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he government’s insistence that Britain is effectively broke came as little surprise to Westminster watchers last month. After all, it’s become standard practice for an incoming administration to blame those leaving office for the parlous state of public finances.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is clearly preparing the ground for some deeply unpopular policies. A mixture of spending cuts and tax rises – at least in some form or other – to plug a £20bn “black hole” in the nation’s coffers.
Expect more news this autumn when the Chancellor delivers her first Budget. More infrastructure projects are likely to be cancelled or scaled back – accompanied by a focus on raising revenue by targeting wealth rather than income.
Against this backdrop, farm leaders are asking for the government to ramp up farm support by doubling the agricultural budget to £5.6 billion per year. It’s a bold ask at a time when the Treasury is strapped for cash.
The NFU argues that a huge budget increase is vital if growers and livestock producers are to deliver everything the government is asking of them: affordable food, a better environment and climate change mitigation.
Some of the UK’s most influential environmen-
tal groups agree – including the RSPB, National Trust and the Wildlife Trusts. They say £5.9bn per year is needed to meet legally binding nature and climate targets.
These three groups argue that it will be money well spent. For every pound of public money spent on nature restoration, the return on investment will be at least threefold, according to a recently commissioned report.
Farming must make a seriously compelling argument for the government to deliver what is needed. Pressure on the public purse means other industries and public sectors are also making demands for Treasury finances.
They include the NHS, schools and housing –as well as the transport, energy and defence sectors. All are hard at work lobbying government departments, ministers and senior civil servants as they press their case for money.
For agriculture to be successful, we need to show what our industry can deliver – and how we can solve the challenges faced by the politicians – rather than going to government with a begging bowl.
Johann Tasker Editor
• Pressure mounts over farm budget
• ‘Food security is national security’
• Net Zero target thrown into doubt
The government faces calls to put its money where its mouth is after Defra minister Daniel Zeichner pledged a “new deal” for Britain's farmers.
Mr Zeichner made the pledge dur ing an NFU reception in parliament last month. More than 130 MPs and Peers attended the reception – held one day after Labour outlined its priorities in the King’s Speech.
The government was committed to the agricultural transition away from the Basic Payment Scheme towards environmental payments, he said – and to ensuring the system works for growers and livestock producers.
Rather than Farm Minister, Mr Zeichner will be known as Food Security Minister as the government emphasises the importance of feeding the nation. But his role still encompasses responsibility for agriculture.
“You’ve heard the words food security is national security – it’s absolutely at the centre of Labour’s mission to grow the economy. Food security is a shared mission of this government, and we’ll absolutely share it with you.”
Cover story
Tractor fun-run raises money for charity
A bumper number of drivers marked the 20th Anniversary of the Pink Ladies’ Tractor Road Run last month –raising more than £70,000 for Cancer Research UK.
More than 190 tractors swathed in pink travelled a 20-mile route through south Norfolk and north Suffolk. Thousands of people packed the route in support, while family and friends joined the ladies for a picnic lunch at Gawdy Hall, Harleston.
NFU leader Tom Bradshaw said: “At a time of climate change and the geo-political situation we see at the moment, there has never been a more important time to deliver on those words of food security and national security.”
Mr Bradshaw said Defra secretary Steve Reed must also commit to a transparent transition as direct payments are phased out – and publish its assessment of the impact on both food production and business viability.
The NFU also wants to see government promises on fairness in the supply chain translated into meaningful policy, and legislation to deliver on Labour’s commitment to source 50% of food for the public sector locally “as soon as possible”.
“Food security is a shared mission
Welcoming Labour’s commitment around a trade strategy that promotes high standards of food production, Mr Bradshaw said: “For too long we’ve felt like we’ve been competing with our hands tied behind our backs.”
Environmental groups have also called for a big increase in the government’s budget for agriculture – arguing that more is needed for farmers to tackle the nature and climate crises.
Some £5.9bn per annum is needed to meet legally binding nature and climate targets – and improve the resilience of the UK farming industry, says a report by the RSPB, National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts.
For every pound of public money spent on nature restoration, the return will be at least three times that investment, it adds.
‘Farming one of UK’s most valued professions’ – poll
Farmers are second only to nurses as one of the public’s most favoured and valued professions, suggests an NFU poll.
Some 74% of the public have a favourable view of farmers and growers, recognising how hard growers and livestock producers work in all weathers to produce food for the nation, found the OnePoll survey.
Of those surveyed, 91% said they felt farming was important to the UK economy, demonstrating the key role agriculture businesses play in kickstarting
growth for Labour’s new mission-led government. NFU president Tom Bradshaw thanked the public for their support. "When we’re out in our fields, sheds and glasshouses we never take it for granted and it spurs us on to get the food onto their plates," he said.
“The results of the survey show it is vital the new government recognises how much the public value our farmers and growers and the climate-friendly, nutritious food we provide. This will be a key focus at our reception with new MPs.”
beet too. Offering long-lasting control against cercospora, rust, powdery mildew and ramularia, Revystar ® XE helps crops stay disease free and greener for longer. Visit
Onions could be grown commercially without soil following a ground-breaking partnership between Essex University and major supplier Stourgarden.
Tracy Lawson, of Essex’s School of Life Sciences, is using innovative techniques to grow onions aeroponically and help Stourgarden explore ways to make the production process more environmentally friendly.
Based in Great Horkesley, north of Colchester, Sourgarden is one of the UK’s biggest onion growers. The company supplies supermarkets, glob al restaurant chains and food manu facturers.
Professor Lawson believes growing on ions aeroponically in an air and mist environment could be more sustain able that growing them in fields. She hopes it could reduce the carbon foot print of the crop and reduce disease outbreaks.
“This project is extremely exciting as it expands on our ongoing research focused on manipulating light with in controlled environments and verti cal farms. We’re now channelling this expertise towards a crop with diverse growth stages.”
The research partnership using aeroponic equipment supplied by Let tUsGrow could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, speed up growth and pre vent disease which can leave soil un usable for future crops.
Stourgarden project lead Jonathan Bell says putting onion growing under the microscope will allow the company to better understand the crop’s growth and how environmental conditions af fect plant development.
E“We will be looking at how Controlled Environment Agriculture can play a part in the supply of onions to UK consumers. To wholly replace traditional field production is not the aim, but [it could have] a role in improving current growing and supply.”
The onions are grown in air and irrigated using a nutrient-dense mist. This benefits the plant by increasing access to oxygen and boosting plant
health, resulting in increased growth rates and yields. This method is resource efficient because it reduces use of fertiliser and water.
