A Week on the Estate: Vernal Equinox, Digital Skills & Climate Smarts
Despite a few frosty mornings, winter now feels like a distant memory. At the time of writing (Thursday 20th March), the Sun has put his hat on to mark the vernal equinox. This warm-spell will last until Saturday and give us a temperature range of 17C-5C.
Out on the land, the arable team are taking advantage of the decent weather. Richard was pictured drilling our organic Lynx spring beans. For the second year running, we’re helping the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) by making this field part of the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) research project.
The NCS project aims to allow British farmers to substantially reduce their carbon emissions, and we’re one of 200 farmers working towards this important goal. Leguminous crops allow farmers to fix nitrogen and nourish the land without recourse to synthetic fertilisers. They also give livestock farmers a home-grown, planet-friendly alternative to imported soya animal feed. It pays to keep learning. It pays even more to share the knowledge.
Speaking of growth and innovation, we’d like to share another exciting development with you. Join us for a FREE open day on Tuesday 25th March at the Praetorium, our brand-new Rural AI & Digital Skills Centre. You’ll get to see how the old stables have been turned into modern offices and how our plans to set up a local AI & Digital Skills Centre are taking shape. We’ll show you around the Praetorium and you’ll have a brew and a chat with Sabrina Kelly, the lady heading up this exciting initiative.
