November is gearing up to be a busy month for the Andover Office.  We are part of the AHDB Beef and Lamb Strategic Farms for Beef program, part of the wider Farm Excellence Platform.  The project aims to demonstrate clear advances in on-farm productivity, where each of the 10 host farmers is holding an initial farm walk before Christmas.  We will be at two meetings, discussing the key focus areas for these businesses over the next three years.

The first meeting is near Northampton on 7th November  and the second meeting is near Canterbury in Kent on 21st November.  I look forward to meeting beef producers at these meetings as we discuss ways in which beef businesses face up to the challenges of the next few years.

In July this year I attended the second Groundswell Conference and I am now pleased to have been invited to present a paper on Wholecrop or  Maize Silage at the Procam Conservation Agriculture Conference at Baldock on the 16th November.

There is great line up of speakers including no till organic farmer John Pawsey and the Clive Bailey, farmer and founder of Farming Forum.

Please contact William at w.waterfield@fcgagric.com for more information.