The experiment is being undertaken in a shipping container. Results so far have shown onion plants respond well in a controlled environment.
Prof Lawson says the plan now is to build on that knowledge and take the research further.
A 6ft maize maze is the latest attraction launched by The Goat Shed farm shop and kitchen – run by Norfolk farmer Sam Steggles just off the A47 between Dereham and Norwich. Designed to look like a goat when viewed from the air, the maize maze at Honingham is already proving a roaring success with visitors young and old. It is open throughout August until 3 September, with thousands of visitors expected to enjoy the
astern region farmers are being urged to have their say on plans to secure the future of Norwich livestock market.
Norwich City Council is holding a public consultation on proposals to move the market to a new location, close to major transport links outside the city. The plan will require parliamentary approval, which the council plans to seek later this year.
The current market has operated from a small site off Hall Road in Norwich since 1960. The council is asking for comments on the proposal to move location before it is discussed by councillors in the autumn.
It said: “The new market will meet the need to provide superior welfare facilities for livestock, help the industry meet the growing calls for greater food security and, food provenance and reduce food miles.”
Investment needed
Norwich Livestock Market has been a feature of the city for hundreds of years. One of the region’s last remaining markets, it requires investment to improve the site facilities and broaden its business activities.
The NFU says it supports the provision of a livestock market in a suitable location for
farmers. In evidence to the council, the union highlighted the key role played by livestock farming across East Anglia.
NFU regional director Zoe Leach said: “It’s vital that farmers can access a successful, vibrant livestock market. It’s important for farm businesses, the rural economy and a landscape shaped by grazing livestock.”
Ms Leach added: “After prolonged uncertainty, we welcome this consultation, and we hope members will take this opportunity to get involved.”
The consultation runs until 26th August at gettalking.norwich.gov.uk.
• Opportunity to join three key projects
• Soil health, slugs and growing pulses
• Results help secure future for farming
The search is on for fowardthinking farmers to take part in trials exploring soil health, the potential of pulses and sustainable slug control.
The British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) is inviting farmers to host and run trials on their individual farms. Participants will receive full back-up and support from BOFIN and other project partners –and be paid for their involvement.
BOFIN founder Tom Allen-Stevens said: "We’ve had a hugely successful year across three projects. We’re looking to build on this success in 202425 and welcome farmers wanting to help shape the future of our industry.”
Farmer-owned BOFIN works with scientists and researchers to secure a more sustainable future for agriculture. It is looking for participatnts for three Defra-funded projects :
• The Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) project. Participating farmers known as Pulse Pioneers compare the effects of pulse crops on soil health and subsequent crops.
“
We’ve had a hugely successful year
• The Thriving Roots Underpin Total soil Health (TRUTH) project. Farmers known as Root Rangers are using soil testing tools – including a novel sensor – to inform their practices and evaluate new genetics and bioproducts.
• The Strategies Leading to Improved Management and Enhanced Resilience against Slugs (SLIMERS) project. Farmers known as Slug Sleuths are trialling ‘slug resistant’ wheat and new ways of combating slugs.
Farmer-led solutions
BOFIN member and Cambridgeshire farmer Rhys Jones is a Slug Sleuth and Root Ranger.
Mr Jones said it was important that growers were part of the conversation about the industry’s future.
Fire chiefs are calling on farmers to prioritise safety this harvest – and protect their businesses for future generations.
“Being involved with agricultural trials helps us to look at new ways of doing things and means we can influence the direction we go in,” said Mr Jones.
Kent farmer and Slug Sleuth Andrew Barr said: “There's so much we need to learn, and farming keeps changing and evolving. I've been frustrated in the past that academic trials were not targeted to what farmers really need solutions for.”
Results from previous academic trials had not always been well communicated to farmers, said Mr Barr. “That’s not the case if we do the on-farm trials that we think are necessary, in conjunction with the academics.”
For full details about the projects, please visit www.bofin.org.uk
Rural fire officer Oliver Everott (left) said farmers needed to devastating fires which could destroy their business and
Slug Sleuths are looking at new ways to combat the pest endanger lives.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service says it responded to 396 incidents on farms during the year to June 2024.
Incidents included 44 fires in standing crops, 52 incidents involving baled straw and 63 fires involving stubble.
A serious fire on a farm could affect the financial stability of even the most well managed business, he added.
“Fire safety on farms should not be a mere tick-box exercise. It should be fully valued, understood and integrated into the daily routines of all farm worker.”
He added: “In the past year, we have seen some devastating emergencies.”
With a background in farm management, Mr Everott has extensive farming knowledge as well as professional fire safety expertise. Essex fire service says this makes him exceptionally well-equipped to address fire safety challenges specific to farms.
Farmers are strongly encouraged to book a free fire safety visit from Ollie.
For details, call 07500 105715 or email oliver.everott@essex-fire.gov.uk.
Simple steps can help maximise the quality of farm-saved seed
Growers are being advised to optimise the use of farm-saved seed this autumn – with tight supplies of some certified varieties.
Farmers looking to secure certified seed for autumn drilling should let their supplier know as soon as possible – if they haven’t already done so, says Stephanie Spiers, of the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB).
“For farmers intending to use farm-saved seed, some fabulous processors are out there,” she adds. “They can quickly turn out the quality farmers need and will collect the royalty at the point of processing.”
Growers choosing the farmsaved route can take some simple steps to manage the area of cropping that will be used to produce their seed to the highest standard possible, says Tom Wheelhouse, technical specialist for UPL.
Selecting the best part of a field for farm-saved seed production gives the best chance of success, says Mr Wheelhouse. Ideally, it should be a promising crop in a traditionally high-yielding part of the farm, he adds.
The crop should be clean of pests and weeds and not following a rotational crop such as maize that can increase disease threats. Preferably, it will have been sown using certified seed, providing confidence in its purity from the start.
“These areas should be regularly inspected. Where diseases such as bunt, ergot, leaf stripe and loose smut are present, do not use it for seed production.
“Effective weed control ensures a clean seed sample is produced, and weeds are not spread to other fields. Rogueing of black grass, brome, wild oats, off-
Machinery should ultra-clean to remove weed seeds or other varieties before harvesting crops destined for farm-saved seed. Harvesting at 15% moisture will avoid the need for grain drying, which in turn can reduce seed germination.
