New Horizon - Issue 3 - Turf

Hand-in-hand with
the environment
Martin Button “..John Deere 750A No-
Till drill, gives me absolutely precise seed
placement in all soil conditions..”
Blending a productive farming enterprise with a balanced
environmental focus that has seen a growth in wildlife, is
no mean feat! But for Arable and Environmental Manager,
Martin Button, who runs 650 acres of arable land on the 4000
acre Bisterne Estate, Ringwood, the entire environmental
responsibility comes with many rewards.
The arable unit is run on a ‘No-Till’ approach except for perhaps
a small amount of ‘spring’ rotational ploughing for fodder
beet and maize silage - that mainly goes to the independently
run dairy unit on the same Estate. Soil type is light sand and
cropping includes winter wheat, winter barley for seed, winter
rye - which is grown on contract to Ryvita, plus oilseed rape
together with the roots and maize crop. On top of the normal
production crop, the farm also grows millet for wild birds and
tends to leave the stubble where practicable to encourage and
feed wildlife through the winter.
Commented Martin Button, “We drill our land using the John
Deere 750A No-Till drill, which gives me precise seed placement in
all soil conditions, and we generally sow directly into the stubble.
I bought the four-metre version from my local John Deere dealer,
Hunt Forest Group and have been very pleased with it, but if I had
realised how easy it was to pull behind my John Deere 6155R, I
would have gone for the larger six-metre version. It’s coming up to
five years with us now and there has been very little maintenance
on the drill and crop establishment has been excellent. I use
GreenStar throughout the farm and although I previously thought
my drilling was pretty good, I can’t imagine being without it now
- it’s so easy, precise and accurate.”
Martin also runs a John Deere T560 Combine with 22ft header,
which replaced the previous model 2254 with 16ft header. “We
changed up to the new John Deere T560 in 2013, after the
previous combine had given us some fifteen years of excellent
service. Stepping up to a larger capacity combine, meant we
could be more selective when we combined, so avoiding costly
drying expenses. We only run a fifteen-ton batch driver, but
nothing is as efficient as bringing in the crop in perfect condition.
So the T560, which has now completed six seasons, has been
extremely reliable for us.
By having AutoTrac and the 2630 monitors on tractors and
combine, means we can collect valuable management data that
helps us with our overall crop management capabilities. Hunt
Forest look after everything for us and this year the combine is
going through an in-depth winter service. In the past, it hasn’t
needed much more than a grease-up and an oil change. Since
the recent formation and expansion of the Hunt Forest Group,
we have now got access to the company’s harvest support team
who helped us out over the phone in the middle of harvest, by
remotely identifying a fault, and having the parts delivered to
us ready to get us going next morning. They really take care of
us and we have been very happy with their after-sales service.”
Added Martin, “My landowners are entirely motivated to the
cause of maintaining soil condition, leaving the land better
than when we came in and, helping all kinds of wildlife, much
of which has undergone decline nationally. Farming for the
future is concerned with soil biology and is a balance between
achieving profitability yet putting something back for those that
follow behind us. This is where the John Deere 750A has been so
helpful in helping us maintain soil and crop conditions.”
24 HUNTFOREST.COM