Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. July 2025 issue
      2. June 2025 issue
      3. Cereals event guide 2025
      4. May 2025 issue
      5. April 2025 issue
      6. March 2025 issue
      7. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      8. February 2025 issue
      9. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      10. January 2025 issue
      11. December 2024 issue
      12. November 2024 issue
      13. October 2024 issue
      14. September 2024 issue
      15. August 2024 Issue
      16. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      17. July 2024 Issue
      18. Cereals Supplement
      19. June 2024 Issue
      20. May 2024 Issue
      21. April 2024 Issue
      22. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      23. March 2024 Issue
      24. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      25. February 2024 Issue
      26. January 2024 Issue
      27. December 2023
      28. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      29. November 2023
      30. October 2023
      Featured

      July 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltJuly 9, 2025
      Recent

      July 2025 issue available now

      July 9, 2025

      Cereals event guide 2025 available now

      June 20, 2025

      June 2025 issue available now

      June 2, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Arable & Agronomy

    Miscanthus farm walk to discuss future proofing

    Vicky LewisBy Vicky LewisSeptember 15, 20233 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    Farmers are benefiting from long-term incomes and numerous environmental benefits from growing the perennial energy crop, Miscanthus.

    Rob Meadley, an East Yorkshire farmer and Brown & Co agribusiness consultant, will showcase his Miscanthus crop to farmers interested in growing it on Thursday September 21, 2023, as well as giving a breakdown of the latest Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) updates.

    Mr Meadley grows 12 hectares of Miscanthus on varying quality, outlying land that previously wasn’t delivering a viable return with arable crops.

    His Miscanthus is 11 years old and after a difficult start where planting was followed by wet conditions, it’s showing a typical Miscanthus yield profile and good returns compared with other crops on the same soil type.

    Mr Meadley believes Miscanthus is the right crop for this land and has not only met the budgeted return but has introduced additional ecological benefits to the farm.

    “We’ve had a number of RSPB surveys done on the farm and the feedback was that they were genuinely surprised by the abundance and diversity of birds in and around the Miscanthus, including Curlews, rarely found in East Yorkshire,” he said.

    “We also saw breeding deer, brown hares, and an abundance of invertebrates.”

    Mr Meadley planted Miscanthus in March 2012 in good conditions, but this was followed by the wettest April on record, meaning the freshly planted crop was in standing water, and the bad weather hit again in June.

    He explained that the 2014 harvest was affected by the legacy of flooding and lack of weed control: “Arable crops would never have survived the conditions that the Miscanthus was exposed to, and we didn’t lose any money on inputs. The annual yield quickly recovered, and in 2017 and 2020, we had bumper harvests of over 13t/ha.”

    The Miscanthus area has allowed Mr Meadley to square off an arable crop next to it, and this field is two miles away from the farm, meaning the minimal maintenance required is a huge benefit. “The crop has also helped to naturally control blackgrass in that area,” he said.

    Ultimately, he explained that there would not have been another option for a crop on that land that would have been as profitable: “Back in 2012 when we decided to plant Miscanthus, the principle was looking at the whole farm net margin and identifying the risk in this area.

    “It wasn’t performing as well as other parts of the farm and Miscanthus was 100% the right decision for it. The only other option for that land would have been environmental grass, but Miscanthus beats this hands down from a net margin point of view.

    “Miscanthus is a vitally important crop due to its soil carbon sequestration capabilities and positive ecological impact, and with the uncertainty around farm subsidies under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) model, it provides a long-term fixed price, reliable income.”

    About the Miscanthus farm walk

    The Miscanthus farm walk in Driffield will run from 9.30-11:30 am and will include a presentation from Miscanthus specialist, Terravesta, about growing, harvesting, and selling Miscanthus, a breakdown of the latest Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) updates from Rob Meadley, agri consultant at Brown & Co, and a tour of the crop with a chance to ask questions.

    Date and time: Thursday 21September 9:30 – 11:30 am

    Location: Driffield, East Yorkshire

    Catering: Light refreshments will be provided

    To book onto the walk, visit www.terravesta.com/events.

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleSevern Trent offer match funding for cover crops
    Next Article Net zero potatos to be trialled by Branston
    Vicky Lewis

    Read Similar Stories

    Tools to tackle blackgrass at Hutchinsons demonstration day

    July 1, 2025

    Agrovista acquires Zantra Holdings Ltd

    June 30, 2025

    British Sugar announces partnership on pollinator monitoring project

    June 25, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Claas breaks ground on new tractor production site

    July 15, 2025

    Film-on-film wrapping could lead to safer bale handling

    July 15, 2025

    Diversification shows benefits of data for Lincolnshire farm

    July 15, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.