“Harvest in optimum conditions,” says Mr Wheelhouse. “If drying is required, ensure the temperature is not too high and
UPL plans to bring to market a new option based on azoles plus an additional mode of action – with several active substances used as cereal fungicidal seed treatments facing uncertain futures.
Products containing fludioxonil, tebuconazole and ipconazole are all at risk under the EU regulatory process, says UPL’s Tom Wheelhouse. Any decisions on non-approval likely to follow in the UK market, he adds.
“The upshot is the seed treatment market is likely to change quite radically in the next three to five years,” says Mr Wheelhouse.
That could make loose smut control in barley, in particular, more of a challenge, with prothioconazole effectiveness threatened by reduced sensitivity. “It’s a disease that could become more widespread if those actives go.”
UPL has been testing alternative modes of action as possible options to partner with azole chemistry at its Shray Hill research and development centre, one of which is showing promise with broader spectrum control of the main five seed-borne diseases, loose smut, leaf stripe, bunt, fusarium and Microdochium nivale.
“We’re hopeful we will have a product to help growers control these important seed-borne diseases,” says Mr Wheelhouse.
moisture does not drop below 15%. Farm-saved seed should also be stored separately from any other grain.”
Every sample of farm-saved seed should be tested after harvest to assess the quality of the samples. Testing will show the percentage germination and detect seed-borne diseases.
“Fungicide single purpose dressings (SPDs) should be used where testing has established a presence of disease on the seeds or if the seed is untested.”
Seed treatments like Rancona-i-Mix (ipconazole + imazalil) will help ensure rapid and uniform crop establishment. They have a low cost per hectare and control seed-borne diseases that
cannot be controlled with foliar fungicides.
“Further seed treatments on top of the SPD may be required in specific circumstances,” says Mr Wheelhouse. Biostimulant seed treatments like Sunagreen and nutrition like manganese also help improve establishment and early crop growth.
Signal 300ES (cypermethrin) will reduce the damage caused by wireworm, wheat bulb fly, and frit fly. Products containing silthiofam will help control take-all if it is second or third wheat.
A complete list of royalty rates payable on farm-saved seed is available from the BSPB website. Alternatively, farmers can contact their local farm support team.
Crop science organisation NIAB has appointed Mark Fletcher as its head of agronomy services –a new role within the company.
Dr Fletcher will lead NIAB’s team of 20 agronomists and consultants who deliver technical and consultancy services across the country. He previously led Agovista’s northern agronomy team for seven years.
NIAB’s wide-ranging research programme includes member-funded agronomy trials. In his new role, Dr Fletcher will translate trial results into practical on-farm advice to support productive, resilient and regenerative farming methods.
Agronomic issues
He is also the primary contact for NIAB’s external communications relating to strategic agronomic issues, alongside dealing with technical enquiries and production of the NIAB’s portfolio of agronomy publications available to subscribing members.
NIAB commercial services director Nick Watson said: “It’s great news that someone of Mark’s calibre and
ability is joining NIAB; our farmer members will benefit enormously from his experience, skills and knowledge.
“He will be a great asset, not only to our regional agronomy team, but to the whole organisation, in the development and communication of our agronomic direction and services offered to all our members and customers.”
Originally from a mixed family farm in Northern Ireland, Dr Fletcher studied at Queens University of Belfast and Reading University. As well as Agrovista, he has worked for British Polythene Industries, Syngenta, Westland Horticulture and Agrii.
Experienced in advising a range of clients about combinable crops, potatoes, vegetables and fruit, Dr Fletcher’s research interests include plant physiology, nutrition and disease management.
Describing it as a pivotal time for agriculture, he said: “NIAB is unique in the UK in its capability to connect plant science with good agronomy to ensure that the benefits of research the wider industry.”
Increased flexibility
Mayflower has a wider, more flexible growing window than its competitors.
Less inputs and passes means fewer litres in the tank. When everything’s going up, it pays to bring your costs down.
Reduced chemistry costs
Excellent disease package with a Septoria score of 8.9, as well as Soil Wheat Mosaic Virus and PCHI to Eyespot.
This season choose the lower input variety. It could just deliver a higher impact on your bottom line.
Speak to your seed merchant today about availability.
Increased income opportunities
When grown as a milling wheat, it consistently achieves the 13% contract specification of protein with a specific weight of 79.2kg
Reduced fuel costs
nitrogen costs
Recent trials prove when N levels are reduced, Mayflower’s relative yield increases compared to other established varieties.
• Delayed drilling becoming ineffective
• Increasingly vigorous and more tillers
•
Changing emergence patterns are prompting advise for farmers to review and revise blackgrass control strategies.
Stale seedbeds and delayed drilling have helped reduced blackgrass emergence during September and early October. But the weed is adapting to the control strategy, says Dick Neale, technical manager for agronomy firm Hutchinsons.
“We are now seeing a significant shift towards later-germinating blackgrass populations in many situations, and evidence also suggests blackgrass is becoming more vigorous, producing far more tillers.”
A significant shift in blackgrass dynamics during recent years has seen Hutchinsons launch a new demonstration site at Cambourne, near Cambridge. The goal is to better understand and tackle the changes.
Showcasing changes
The shift in population dynamics is clearly evident at the 40 ha Cambourne blackgrass demonstration, hosted by the Clear family at South Sea Farm, not far from the old Hutchinsons blackgrass trials site at Brampton.
Like many farms, South Sea Farm has made great progress in reducing the amount of blackgrass emergence during September and early October.
It is doing this by using techniques such as delayed drilling and stale seedbeds – but full control is still not being achieved.
That is primarily because blackgrass emergence is becoming later and more protracted – as seen this season, when the wet autumn prevented winter crop drilling on the heavy clay soils, resulting in many fields left unsown until spring.
This provided a useful insight into the way blackgrass responds to management practices, says Mr Neale, who tried various strategies before the weather broke last autumn – including different cultivations, cover crops and tackling volunteers.
“This showed the bulk of blackgrass we are dealing with on this farm is germinating from mid-October onwards – not in September or early October – and it’s doing so in combination with additional cultivations.”
Farmacy agronomist Tom Smith, says individual blackgrass plants are noticeably more vigorous with greater tillering capacity. Some blackgrass at Cambourne is producing up to 4050 tillers per plant, more than half the typical amount.
The average blackgrass population across the 40ha Cambourne site is around 200-300 heads/m2. “Growers and agronomists need to understand
the dynamics of their own blackgrass populations and tailor control strategies accordingly,” says Mr Smith. With wetter autumns, delayed drilling on heavy land to catch blackgrass emerging from late October onwards with stale seedbeds is extremely risky, so the team is looking at other whole-farm strategies.
