What the UK’s dullest October in 60 years means for farmers. October didn’t arrive with a dramatic headline. No endless rain drowning drilling plans. No surprise frost wiping out late crops. But in farming, the problems that sneak in quietly can be the most disruptive. The Met Office has confirmed that the UK recorded just 63.3 hours of sunshine, the third-dullest October since 1910, and that lack of light may carry more consequences than many realise. Sunlight is the currenc

“Independent advice” gets talked about a lot in our industry. It is used as a badge of credibility and rightly so. When someone tells a farmer what to put on a crop, the stakes are high, and growers want to know the guidance they are getting is grounded in their best interest.   But over years of walking fields across the UK, one thing has become very clear to me: no one gives advice in a vacuum. Every advisor, whether they are described as independent, product-linked, specia

There’s a mood running through the forums, and you can feel it in the tone of farmers everywhere. Not the usual muttering about red diesel or rainfall, this is deeper. The fertiliser tax, dressed up as a “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism,” has landed like a wet policy manual on an already soggy desk. In theory, it’s simple: make polluters pay for the carbon footprint of imported fertiliser. In practice, it’s farmers who foot the bill, while imports made with the same, or wo

The Microbe That Both Makes and Stops Frost Pseudomonas fluorescens. There’s a bacterium that can make ice. Not metaphorically — literally. Its name is Pseudomonas fluorescens , and for years it’s been the pantomime villain of the horticultural world, blamed for those annoying early frosts that turn bean leaves into mush and make lettuce look like someone’s hit “defrost” on the fridge. And yet, in one of nature’s finest plot twists, the very same species is now being used to

Organic farming begins and ends with the soil. Without synthetic fertilisers to lean on, growers depend on rotations, manures, composts,...

Stand in any stockman’s field and you’ll hear the same old line: “Grass is the cheapest feed you’ll ever grow.” True enough, but only if...

Healthy soil is the foundation of productive, profitable, and sustainable farming. Yet too often, farmers are asked to make management...

Across agriculture, how we manage nitrogen is critical to both food security and environmental sustainability. Synthetic fertilisers have...

Organic farming rests on a simple truth: when soils are alive and well-balanced, crops thrive. Healthy soils don’t just supply nutrients;...

Every farmer knows the seasons aren’t what they used to be. The weather swings harder, the gaps between drought and downpour feel...

A recent YouTube video took aim at a blog I wrote defending Groundswell and the broader regenerative movement. Fair enough — critique is...

What’s it going to take for you to pick up the phone and give biological farming a real go? Some of you have been receiving our...

Every year, Groundswell rolls around, and the same pattern emerges: people come away inspired, buzzing with ideas, and then, inevitably,...

If you’ve been farming for more than five minutes, you’ll know one thing for sure — fertiliser never stays the same price for long. But...

Does that sound familiar….   A Bit of Biology. A Lot of Sense. Bio-N- Let me break it down:   ✅ It’s not fertiliser — it’s a mix of...

To watch the video, go to our YouTube Channel. https://youtu.be/r6a8tE5xJH4 or click watch below.

Well, Groundswell 2025 didn’t disappoint. Two days of sunshine (mostly), hundreds of conversations, and more farm boots per square metre...

Let’s be honest - nitrogen has always been a bit of a rollercoaster. But in the past few years, it’s started to feel more like a ride...

Emma Bradley of Woodland Farm. We will be in contact to arrange delivery soon. Want to learn more about how SFS can help todays plant...