A new monitor farm, overseen by AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds’, will open its doors to visitors next month.

Lower Odd Farm, near Malmesbury, is a traditional mixed farm run by Roger Wilson and his family.

The farm is one of six new Monitor Farms to join AHDB’s scheme this summer.

The farm in Crudwell is 180 ha predominantly owned land. The arable rotation includes winter wheat, oilseed rape, spring beans, winter and spring barley and grass leys.

All crops are dried and stored on-farm.

The beef are fed home-grown cereals with around 65 finished each year.

Key challenges for the farm are the threat of ryegrass, inconsistent bean yields, rape establishment, pyrethroid resistance and managing the heavier soils.

As president of the Wiltshire Young Farmers Club and former chairman of the National Federation, Roger is keen that young farmers, not just his son, get involved in the monitor farm.

Roger said: “I wanted to become a monitor farmer because exchanging knowledge and information between farmers is very important and we don’t do it enough.

"Our neighbours aren’t our competitors, we need to share our expertise.

“I’m 58, and my son is desperate to farm here when he finishes his studies.

"In a way we’re lucky because we can work together. But a small farm of this size couldn’t support both of us at the same time. That’s why I’m hoping that we can look at succession planning during the monitor farm programme.

“I’m really looking forward to getting input from other farmers, both young and old.

"At the end of the three years of the programme I hope that we’ll have a better understanding of our soil’s capacity.

"We’re also just starting to use variable rate fertiliser so I’d like to know whether we’ll see any benefit from it.”

The new monitor farm will open its doors to visitors on June 26, and attendees at the launch will have the opportunity to analyse the business and identify the key issues they think need to be addressed during the three-year programme.

The principle is that these topics will also be relevant to most arable businesses in the area, so that the future meetings provided will be of value to all those who participate.