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Our third finalist in the FARMERS WEEKLY/Nitram Award operates on a large estate in Norfolk. Peter Grimshaw reports
PLANNING AND providing soil and plant nutrition at Lord Iveagh's Elveden Farms is conducted with almost military co-ordination and precision.
Arable manager Ian Robertson, with 20 years' experience at Elveden, pulls down a detailed wall map of the 4000ha (9900 acres) under the plough. Cereals are his primary responsibility, but he explains his work is integrated with that of colleagues responsible for other areas on the map.
Management ranges from primitive heathland to high-output vegetable production, with livestock enterprises also included.
Four times a year Mr Robertson, his fellow managers and a panel of advisers get together for "nutrition meetings". They review all aspects of soil management and particularly nutrient balances, following the estate's philosophy of farming both for today...