Controlled Traffic Farming as a protection aid for soils, now and in the future
The talk will summarise the benefits of confining machinery compaction to the least possible area of field soils, how this is being achieved with existing machinery and how a changed mechanisation could improve the efficiency with which it is achieved in the future.
Tim Chamen trained as an agricultural engineer and spent 25 years at Silsoe’s Institute of Ag. Engineering Research where he worked on tillage tool development and the effects of machinery compaction on soil and crop responses. As part of the compaction trial he project-managed development of an experimental 12 m gantry tractor for field-scale trials and experiments.
Since leaving Silsoe in 1996, he has worked independently, undertaking contracts for machinery manufacturers, the European Union, a UK producer-funded body, Natural England and others.
Always maintaining the thread of avoiding compaction damage to soils, in 2004 he initiated a 6-year field demonstration of controlled traffic farming in the UK in partnership with John Deere, Unilever and Dale Drills. Since then he has worked independently to promote CTF in the UK and with partners across mainland Europe. This has involved running farm-based workshops, training days and producing web-based information for a CTF member organisation.
In 2011 he received a doctorate from Cranfield University covering the impact of field traffic on soils and crops, and the profitability of controlled traffic farming (CTF) systems.
Contact Sarah to book your place - the Zoom details will be sent via email.
