North East Organic Group – Third Meeting – Event Summary

The third meeting was held on the 16th August 2017 at Mains of Thornton, courtesy of Ian Cooper & Partners.

There was an arable focus to this meeting and as well as seeing the various crops on the farm.  We heard about the opportunities for letting organic ground for growing potatoes and carrots.  It was very positive discussion and it highlighted that there is a strong and growing demand.  This could definitely be something to think about including in the rotation.

We also saw the paddock grazing system and heard how well the yearling cattle were performing on it – increased daily live weight gains (av. 1.35kg/hd/day, top 2kg/day) and a reduction in the area required so more available for silage.

We heard about the importance of soil analyses, rotations, the inclusion of nitrogen fixing crops such as clover and the targeting of the valuable FYM resource.

The group also provides a valuable opportunity for networking.