Farm Manager Job - Capel Manor College
Ben Raskin
Hi Folks
Nice job going
Best wishes
Ben
New Farm Manager opportunity at Forty Hall Farm
Deadline: 3rd September 2018
Capel Manor College are looking for an exceptional person to join the Forty Hall Farm team as the Farm’s new manager. Expert knowledge of organic livestock management is a must, as is a passion for working with the local community, and a commitment to sustainable food production.
Forty Hall Farm is a 170 acre certified organic farm and part of the historic Forty Hall Estate situated just inside the M25 on the edge of London. It is a mixed farm with a variety of animals including many prizewinning rare breeds. It is home to London’s only organic commercial vineyard, the Forty Hall Community Vineyard, as well as a community orchard, a market garden, an 18-acre woodland, and its own farm shop and veg bag scheme. See the Farm's website www.fortyhallfarm.org.uk
Forty Hall Farm is an educational resource for Capel Manor College’s students across a range of part and full-time courses in Agriculture, Animal Care, Arboriculture, Countryside Management, and Horticulture. The Farm also hosts a range of activities and events such as Open Farm Sunday, Lambing Weekend and various food, music and community-focused events, including a monthly Farmers Market.
The new Farm Manager will help develop and implement the farm strategy of producing high quality organic produce, enhancing the farm as a resource for students to learn and as an attractive and accessible asset for the local community, and a destination for visits.
The Farm has developed rapidly over the past seven years and is now seeking a passionate, committed individual to lead its team as the Farm continues to realise its great potential.
The role encompasses the day-to-day management and operation of Forty Hall Farm and the farm’s businesses and land, which includes some unsociable hours, on-call duties and weekend work as required.
Key skills and experience required:
- Expert knowledge of organic livestock management (cattle, sheep and pigs)
- Knowledge of commercial organic horticulture and/or viticulture
- A track record of innovation and delivery of commercial activities and/or community enterprise and local food projects
Location: Forty Hall Farm, Enfield
Salary: £31,789 - £33,603 inclusive of London Weighting
The post holder is required to live on-site within the beautiful grounds of the Forty Hall Estate, with an annual rent payable of £5309.16. The post holder will receive an on-site living allowance of £1832.80. Both figures are reviewed annually.
Full Time, 36 hours per week
The full job description is attached.
To apply please visit the Capel Manor College ‘Jobs’ section on the Capel website and complete an online application form.
From: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Sent: 19 August 2018 21:05:32
To: Matthew Robinson
Subject: RE: Farm Manager Job
Hi Matthew
Can you send me a few lines and the job description and I will send it out to our future growers email group – have you put it up on the SA market place?
https://www.soilassociation.org/farmers-growers/market-information/organic-marketplace/
best wishes
Ben
From: Matthew Robinson <Matthew....@capel.ac.uk>
Sent: 19 August 2018 12:13
To: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Subject: Farm Manager Job
Hi Ben,
Matthew here from Forty Hall Farm - thanks for the retweet about the farm manager job. We're a bit rattled here by the deadline for applications being a mere 9 working days away so any help sharing the opportunity, or with people you know might be interested themselves, would be much appreciated.
Having been to the farm yourself, I'm sure you can understand that it's a really great opportunity for someone to take the reins of a really unique setup, and to continue to develop the farm into a really accessible flagship for medium scale peri-urban organic agriculture.
So if you've got ideas about other places we can post the and, or even people you know who may be interested themselves, do please get in touch or pass it on.
Thanks again,
Matthew
From: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Sent: 24 January 2018 16:57:00
To: Matthew Robinson
Subject: RE: Soil Testing
Hi Matthew
Yes good to meet
In short – yes you can calculate your rate at the whole area and then actually apply it to just the cultivated bit. If you are concerned then you can submit the figures to your Certification Officer before spreading to make sure you are covered.
If you have actual analysis of your own that is also really helpful and shows that you are on top of it all and can justify your application rate.
Best wishes
Ben
From: Matthew Robinson [mailto:Matthew....@capel.ac.uk]
Sent: 19 January 2018 19:00
To: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Subject: Re: Soil Testing
Hi Ben,
Good to bump into you at the ORFC.
I just realised that I had one further question I wanted to ask, about compost spreading - We generally follow advice such as that given in Growing Green etc. I want to know specifically about how the regs would work with growing in smallish beds in bigger fields?
