The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2019 - Issue 60 | Page 48

48 APPROACH FARM
DEC/JAN 2019 • farmers-mart.co.uk
Celebrating 75 years of independent care
Bishopton Veterinary Group and RAFT Solutions
are delighted to support Approach Farm
Dedicated team of farm animal vets
24 hour emergency cover 365 days a year
Proactive approach to cattle & sheep health, welfare
and production
Practical farm based training, delivered by vets and
industry experts
Cattle advanced breeding services
Consultancy services available
www.bishoptonvets.co.uk
Committed to long term partnerships supporting British livestock farming.
The Farmstar team are proud suppliers to Angus Gowthorpe
of Approach Farm and wish him continued success.
HEAD OFFICE
GROVE FARM, CHURCH LANE, MARR
DONCASTER, DN5 7AU
Tel : [phone] Fax : [phone]
BECKLANDS PARK IND EST, YORK ROAD, MARKET
WEIGHTON, YORK, YO43 3GA
Tel : [phone] Fax : [phone]
HAWTON LANE, NEW BALDERTON
NEWARK, NOTTS, NG24 3BU
Tel : [phone] Fax: [phone]
‘When I drill the rape I also drill spring
beans, vetch, berseem clover and buck-
wheat, the mix of plants gives root diversity
which harvests phosphate to boost the
rape, which is the only thing I harvest above
the ground. The variety of other plants
confuses the flea beetle that lands on the
rape thinking it is lovely and then goes to
the other plants and finds they’re not nice
and moves on. That’s the idea. It’s called
companion cropping.’
‘The spring beans grow above the rape
and in so doing provide cover from pigeons.
As the beans begin to die in spring they
release the nitrogen that then gets the rape
going. Keeping the phosphate and nitrogen
locked in to the soil helps both the soil and
the crops.’
Clover has become Angus’ best friend in
the soil world.
‘Clover is the ultimate cover crop. It is the
perfect under story. We have grown fantas-
tic crops with a mat of white clover growing
underneath. It will shrug its shoulders at
glyphosate. Using cover crops has helped in
reducing my usage of herbicides and fungi-
cides and my crops and soil are healthier.
In December Angus hosted a farm walk
for members of BASE UK and other farmers
at Approach Farm. BASE is an independent
farmer body promoting and assisting in the
understanding of conservation agriculture.
Angus would welcome greater involve-
ment.
‘ Clover is the ultimate
cover crop. It is the
perfect under story.
We have grown
fantastic crops with
a mat of white clover
growing underneath
’
‘The sooner we improve our soils and
regenerate them the better. Soil damage
incurred by root cropping worries me
over the soils degrading more quickly. We
all need to find a way of keeping the soil
healthy whatever our type of farming, but
I also understand the financial pressures
of keeping the bank happy.’
‘More farmers are taking up such as
drilling without ploughing, min-till and
cover crops. There is a greater awareness
of what needs to be done but there’s
still a fair degree of looking over hedges
checking on what we are all doing rather
than joining in just at present.’
Angus and his wife Kerry are on the
livestock chow circuit with their Salers
cattle. Angus started with Salers X com-
mercials in 2001 and they went pedigree
in 2010. Kerry had shown dogs previously
so had an understanding of the showing
world. They have had a reserve breed