Mote Farm Arable

On the farm we have 350 acres of land. We have 190 acres which we grow arable crops in, 150 which is in permanent pasture and 10 acres of stewardship parcels. 

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Arable crops:

On the farm we grow all winter crops due to the nature of the heavy clay soils and that can become waterlogged in the spring if we have a wet winter. 

We grow winter wheat, winter barley and field beans. These are grown in a three year crop rotation. This means that winter wheat is grown in a specific field for the first year, then winter barley is grown and then lastly winter beans. The rotation will then begin again with winter wheat. 

Each field is in a different stage in the rotation so that we can grow some of each crop every year. 

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Winter Wheat:

This is the first crop to be grown in an arable rotation on our farm. This year we chose to grow a variety of winter wheat called 'Dawsum'. There are hundreds of different varieties of wheat which will either be for milling or feed.  This particular variety we are growing is feed grade, this means that it will be used for animal feed. The crop is drilled in late September/early October and will then be harvested in late July/early August. The grain is stored in our on-site grain silos and will remain there until it is sold to a buyer. The stem of the crop is baled and we use that for bedding our cattle and sheep when they are housed. 

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Winter Barley:

After winter wheat is grown we then grow winter barley. Barley also comes in hundreds of varieties and can either be for malting or animal feed. The variety of barley we are growing this year is 'SY Kingston'. This variety is used for animal feed and is put into many different types of horse and cattle mix. This variety is drilled in mid September and is then harvested in late July. We retain some of the barley which we have rolled ready to feed to our cattle during the upcoming winter months. We then bale the straw and store it ready for animal bedding. Barley straw is much softer than wheat and our sheep love eating it. 

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Winter Field Beans:

The last crop we grow in our 3 year rotation is field beans. The variety we grow is called 'Tundra' and is only used for animal feed. The crop is drilled near the end of October and harvested in early August. Once combined the beans are stored in grain silos until they are sold. The straw is chopped and is left on the fields, it will then decompose into the soil over time. Beans are a legume which means that they produce and fix nitrogen in the soil which reduces the need of synthetic fertilisers. 

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Grassland: 

On the farm we have permanent pasture. These are fields that will have grass growing in them constantly, unlike the arable which will have different crops in each field every year. However, these fields are reseeded every 5-10 years to ensure that the grass stays productive. 

We use these grass fields for grazing for our cattle and sheep during the summer months as well as to make silage which is fermented grass which we feed to our cattle in the winter and hay which is fed to the sheep. 

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Highter Tier Countryside Stewardship Plots: 

On the farm to support our work with nature we have various stewardship plots. These include unharvested cereal headlands, buffer strips, winter bird food, flower rich margins and beetle banks. These areas are maintained to provide food and habitat for wildlife. 

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