Welcome

Soil compaction is becoming an increasingly expensive problem for farmers and growers! It costs money to repair, it reduces crop yields and it has many negative impacts on the environment. Wheel loads of over 10 Mg are now irreversibly damaging many soils – our fundamental resource. See this video clip

But, economics and practicality demand that we use large high output machines. Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) recognizes these realities and addresses compaction by confining it to the least possible area. It does this by keeping tracks in exactly the same place year in year out.

It's a very simple principle and can be achieved on many different scales and in many different ways, but the outcome is always positive. It is guaranteed to reduce growers' costs and increase their returns. Look at this simple flash animation (English) (Deutsch) (Français) to see how CTF brings order to chaos! If you think CTF makes sense download a flier to find out more and join the increasing number of growers who want to embrace the "straight and narrow"!

Information in brief:

News

24 January 2010

We are using the year 2010 as a means of promoting the advantages of controlled traffic farming - a 20% reduction in inputs matched by a 10% increase in outputs; and judging by those who have converted, these are modest claims.

04 December 2009

Controlled Traffic Farming and Spatial Technologies efficiently manage in-field variability - The abstract below is sent to the organisers of the 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA) to be held in Colorado on 18 - 21 July 2010.

11 November 2009

DK: Temadag autostyring 9 dec Horsens i samarbejde med Danske Maskinstationer og Entreprenører Medlemmer af CTF Europe indbydes hermed til at deltage i en temadag, hvor autostyringssystemer bliver sat grundigt under lup.

04 September 2009

We have received news from one of our members about a novel "centre pivot" mechanisation system using the controlled traffic principle.

This month's story:

As part of a visit to Denmark, the Netherlands and UK by a group of Australian growers last June, our CTF Europe representative in the Netherlands, Sander Bernaerts, arranged for us to visit Ted and Nicoline Vaalburg in North Holland. Ted and Nicoline's passion for CTF and its ability to protect soils, was infectious.

Read their story so far

This Month's Photo

The farm designed and built transplanter on a 3.12 m track width

This automatic planter achieved 5 ha per day in 2009 but it is destined to achieve 9 ha per day next season.

Calendar

9 February 2010, UK
RTK auto-steer
All you need to know - and more!
Carrington, Boston, Lincs, UK
Bookings now being taken, please go to our Workshops page for more information

10 March 2010
Precision Farming Event
East of England Showground
Peterborough, UK
Including presentation by CTF farmer, Nick August

19-20 April 2010
CTF and Conservation Tillage
Coordination of CTF Research
and conservation tillage,
Tänikon, Switzerland

12-13 May 2010
Know Your Farm - With Precision Agriculture
LandWISE, New Zealand
A conference on Precision, Soil Care and CTF

May 2010
Implementation of an 8 m CTF system. Farm visit, Sweden

June 2010
CTF in forage grass, Denmark