Direct Drilling - Advantages & Related SFI Payments

What is direct drilling?

Direct drilling is effectively a shift from the conventional approach of ploughing and cultivating a field before planting seeds and crops. 
When carried out, direct drilling requires specialist planting machinery which feature a barrage of sensors and technology ensuring seeds are planted at the perfect depth and at specific intervals with minimal disturbance to the soil.

This hi-tech approach ensures the seeds have the best opportunity to effectively germinate and it also helps to drive efficiencies through seed rates while also ultimately improving the crop yield.

Perhaps the greatest benefit however, is the light impact on the soil. By avoiding ploughing and cultivating, soil structure is maintained and improved, creating a healthier environment for crops, capturing carbon in the soil and also helping to prevent leaching and run off which can reduce the need for expensive inputs.

Is direct drilling and no-till the same thing?

Direct drilling and no-till are in theory the same thing but it is worth looking a little more closely at the two terms and what they mean.
As stated, the idea of direct drilling is that you remove the requirement to plough and cultivate land before planting and sowing and ‘no-till’ farming is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing soil through the process of ‘tillage’. 

Therefore, it might be useful to take a look at the concept of tillage before moving on as it is one of the oldest forms of farming. 
Tillage is where soil is prepared by ‘agitating’ the soil through digging and turning using pieces of equipment like a harrow, roller, cultivator or cultipacker.

Tilling is known to have been a method used from around 3,000BC and was first undertaken by hand, prior to the development of machinery. Hoofed animals can also be used to till soil by trampling. Pigs were particularly used for this as they have natural instincts to root the ground.

No-till, then, is the opposite of all of this and is a technique for planting with minimal disruption to the soil. It can take various forms based around the practices of sod seeding, when crops are sown by machine into a sod produced by applying herbicides on a cover crop; direct seeding, when crops are sown through the residue of previous crop; and surface seeding, when seeds are left on the surface of the soil.

Direct drilling vs ploughing

The methods of both direct drilling and ploughing do involve working the soil – but they are done very differently. 

As we have covered, the process of direct drilling is much more precise, whereas ploughing sees the soil being turned over, by machinery or hand (a little old school for some perhaps but, there are still championships dedicated to this practice). 

The overall aim of ploughing is to bring fresh nutrients to the surface of the soil and to bury weeds and crop remains to decay into the ground.

Direct Drilling Benefits

However, with the concept of direct drilling being explored more widely in modern farming, there is growing evidence that it brings more benefits than ploughing.

These benefits include:

Soil health

Direct drilling, widely associated with the approach to conservational farming, is a response to soil erosion and soil de-structuring and can help improve soil fertility and biological life. 

Planting crops with deep root systems improves the physical condition of the soil and aerates it, so, in turn, creates a more stable soil structure that helps to increase the water and nutrient reserves available to crops. 

Direct drilling means no turning or fragmenting of the top layers of soil and allows crop residues to accumulate on the surface, forming a mulch that protects the soil from erosion. That, in turn, boosts biological activity in the soil, improving organic-matter and carbon content at the surface and deep down.

Efficiency

Farmers like to save money as much as the next person and with tough times upo us, anything that can help you financially is more likely to be welcomed the farm. 

This has been made more prevalent by the changes to farm payments as a result of Brexit, and, all these factors combined would support the reason why direct drilling is being more widely utilised as best farming practice. 

It takes less time as ploughing is eradicated and the moving of the soil and insertion of seed are done at the same time, therefore freeing up hours for other tasks on the farm. There are less tractor and machine movements resulting in the need for less fuel, less impact on the atmosphere and less compaction and damage to soil.

Crop performance

Direct drilling is known to improve crop yields. The act of drilling seed directly into the ground means that the risk of seeds being eaten by birds, blown away in windy weather or washed away in wet weather is very much reduced. 

As a result, you are more than likely to see higher crop yields when using direct drilling to plant and spread crops. Also, as the seeds have been planted more precisely, they will also be better spaced and at the correct depth for optimal development and growth.

Are there any disadvantages to direct drilling?

The pros and cons of direct drilling have been the source of debate and discussion for some time and while the pros seem to outweigh cons, it is not to say that direct-drilling is the best method for everyone and there are some considerations to take into account if you are thinking of making this your preferred method for sowing crops. 

First of all, and before you even get started, direct drilling can present significant upfront costs for buying the machinery needed and for some farmers wanting to opt for direct drilling, they may find it restrictive at the outset due to the expense involved. 

Neither is direct drilling a process that can be adopted overnight and it can be a while before the benefits are felt in the soil, especially as it is likely that a pesticide will be required to deal with weed control that would have been done by ploughing previously.

Not all land is suitable for direct drilling and you will need to understand the lie of the land, quite literally, and the condition of the soil you are working with.

For example, direct drilling can be difficult to implement for crops sensitive to compaction or which need to be bedded in fine soil like certain spring crops. Direct drilling is trickier on silty soils where there is less structural activity and, when water is limited, the direct drilling method can penalise the crop. 

Also, if the harvest of the previous crop was difficult, the direct drilling technique will not repair any structural deterioration of the soil.

Direct drilling and the Sustainable Farming Incentive

Despite direct drilling not being suited to all land types, the benefits it can have in terms of time and money saved, preservation of eco-systems in the soil, the reduction of soil compaction and damage and its overall environmental impact makes it an obvious choice to be included within the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions.

Earlier this year, precision farming actions were added to the agreements on offer.

There are four actions set out which include a;

• variable rate application of nutrients over three years at £27 per hectare;
• camera or remote sensor guided herbicide spraying over three years at £43 per hectare;
• robotic mechanical weeding over three years at £150 per hectare, and;
• robotic non-mechanical weeding, again over three years, and paying £101 per hectare. 

The government says the actions will reduce costs and improve yields, improve productivity, benefit biodiversity and soil quality, improve air and water quality.

Direct Drill grants within the Farm Equipment Technology Fund

The costs that come with direct drilling are high if you don’t already have the machinery needed to do it. 

There were grants available via the Farm Equipment Technology Fund that covered the three aims of improving productivity, managing slurry and improving animal health and welfare.

For improving productivity, which would have covered direct drilling, there were grants available to farmers, horticulturalists, forestry owners and contractors that were worth up to £50,000. 

However, the window for 2024 applications has now closed but it is worth keeping an eye out to see if they become available again.

In summary

Direct drilling is perceived as a shift from the more traditional method of farming but even for the most hardened and experienced farmer it ought to be taken into consideration. 

It can have several benefits from less labour, money and fuel needed to the environment improvements it delivers. There are, of course, some downsides to bear in mind such as the costs needed to purchase the machinery and that it may not be effective on unsuitable soil types but the arguments lean towards it becoming a preferred method for farming in the future.