In answer to Tamsyn and Abby's questions about companion crops...we don't really know. In theory, companions are better for the soil and planet. Monocultures very rarely occur in the wild, so we are asking to problems if we try and grow them in our fields. All the evidence suggests that pest, weed and disease problems are reduced where suitable companions are grown, which should mean less need for chemical intervention. However, there will be a certain amount of guesswork when it comes to working out what are suitable companions.

The easiest one (for all these crops) would probably be to sow an under-storey of white clover, which would suppress weeds and add a little bit of N, but it wouldn't be harvestable. It's a cost for an uncertain benefit. Otherwise, for wheat or spelt, some faba beans sound like the best option; they would add diversity and a bit of N and each crop would get some benefit of disease and weed suppression. But these benefits only really apply if we go for no extra N after the seed-bed application, ie a quasi-organic approach. Similarly the lentils work best if they are the main crop and oats are sown at 15 to 25% of their normal seed-rate and are effectively a trellis for the lentils to grow up. Lentils are pulses so have to be grown without N fertiliser, hardly anyone grows them in the UK, whether that's inertia or for good agronomic reasons, I don't know. Oats and lentil seed are a similar size and weight so are tricky to separate. The separation doesn't hurt either seed necessarily, but might reduce the value if we can't make a clean job of it.

I'm deliberately making a hash of selling companions to you as there is risk attached, either low/no yield or contaminated crops meaning we don't get paid. As people have pointed out, we're all invested in this and it would be a shame to kill the idea off with a spectacular failure in year one. What I think we'll do anyway (regardless of whatever you vote for in this field) is to plant two or three demonstration companion crops plots in the Groundswell field for delegates to look at during that show at the end of June (Andy Howard is speaking at the show, so he can lead people through the plots). This will satisfy my curiosity and also be something for #ourfield people to look at everytime they come up.

Interesting idea @christinelewis - @johncherry would a 50/50 field split be a feasible option? For example, half the field spelt and half spelt with companion crop? A couple of people have suggested spelt and lentils - I checked my notes and have written that lentils would be a potential companion crop for oats (and this combination has been done successfully in London), but it is hard to separate the crops post harvest; however, I thought that spelt and lentils were not an option as the spelt outgrows and overshadows the lentils so they don't get the light and beans would be the more suitable companion crop for spelt (and wheat)? If we choose the right varieties of spelt and beans they will ripen at the same time and there is less disease potential, potentially resulting in a higher yield than mono cropping. @johncherry what are the pros and cons to the potential different companion crop combinations?

It seems worth remembering that every action on the field has costs, so splitting it immediately doubles the possible number of actions. Further the field itself is just a small part of a larger farm, so presumably the point of making decisions is to make them, not just to say 'lets do a little of everything'? We have to be careful not to turn our horse into a camel.

@grahamehunter I am in agreement, we shouldn't do a little of everything and I suspect that wouldn't align with a desire to succeed with a model that breaks even. I love to explore all options and non-options to understand the reasons for and against before reaching a final decision; thank you for your reply :-)

Hi Everyone
Have really enjoyed reading the discussion so far. I think Tessa said something close to what I had been thinking too. I'm interested in seeing how farming happens on the farm as it would normally run, and to some extent taking a similar set of decisions as John and Richard would without us there. I think that being no-till is already an exciting innovation so ensuring our decisions are broadly in line with what supports the no-till principle seems important to me.

I also agree that I don't want to expose the group to a large amount of risk for the sake of quite extreme experimentation. There is definitely a value in showing that this is replicable - both for farmers and non-farmers.

So I think my preference would probably be for either wheat or spelt without a companion crop (and using inputs as necessary). I'm ready to be persuaded about the companion crops though, but slightly wary of trying something for the first time without consulting closely with someone who has done it before!

I would be really interested in looking at new ways of marketing the crop and I think I remember hearing at the farm that it's worth starting to think about that as soon as we can. I quite like the idea of an "OurField" branded product at the end of it!

