The perennial problem of blackgrass affects all arable farmers. A meeting at Shimpling Park Farm, an organic mixed farm in Suffolk on 24th March, 12.30-5pm, will examine different approaches to dealing with blackgrass and the experience of one farmer in turning from a wholly arable to a mixed farming system. The event is open and relevant to all farmers tackling blackgrass, organic or otherwise.

Research at Shimpling Park Farm has been carried out to look at the influence of grazing a winter wheat crop with sheep in the spring, and the effect this has on black grass populations and crop yield. Blackgrass has been a big issue on the farm for some time.  John Pawsey, fourth generation farmer at Shimpling Park Farm, will be sharing his experiences of bringing sheep back into the farm system and Dr Stephen Moss from Rothamsted will give a talk on the potential of non-chemical control.

Liz Bowles, head of farming at the Soil Association said: “we are finding more farmers interested in bringing livestock back onto arable farms, partly to deal with intractable weed problems such as blackgrass, but also to improve soil health, building structure and soil organic matter. Farm infrastructure has changed and it is very likely that different working arrangements will now be necessary, for example contracts may be used by some farmers rather than becoming livestock owners themselves. It will be interesting to hear how farmers like John Pawsey have handled the change.”

This traditional method is now rarely practiced in modern agriculture and little research has been done on the effects on weeds and crop yield. Dr Stephen Moss will be available for questions during the day; he is an expert in the field with forty years’ experience in weed research, largely on grass-weeds and especially blackgrass. Alternative means of weed control are becoming an increasing necessity, not least because of herbicide resistance, and this meeting, part of the Duchy Future Farming Programme, will be a chance for farmers to share knowledge and find new techniques.

Field labs are a great way for farmers to get the means to do their own site-specific research and encourage knowledge exchange with similar situations. The Duchy Future Farming Programme supports farm based field labs to look for solutions to a range of problems that face many farmers across the country. All farmers are invited to attend meetings, or participate in research projects as they wish.

Tickets are available for the event from the Soil Association website. If you would like to learn more about the Duchy Future Farming Programme and how to become involved in a field lab call the producer support team on 0117 314 5100.