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Picture of Tom Eve standing for a photo with his hands behind his back and a tractor in the background
Louise Peck Uncategorized

What’s been happening at P.X Farms? Tom’s update – 8 April 2024

Let’s take a look back at the last couple of weeks with Tom, P.X. Farms Farm Manager:

I probably sound like a stuck record, but it’s still very wet here, and we’ve not really had a short spell of dry weather since my last update. We’re still waiting for the prolonged period of dry to get on with the bulk of our spring work. Our team has put in a great effort in what has been a very challenging spring so far. We’re making the most of the opportunities to get out and have some spraying done and fertiliser applied in the short-weather windows.

All our crops have had their first initial dose of nitrogen, and we are in the process of topping them up with their final dose. Crops, on the whole, look good. Some crops on the heavier land have had a tougher time with all the wet weather. The oil seed rape is in flower and starting to brighten up the countryside, which is always nice and a bit of reward for the challenges it presents chasing pigeons off it! It’s a real achievement to have got it to this stage so all the team have done well to do that.

Simon continues to be busy in the workshop, getting all the drills ready for the spring season when, if ever, it does appear. Aside from the spraying and fertilising, we’ve continued with ditch-digging work and a lot of community work.

We need to keep water moving so that fields and tracks are as dry as they can be without the very unhelpful and unnecessary amounts of rain we keep getting. While it’s been wet in the fields, the Grain Storage and Haulage team have been busy:

One thing that’s been a major headache this past fortnight is we’ve been struck by quite a lot of rural crime, that’s an ever-increasing problem:

  • tree shear we were using on our 360 diggers stolen

  • copious amounts of fly-tipping of loft insulation, building aggregate, and dumpy bags

  • I caught thieves in the act of stealing diesel out of the electric board generator. They drove all across our field, making a real mess with how wet the fields are
  • then at our new farm at Gravely, we had both sets of double gates stolen

It is a real problem. We’ve reported all incidents to the police, but the response has been that they’ll review them and see if they’ve got an officer in the area. The only thing we’ve had back has been an incident number, and I’ve not had any follow-up calls from the police, which is really disappointing because this is costing the rural community thousands and thousands of pounds and is such an inconvenience when we’re just trying to go about our daily business.

The good news is we’ve been able to get some spring oat drilling underway, and we’ve got about half our area of spring oats in the ground. Fingers crossed that we don’t have all this forecasted rain, and we can get them finished off.

Next, we’ve got peas, which we’re growing for Waitrose, and mustard for Coleman’s, and some spring malting barley. All machines are ready and waiting, and when we do get the opportunity, we can really go hard to get the farm fully drilled up.

Until next time…

Picture of Tom Eve standing for a photo with his hands behind his back and a tractor in the background
Louise Peck Update

What’s been happening at P.X. Farms? Tom’s update – March 2024

Let’s take a look back at the last couple of weeks with Tom, P.X. Farms Farm Manager:

When you are embraced in the thick of it, it’s easy to forget all the things you have been doing. Though it’s still very wet here, with another 20mm just recently, we are still really busy. In a ‘normal’ year, we would be spring drilling, but we still have 880 hectares of spring cropping to put in the ground. It will be interesting to see how this impacts our spring crops, but fingers crossed we have a dry spell and, before long, we can get on.

Continue reading “What’s been happening at P.X. Farms? Tom’s update – March 2024” →

Louise Peck Update

What’s been happening down on the farm? Tom’s update – 9 February 2024

A picture of Tom Eve, Farm Manager at P.X. FarmsLet’s take a look back at the last couple of weeks with Tom, P.X. Farms Farm Manager:

We’ve been busy doing maintenance work the last couple of weeks on machinery and our fields, as well as taking the opportunity in the last cold spell to get the winter wheat finished.  We’re looking forward to starting our fertiliser programme on all the crops, working in tandem with our regenerative agriculture practices.

Two of our eight-tonne Volvo Diggers have had routine management. Simon and I have been busy in the workshop checking the trailers for their Tilly tests – an important British Standard for trailer maintenance (BS 14200: 2023 Maintenance of Machinery – Specification).

With wet conditions, we’ve been clearing waterways, including the main arteries by the fields and roadside, preventing flooding and ensuring proper drainage.

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A photo of Kieran Robinson of P.X. Farms in front of a red P.X Farms vehicle
Louise Peck Team

Get to know the P.X. Farms team – an interview with Kieran Robinson

In the world of agriculture, success isn’t just about what and how you grow or produce; it’s about who you grow and produce it with. Our team isn’t just a valuable asset but a source of innovation, dedication, and growth.

We’re celebrating our team members by sharing a little something about them to help you get to know us better. First to be interviewed: Kieran Robinson, one of our combine and spray drivers who also ensures the estate is well maintained. Let’s find out more:

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P.X. Farms
Emma James Industry news

What’s been going on in the agricultural industry? 20 – 29 December 2023

Discover industry updates from the last week, handpicked. Let’s find out what’s been going on.

Labour does not intend to change inheritance taxes and agricultural property relief in the event that it wins the next election; A farmer is on a quest to figure out whether it’s possible to farm carbon as part of his Nuffield Farming Scholarship; Farmers in Suffolk have voiced concerns about the amount of support provided for food production versus environmental management.

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Team meeting
Louise Peck Farming, Newsletter, Team

What’s been happening at P.X. Farms? Our end of the year 2023 update

As we draw a close to 2023, we’d like to thank all our clients and partners for working with us this past year, and wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. During the festive period, we will be closed from 22nd December 2023 and returning 2nd January 2024.

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P.X. Farms
Emma James Industry news

What’s been going on in the agricultural industry? 14 – 20 December 2023

Discover industry updates from the last week, handpicked. Let’s find out what’s been going on.

A new price has been agreed on for the 2024-25 sugar beet contract between British Sugar and NFU Sugar; Farm charities throughout the UK will get funding from the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust following recent fundraising efforts; Applications are now open for a reward scheme celebrating women in farming, the National Women in Agriculture awards.

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P.X. Farms
Emma James Industry news

What’s been going on in the agricultural industry? 6 – 14 December 2023

Discover industry updates from the last week, handpicked. Let’s find out what’s been going on.

A new treatment for onion seeds has been authorised on an emergency basis following efforts from the British Onion Producers Association, Horticulture Crop Protection UK and the British Society of Plant Breeders; tractor registrations dropped by a third in November 2023; British Sugar and NFU Sugar have not yet reached an arrangement around sugar beet negotiations.

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