Charles “Merf” Merfield, head of the Future Farming Centre in Lincoln, and Research Manager and Organic College Tutor at the BHU Organics Trust. Merf has a diverse background in organic and sustainable horticulture and agriculture both managing farms and undertaking research and extension in a range of countries. He therefore has a deep knowledge of real-world farming and science.
Merf discusses what a cover crop is, and what opportunities they present for vegetable growers to enhance their growing systems over the long term. Cover cropping has a long history in conventional agriculture and horticultural systems, but in recent times this practice has fallen out of the farmer’s toolkit.
Merf discusses why cover cropping is about a mindset change as much as it is a practice to adopt on-farm. He encourages growers to gather information, and ask themselves what they want to achieve with a cover crop. “Growers can make it work in their system if they want to… but they should start small and build up experience”