Hi,

Great discussion, really good to read.
There is so much to know and I do support John when it comes to the complexity of companion cropping. Andy Howard has written an excellent Nuffield report on the subject - The potential for companion cropping and intercropping on UK arable farms. And their are a great many places for further information on Green Manures, which are crops that can add benefit to the soil, this one is quite thorough and is recommended in Andy's report - http://www.organicresearchcentre.com/manage/authincludes/article_uploads/iota/technical-leaflets/green-manures-species-selection.pdf.
Field beans make a sensible choice from what I'm looking at in this discussion so far as they are relatively straightforward to grow alongside cereal crops and have a marketable value.
Oats or the mulika wheat for the maiincrop seems sensible. I'm not a farmer and most of the farmers I work with are organic and not min-till, though some are reduced tillage. So, I don't know how a green manure would work for John in terms of then not ploughing back in.

@nikitagulhane Hi, Niki You were the first to propose a combination of spelt and lentils together - after reading the several other posts since, and some relevant links, is there anything you would like to add to or vary your suggestion?

Hi All, apologies for coming late to #OurField. I'm a farmer's son and a crop researcher with the company ADAS, and I also took part in Field of Wheat (though afraid I never made it to any of the meetings). We run the Yield Enhancement Network (www.yen.adas.co.uk) which involves a yield competition and works with most of the major agri-businesses ... so i come from the conventional intensive agriculture end of spectrum, and by & large I'm prepared to defend intensive agriculture from a sustainability perspective (mainly because it enables land sparing see- http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v6/n5/abs/nclimate2910.html). However, I recognise that continued improvements in productivity and sustainability require consideration of the full food, farm and soil ecosystem, and that all farmers researchers & advisors have much to learn from each other whatever system they come from.

Regarding the decision here, spring wheat or oats grown more or less conventionally would both be a pretty safe bet. However, they don't necessarily play to the advantages brought by the collective in #ourfield. I know very little about spelt, but if we are sure we have a market, the price is high enough and we are confident we'll be able to harvest at least some yield (2-3 t/ha?) with a saleable quality then i feel it may be worth the risk. I wouldn't advocate companion cropping at this stage, especially not with lentils that no-one in the UK knows how to grow alone, let alone with another unfamiliar crop. But would be great to see a strip sown so we know for the future.

@johncherry John, i may have missed it, but please can you say what your soil type is? Do you have any recent soil analysis, ideally with soil organic matter %? Do you ever get soil mineral nitrogen tests done in spring? Out of interest what typical yield of winter wheat would you expect? Can you give the grid reference or latitude/longitude for the field? Sorry for all the questions. We can enter this field into the YEN and get a 'soil health check' analysis from NRM, and i should also be able to get satellite imagery through the season.

This is to introduce the first vote

_ Once upon a time a Farmer and his Agronomist were discussing what to plant, and how it should be treated, and the advantages of companion crops on their farm with their equipment in a particular field._

_ They soon realised that in their circumstances if there were to be companion cropping there was a __ big risk__ of the quality of both crops being diminished, the separate yields lower, and with a high likelihood that the end product would end up as animal feed._

This is where we are at Weston now. For this reason _the first decision to be made is whether the Group _

• wants to be more adventurous, more experimental, whilst knowing the resultant crops would be of poorer quality, harder to separate and most likely end up at least in large part as animal fodder.
  or

• wants to aim for the highest quality crop which would definitely end up as food for humans, including the possibility of making bread flour.

So here is the first binary choice:

Does the group wish to be experimental?

(= adventurous with companion cropping, but with the likely harvest being poorer, and most probably used for animal food,)

or

Does the Group instead want to aim for a high quality single crop (mono-culture)?

(= safer, and with the intention this will definitely be for people to eat?)

__ It is only yes or no – so read these statements carefully __

• Vote __ YES __ to support an adventure into a multi-crop, perhaps with poorer outcomes.
• Vote __ No__ to avoid companion cropping and go for best quality single crop, intended for the human food chain – including baking quality.

This vote may be in the wrong order for me as I am swaying between just spelt or wheat with a companion crop of beans (not lentils as it’s too unknown and doesn’t seem a good match for either grain).

