Earlier this spring, a number of tillage farmers and advisers had the opportunity to listen to a UK farmer called Clive Bailye who has significantly altered his farming practice. Clive had moved from min-till to zero-till and his story has received a lot of discussion in farming circles, in particular. The challenge he set for himself is sustainability.
Clive’s story has got a lot of discussion because his move to no-till has led to significant reductions in many other costs on the farm. The move was driven by a desire to generate profit in a tillage enterprise without the basic farm payment. While Brexit will mean the loss of the EU payment for Clive (whatever might replace it for UK growers), his move to be profitable without it began many years ago.
Clive Bailye farms 1,000ha of owned land in Staffordshire near Birmingham. This is mainly light land and a move to min-till over 25 years ago targeted an increase in soil organic matter to help offset the worst consequences of occasional droughts. Min-till continued on the farm for 18 years and, seven years ago, Clive decided to go all the way to zero-till. In the meantime, the conditions of the soil he was farming had improved considerably and the soil was in good enough condition to suit no-till.
During these years, the farm business had expanded considerably and there is now an additional 2,500ha of contract farming being done to help spread the cost base. But Clive recognised the importance of maximising the margin from the land which is his (and all farmers’) primary resource. He particularly recognised the fact that he had too much horsepower and other equipment involved and that this alone was a pull on profitability.
One of the big differences between here and the UK is the attitude of landowners to their asset. A few Irish owners are beginning to align to good farmers and these find it much easier to attain scale. Clive said that his expansion from 1,000ha to 3,500ha was heavily driven by landowners who wanted their land minded and improved and this concern has enabled his considerable expansion in recent years.
Like all other farmers, Clive spoke about the major challenges of farming today and the cost base they generate. He said that things like blackgrass, brome, slugs, aphids, diseases and weather challenges tend to the “symptoms of problems” rather than the problem themselves. For the past few decades, tillage farmers have relied heavily on “bag or bottle” solutions but continued use drives problems such as resistance, which then becomes a new problem.
Clive stated that farming has become too complex and that it is time to go back to basics. We produce and sell carbon in different forms, he said, and carbon products are generated through the combination of sunlight and water. These are free and for this reason Clive stated the absolute importance of always having something growing on the land as the sunshine is always there. “You wouldn’t turn off a solar panel on a fine day,” he stated.
Farming has evolved into a series of once-off solutions for individual problems but these recur on an annual basis. But when you begin to think of the soil and its environment, it is impossible to escape from the benefits of biological diversity.
The more different things that are in the soil the more they get in the way of the things that cause us harm, and vice versa. A varied diet is a healthy diet in the soil.
It is reasonable to assume that permanent networks are very useful in the soil and this drove Clive towards zero-till. But it is important to remember that he came to this position having spent many previous years pursuing improved soil health and acting accordingly. Zero-till, or min-till, should not be assumed to be a solution to poor soil conditions. They are merely tools that can help in the improvement process but they really need good soil to work properly.
We, in Ireland, traditionally had very good soil conditions with the help of grass in many rotations. But when this stopped and machinery got much bigger, our soils were given no reprieve. We were no different to the UK except that they had less rainfall generally. But now Clive is reintroducing livestock to his farming system.
“All arable farmers are livestock farmers,” Clive stated. “We depend on the soil organisms for our livelihood and these must be fed. Roots are the best cultivator of soils and the more you leave it alone the better the soil will get,” Clive stated.
The need to always have plants growing on the land means that he is a committed catch-crop producer. He will even do this between two winter crops and use his zero-till equipment to drill straight into a catch crop canopy. But in the space before a spring crop he is now selling catch crop feed to a sheep producer and this is providing a significant additional income.
While the organic matter itself is one of the primary benefits of cover crops, a big bulk is less essential or even useful when soil health and organic matter have been restored. That is not to suggest that incorporation is still not useful and Clive compromises on the grazing by only allowing about 50% of the crop to be grazed. He does this by keeping the sheep moving.
While the sheep belong to someone else, he manages and moves the sheep so he can control the balance from both benefits while keeping some vegetation growing to harvest sunlight and protect his soil. Clive also said that the owner of the sheep is very happy in that the sheep seem to be healthier and perform accordingly. He referred to his crops plus catch-crop grazing as enterprise stacking.