This covers everything from cultivations, rotation, soil health, and cover- or catch-cropping, to drilling dates, and herbicide options, with technology such as Omnia and TerraMap soil analysis providing valuable data to inform decisions.
Improving drainage is a top priority at the Cambourne site. The wet 2023/24 season and soil analysis have highlighted a number of issues that continue to exacerbate the blackgrass threat.
Many areas have really struggled with drainage on the heavy clay soil, so will clearly benefit from mole draining this autumn, says Farmacy agron-
and remove those wet patches.”
Terramap analysis also shows the silty clay soil is relatively high in magnesium, which is creating a ‘tighter’ structure that can be hard to work and is likely to impair root growth and water infiltration.
To address this, one field received 3 t/ha of gypsum (calcium sulphate) last autumn to counter and rebalance the high magnesium content while improving soil structure and friability. It is a low-cost option the team will employ again this autumn.
Other work is looking at the use of multi-species cover crops to improve soil structure, build organic matter, manage soil water, and break up any tight or compacted layers, thereby improving drainage.
Another option to be investigated this autumn is whether it is possible to sow winter wheat as early as the first week in October. If successful, this would help establish a competitive crop before the main flush of blackgrass emerges.
Such an approach must be supported with a strong, correctly timed, residual herbicide programme, says Mr Neale. It should feature limited applications at drilling, but with the most robust input of chemistry in mid-October.
A pre-Christmas top-up should also be considered, and possibly again in the spring, to catch later-emerging populations, he adds.
“Drilling earlier may be possible and many growers might be keen to do this year. But you need to understand the dynamics of blackgrass and observe what’s happening in each field to ascertain when most of the population is emerging.”
“If it is a late-emerging population, stale seedbeds and delayed drilling may not be working for you any longer, and continued on page 17
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Higher blackgrass pressure in early drilled crops this autumn will require a strong stack and sequence of herbicides.
delay drilling until well into October,” says Bill Lankford (pictured), herbicide technical specialist at Adama.
“With that in mind, growers should consider that if they decide to drill early, they will also need to apply a strong stack and sequence of herbicide active ingredients to ensure satisfactory levels of weed control are achieved.”
New active ingredients such as aclonifen or cinmethylin will be essential at the pre-emergence timing to prevent blackgrass plants from stealing a march on early drilled crops, says Dr Lankford.
But even these herbicides will require help to maintain weed control further into the crop establishment and early development phases. Growers should consider upping seed rates to offset higher weed pressure.
Incorporating additional active ingredients with different modes of action can power-up herbicide programmes, says Dr Lankford. Protection can be boosted by using diflufenican, pendimethalin and chlorotoluron.
A pre-emergence application of aclonifen, diflufenican and flufenacet will be enhanced by adding Anthem (400g/l pendimethalin) or a post-emergence treatment of Tower (250g/l chlorotoluron + 40g/l diflufenican + 300g/l pendimethalin).
Similarly, adding Hurricane (500g/l diflufenican) will power-up pre-emergence cinmethylin and pendimethalin.
This could then be followed by post-emergence Tower or Omaha 2 (40g/l diflufenican + 400g/l pendimethalin).
there may well be a place for drilling earlier and being more focused with residual choices and timings.”
Most land at Cambourne was sown with spring barley this season following a wet autumn.
This helped reduce blackgrass pressure – partly because it allowed moretime for blackgrass to emerge over the winter, before being sprayed off.
The team has also trialled different management approaches within the spring barley, placing fertiliser at drilling, varying seed rates, and using spring beans as a companion crop.
Anecdotal evidence suggest crops that received placement fertiliser established quicker, making them better able to outcompete any blackgrass emerging with the barley.
Applying fertiliser with seed, rather than across the whole field, also reduced the likelihood of indirectly stimulating weed growth, which may have reduced the blackgrass vigour slightly, he adds.
The seed rate trial is also showing interesting results. Seed rates varied from 200 kg/ha (equivalent to 350 established plants/m2) up to 275 kg/ha (530 plants/m2), with higher rates offering much greater competition against blackgrass, says Mr Smith.
At the highest spring barley seed rate, an average blackgrass population of 4 plants/m2 and 3 tillers per plant was recorded, ranging from 1 to 6 tillers. The lowest seed rate saw an average of 20 plants/m2 and 16 tillers per plant, ranging from 3 to 20 tillers.
for both blackgrass control and crop yield potential.”
“The majority of blackgrass was smaller with fewer tillers at the higher seed rates, but we need to strike a balance,” Mr Smith says. “The spring barley was also more cramped in at higher rates, resulting in smaller plants and fewer tillers, so we need to find where the optimum is
One area not treated with a welltimed glyphosate application before drilling, recorded an average of 44 blackgrass plants/m2. This produced some 20 tillers per plant, although plants with more than 40 tillers were often found too. application
Most blackgrass now germinates from midOctober, says Dick
• Big battle against brown and yellow rust
• Select varieties with different parentage
• Focus on disease profile and agronomy
Genetically diverse varieties can help spread risk when growing milling wheat in a challenging season, say experts.
For many cereal growers, 2024 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons: persistent wet weather, a poor spring, lack of sunshine, huge disease pressure and a huge battle against brown and yellow rust.
Following widespread septoria in 2023, the past two years are a stark reminder for growers to spread their risk by selecting varieties with different parentage, says Andrew Bourne, seed manager for seed merchant T Denne and Sons.
Some 47% of the total certified winter wheat seed sold last autumn was covered by just three varieties, he adds. “We’ve a lot of growers, with too many eggs in too fewer baskets – not looking at genetic diversity to spread their risk.”
In high pressure disease situations, when yields can easily be compromised, genetically diverse Group 2 milling wheat varieties such as Mayflower from Elsoms should be a strong choice for growers, says Mr Bourne.
Mayflower’s genetic make-up, from French parentage, is radically different to other milling wheats on the current recommended list (RL). “With its flexibility on input timings, it’s a lower risk variety for growers.”
Risk management
“We’ve been working with Mayflower for three years now. Although it’s not – and never has been – the highest yielding milling wheat, its disease credentials, including an 8.9 for Septoria tritici and a 9 for yellow rust, have been unfairly overlooked.”
West Kent farmer Will Thompson, of the Brattle Farm Partnership, primarily grows milling wheats. He agrees on the need for more growers to widen their varietal choice for better risk management.