I think we should take some risk – and try one newish thing for John – but not try all new ideas at once and make things much more complicated than they already are / need to be. I too would like the project to look successful to others – not wholly financially but also that we have not been afraid to move slightly further away from standard farming practices in the UK. I think either of my options will do this and would be happy with both.

Some of you may be interested in a little experiment I have carried out. Post visiting the farm I hunted out some spelt flour to make some spelt bread for the first time. I found Dove’s wholewheat organic easily at Sainsbury’s (£2/1kg) but had to go to Waitrose for white, where they had Waitrose own non organic (£2/1kg) and Sharpham Park organic (£3.50/1kg).

I made a 100% white, 100% wholemeal and 50/50 (this is the taste I prefer when I use wheat). I found the white to be a bit dull tasting, the 50/50 to be ok and the wholemeal to be really tasty (more than wheat and with a softer structure to the loaf). The 100% wholemeal spelt loaf therefore appeals to me from a nutritional point of view as I can move away from my previous 50/50 wheat. @nikireynolds @tamsynforsyth as nutritionists you may have some useful info to share on the differences?

I have a few questions that would help me (and maybe others) decide between my own two options.

@johncherry You have said that lentils would need to be the main crop with oats at only 15 to 25%. Do you know a rough ratio needed for wheat:beans?

@romymiller I have seen that Gails makes some spelt loaves sold through Waitrose and maybe sometimes directly Have you had much feedback from your customers about the bread? Was it popular or hard to sell?

My vote:

In order to keep things moving and make a vote on this proposal though I have said no – this is based on John’s suggestion he will try companion cropping elsewhere on the farm anyway, from looking at overall views spelt seems to be the most popular option at the moment (probably myself included) and my hope that we end up with human quality food (ideally that can be used for bread).

@wendyalcock as far as my knowledge on spelt goes, the wholegrain flour contains a higher proportion of protein than the white (note that spelt flour generally has a higher protein content than other types of grain flour such as wheat), and it also contains a greater portion of dietary fibre (crucial for gastrointestinal health and digestion). The white spelt flour has some nutritional advantages over the wholegrain flour, primarily being lower in calories and having a lower gluten level. As with protein, spelt flour generally is lower in gluten levels than many other types of grain. Hope that helps :-) If anyone else knows any more / different please shout!

@wendyalcock I am interested in the spelt bread discussion - but as my remarks are really nothing to do with the main subject, I am going to set up a new "random" topic, and comment there..

As I mention in my introduction I'm really interested in people growing their own food together & would be very happy if we grew something that all (or most) of us ended up using as food. To me this would be a very successful outcome. I understand this will take extra work (figuring out processing and/or marketing) rather than just selling onto the commodity markets - but I'm up for putting efforts into that.

With this in mind I think oats would be a great choice as most people dont bake their own bread. I eat lots of porridge, oat cakes (I've never made them, but have a friend who does and they are quick, easy and crumbly delicious) and even sometimes use oat groats as a respectable alternative to brown rice. So I've been doing a fair bit of research on growing oats.

At the farm @harryboglione wondered about the possibility of using naked oats, which are interesting as they are much easier to process for food. They also dont need to be heat treated, so, if you were so inclined could sometimes be sprouted (for higher nutritional value & greater variety of uses).

I'm also very into soily stuff and intrigued by the possibility & effects of cover crops, although it would be sad if what we grew could not be used for human food. I got excited about the idea of lentils & oats (thinking of eating a dahl curry with oat groats - a meal from the field), but If I'm understanding correctly separating will be difficult and could potentially lead to the crop having to go for animal feed.

I wonder about the possibility of using a field pea instead as a companion for oats, as the larger size would surely make separation easier?

I'm much less interested in making a financial profit (or breaking even) - although of course it would be good if we could.

I wonder, if you really tried, if you could eat £150 or even £200 (retail price) worth of oats in a year??? ;-)

Very interesting reading through so far. I'm in two very different minds about the direction and hopefully writing it all down will lead me to an answer! I really like the idea of companion cropping but I think for me, I'd like to see this as more of a long term project that sets a framework and baseline to encourage the uptake of this model.