Clive views cover crops as an investment in his future on this land. But in doing this he believes in relatively simple mixtures and in keeping his seed spend cost below £10/ac. Use of farm-saved seed is helping this. He also uses a bit of companion crops, one of which he calls peaola.
This is a mixture of spring rape and combining peas where the main purpose of the rape is to prop up the peas for harvest. Each crop helps the other in different ways. Obviously, standing peas is a big benefit but there is also less disease in the peas as transmission is intercepted by the rape plants. He will also harvest 100+ kg/ha of rape when cutting the peas.
Zero-tilling
Clive used two different drills for planting. One is a John Deere 750A no-till drill, which was purchased new if I remember correctly, and the second was a secondhand Horsch drill for which he bought and modified the coulters for a total cost of £8,000. The 750A was also modified to fit a liquid fertiliser application unit, which can be more important when the soil is not being disturbed.
Drilling with these machines can be done directly into a standing and growing cover crop. It was curious to see his video of the drill planting into a cover crop that was almost 1m tall. Clive said that he does not desiccate the cover crop prior to planting, opting instead to do this job about seven days post-planting.
Leaving desiccation until after drilling means that the spray has less bulk to penetrate. It also means that any small vegetation at the base will be sticking its head up again to be a target for the spray. Delayed application means better spray penetration to kill all the vegetation at the base, which would be almost impossible if sprayed off in advance of drilling.
The move to zero-till brought many benefits, some targeted and some unexpected. Machinery and establishment was a definite objective. Clive recalled his past ambition to own a big tracked Challenger to be subsequently horrified to discover that it used about 360 litres of diesel per hour, along with a substantial service bill. It was this level of cost he was trying to get away from.
The information in Table 1 compares the general costs involves in the two different establishment systems that Clive has figures for. It is likely that a plough-based system would be even higher again than the min-till system but he did not have those farm numbers.
Clive emphasised that these are farmer figures rather than accountants’ numbers. The capital is the value of the machinery employed to execute both systems. Diesel, labour and horsepower requirements reflect a similar consequence.
Overall, the change to zero-till effectively halved the costs associated with crop establishment. This contributed to, but is not exclusively responsible for, increased farm profits. Clive is now making profit before the basic payment is included and this was a targeted consequence.
He is also less bust. There are less jobs to be done and basically there are fewer hours required to get work done. This has lifestyle benefits. His land now carries traffic better so he no longer needs an expensive self-propelled sprayer. This also means a wider window to get work done. He is now using a water infiltration test to measure soil structure.
He also has lower variable costs. He uses no autumn sprays on his winter wheat and this includes little or no insecticide use. It seems like the need for some of these inputs has been reduced by the change of system and this helps cashflow. Ultimately, he is no longer dependent on subsidies and he sees this as his major claim to glory.
Profit has been helped by the fact that his best yields have occurred in the past five years. And the fact that he has less capital tied up in his business gives more opportunity for expansion.
He now uses very little artificial P and K but he does apply a range of different organic manure sources. And his soil indices are holding up well even with the big yields.
Rotation
Crop rotation is also important for Clive. However, he describes his rotation as opportunistic and individual decisions depend on the opportunities that individual markets provide combined with what the ground needs. Clive grows about 14 different crops but not in any specific order and he will often target a crop at a field. He said that he grows a bit of millet because it adds a lot of organic matter to the soil. The crop mix tends to include four winter crops (wheat, barley, oilseed rape and beans) and eight smaller spring crops.
The soil biology
In his concluding remarks, Clive suggested that we all go back and learn from our grandads. They had all these skills that have been largely forgotten.
“Earthworms are the top predators in the soil – judge its health by their prevalence,” he stated.
“They are the primary indicator of soil health,” Clive concluded.
The move to zero-till has helped Clive Bailye to decrease the value of machinery tied up in his farming business and to significantly decrease the cost of production.Soil care is very important for this and all farming systems.He can drill directly into a cover crop and spray it off seven days later.Input costs have been reduced by this system.He refers to grazing of catch crops as enterprise stacking.
