Farm Walks 2025 – Andrew Bergin ’12 Years of No-Till, Is it Worth It?’

How can changes to machinery, workload, soils, crops and biodiversity help your tillage farm thrive?

Andrew Bergin farms 320 acres of tillage. He practices no-till cereals while managing the soil in a way to promote high levels of biological benefits. Andrew sows cover crops, and is constantly trailing on farm what species work best for his soil and rotation. This is an integral part that has allowed Andrew prosper in this system that benefit both the environment and the farmer. His approach is to improve the soil structure and the microflora and insect populations in the soil. Crops include spring and winter cereals, oil seed rape and peas. Integrated crop management is practiced to minimise the use of sprays – no insecticides have been used in the last 5 years. Pollinator strips, 6 – 10 meters wide are in place around most of the tillage fields margins, attracting large numbers of insects and birds. In addition, a number of fields margins and other areas, which were difficult to cultivate for tillage crops, have been planted with trees – oak, beech, birch, holly, hazel, pheasant berry etc. Some of these have been in place for over 10 years and provide excellent cover for birds. In one area the pyramid orchid has established and is flourishing. Hedgerow are diverse and managed to encourage nature. Andrew’s farm is moving away from excessive inputs and looking bring new ideas and knowledge as well as a positive focus to a type of farming generally considered less environmentally friendly. “It is important to get involved in and look at local research so we can each discover what is best for our own soils, not what chemical is best to throw on it.”