We had our manure and compost analysed and so have exact figures on quantities to spread to give 250kg N/ha - but if only say half of a 1ha field is grown on (and the rest is grassy margin), can we take the rate per ha and spread the whole field's allowance on only the veg growing areas (or even just certain veg growing areas)? This isn't 100% clear in the standards, I'm looking at 4.7.25. So in the end there would be patches within one field which receive more than the 250kg permitted, but the whole field would be at or below 250kg/ha per year and the holding well below the 170 per year. Also from our analysis we know that our own woodchip compost and composted manure is very low in available N (less than 10g ammonia and 200g nitrate per fresh tonne).
I guess it comes down to what we call 'any area'. I've tried looking at the defra RB209 but not clear from that either.
If you could shed any light on this, it would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
Matthew
From: Matthew Robinson
Sent: 16 November 2017 19:12
To: Ben Raskin
Subject: Re: Soil Testing
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the advice. Regarding the soil contamination, biochar sounds like a good idea - we might even be able to produce it on site, the Arboriculture dept do some charcoal making so could maybe tweak it a bit. What are the bioremediation options? I went to a session at Ragmans Lane last week on biofertiliser, which was very interesting. They mentioned that their lactic fermentation process (which they use to chelate minerals to increase availability) could be deployed somehow, but didn't have any concrete pointers as it's not something they're trying. I can't see how on the one hand they could eg increase Cu availability, but on the other keep it locked away. Any pointers or places to look for info on this (biochar or other bioremediation) would be most welcome.
I have a couple of other questions, firstly re liming - one of our fields is around pH5.5, so we intend to try liming - I presume this is a notification issue, providing we use a permitted material (probably dolomite as our soil health results came up a bit low in Mg), but can you point us where to look for exact guidelines on precisely what to do and when to do it? (specifically, before or after tillage. presumably not in conjunction with OM application). That would be most useful. The areas involved are probably too small to get a contractor in for it, might it be possible with our small rear discharge muck spreader?
Finally, advice on quantities of OM. We generally follow advice such as that given in Growing Green etc. I want to know specifically about how the regs would work with growing in smallish beds in bigger fields? We had our manure and compost analysed and so have exact figures on quantities to spread to give 250kg N/ha - but if only say half of a 1ha field is grown on (and the rest is grassy margin), can we take the rate per ha and spread the whole field's allowance on only the veg growing areas (or even just certain veg growing areas)? This isn't 100% clear in the standards, I'm looking at 4.7.25. I guess it comes down to what we call 'any area'. I've tried looking at the defra RB209 but not clear from that either.
Anyhow, thanks very much, again, in advance!
Matthew
From: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Sent: 02 November 2017 11:13:23
To: Matthew Robinson
Cc: Tom Hartley
Subject: RE: Soil Testing
HI Matthew
Interesting to see the results
Yes there are some Mg sulphate products allowed – 2 with prior permission, one with justification at inspection. Tom can talk through the process if you haven’t done it before. See our list here.
On the pH I wouldn’t worry too much, I would imagine if you reduce your OM amendments then you’ll see a bit of a drop. Maybe test again in a year or two and see where you are. It’s not so high that it should cause major problems. I think see if the Mg supplement helps and then if not have a rethink. You might get permission to add sulphur which would lower it a bit, or alternatively find a conifer leaf compost, but to be honest at your levels I don’t think the pH is the issue, I think as you have said the high K is likely to be the limiting factor.
I’m not at all an expert on remediation for heavy metals but I do know that both bioremediation, and the use of biochar – which can lock up the metals within their structure meaning they don’t get taken up by the crop, can work.
Best wishes
Ben
From: Matthew Robinson [mailto:Matthew....@capel.ac.uk]
Sent: 01 November 2017 17:24
To: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Subject: Re: Soil Testing
Hi Ben,
Just getting back in touch re soil testing - we've splashed out at NRM and had some results back and would love to see about getting some help with interpretation. Overall the soil health scores were high, so it's a case of keeping it good. We went all-out and had some leaf samples done too, which have been interesting.
The point I would like to chat to you about is regarding our polytunnels - until now we've been adding loads of compost and rotted manure to all the beds, for four years now. The soil health test has come back with indexes of 6,5,4 for P K Mg respectively - [they haven't got level data for tomatoes, it seems - any idea where we can find suitable level data for the usual protected crops - cucs, toms etc?] - which is potentially too high.
The leaf sample from the polytunnel came back showing mostly fine but deficiencies in Mg and Ca - so potentially attributed to high K crowding out the other cations. [Our tomatoes always exhibit various symptoms which I think look like Mg deficiencies, so this makes sense with the leaf analysis.]
