Resilient Farming for the Future with Angus Gowthorpe

• Put soil health first: No‑till, minimal disturbance, and permanent cover (crops or residues) build biology, structure, and resilience.
• Cut unnecessary inputs: Long-term removal of insecticides, seed dressings, plant growth regulators, and compound fertiliser is possible where soil and plant health are high.
• Use diverse rotations and blends: Multiple crop species and wheat variety blends reduce disease (e.g. mildew, septoria, rust) and improve stability without heavy fungicide programmes.
• Exploit cover crops: Get a cover in whenever land would be bare, including after flooding or failed crops, to feed soil biology and protect topsoil.
• Swap fungicides for nutrition and biology: Targeted micro-nutrition and brewed biologicals (e.g. seed/soil inoculants and foliar consortia) can replace most synthetic fungicides.
• Avoid routine fungicidal seed dressings: Test home‑saved seed; only treat if there’s a proven problem.
• Know your numbers: Lower costs (fuel, cultivations, chemistry) can match conventional margins at similar yields and reduce financial risk. Their milling wheat costs £370 per hectare, compared to £850 for conventional methods and achieves similar yields.
• Diverse herbal leys and controlled grazing (leaving a 4 inch residual) with a New Zealand-inspired watering system boosts forage productivity, animal performance, and grazing days while cutting feed costs, saving £10,000 annually.
• Use schemes (SFI, Stewardship) and credible assurance (e.g. Green Farm Collective) to gain premiums and get paid for what you already do.

Watch the video to find out more!