“We first spotted Mayflower in trials in 2022 a few months before it went onto the RL. We liked its early drilling flexibility, it looked very clean –supported by some impressive disease resistance scores and had a relatively good specific weight.”
Mr Thompson drilled 130ha of Mayflower as a first wheat in the last week of September that year. It estab-
lished well in predominantly heavy clay soil, showing decent early vigour, he says.
“Despite its robust profile, we took a belt and braces approach on inputs and were rewarded with a crop that remained noticeably cleaner through a high pressure septoria season than both our other key wheats: Dawsum and Skyfall.”
The final yield for Mayflower last autumn was just under 10t/ha, not noticeably different to Skyfall. But Mr Thompson says Mayflower also achieved 13.1% protein a Hagberg falling number of 420 – one of the highest he’s grown.
Mr Thompson increased his Mayflower area to 160ha last autumn. Its stronger disease profile during a stopstart spring with delays on key spray timings. “Once again, it’s been our cleanest crop this season and looks set to perform well at harvest.”
Zantra agronomist Stan Harrison has worked with Mr Thompson for five years. He supports the argument for better risk management in varietal choice and has monitored Mayflower’s progress closely over the last two seasons.
‘No
“Having walked the crop many times there’s really no argument in confirming it has been the stand-out variety in terms of both green leaf retention and its ability to stay clean during what have been two very challenging seasons.
“This spring was tough with wet and windy conditions making it almost impossible to spray when we wanted. Mayflower’s disease resistance and flexibility on input timings really came to the fore. It’s a very forgiving variety.”
It’s a very forgiving variety
After Mayflower’s performance in 2022/23, Mr Harrison relied on a fourspray fungicide programme at three week intervals. The only exception was the main flag fleaf spray on 30 May of Apaveq + Splendid (fenpicoxamid + prothioconazole + tebuconazole).
“After applying the T3 spray on 19 June, I walked the Mayflower again. Despite a challenging season for brown rust, the crop still had three very clean leaves – twice as many as the other winter wheat crops.”
If high pressure years and extreme weather become the new normal, mitigating risk by choosing disease resistant, robust varieties could buy growers a few days if difficult weather conditions prevent or delay a spray, says Mr Thompson.
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Different thinking will improve oilseed rape establishment this autumn
Adjusting drilling dates and planting companion crops can help combat cabbage stem flea beetle in oilseed rape.
Drilling rape in the traditional mid- to late-August slot can exacerbate flea beetle problems – increasing the chance of crop failure, says ProCam technical manager Nigel Scott. Different thinking is needed to manage the pest, he adds.
“Depending on individual farm situations, one strategy is to consider planting winter rape much earlier –at the very start of August, or to miss out August completely and plant well into September,” says Mr Scott.
“In both scenarios, varieties need choosing accordingly. Hybrids make sense because you want good establishment from early vigour. But if drilling earlier, you don’t want the crop to get too far ahead over winter, because it will be prone to later frosts.
“A changed approach means looking at variety choice in a different way – selecting varieties that sit at either end of the spectrum. These might not be on the Recommended List, but have a specific purpose.”
Drilling earlier allows rape to reach 4-5 leaves before adult beetle migration occurs so the plant can tolerate adult feeding. Larvae are still difficult to avoid a vigorous plant with a thick stem will have a bigger chance of survival.
“I’ve seen crops drilled in the first week of August or into July develop a big collar at the base of the plant,” explains Mr Scott. “This makes them better able to withstand infestation.”
One variety particularly suited to early drilling is LG Areti. It grows away well initially but has a prostrate growth habit close to the soil over winter.This means it is potentially less at risk from frosts while also providing good ground cover.
“Most critical in terms of cabbage stem flea beetle is its spring vigour. It’s very quick to move in spring, meaning it can grow away from larval feeding nice and rapidly.”
make a conscious decision to
Planting later, such as well into September, means rape will establish after flea beetle migration has finished. But Mr Scott says growers need to consider their individual location and field conditions.
Higher levels of soil moisture in September will also aid establishment But growers should choose a rapidly-establishing variety – such as RGT Blackmoon – to compensate for later drilling.
“You need to grow the most vig-
RGT Blackmoon is well suited to later drilling, says Lee Bennett of RAGT UK.
An ideal for growers wanting a powerful variety with early vigour, Mr Bennett says RGT Blackmoon is all about vigour.
“It’s speed of development in autumn is very fast. It sets off and doesn’t look back.
“It’s very good against phoma, good against light leaf spot and is TUYV resistant.
“It’s also scored well in ADAS work against verticillium. It’s a medium tall type but with very stiff straw, an upright canopy and is medium maturing.”
orous variety you can,” says Mr Scott. “I’ve seen Blackmoon drilled in mid-September race away. Its vigour in trials has been outstanding, and field performance is equally impressive.
“Drilled alongside an alternative hybrid, it was chalk and cheese, and the vigour was ultimately the difference between survival and failure. Drilling in September is a useful tool for avoiding beetle, but variety choice is essential.”
Companion cropping
In tandem with drilling date and variety, Mr Scott has had good results with companion cropping to reduce CSFB damage when drilled into stubble.
“A companion crop is a no-brainer for Sustainable Farming Incentive payments anyway. But companion species choice and variety choice are critical if we’re to use them to support our CSFB strategy as well as access the £55/ha payment.
“New for this year, we’re marketing GreenPack Bronze. This companion crop mix contains tartaric buckwheat, which is a ‘must have’ to help shield rape from beetles. But it also contains fenugreek, which has a garlic odour to act as a beetle deterrent.”
Tartaric buckwheat was selected because it is a particularly vigorous variety with a seed size that means Green-
Make a conscious decision to plant early or late – to avoid peak adult beetle migration
Choose a variety that aligns with your planned drilling date – drilling early requires spring vigour, drilling late demands autumn vigour
Plant a dual-purpose companion crop – to provide a protective canopy to act as a shield and deterrent against flea beetle
Drill when adequate soil moisture will encourage rapid rape establishment and companion crop growth
[Source: ProCam]
Pack Bronze can be mixed with the oilseed rape and established together.
Alternatively, the cover crop can be planted first, with the rape drilled later into the protective canopy. Either way, the theory is the same: the vigour of the companion crop means the buckwheat grows ahead to provide a
shield for the rape.
“Clearly, companion crops and rape need moisture irrespective of drilling date, so a stacked approach is needed. Moisture, companions, variety choice and drilling date all need to work together to maximise the chance of success.”
