Benefits of a catch crop Anglian Water report

Results from an Innovative Farmers Field Lab with University of Lincoln and Anglian Water showed benefits from drilling rather than broadcasting to establish a catch crop. 

 

Website
https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/siteassets/business/help--advice/catch-crop-case…

The trial was run in conjunction with Alex Jasinski of Jasinski Farms, Iain Gould, Researcher & Soil Scientist at the University of Lincoln and Rebecca Carter, Catchment Advisor at Anglian Water focused on catch crops. 

The trial looked to:

1. Assess the benefits of sowing a catch crop

2. See if broadcasting vs drilling the catch crop had any difference on soil health and crop biomass

Key findings were:

  • Drilling a catch crop earlier into a standing cash crop has benefits in terms of increased crop biomass and Soil Mineral N. 
  • Soil health indicators did not vary between treatmentshighlighting the fact that any measures to improve soil health need to be done for more than one season.

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Innovative Farmers was established in 2012 by the Soil Association with the aim of bringing scientific rigour to on-farm trials co-designed by farmers and researchers. With a focus on sustainability and resilience, groups come together on discrete topics and on-farm trials addressing the topics that matter to them.

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Lincoln University