A forensic approach to data analysis is helping a partnership of four Norfolk farming businesses to cut costs and improve soil health.

Catalyst Farming was set up 18 months ago as a collaboration between the Holkham Farming Company near Wells, NE Salmon at Great Fransham near Dereham, Raynham Farm Company near Fakenham and Salle Farms Company near Reepham.

Analyst Dominic Swan is collecting data from machines, weather stations, drones and soil mapping across 7,000ha of arable land growing cereals, spring beans, sugar beet, forage crops and potatoes.

The aim is to help improve decision-making and to scrutinise, monitor and adjust techniques and crop varieties.

“Although there are technologies coming through to support data collection and we do use satellite data and drone imagery, we are still walking the fields,” he said.

“We are looking at plant establishment through plant and tiller counts and tracking this through to grain counts. It is the first time that this has been analysed to see the impact of different management strategies.

“A particular focus is soil health and reducing cultivation. One finding for the analysis is that going shallower reduces fuel consumption and ‘burns less metal’.

"The points on the cultivator cost about £50-60 each; you may have a set of 26 on a cultivator and deep, fast cultivation can wear them down in a day or so. Extending the life by a couple of days could reduce costs in points and more in fuel.”

Mr Swan has found that including the operators in the discussion has accelerated the adoption of best practice.

“By talking about the results and the implications for soil heath and cost reduction, the operators now understand what we were trying to achieve and it has enabled them to make intelligent decisions,” he said.

“There is quite a bit of work involved in the data collection – they need to record the field, the operation, the depth, details about the trailer and how much fuel was used. Being more involved means they can see the difference that going shallower can make.”

Insights gained by the partnership will be discussed by Mr Swan and Poul Hoveson, director of farming at Holkham Estate and Salle Farms Company, at an Agri-Tech Week event November 11 at the Salle Estate, in conjunction with the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association (RNAA).

Mark Nicholas, managing director of the RNAA, said: “The Catalyst Farming event will deliver exactly what Agri-Tech Week seeks to achieve – showcasing exciting developments in agri-tech.

"Norfolk was the hotbed of the agricultural revolution and remains at the forefront of exciting developments in the industry.

"We are delighted to be collaborating with Catalyst Farming and Agri-TechE to showcase this project.”