Companion crops can protect against flea beetle while improving soil condition and reducing weed pressure
A companion crop is a no-brainer
LG Areti is a great oilseed rape variety to drill early due to its growth habit, says Kurtis Scarboro, of breeder Limagrain.
“Once it has accumulated good early biomass, it doesn’t get too ahead of itself into autumn, but will begin to race on into spring once day length starts increasing,” he explains.
“Its shorter, stiff straw also adds to its suitability as an early drilling variety – and it’s fully loaded with pod shatter resistance, resistance to turnip yellows virus and RLM7 stem canker resistance.”
• Extreme weather affects pod shatter
• Resistance reduces rape volunteers
• Helps to maximise yield and margins
Heavy rain late in the season is highlighting the need to consider pod shatter resistance when selecting oilseed rape varieties.
Pod shatter (POSH) is a natural process for seed dispersion in oilseed rape. But it can result in significant on farm seed losses due to extreme weather – including heavy wind, rain, hailstones, or the combine passing through the crop.
Built-in POSH resistance is an important attribute when seeking to protect rape yields through to harvest – and keep the crop profitable, says Kurtis Scarboro, arable development officer at plant breeder Limagrain.
POSH resistance is measured by the force required to break open a ripe oilseed rape pod. Results from lab-based techniques used by Limagrain show that some varieties are more resistant than others, says Mr Scarboro.
“All Limagrain hybrids contain the trait and we constantly monitor the efficacy of our pod shatter resistance against other commercial varieties so we can be confident in our claims that the variety really is pod shatter resistant.”
Yield potential
“Almost all the costs of growing the crop have been spent by this stage so it makes sense to protect yield potential right through to the end of the growing season,” explains Mr Scarboro.
“POSH resistance also helps to provide some flexibility in the timing of the harvest. It also cuts down the number of volunteers in the following crop, easing the burden of weed control, says Mr Scarboro.
“The most effective option for preventing pod shatter is a genetic trait, so it can’t be influenced throughout the season – making varietal choice very important.”
The benefits of robust pod shatter resistance were clearly seen in an exceptionally wet and windy 2023; July saw one of the wettest and windiest months on record for the last 188 years, followed by the windiest day for the last 55 years.
“While some oilseed rape crops were devastated, others appeared relatively unscathed,” says Mr Scarboro. “This undoubtedly comes down to robust pod shatter resistance.”
Joe Bayford of Keyston Farms won’t grow a variety without POSH resistance. Farming
Huntingdon, he believes it is critical to protect rape yields all the way to the trailer. Despite reducing his rape area, Mr Bayford says
but we still find oilseed rape a valuable crop in the rotation behind either spring or winter barley.
Keyston Farms switched to hybrid rape from conventional varieties about six years ago. Mr Bayford says yields have increased by up to 0.5t/ha yield since doing so – an achievement he attributes to genetic traits such as POSH resistance.
As an extra insurance, Mr Bayford applies pod stick. “If we can get around 3t/ha for the crop then we are still making money – anything less than that and it starts to drag down the gross margin.”
Mr Bayford grew Aurelia and Attica following advice from Jonathan Payne of Nickersons. This year he is trying LG Armada, which again is another step on in genetics and yield improvement.
“We noticed with LG hybrids when we rub the pods out to test for moisture before harvesting, they are much more stubborn to pull apart. Even with a hailstorm in 2021, the seed did not shed –whereas some local crops did.”
Establishing the crop has become a whole different ball game to beat cabbage stem flea beetle. The rape always follows a spring
or winter barley with the aim to get drilled by the first week of August, conditions permitting.
The aim is to have a well-established crop in the autumn, so by the spring it is big enough that emerging flea beetles are feeding on the stems and not on the growing points of the plant.
“Last year we managed to drill most of the crop in the first week of August – until rain stopped play. A week later we were back in action, but our later drilled crop hasn’t coped as well.”
To further improve establishment, Mr Bayford adapted his Horsch Sprinter drill by taking out every second tine, working on 12 rather than 24 tines. “We are effectively working on 50cm rows, doubling the seed rate per row.
Seed comes primed with a phosphite and phosphate dressing as well as being polymer coated and dressed with Integral-Pro, all of which gives the seed an extra kick for a better start.
“Any gains at this stage can mean the difference between a crop and not a crop. We also put 150kg of Di-ammonium Phosphate down the drill, significantly improving the seed to fertiliser contact.”
Pelleted seed mixes can encour age cover crop and companion crop establishment while sav ing growers time and money.
Developed by RAGT, the method in volves “glueing” together up to four different seeds encased in a water-sol uble coating. This produces a pellet with a similar mass to compound fer tiliser which can be broadcast up to 36m into standing wheat.
A key application could be to es tablish companion crops for oilseed rape. Trial results using the technol ogy were showcased during an open
standing wheat, let it establish and drill rape into the established companion crop after harvest.
“The big advantage is that broadcasting costs just £5/ha compared with £33/ha for direct drilling. And it takes about a quarter of the time, so we have created massive cost and time savings and much better estab-
For growers keen to take as much cost as possible out of oilseed rape production, pelleting oilseed rape and companion crop seed together and sowing into a standing wheat crop could aid
These techniques will be further tested on six farms this autumn
Massive cost and time savings,
against standard farm practice, said Mr Bennett. “The more we think about it, the more uses we are finding for this,” he added.
A pelleted long-term companion crop mix of vetch, oilseed radish and phacelia was broadcast into wheat just before harvest on 6 August 2023. It went on to produce 7.4t/ha of dry matter, compared with 2.4t/ha from non-pelleted seed direct drilled into stubble nine days later.
Further applications include establishment of short-term cover crops between cereals and long-term covers between winter and spring crops, as well as establishing companion crops for wheat. RAGT has patented the technology and is also conducting trials on pelleted stubble turnips.
years, Mr Dunlop enjoys growing conventional rape because he saves his own seed. Conventional seed is less expensive than hybrid and can be drilled at a higher rate to combat slugs and flea beetle, he adds.
“Pinnacle is the top conventional variety in the AHDB Recommended variety list this year, so it caught my eye," says Mr Dunlop.
"When selecting an oilseed rape variety, I chose high yield and oil content as my top criteria and Pinnacle fits the bill here.”
Bred by independent plant breeder Mike Pickford for Grainseed, Pinnacle’s 44.3% oil content is also attractive.
“A top performing conventional variety can easily outperform some hybrid varieties,” says Mr Pickford.
