2021 ‘Regenerating you soil’ Agronomy and Business Management Conference for Arable Growers
February 24, 2021
The Arable Virtual Conference will take place on Wednesday 3rd March 2021, 8.00pm via Zoom.
This virtual conference jointly organised by Ulster Farmers’ Union, the Ulster Arable Society and CAFRE will provide arable growers with an update on current agronomy and business management issues.
The event organisers have arranged for a variety of top speakers to address delegates on the day. They are as follows:
David Blacker
David graduated from Harper Adams College with a degree in agri-food marketing before travelling the world for 12 months.
On his return he took over the family farm and contracting business based at York. David is now focused in combinable crops covering over 1600 acres. He is BASIS and FACTS qualified and undertakes his own in-house agronomy.
David’s farm was one of the first AHDB monitor farms for a 3 year period and is focused on strip-tillage, cover crops, improved margins and soil health improvement. Precision farming plays a big part in his business using RTK auto steer, Yara’s N-sensor and N-tester for fertilizer applications, yield mapping and variable rate drilling.
Paul Cottney
Paul Cottney graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2017 with a BSc in Agricultural Technology. Growing up on a pig and arable farm created interest in cover crops as a solution to diversify crop rotations whilst reducing dependence on synthetic inputs. In October 2017, he commenced a DAERA-funded PhD investigating the value of integrating cover crops with slurry. The field trials examined their effects on soil chemistry, biology and physiology, and also the overall effect on the following crop of spring barley, supplemented with reduced rates of nitrogen fertiliser. All experiments have concluded, and the thesis submitted.
Charlie Curtis
Charlie Curtis is the owner of Progressive Agriculture Services, a company founded with the main objective to bring regenerative, sustainable, reduced input agriculture to the wider farming sector, which up until now have only been accessible by larger corporations. Charlie’s role is to work closely with farmers and growers to uncover and maximise their regen journey in clear, measured, and achievable steps.
A seasoned Agronomist with over 15 years under her belt, Charlie has worked on farms in roles that have developed and delivered regenerative agriculture strategies and practises in Arable and Produce rotations. Formally a Senior Agronomist for the British Retailer, Marks and Spencer Ltd, Charlie has had the fortune to visit and study national and international farming supply chains – ranging across Africa, North and South America, Australia, and Europe and India – bringing back the knowledge and deploying it across her client base with real life testimonials on what can and has been achieved in real life application.
How to Book your Place?
Booking is via the UFU website www.ufuni.org/events
If you have difficulty booking online, please contact Heather Stewart at UFU HQ on 028 9037 0222.