Presumably the high K can be attributed to high compost additions - we will immediately amend our fertility plan for the polytunnels and add much less OM from now, but in the medium term how can we best deal with potential deficiencies of Mg and Ca, seeing as the Mg appears to be affecting our toms etc?
Is magnesium sulphate permitted with reason under the standards? And would this be as a foliar spray, or soil addition? Have you any other ideas about how best to approach this? pH is a bit high (7.3), again presumably from the liming effect of the OM additions. Any ideas how to stop it getting too high over time? Any help you might be able to give would be much appreciated.
On another note, we also had a dodgy patch of soil tested for heavy metals after plant misbehavior this summer, and it's come back with too high lead and copper so it's been taken out of production. we're chatting with Tom Hartley about this, but any advice about remediation would be much appreciated too!
Please find attached some of the results from NRM
Thanks
Matthew
From: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Sent: 11 September 2017 14:51:00
To: Matthew Robinson
Subject: RE: Soil Testing
Hi Matthew
Yes we were disappointed about the event too, but Rijk Zwaan were not happy with how the trials looked so decided it was better for them to cancel.
The GREAT soils project ends March 2018 however from experience it takes a little while for project reports to be approved and put into a format that AHDB are happy with, so realistically my guess would be summer next year.
I would definitely do a test from the “strip of crapness”, but also perhaps dig a proper soil pit in a couple of places (ie go down a metre or so – depending on how deep the soil is.) to literally get to the bottom of the problem. If it is a drainage issue you may be able to do something with subsoiling or growing a deep rooted green manure (eg with chicory) to break it up.
In terms of timing there is a school of though that you do it just before your most valuable crop, as this gives you the best steer as to where to target your effort and check you are doing the right thing. So this would probably be as you suggest just after the ley, particularly if you are trying lots of different ones.
I have not grown sweet clover myself but from anecdotally it is quite hard to establish but once it gets going is amazing. so definitely worth a try.
Diversity is the key though for sure when it comes to cover crops – as this slide that Ian Wilkinson from Cotswolds seeds uses – the mixture (with Darwin) gives more than the highest individual rather than what you might expect which is an average.
with best wishes
Ben
From: Matthew Robinson [mailto:Matthew....@capel.ac.uk]
Sent: 02 September 2017 18:21
To: Ben Raskin
Subject: Re: Soil Testing
Hi Ben,
Thanks very much for taking the time to comment on this. I had wondered whether you were going to be at the Rijk Zwaan event and whether we could chat there, but I see it has been cancelled which is a shame.
Just a couple of quick follow-up Qs - do you have an idea of exactly when the GREATsoils final reports will come out?
Thanks for clarifying the thing about the rotation issue. The soil doesn't vary massively, it just gets a bit heavier towards the bottom of the slope. (Though last year I did notice a massive stripe of crapness running along the contour through our potatoes, across all varieties - potentially an old field boundary or field drain or something?).
Anyhow, with the rotation thing- any specific advice on where in the rotation it would be most useful to be gathering information? Our simplest field rotation is 2 year ley, then spuds, brassica, alliums, squash. (what more could you possibly want?). My hunch would be to do it at the end of the ley - which focusses the testing on GM performance, which could be useful as I have lots of different things I want to try out re the mix of green manures.
[Incidentally, talking of green manures - I'm messing around on a small scale with all sorts of stuff, and keen to try sweet clover on a larger scale as it looks pretty decent and would fit into a two year break quite well. Any experience with this, esp as part of a mix? Also, any comment on the whole 'cocktail cover crops' thing? I've enjoyed chucking sunflowers and flax in with some legumes and it looks very nice - but is there more to it than that?]
Thanks again for your help.
Matthew
From: Ben Raskin <BRa...@soilassociation.org>
Sent: 22 August 2017 09:47:36
To: Matthew Robinson
Subject: RE: Soil Testing
Hi Matthew
see below for comments but feel free to ring for a chat too
best wishes
Ben
Ben Raskin, RHS Dipl. / Head of Horticulture,
Soil Association, South Plaza, Marlborough Street, Bristol BS1 3NX
0117 314 5185
07990 592621
Twitter: @ben_raskin
Please note I work 3 days a week, normal working days Tues, Wed, Thurs so I may not respond immediately to emails.