Mr Pickford’s strategy for creating a successful variety is to improve individual yield components, such as increasing seed size. He tries to maintain clean green stems when ripening to ensure efficient photosynthesis during grain filling.
A loyal Campus grower for the last nine
Pinnacle took top spot for conventional varieties in Recommended List trials. It yielded 103% gross output in the East and West regions (with 104% treated yield) and 101% in the North (with 102% treated yield).
As well as yield, Mr Dunlop says he was also attracted by Pinnacle’s disease resistance and standing power.
The variety is verticillium resistant and has a score of 8 for lodging resistance and a score of 9 for standing power.
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Mastering disease control is crucial for growers to ensure sugar beet canopies keep photosynthesising efficiently this season.
Speaking at a recent BASF webinar, experts gave a summary of the likely disease threats which could prevent growers from achieving maximum root weight and optimum sugar con-
vens, head of science at the British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO).
Yield potential
manage the disease as soon as it was visible, he added. Varietal resistance should also be checked to guide fungicide programmes.
The key foliar diseases for sugar beet this summer were likely to be powdery mildew, rust and cercospora leaf spot, said Mark Ste-
With no reports of any early foliar disease, Prof Stevens reminded growers that it would still be present. Farmers should limit the impact of foliar disease by reacting as soon as it appeared in the crop, with broad spectrum fungicides critical for control.
Sugar beet often gains up to 40% of its yield potential from 1 September onwards.
“If we can keep the canopy healthy throughout the summer and into autumn, we can hopefully keep it photosynthesising at its most efficient rate.”
Rust can decrease yield by 15% and tends to like slightly cooler conditions, with growers likely to start seeing symptoms of this disease from August through to October, added Prof Stevens.
Favoured by warm and wet conditions, Cercospora leaf spot has recently become established as a prevalent foliar disease in the UK. Describing it as a big concern, Prof Stevens said it was now more common.
Powdery mildew could reduce yields by 20%, said Prof Stevens. Growers should
Sugar beet crops slow to get going during a challenging season have benefited from early biofertiliser application to promote canopy formation.
Delayed drilling in wet soils and poor early conditions left many crops languishing early on, says Syngenta sugar beet specialist Jonathan Ronksley. The wet winter also depleted soil fertility, particularly on prime silty-sand land.
Early nitrogen is essential for rapid leaf growth, says Mr Ronksley. “During rapid leaf expansion, sugar beet takes up 4-5 kg of nitrogen per hectare every day. Compensatory growth in backward crops puts even greater strain on resources."
Biofertilser Vixeran delivers nitrogen to the crop in small but constant
amounts through the season. This helps to maintain growth and development, while avoiding detrimental effects of excessive nitrogen inputs, which reduce sugar content.
Vixeran is based on the highly efficient nitrogen-fixing bacterium, Azotobacter salinestris. Applied as a foliar treatment, it multiplies rapidly across the leaves and the roots, supporting the crops nutritional requirements throughout the entire season.
Sugar beet trials in a commercial Yorkshire crop last year saw a 15% yield uplift to 135t/ha, from a single Vixeran application, compared to the farm standard of 116t/ha. Sugar content was 17.19% in the treated crop, compared to 16.71% in the intreated beet.
“The BBRO now monitors for spores of the disease, via a new project, through May and August alongside producing a forecasting model for growers to show which crops are at the greatest threat each day.”
Mr Ronksley advocates applying Vixeran from early crop establishment until full ground closure, recommended at growth stages 14-18.
“The whole area received the farm standard treatment of 150kg N/ha, demonstrating the benefit of the Vixeran supplying additional nutrient that’s taken up and utilised by the crop,” says Mr Ronksley.
Grower choice is making sugar beet a much more attractive crop for growers, says Ian Munnery
ugar Beet remains the only UK crop that has continued to deliver a year-onyear yield increase for farmers.
This is down to two things: professional growers and heavy investment in research and development by plant breeders.
After several reviews, NFU Sugar and British Sugar have both recognised the need to reform and improve the way the UK seed account is managed to make sugar beet a much more attractive UK crop.
For growers and breeders alike, it promises to unlock and accelerate access to new, improved genetics and treatments offering greater resilience and higher yields.
In parallel, both NFU Sugar and British Sugar recognised that BBRO trials should provide better information to inform grower choice by testing the physical finished individual seed lots that growers actually sow on farm and mirror commercial growing practice.
Both quantum changes are long overdue and welcomed – although at the time of writing it is still to be announced how or when these will be introduced despite the clear intention to change.
At SESVanderHave, we have been investing in breeding, trials and research in the UK for many years with an extensive trials network and expanding team based at Wellingore, Lincolnshire.
It takes 10 years to develop new genetics
and three years to produce high quality seed. Our selection decisions are already based on extensive and robust testing on whole fields, strip trials and replicated trials on farms across East Anglia and the East Midlands.
We use the same commercial primed and pelleted seed lots grown by farmers on farm. It is the same for testing in the presence of beet cyst nematodes – although thankfully the wet weather has effectively removed the threat from virus yellows.
We believe growers and agronomists should have full access to regional data, finished product results and the most recent 2024 field data so they can gauge performance from commercial seed lots before making important decisions on seed choices – the foundation of any successful crop.
This is one of the reasons we have been growing our Club SV for growers across the region – attracting farmers who want to gain valuable and earlier insights into the performance of new genetics, treatments and agronomy on their own farms.
Maintaining genetic innovations in the sugar beet crop is crucial to maintain competitiveness against overseas producers. Doing so will sustain this important break crop
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Our new pipeline of genetics and treatments have been demonstrating significant gains in performance and will be accessible to growers for 2025 sowing – as well as some exciting new seed treatments.
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One Kent potato grower is harnessing solar power and the best potato storage systems to keep his potatoes in ‘just harvested’ condition at remarkably low cost.
Philip Smith runs Monkton Court Farms, near Ramsgate, Kent, and has installed a novel solar power management system to ensure the farm’s 3,500 tonne store complex makes optimum use of available solar power.
The stores were built in 2017 by Crop Systems Limited using their PosiStor box store design. They use an open plenum design to optimize airflow and ensure air reaches all parts of the store, and glycol fridges that use a quarter of the gas of conventional DX fridges while also cutting costs and leakage risks. All fans are fitted with inverters and they use in-line humidity with adiabatic cooling. They also use Crop Systems Limited’s SmartStor controllers, which enable Philip and Graeme Skinner from Provenance Potatoes (who manages the facility) to check on the condition of crops remotely, and make any changes to settings as required.
