Chris Black runs Auchreddie Farms, a 600-acre arable farm, in a partnership with his parents, Bob and Anita, in Aberdeenshire near Ellon. In addition to the arable enterprise, they also run a bed and breakfast for 2,500 pigs per year and have invested heavily in renewable energy.

The farm practises a four-way rotation: from spring barley to winter barley then oilseed rape and winter wheat. The rotation system and crops grown are typical of the northeast and Chris explains why: “What we grow here has to be sold and used in local markets. Formerly, most of our crops would have gone to the distillery industry, but that’s changed now.”

Now, the majority of all arable crops grown in the northeast are destined for the animal feed industry. The area has seen a large expansion in both laying-hen and pig units. The hens create the demand for the wheat, while the barley goes to form the bulk of the pig ration. The oilseed rape has also taken on an important role in the area of meeting the protein requirements in cattle feed.

“Not only are we able to meet market needs and ensure there’s always a demand for our crops, but it also means we can spread our risk. Here in Aberdeenshire, the weather can be so changeable, it’s important not to have all your eggs in one basket,” Chris says.

Moving with the times

All the farm’s agronomy is done through Scottish Agronomy, a large independent co-op that focuses on providing up-to-date technical information for its members. Chris is keen to emphasise the importance of the role it plays.

“Only five miles down the road from us here, they have a trial site and they run some of the largest independent trials in the country. The fact that they’re independent is so important, because you know they’re working for your benefit.”

Once a month, a group of five farmers meets on-farm with an agronomist from Scottish Agronomy to run through any issues there may be on-farm and to provide advice.

“Not only is the technical information crucial,” says Chris, “but there’s also a social aspect to it. Isolation among farmers is increasing, and it’s vital that groups of similar-minded people can come together like this and learn from each other.”

One of the things Chris sees becoming more important is disease-resilient crops that will require fewer fungicides or pesticides. His own farm has suffered from club root in the past, which led to a variety of oilseed that can cope in these conditions.

Feeding the fertility

One of the main priorities for Chris is soil health and soil fertility. “I think, over the years, we’ve moved away from the basics of crop management and too much towards quick fixes and easy solutions.

“When you buy a new tractor or apply chemical fertiliser you can see the results straightaway – but when you invest in soil fertility the benefits may not jump out at you.”

Much of the farm’s land falls into Class 3.2 and can be challenging. In the last two to three years, the farm has moved back to basics by aiming to increase soil organic matter and earthworm counts.

“People forget about the humble earthworm,” Chris laughs, “but he’s like a mini plough. On my crop walk through the wheat I seen lots of castings – and I’m delighted with that.

“Those pores they’re creating are natural drainage systems and help prevent the fields getting waterlogged in wet conditions.”

Earthworms are natural cultivators and play a huge role in aerating soil and mixing organic matter, which creates suitable environments for crop roots to grow and absorb nutrients. “When you look at some people’s soil it’s dead – and that is never going to be a place where crops can thrive,” says Chris.

Organic fertilisers

To create this environment for roots to thrive, the farm has focused heavily on applying organic fertilisers. A large portion of farmyard manure (FYM) is sourced from the pig BnB enterprise, as they are housed on straw beds.

The farm also provides a local cattle farmer with 1,400 straw bales for no cost. He bales them and returns the subsequent FYM to the Blacks. This ensures the soil is not being drained of organic matter or nutrients.

Creating the correct pH and NPK balance is also something that is key to the farm’s sustainability strategy. In an effort to utilise local resources, the farm has been taking premium compost from a food waste facility to use as fertiliser. This compost acts as an ideal environment for earthworms to thrive, as they can feed off the dead woody material. Also, given its high pH, it should act as a buffer to the soil and stop it acidifying.

“In terms of nutrients, it provides about 240kg/acre of nitrogen so we’re at quite high levels,” says Chris, “however, only 5% of that is available yearly, so it’s more a case of trying to build N levels in the field. In terms of phosphorous and potash, it provides about 50% and 80% of the soil’s needs respectively.”

“We’ll find out how it’s performed this winter when we soil test again and, while some farmers have tried it for a year before moving away, we’ve decided to stick with it for a number of years. A lot of decisions in farming are done on a hunch, but I believe in giving something a chance, rather than knocking it from the off,” Chris elaborates.

Lime also plays a key role on the farm to keep soils in an optimum pH range of 6.0 to 6.3. Lime is applied every three years on the farm, first on a tonne-per-acre blanket application and then off GPS, following soil samples.

Adding strings to the bow

In 2012, the farm made the decision to diversify the business by investing in renewable energy.

The farm has two 20 kilowatt turbines installed in August and an two additional 225kW turbines installed the following year.

These turbines provide power to the grid and, while they were a large upfront capital investment, they are an alternative income stream for the farm that does not take away from the primary arable side of the business.

There is also 40kW worth of solar panels installed on the pig shed to supply the electricity needed by the farm.

“Both the turbines and the panels have performed really well and to our expectations,” says Chris, “but personally, I’d say the panels have given the least trouble. They just work away and we’ve never had any issues with breakdowns that we’ve had the odd time with the turbines.”