Earlier this spring, a number of tillage farmers and advisers had the opportunity to listen to a UK farmer called Clive Bailye who has significantly altered his farming practice. Clive had moved from min-till to zero-till and his story has received a lot of discussion in farming circles, in particular. The challenge he set for himself is sustainability.
Clive’s story has got a lot of discussion because his move to no-till has led to significant reductions in many other costs on the farm. The move was driven by a desire to generate profit in a tillage enterprise without the basic farm payment. While Brexit will mean the loss of the EU payment for Clive (whatever might replace it for UK growers), his move to be profitable without it began many years ago.
Clive Bailye farms 1,000ha of owned land in Staffordshire near Birmingham. This is mainly light land and a move to min-till over 25 years ago targeted an increase in soil organic matter to help offset the worst consequences of occasional droughts. Min-till continued on the farm for 18 years and, seven years ago, Clive decided to go all the way to zero-till. In the meantime, the conditions of the soil he was farming had improved considerably and the soil was in good enough condition to suit no-till.
During these years, the farm business had expanded considerably and there is now an additional 2,500ha of contract farming being done to help spread the cost base. But Clive recognised the importance of maximising the margin from the land which is his (and all farmers’) primary resource. He particularly recognised the fact that he had too much horsepower and other equipment involved and that this alone was a pull on profitability.
One of the big differences between here and the UK is the attitude of landowners to their asset. A few Irish owners are beginning to align to good farmers and these find it much easier to attain scale. Clive said that his expansion from 1,000ha to 3,500ha was heavily driven by landowners who wanted their land minded and improved and this concern has enabled his considerable expansion in recent years.
Like all other farmers, Clive spoke about the major challenges of farming today and the cost base they generate. He said that things like blackgrass, brome, slugs, aphids, diseases and weather challenges tend to the “symptoms of problems” rather than the problem themselves. For the past few decades, tillage farmers have relied heavily on “bag or bottle” solutions but continued use drives problems such as resistance, which then becomes a new problem.
Clive stated that farming has become too complex and that it is time to go back to basics. We produce and sell carbon in different forms, he said, and carbon products are generated through the combination of sunlight and water. These are free and for this reason Clive stated the absolute importance of always having something growing on the land as the sunshine is always there. “You wouldn’t turn off a solar panel on a fine day,” he stated.
Farming has evolved into a series of once-off solutions for individual problems but these recur on an annual basis. But when you begin to think of the soil and its environment, it is impossible to escape from the benefits of biological diversity.
The more different things that are in the soil the more they get in the way of the things that cause us harm, and vice versa. A varied diet is a healthy diet in the soil.
It is reasonable to assume that permanent networks are very useful in the soil and this drove Clive towards zero-till. But it is important to remember that he came to this position having spent many previous years pursuing improved soil health and acting accordingly. Zero-till, or min-till, should not be assumed to be a solution to poor soil conditions. They are merely tools that can help in the improvement process but they really need good soil to work properly.
We, in Ireland, traditionally had very good soil conditions with the help of grass in many rotations. But when this stopped and machinery got much bigger, our soils were given no reprieve. We were no different to the UK except that they had less rainfall generally. But now Clive is reintroducing livestock to his farming system.
“All arable farmers are livestock farmers,” Clive stated. “We depend on the soil organisms for our livelihood and these must be fed. Roots are the best cultivator of soils and the more you leave it alone the better the soil will get,” Clive stated.
The need to always have plants growing on the land means that he is a committed catch-crop producer. He will even do this between two winter crops and use his zero-till equipment to drill straight into a catch crop canopy. But in the space before a spring crop he is now selling catch crop feed to a sheep producer and this is providing a significant additional income.
While the organic matter itself is one of the primary benefits of cover crops, a big bulk is less essential or even useful when soil health and organic matter have been restored. That is not to suggest that incorporation is still not useful and Clive compromises on the grazing by only allowing about 50% of the crop to be grazed. He does this by keeping the sheep moving.
While the sheep belong to someone else, he manages and moves the sheep so he can control the balance from both benefits while keeping some vegetation growing to harvest sunlight and protect his soil. Clive also said that the owner of the sheep is very happy in that the sheep seem to be healthier and perform accordingly. He referred to his crops plus catch-crop grazing as enterprise stacking.