I think taking an element of risk and learning within this project is vital, otherwise, what do we share to others once we reach the end of our first season. For me I think the first year (I'm hoping for more...) is a great means of a proof of concept, that collaboration and community investment can prove to be an "ecomonic" and sustainable model for the future of farming, especially in light of the challenges we're going to face over the coming years with policy upheavel and what the future of farming in the UK is currently looking like. So in that respect, I see this as an opportunity to show that other means of farming are viable, and in so, think an element of calculated risk that proves this concept works with the notion of this model potentially being a long-term one seems wise.

I think especially in terms of some of the points John has raised about the separation/processing and the trails they are doing too - I think we could take this time as an opportunity to take a calculated risk that has more opportunity than threat and then research and plan toward a companion cropping method for future rounds. I think if we were to do the latter now it could be rushed as it seems like we won't have the time or knowledge yet to really fully know how we can maximise what we're doing and how to shape it.

So, in longwinded terms, perhaps parking companion cropping this time and seeking a strong foundation through something that's still ultimately an unknown, because it hasn't been done here, but has a lower risk associated with it. So spelt for me.

This is a difficult decision, so I would like to make the reasons behind my vote as clear as possible.

In an ideal world, with the benefits of sharing the risk with forty people, I would be in favour of growing food in a way that is least damaging to our environment. For example, I would love to be growing organically. This however only feels viable if we were thinking long term and had time to prepare the soil, and if we had the field for over three years so that we could actually sell organically for it to make sense financially. So while I know what I stand for, I feel that voting in line with that isn't necessarily always an option for me (but happy to consider spraying less than the amounts usually sprayed)

Similarly, in an ideal world I would be in favour of experimenting with companion crops as an alternative to mono cultures. While I am attracted by the potential benefits to the soil and potential for weed suppression, I am put off by the dangers of ending up with a crop that can't be sold for human consumption. I am, however, delighted that John will experiment regardless of our decision here, and perhaps it would be good to observe that experimentation closely and let that influence #ourfields to come (here and elsewhere hopefully!) Given John's willingness to experiment, I'm feeling less inclined to experiment with companion cropping on our particular field until we have a bit more experience with it.

While there is so much that has brought me here - more than anything I would love to be a part of a movement that challenges a farming system that disrespects and undervalues the land and those who grow our food. I would like for our experience to encourage others to connect to their food and food growers and present a viable model for the farmer's usual or expected risk to be shared. So while in my own food growing at a smaller scale I would perhaps decide differently and jump straight into experimentation... on this scale, and with the opportunity we have here to be at the beginning of something, I am currently leaning towards growing high quality spelt, keeping an eye on John's experimentation, and learning as much as I can as well as keeping my fingers crossed that we have more years ahead to experiment as we gain more experience and knowledge!

It's a hard decision but I hope this clarifies where I stand at this point on our journey - even though I do feel that I am swaying between options inside me still!

I'm finding this simple approach to decision-making a challenge, but I can go with it. Is a good test of my ability to stand back from my inner control freak.

The challenging bit is that I don't know what John has in terms of equipment when it comes to drilling and then maintaining the crop, harvesting and storage and how any crop or crops would fit within his whole farm system. Apologies that I didn't make it to the first farm visit, I would have if I could.
So, considering that I don't have all of that information I'm in favour of companion cropping because of soil care while still producing what I'd like to think are acceptable yields and reasonable quality of a crop or crops.
Crop choice? Oats and beans would seem appropriate but I would be swayed also by drilling and harvest dates. I'd suggest that they'd need to differ between the two crops or John will struggle to successfully manage all that he has to do with this one field let alone across the rest of his farm. A companion cropping system can be relatively straightforward, but it needs planning. The economics of oats and beans is that they are appropriate to both human and animal consumption so depending on quality the markets are potentially available but again this would perhaps be best planned ahead of harvest. So, to investigate buyers and specifications quite early on, I would suggest.
And I'd like to see this as a step on a path rather than an end in itself. By which I mean I'm happy to accept a series of challenges to overcome as long as we learn along the way. We can learn by only applying what John would normally. For some of this group that might suit. And I can go with that if that is what people would prefer. I'd like to be more adventurous. But I work in the food and farming sector and I'm also here to learn how people who are not my usual circle see and feel about food production. My vote will be to agree with being adventurous. And what will be the next step? Do we have a list of steps? Sorry, have looked but not seeing that on here.