From: Matthew Robinson [mailto:Matthew....@capel.ac.uk]
Sent: 19 August 2017 17:19
To: Ben Raskin
Subject: Soil Testing
Hi Ben,
My name is Matthew Robinson and I work as a grower at Forty Hall Farm in Enfield, SA no G7651. I'm getting in touch to see whether you might be able to offer some guidance regarding soil testing. We're planning to set up some regular testing of our soil, to monitor how we're doing in terms of soil health - are we building up levels organic matter? Or are we trashing it with the power harrow?
I've looked at a lot of the available GREATsoils stuff on the internet - but I understand that the conclusions are still to come - is this correct? yes, though there are some interim findings there will be a final report from the project next year We're interested in the NRM soil health test, it seems to be a fairly comprehensive yet affordable option. Would you agree with that? Our general feeling is that the NRM soil health test suite is the main affordable test in that area. However it is important to be aware that this is such a new area that everyone (including NRM) are feeling their way a little in terms of exactly how to interpret and use the results.
I attended a couple of sessions which touched on soil testing at this year's ORFC, in particular the Do You Dig It? one with Tolly, Charles Dowding and Nils Cornfield. They seemed to be in agreement that as a one off, it's worth getting a comprehensive trace element test done to ascertain whether any deficiencies are present. I was wondering about the relative merits of a soil trace element test, vs a foliar test (both a similar price at NRM). Would you have any advice on this? I definitely agree that if you have not had a soil test done then you should. Without it you may be being hampered by a serious issue (eg pH or a particular nutrient deficiency), however I would also probably agree that having yearly tests done if you are not seeing problems may be a waste of money. I have to say I do not have great experience of foliar tests but I do know that some growers make use of them and feel they give a better indicator of available nutrient. It is also important to think about how you are going to use the information. In my experience, barring a major deficiency, the best way of addressing most nutrient issues is by improving the biology through the usual (green manures, compost etc). This will make even relatively low levels of nutrient more available as you mention below.
I was interested to hear on Farmerama 13 (http://farmerama.co/author/farmerama/page/2/ ) the tale of a farmer who appeared to be losing phosphate according to standard nutrient analysis but in reality his yields were increasing because increased OM/soil microbial activity was making more available over time. ie, you can test for something but the results don't give you the answer. I'd be keen to know your thoughts about this, with regards to testing for trace elements. They also talked about the Albrecht model of soil testing - any thoughts on this approach?Albrecht is quite a hotly debated subject with some real advocates and a lot of people who think there is no merit. From my limited understanding it was developed in the US and does not necessarily relate that well to UK soils. Those that do use it often say that they do not adhere too tightly to exact ratios but use it as a guide to think about relative nutrient values. Personally I think at your stage I wouldn’t worry too much. There is a case study looking at a carrot grower using it as part of GREAT soils - waiting for AHDB to brand and publish it at the moment.
We've also go some questions regarding sampling - much advice I've read regarding sampling tends to assume a field is all at the same stage in a rotation. We're growing in numerous small rotation blocks up to 1000sq m, across two sloping fields which themselves show a little bit of variation in soil texture. For cost reasons, I think we need to limit the regular (annual?) sampling to two samples, one from each field, but we're trying to work out the best approach regarding where to take the sample.
Should we, for example, take a bit from the middle of each block and mix these together - so that most of the growing land in the field is sampled - but they're all at different stages in the rotation so contain very different root profiles, recent compost/FYM additions, fertility building stages etc?
Or should we be sampling a specific point in the rotation as it moves around the field (eg after the fertility building ley, or right at the end of the cropping years?) - even though the texture will differ.
Any advice on this, specifically, would be most helpful. This is the key question. I would definitely err towards the latter. I think mixing from different bits of the rotaion will tell you very little. How different is your soil around the site? I would probably take a few samples from the same point of the rotation and similar soil type and mix them to give you a testing sample. It is also quite important to take at the same time of year. If you are doing the soil health test then it might also help to take at the same time of day and similar weather conditions if possible. In other words you may get a different biological test from taking at the end of a day following two weeks of drought to taking at dawn after two weeks of rain.
And any other comment you might have, or information you might be able to share, would be great.
I've found the Cornell CASH system information interesting, though not had time to read it properly. Are you familiar with this?
http://www.css.cornell.edu/extension/soil-health/manual.pdf no haven’t come across this one
The 'standard' suite described seems really good, with the inclusion of soil protein and active carbon. Any idea whether such tests are on offer at a reasonable rate in the UK?
Anyhow, thanks in advance and any help or tips would be great!
Matthew Robinson
Forty Hall Farm
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