Growing interest in agricultural sustainability is reflected in the range of exhibitors booked for this year’s Midlands Machinery Show, held on November 8-9 at the Newark Showground.
Attendees will have plenty of time to browse machinery with a ‘green’ theme. This includes electric vehicles, minimum tillage and precision application equipment, nutrient and water management, energy generation, waste reduction, and monetising carbon and biodiversity net gain.
Camera-guided mechanical weeders will be on display on the Keith Rennie Machinery stand this year. Managing director Mike Britton says he is seeing growing interest in the technology for maize – and even cereals – now row spacings are increasing to 16, 20 or even 25cm.
Latest innovations
“Uptake over the past two to three years has been helped by government grant funding Farmers are looking at regimes where they can integrate sprays with mechanical methods to reduce inputs and impact, and provide other benefits like aerating the soil and breaking up any capping.”
Nitrasol liquid fertilisers, exhibiting for the first time this year, will be reporting trials that show use of its products can reduce nitrogen leaching by a quarter, halve ammonia volatilisation, and safeguard soil organisms.
The market for liquid nutrition continues to grow, due to their suitability for precision application, zero use of plastic, and opportunities to apply in wider weather windows, explains Nitrasol sales director Rob Buck.
“All of these are not just good practice – they save money at farm level and help to future-proof farmers against new regulation.”
Carbon farming
Also making its debut at the show is CSX Carbon, which will be demonstrating how farmers can access natural capital markets while receiving a fair financial return for environmental land management practices.
Chief executive Andy Howard says: “Audit trails can be used to verify climate actions on farm. They can also open up new trading opportunities for farmers – such as the new biodiversity net gain rules for developers coming into effect shortly.”
Renewable energy is another way farm businesses can cut energy use and costs. Darren Wells from Lincs Solar Solutions reports a dramatic increase in enquiries for solar PV over the past 12 months due to energy price rises. But he says this also means customers are experiencing a shorter return on investment as a result.
“We’ll be on hand at the show to discuss how panels on agricultural and domestic roofs can significantly reduce energy bills – and also outline the finances and logistics around large ground-mounted installations.”
NRoSO and BASIS points are available for attendees. For details and to register your attendance, visit www.midlandsmachineryshow.com.
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