If there's a poorer harvest that results from doing a more ecologically friendly approach, are we sure this means it would have to go to livestock feed? My understanding is that the grading system for wheat determines that bread wheat has to have the desired 11+% gluten content; if a harvest fails to meat this specification its only market in the UK now is either biscuit flour (which is limited), or for the most part livestock feed. However, it was not always the case that we are leavened bread in the UK, and it is leavened bread only that requires the high gluten content (for structure etc). Are we able to decide that farming this crop in an ecologically optimal way is an absolute requirement, and that whatever the harvest is we will find a way of making sure it ends up being consumed directly by humans in a delicious and nutritious way. Flat breads, gruels and porridges, pancakes, dumplings, puddings - all of these traditional peasant dishes did not require (or have the luxury of imagining) the kind of high protein bread we expect now... For this reason I vote for the livestock feed crop but with the hope and dedication to making sure it does me end up with livestock but with humans. Please forgive me if I have misunderstood one of the parameters of our operation (eg realistically how will we market our "substandard" crop for human consumption!)

At a meeting this morning of the ourField organisers, it was agreed to extend voting until midnight __ tonight __ and all members of the group are urged to read the many interesting comments and _ please cast a vote. _

Tony Allan
I have tried - but failed to have recorded - a YES vote - for Spelt with companion crop (legume).

The vote would have been made VERY VERY easy if John were to be sowing another field to Spelt.

At our local Tufnell Park (NW5) artisan baker this morning we bought some Spelt bread and a Spelt 'croissant'. They are both very good to eat indeed.

Finding this decision really hard. I do not want to compromise the crop for the sake of experimentation - I really want to aim for a quality end product that provides great quality food. However, I'm really excited by the possibility for a companion crop to be nurturing the soil, sharing minerals and water, increasing biodiversity all whilst growing our 'cash crop'. I know there are safer companion crops like clover, so although I wouldn't vote to grow lentils, I really hope we can choose a less risky companion crop. So I'm hoping that we can experiment a little but at the same time not take a massive risk :)

I have also found this a really difficult decision because there are compelling reasons for and against both options. I've been swaying between agree and disagree.

In light of the various risks that have been outlined, and that John is also planting companion crops on the Groundswell project, for me one of the key attractions of this option is that it would enable us to minimise inputs. However, I'm not clear by how much as it seems that we would still need some, especially if we want human consumption grade.

This issue of human grade consumption seems really important, but would we only be able to achieve that with a lot of inputs? This also seems a shame if one of the ideas of our field was to spread the risk of trying something new.

I guess I'm also trying to work out on which side of the fence is my middle ground I'm most comfortable with:

Either mono cropping with fewer inputs than would usually be applied, and likely have a grain people can eat... I like the idea of spelt for the reasons others have also pointed out.

or

Experiment a little with companion cropping but not take massive risk (as Abby just said in her comment) in terms of having a good crop, and continuing this as a viable farming model in the future. There are still so many unknowns, but it's come to the crunch time so I think I'm going to have to go with this option.

OK, we seem to have got a result from a turnout of just over 50%...you want a bit of adventure.

This makes the next choice, which we need to get on with, a matter of what to grow and, by extension, how to grow it.I've been mulling over the companion choices and talking to people who've had a go and these are my suggestions:

1) Spring wheat (var. Mulika) grown with a crop of beans. These should ripen at the same time and complement each other fairly well and be relatively easy to separate post harvest.

2) Spelt and an under-story of legumes, probably a mix along the lines of white clover, alsike clover, yellow trefoil and black medic. These will grow much lower than the spelt (which can reach 6 foot apparently) and provide a tiny bit of nitrogen without competing too much. I've no idea how it will work...

