Forward thinking cereals and oilseeds growers who are looking for ways to boost the performance of their business are being sought across England and Wales.

HGCA is looking to recruit eight growers to host Monitor Farms, as it rolls out a concept that has proved successful in Scotland, where four HGCA Monitor Farms are already established. HGCA also set up two pilot Monitor Farms in Yorkshire to refine the concept and provide a blueprint for the national programme.

The essence of an HGCA Monitor Farm is that it is farmer-led, dealing with real time on-farm issues to drive improvements in technical performance, bottom-line profitability and long-term sustainability.

Host farms are supported by an HGCA facilitator offering advice and guidance, as well as an Arable Business Group made up of growers from the surrounding area, providing a forum for discussion and an opportunity for members to benchmark their businesses. Through open days, specialist talks and updates on the HGCA website, the monitor farms reach out to growers in the local community and beyond, helping to build sector resilience.

Richard Laverick of HGCA said: “The Monitor Farms have proved very popular with producers because they offer real time support, pragmatic decision-making and the chance to examine the impacts of those decisions down the line. We are now offering eight more growers the opportunity to become HGCA monitor farmers – not only making their own businesses more profitable, but also sharing best practice with local growers and further afield.”

For Yorkshire grower Robert Atkinson, one of the reasons he became an HGCA monitor farmer was that the project is directed by farmers such as himself. He said, “I like the idea of peer-to-peer learning. When farmers get together you learn so much more than with classroom-style teaching.

“What we need as farmers is local knowledge about local conditions and local crops, and to benchmark so we can have a handle on how to improve our yields and make more money.”

For more information about the Monitor Farm programme, or to register your interest in hosting a Monitor Farm, visit the HGCA website or email richard.laverick@hgca.ahdb.org.uk