On-farm trials at Strategic Cereal Farm Midlands (2025 to 2031)

AHDB Strategic Cereal Farms put cutting-edge research and innovation into practice on commercial farms around the UK. Each farm hosts field-scale and farm-scale demonstrations, with experiences shared with the wider farming community.

Will Oliver is the host of Strategic Cereal Farm Midlands. Located in Leicestershire, Osbaston House Farm includes 650 ha arable land, 100 ha grassland and an indoor poultry unit (with about 150,000 birds). The arable rotation comprises wheat, maize and winter beans (all sold for animal feed).

The farm is keen to try new approaches and refine established ways of working. In particular, the on-farm trials will generate information on ways to optimise inputs, while maintaining yield and improving rotational management.

Updated throughout the duration of the six-year project, this page will feature core information about the trials.

The specific work packages for the first-year trials (harvest 2026) are:

Maize residue management for the following wheat crop

The management of maize residues impacts soil health and has implications to following winter wheat crops (e.g. fusarium risks). This trial will investigate contrasting approaches to manage the break down of maize residues in a no-till system. It will:

• Determine the impact of management approaches on maize residue breakdown in a replicated, field-scale experiment
• Characterise the impact of residue management approaches on wheat crop performance factors, including fusarium risk (by monitoring fusarium inoculum and disease outcomes)
• Conduct a partial cost-benefit analysis

Wright Resolutions Ltd will provide consultancy input to maximise the impact of treatments that include a machinery element.

Optimising organic amendments

Standard average values, such as those published in the AHDB Nutrient management guide (RB209), provide a good indication of the typical nutrient content associated with organic materials. However, the best information is likely to be derived from the actual materials applied in specific situations. This trial will determine if poultry manure nutrient values can be optimised and explore the benefits and trade-offs of poultry manure applications versus inorganic fertilisers. It will:

• Determine whether standard poultry manure field application values provide an accurate proxy for measured values (via a programme of testing)
• Establish a replicated, field-scale experiment to compare nutrients applied in poultry manure versus inorganic nitrogen sources (this will include an assessment of the pros and cons)
• Conduct a partial cost-benefit analysis

Testing technology for decision-making

To make the most out of fungicide and nutrient inputs usage needs to be highly tailored to the farming system and situation (to account for seasonal factors). This trial will examine how to use in-season technologies to target fungicides and nitrogen. It will:

• Use technologies, such as handheld chlorophyll meters, satellite-derived recommendations, crop model outputs, and plant tissue testing, to develop field-specific nitrogen strategies
• Use technologies, such as pre-spray molecular analysis, spore trapping and decision support tools, to support risk-based fungicide strategies
• Compare the farm’s standard nitrogen and fungicide programmes with programmes recommended by technologies in a replicated, field-scale experiment
• Quantify the economic performance and nitrogen use efficiency of each treatment
• Evaluate the effectiveness of each fungicide strategy through a cost-benefit analysis

*Project costs

Costs cover investment to date (harvest 2026) and include VAT. The total project value includes a £6,000 in-kind contribution from The University of Manchester for access to three Sentinel crop disease sensors. These capture yellow rust and brown rust spores and stimulate them to germinate and grow. The growth is detected by an on-board smart camera and can form part of an early warning system for rusts.