3) Oats and an under-story as well. Or oats and beans, but I think the oats will be fit too soon, before the beans are ready.

Adding legumes means we are going to be restricted with how much nitrogen we can use and that might mean we get a thin crop. As it is a cereal crop with legume companion, we could argue the point a bit and give it a decent starter dose of N and see what happens. The options I've chosen should, I hope, not compromise the quality of any grain produced, I had been fretting that growing a bean with the spelt was going to be very tricky at harvest and result in a delay which might involve harvest rain spoiling the grain. This way we'll be cutting above the legume layer and not having un-sievable seeds in the harvested grain (the clovers and trefoil seeds that make it into the combine can be removed easily and possibly used for next years cover, as long as there aren't too many weed seeds in as well...).

There's a lot of 'mights' and 'maybes' in there I'm afraid, but I suppose that is what having an adventure is all about.

John, if we are growing a legume companion crop I'm not sure it makes sense to apply any N fertiliser - this negates the benefit of the legume as it will likely replace any N fixation... and i'm not sure of the legality of applying N to legume assuming you are in an NVZ? However, i agree it could give both crops a good start if soil N levels are low - can you say what the soil type is and what level of soil N you'd expect?

I don't think the spring wheat & beans option will stack up for us - I've seen wheat-beans intercrops grown at Reading Uni and in various EU research projects - past results show the beans alone won't provide enough N to give sufficiently high protein content for the wheat ... and if we apply a decent dose of N fertiliser it really defeats the point of the legume companion crop in the first place, as the beans won't then nodulate and fix N themselves.

I therefore feel that oats or spelt would be a better bet as have much lower fertiliser N requirement and we could grow without any N fertiliser and hopefully still have passable quality. Agree that oats will mature before beans, and too big a risk from lodging, brackling, sprouting, rotting etc of the oats if have to wait for the beans to come fit before harvesting - could be a disaster. An understory of clover, vetch, lucerne could work well, especially if you can keep it going til next season and derive some further value from it. So question then is which of oats and spelt is likely to do best in this situation and which has the greatest marketing opportunity. Given that spelt would be low yielding in any case, and price should be higher i think spelt may be the best option. It also gives the best opportunity to create a good marketing story around the product, especially if members of the collective have good ideas on how we could sell the spelt grain or flour innovatively, rather than as a commodity. Whilst we can't label it as organic, we could claim it to be 'ecologically grown' or similar.

Interested to hear others views.

With the group having made the choice for companion crops and accepting this probably means the outcome ends up as animal feed I thought the next decision would be easier but I am very far away from knowing which option I will support. I value everyone's contributions to the discussions though and know we will get there! My initial thoughts were that because the output will probably be for animal feed maybe Spelt was wrong as it is developing as specialised bread making, then I thought what a strange thought that was - good protein is needed for all food chains. Now I think all options are going to be interesting in their own way. I do think an initial boost of nitrogen to give a good start may be helpful so that we can reduce additives later. Looking forward to the next set of options. Would be good to know in advance the timelines so I can make sure I don't miss any deadlines.

@christinelewis in terms of timelines I think that the next proposal will be started this evening and the vote will close Sunday night at midnight.

Just to be clear, the options I've outlined above should all result in decent human-consumption quality grain. It's just that with the latter two, we will probably only harvest the cereal half of the partnership to avoid spoilt grain. The first one, wheat and beans, should be separable post harvest and both crops perfectly edible, though not many people in the UK eat the Faba beans we grow (the best are exported to N Africa for human food, the rest animal feed). Marketing oportunity there...we've got a few tonnes in the shed from last year (grown as a monoculture) if anyone wants to work on recipes...

Hi everyone,

Just posting some of the reading list for 'choosing the crop' in the main thread so opening the word doc doesn't seem as daunting.

Happy browsing, and good luck!