Clive views cover crops as an investment in his future on this land. But in doing this he believes in relatively simple mixtures and in keeping his seed spend cost below £10/ac. Use of farm-saved seed is helping this. He also uses a bit of companion crops, one of which he calls peaola.
This is a mixture of spring rape and combining peas where the main purpose of the rape is to prop up the peas for harvest. Each crop helps the other in different ways. Obviously, standing peas is a big benefit but there is also less disease in the peas as transmission is intercepted by the rape plants. He will also harvest 100+ kg/ha of rape when cutting the peas.
Zero-tilling
Clive used two different drills for planting. One is a John Deere 750A no-till drill, which was purchased new if I remember correctly, and the second was a secondhand Horsch drill for which he bought and modified the coulters for a total cost of £8,000. The 750A was also modified to fit a liquid fertiliser application unit, which can be more important when the soil is not being disturbed.
Drilling with these machines can be done directly into a standing and growing cover crop. It was curious to see his video of the drill planting into a cover crop that was almost 1m tall. Clive said that he does not desiccate the cover crop prior to planting, opting instead to do this job about seven days post-planting.
Leaving desiccation until after drilling means that the spray has less bulk to penetrate. It also means that any small vegetation at the base will be sticking its head up again to be a target for the spray. Delayed application means better spray penetration to kill all the vegetation at the base, which would be almost impossible if sprayed off in advance of drilling.
The move to zero-till brought many benefits, some targeted and some unexpected. Machinery and establishment was a definite objective. Clive recalled his past ambition to own a big tracked Challenger to be subsequently horrified to discover that it used about 360 litres of diesel per hour, along with a substantial service bill. It was this level of cost he was trying to get away from.
The information in Table 1 compares the general costs involves in the two different establishment systems that Clive has figures for. It is likely that a plough-based system would be even higher again than the min-till system but he did not have those farm numbers.
Clive emphasised that these are farmer figures rather than accountants’ numbers. The capital is the value of the machinery employed to execute both systems. Diesel, labour and horsepower requirements reflect a similar consequence.
Overall, the change to zero-till effectively halved the costs associated with crop establishment. This contributed to, but is not exclusively responsible for, increased farm profits. Clive is now making profit before the basic payment is included and this was a targeted consequence.
He is also less bust. There are less jobs to be done and basically there are fewer hours required to get work done. This has lifestyle benefits. His land now carries traffic better so he no longer needs an expensive self-propelled sprayer. This also means a wider window to get work done. He is now using a water infiltration test to measure soil structure.
He also has lower variable costs. He uses no autumn sprays on his winter wheat and this includes little or no insecticide use. It seems like the need for some of these inputs has been reduced by the change of system and this helps cashflow. Ultimately, he is no longer dependent on subsidies and he sees this as his major claim to glory.
Profit has been helped by the fact that his best yields have occurred in the past five years. And the fact that he has less capital tied up in his business gives more opportunity for expansion.
He now uses very little artificial P and K but he does apply a range of different organic manure sources. And his soil indices are holding up well even with the big yields.
Rotation
Crop rotation is also important for Clive. However, he describes his rotation as opportunistic and individual decisions depend on the opportunities that individual markets provide combined with what the ground needs. Clive grows about 14 different crops but not in any specific order and he will often target a crop at a field. He said that he grows a bit of millet because it adds a lot of organic matter to the soil. The crop mix tends to include four winter crops (wheat, barley, oilseed rape and beans) and eight smaller spring crops.
The soil biology
In his concluding remarks, Clive suggested that we all go back and learn from our grandads. They had all these skills that have been largely forgotten.
“Earthworms are the top predators in the soil – judge its health by their prevalence,” he stated.
“They are the primary indicator of soil health,” Clive concluded.
The move to zero-till has helped Clive Bailye to decrease the value of machinery tied up in his farming business and to significantly decrease the cost of production.Soil care is very important for this and all farming systems.He can drill directly into a cover crop and spray it off seven days later.Input costs have been reduced by this system.He refers to grazing of catch crops as enterprise stacking. 
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