Agricology Field Day – Andy Howard Talks Intercropping, Cover Crops & No Till

Diversity in action: Intercropping, companion cropping and cover crops

Want to learn more about diversity? As part of the Agricology Field Days 2019, this is your opportunity to join us in the field with Andy Howard on Bockhanger Farm on 11th July for a discussion and farm walk on all things related to intercropping, companion cropping and cover crops.

Following his Nuffield Scholarship, Andy Howard set himself the target to reduce inputs by 50% over 5 years and he is well on his way to achieving that! Over the last 5 years he has been experimenting with intercrops and companion crop mixtures. He is enthusiastic about enhancing the beneficial interactions between plants for multiple benefits, including pest and disease management, supressing weeds, providing scaffolding, and enhancing soil and plant health; to build a more sustainable and resilient system through diversity. Andy has been no till since circa 2010 and also has leys, cover crops and undersown clovers in his system.  

Come and see this year’s plant teams pairings / combinations including Peas-oats-SOSR, Beans-Oats, Linseed-Oats and Lentils-linseed. Some of these mixtures are part of field scale trials in collaboration with Innovative Farmers, Organic Research Centre and PGRO.

This Field Day is being hosted in partnership with Innovative Farmers and DiverIMPACTS.

Key agroecological practices: Intercropping, companion / cover crops, leys, no till

Approach: Conservation Agriculture

System: Arable

Read more about Andy’s farm here: https://www.agricology.co.uk/field/farmer-profiles/andrew-howard

To book tickets CLICK HERE