Abi Aspen

SPELT

Northern Grain Growers
All about spelt!
http://northerngraingrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/SPELT.pdf

OATS

SARE (sustainable agriculture research and education): OATS
All about oats!
www.sare.org

WHEAT

Senova - Mulika Spring Wheat
http://www.senova.uk.com/#/mulika

Farming Forum thread on Mulika (2013)
https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/mulika-spring-wheat.13492/

GRAINS

The Real Bread Campaign
Amazing guide to all things bread!
www.sustainweb.org

NO-TILL

Conservation tillage ‘no-till’ (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20080620032531/http:/www.monsanto.com/biotech-gmo/asp/topic.asp?id=ConservationTillage#mid

Groundswell Agriculture No-till conference and movement
http://www.groundswellag.com/
Event overview: https://youtu.be/LjLyuJr0W2Q

INTERCROPPING

Andrew Howard (2016). The potential for companion cropping and intercropping on UK arable farms
The potential for companion cropping and intercropping utilization on UK arable farms and to understand the benefits and limitations of such systems.
http://nuffieldinternational.org/rep_pdf/1474016405Andrew-Howard-report-2015.pdf

University of Manitoba. Intercropping with Organic Spring Wheat (2005)
Experiments and results
http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/naturalagriculture/articles/wheatintercrop.html

Oxford Real Farming Conference 2017. Companion cropping PODCAST
http://orfc.org.uk/companion-cropping/

This is amazing! Thank you Abi!

Here is also a really nice article about one farmer in the UK, Ian Wilkinson, who has been growing companion crops for a while: http://www.agricology.co.uk/companion-crops-are-farmer%E2%80%99s-friend
if you would rather listen then there is also a recording of the talk with Ian Wilkinson and Andy Howard sharing their stories and ideas at Oxford Real Farming Conference a few months ago: http://orfc.org.uk/companion-cropping/
(just saw Abi posted that link above as well! :) )
@johncherry have you ever been in touch with Ian? It would be great to hear his thoughts as well!

@danielkindred Sorry, I never answered your first questions from 5 days ago, so here goes: Soil type...glacial discharge mix, really a chalky boulder clay overlying chalk, but we get thinner patches and heavier bits. Soil tests, the last one we did for this field was 2011 and it was a conventional Mg/P/K/pH test which showed that everything was index 1 to 3, pH 7 to 7.5. Unfortunately no SOM %age, but actually most SOM tests are unreliable and, although we haven't put any P, K or Mg on most fields since 2011, our indices are creeping up as the soil biology flourishes and extracts more mineral from the clay.
Typical winter wheat yield...7.5 tonne/ha (average, rather than typical). Grid ref, RPA sheets O/S sheet TL2529 field 2256 if that means anything to you.
I agree with your points about applying N to legumes being a waste of N and legume both, but there is evidence that a dose early on can give the legume a good start before it forms its relationship with the N-fixing rhizobia on the roots. Too much and the rhizobia won't bother. As for the legality, it's a grey area, we are growing a cereal crop, the legumes are companions. We are giving the cereal an N boost. I'd love to drop N altogether, but it might be a painfully thin harvest, especially as this was wheat last year, so soil N levels likely to be low.
In answer to your other question about soil N testing, we do sometimes do this and levels are higher than you might expect. Can't now find any paperwork which would tell me what that actually is...you'll just have to believe me...

Thanks John, If I can get a soil analysis and sorted and paid for are you OK to take a sample from #OurField? Would be good to have estimate of SOM% so get an idea of likely mineralisation.
Agree starter N worth considering. Also agree naked oats are another viable option.

We'd be delighted. Who will do the test out of interest?

@abiaspen Just while I think of it...the link you posted above wrt Conservation Agriculture is very much the Monsanto line. They have taken over a chunk of the (North and South) American CA acres with their GM glyphosate resistant crops. It works ok for a year or two, but cracks in the system are appearing where farmers neglect two of the three the important strands of CA: constant soil cover and diversity. The third strand, minimal disturbance of the soil is more easily met by the GM growers. This hijacking by Monsanto hasn't done the CA movement many favours, but hey...
Sorry, this is probably off-topic. Whoops.