and carried out crop trials. We regularly attend BASE (Biodiversity Agriculture Soil and Environment) meetings to keep up-to-date with improving biodiversity and soil health, and Robert is keen to ensure all staff are educated in Integrated Nitrogen Management, No-till and how to grow healthy plants by attending on-line seminars.

We have regular meetings with our staff and agronomists to ensure that we are continually looking at reducing cost without harming the plant and crop yield. We can produce management reports, cost analysis reports and field input reports.

Our farmers have benefited from only ever been invoiced for the chemicals applied to the fields and have not having to store or hold any chemical in stock other than Omex Fertiliser, therefore reducing their costs and the need to have a compliant Chemical store.


Crop Establishment

Cultivation Harvesting

Primary Cultivations and Seed Bed Preparation

As the soil is our most important asset; it needs to be treated with extreme care. It is always our intention to improve the organic matter, worms and soil biota as this will enhance the soil health and improve the plants’ ability to extract nutrients from the soil and improve yields.

It is always our intention to establish cereal crops as economically as possible and maintain the growing crops to maximise their outputs. Using RTK we know exactly where our machinery has run, allowing us to keep wheel ways to a minimum to preserve soil structure.

Harvesting

We run two class Lexon tracked combines, followed by two Horsch Chaser bins and have a fleet of K2 and Wootton trailers. We can bring the crop back to our stores or deliver back to farm storage.

This fleet of equipment ensures our customers that we are able to respond quickly and efficiently to specific crop demands, as and when they occur in close communications with agronomists and client. We have been able to demonstrate timely operations in difficult cropping years to maintain high yields.

Yield Mapping
We continually map all our fields for crop yields, working with the Trimble GPS system. Our Lexion 780/880 Claas combines are equipped with yield mapping equipment and maps are produced and can be sent to customers post harvest.
We have the capabilities to track every field operation activity through our Gatekeeping Crop Management system. We can monitor crop yields and seed rates. We can monitor the growing crops through SOYL Green Area Index (GAI).

Crop Traceability
Everything we do to a crop is recorded through Gatekeeper. At harvest every load is recorded on our Infotech system enabling our clients to have up-to the minute Fixing reports, recording each commodity in store details, from where it has come from to where it is going. We are fully audited by RED Tractor. A major part of the audit is on Crop traceability.

Compaction Monitoring
We have the technology to accurately steer our equipment along the same path, time after time, as such we keep the compaction to these wheel ways at a minimum, allowing the soil health to improve. We have reduced compaction by at least 50% in most fields leading to better soil structures. We specialise in establishing cereal crops as economically as possible and maintaining the growing crops to maximise their output.
Both our sprayers are fitted with low pressure tyres to decrease compaction. We fit Michelin VF Tyres to all field work tractors so we can run the pressure very low to reduce compaction.

Finally, we analysis each field yearly to ensure that we address any areas of compaction. To rectify the situation, we would subsoil turning headlands if compaction has become an issue as well as subsoil interim wheel ways and occasionally tramlines whilst leaving the remainder of the field untouched. We tend to use direct drilling methods with either Claydon or Disc drill methods where soil conditions allow. But we are prepared to do a more intensive cultivation if required, until the soil structure is improved enough to allow a more min till approach.