Russell McKenzie

Cambridgeshire Farmer and Nuffield Scholar

Russell is Arable Manager for John Sheard farms managing 995 hectares of arable Land on the Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire border.

Cropping consists of winter wheat, hybrid barley, oilseed rape, winter beans, spring oats and spring barley, a diverse rotation due to a combination of factors from aiming to optimise blackgrass reduction through the rotation and developing a rotation that is better balanced for no-till to be adopted on his heavy clays.

He is BASIS and FACTS qualified and undertakes the agronomy across most of the 5 units he is responsible for.  A 2014 Nuffield Scholar having researched “Success with no-till under any conditions” to gain a greater understanding of why no-till can work in UK conditions.

With a keen eye for detail with regards to inputs, variety choice, crop establishment and ultimately cost control whilst embracing new challenges and change on the farms he manages there is a strong emphasis on soil management and improvement and focus on maximising output.