BLACKGRASS: SYSTEM BEN OFFERS ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO RESISTANCE MANAGEMENT B E N T AY L O R - D AV I E S 2 0 1 6 N U F F I E L D S C H O L A R
Before my Nuffield Scholarship, my wife and I spent an awful long time in Birmingham children’s hospital’s intensive care unit following a horrific head accident to my son. My career as an agronomist was on a slide as the wretch of mental health issues swamped my everyday life, having a huge effect on my family and my work. It was certainly a time where everything I did became questionable and whilst I put so much energy into my son’s survival, I pondered why as a farm agronomist I was spending so much time and effort into killing anything that became a problem? For me, Nuffield gave me something very different than, I guess, for most. Firstly, I had found it a struggle to leave my family (even for a day’s work) since the accident yet my first trip was to the USA, alone, for 6 weeks, this had possibly the biggest impact on my healing. I had 2 choices, drive around wishing I was at home, or make the most of the trip. Fortunately, I chose the latter and returned with a new found enthusiasm for life and agriculture. Whilst my subject choice was indeed being researched, it was all the other things about agricultural learning that was really shaping my mind and ultimately my future. Actually, the main ‘learnings’ for me, were: the return of being confident in my own ability to just be me, but, more importantly, were mainly the people who I met that offered me an alternative to the problems I was facing in my own career. Encouraging me to work with nature rather than against it, understanding that fighting biology with chemistry and physics was finite and to recognise the fact the answers were out there - if I just took time to look for them. What my successes have been since my Nuffield Scholarship is a huge question and something I am currently writing a book about, so a paragraph will struggle to do it justice! As a farmer first, I began exploring my ’learnings’ and putting these into practice. If diversity is key, why was the farm simply arable? The farm now has 14 enterprises that all complement each other and mean the waste of one is often the start or certainly a use in another. Six more enterprises to go until I have
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reached my ultimate goal of 20. My main business as an agricultural consultant (agronomist) has changed hugely too with the reinvention and rebranding as ’Regenben’ 12 months ago. I now give regenerative advice from the ’learnings’ on my own farm and the business is absolutely flying! And I am having a lot of fun too! (A principle of mine is that if you aren’t having fun, to ask seriously why are you doing it?) However, I think the most overriding thing in my life since Nuffield is ‘energy’. My scholarship seems to have recharged me, my enthusiasm and love for agriculture and life is back. If I can make just a small difference to clients, the general public and the world, then I have succeeded in leaving perhaps just a small dent in the future long-term sustainability of our industry. I think my wider achievement is sharing the knowledge and the basics. I am privileged to be able to speak on many panels, podcasts and webinars about the basics of regenerative agriculture. The fact that farming should be as simple as you can make it, essentially taking 3 free things - precipitation, sunlight and carbon dioxide - putting these through the very catalyst you own ‘soil’ and make money. We have to be careful how far we travel from this model as every input we purchase means someone else is taking a ‘cut’ from your farm business. I also feel I can effect change by questioning and then finding solutions to the reduction and ultimately removal of pollution from agriculture and make sure that every day another step is made into becoming a far more sustainable and profitable industry.