The stores had already proved their worth, holding crops in excellent condition with minimal weight loss or shrinkage for extended periods, in one instance for a full 13 months.
More recently they added Crop Systems Limited’s SmartSola system to the complex. Philip had installed 50kW of solar panels on land adjoining the complex around a decade ago, and has now added a further 150kW on its roof.
SmartSola constantly monitors how much power these panels are producing and directs it to where it will be best used:
“It exports power to the grid in the morning until production reaches enough to run a store, when it selects the store that needs to power most and switches it on”, says Philip. Thereafter it repeats the process, switching on stores in turn as energy production rises. We normally store crops at 2.7oC, with a 0.2oC differential. So when the panels are producing enough power we take the opportunity to cool the crop to 2.5oC. Consequently, if the next day’s weather is duller and energy generation lower, they minimise the use of mains electricity because the energy needed to keep the crop below their target temperature is already in the potatoes.”
Both Philip and Graeme credit the SmartStor controller for making the stores easier to manage and reducing the stress levels. “Doing everything remotely means stores can be checked without either visiting them or opening the doors, so storage conditions are never compromised”, says Philip.
Graeme highlights the time savings, as well as the wealth of information the system produces: “It also gives me complete peace of mind that the crops are being kept in prime condition. The system records everything and turns it into valuable management data. I can look at graphs or download actual numbers on screen. That is more valuable and easier to understand than working through paper records and spreadsheets.”
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Innovative ways to produce potatoes will be showcased by crop trials at a new industry event next month.
The Transformative Reduced Input in Potatoes (TRIP) project has taken three trial crop plots at the Potato Days UK event, which will be held on 4-5 September at Dyson Farming, Nocton, Lincolnshire.
Funded by Innovate UK, the TRIP programme is exploring regenerative approaches to revitalise farm soil organic matter. All aspects of the project will be on show over the three trial plots.
The plots will showcase low input late blight resistant varieties, minimal cultivation planting, optimised nutrient formulations as well as the use of aphid predator attracting plants and in-field greenhouse gas monitoring.
Additionally, it focuses on finding solutions to tackle the environmental challenge posed by greenhouse gas emissions in the UK’s potato farming industry, with a particular emphasis on reducing the notable levels of CO2 and N2O emissions.
Crop Plot 8 will focus on reduced nitrogen and phosphate inputs by combining optimised foliar nutrient programmes with greatly reduced fertiliser inputs. It comes under the watchful eye of Simon Fox from Emerald Research.
The project is also investigating the potential for reducing agrochemicals applied to seed or at planting through the application of microbial and biostimulants at planting. This is being demonstrated each of the other treatments.
Crop Plot 9 has been planted with six breeding lines of potatoes, selected by the Bangor University team led by Dr Katherine Steel favoured for their late blight resistance and low input needs. This plot is being grown using conventional techniques.
Crop Plot 10 is being run by Christine Jones from Dyson Farming Re-
tial for minimal cultivation potatoes by growing them under a mulch and comparing yields to conventional cultivation.
Over the two days, Light Science Technologies will demonstrate a new field device for measuring greenhouse gas emissions from the soil, giving the project the ability to compare the low input and conventional treatments.
Adding a splash of colour to the plots will be a range of aphid predator-attracting plants as a way to control
“
already take place across Europe, including Germany The event brings farmers and growers together
requirement for chemical intervention.
The project includes industry, academic and farming partners, including Dyson Farming, Emerald Research Ltd, Bangor University, the James Hutton Institute and Light Science Technologies, assisted by The Sarvari Trust.
Representatives from each partner will be on hand throughout the two days to discuss all aspects of the project ranging from potato breeding, crop nutrition, biostimulants and aphid pest control to greenhouse gas field sensors.
Potato Days UK is a new industry event hosted by Dyson Farming and organised by DLG – the company behind some of the world’s major agricultural shows, including Agritechnica. It will include an extensive outdoor exhibitor zone, marquee space and a 12ha demonstration crop, including machinery courtesy of Grimme. A series of trial plots has also been planted on behalf of exhibitors, says show director Lars Huf.
“Our trial plot exhibitors will be on hand to show you what’s going on and explain how their technologies, services and new approaches are helping the world of the potato grower advance and evolve sustainably and efficiently.”
Although new to the UK, Potato Days is part of a well-established Potato Europe family of sectorspecialist events. They mix trade stands with crop plots, expert talks and discussions with live machinery demonstrations.
“Potato Days UK is an event that will support farmers, growers and the wider value chain to succeed, through sustainable potato production to meet the increasing demands on the sector,” says Mr Huf. “Our aim is to create the essential platform for industry professionals to meet, share knowledge and see the latest machinery and technology in action.”
For details, visit www.potato-days.uk
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• Waterlogged fields still show strain
• Earthworm numbers need recovery
• Replenish soil structure and health
Growers are advised to test soils soon after harvest and start putting right damage caused by months of wet weather.
Record-breaking rainfall has washed away nitrogen, phosphorus and other essential nutrients, leaving soil health in tatters. Some soils are also likely to contain worrying levels of contaminants like aluminium that could jeopardise crop quality.
Flooding and waterlogged soils seen across the UK have caused aerobic bacteria to be replaced by anaerobic bacteria – producing gases like methane and nitrous oxide. In some areas, this reduction in oxygen has also reduced earthworm numbers.
Soil tests offer the best opportunity to calculate optimum fertiliser requirements, suggests soil health specialist Shane Brewer, from laboratory group Eurofins Agro. It will help control costs and improve soil health ahead of planting.
“Testing immediately after harvest will help understand how the outgoing crop has taken up nutrients and what is left available to the following
Right: Tests and analysis will show which soils need rejuvenating
crop. This will help to reduce input costs whilst improving plant availa ble nutrients in soil stock.
“It is the best time to ascertain what impact the outgoing crop, and the conditions it has been grown in, have had on soil health. It is vital to understand this to ensure soils can provide plant available nutrients to maximise the subsequent crop’s yield.
Traditional tests that measure ni trogen levels go one step in helping make decisions. But for those looking for greater insight and the potential to manage land with fewer chemicals, a more detailed analysis is crucial.
“Our Fertilisation Manager test provides detailed analysis of common plant available nutrients, macro and micronutrients, the physical, biologi cal and chemical attributes of the soil as well as its carbon properties,” says Mr Brewer
Soil health has been left in tatters
biomass, fungi, bacteria and protozoa in soil samples. It also identifies physical characteristics such as acidity and quality of organic matter.”
While a test of this type will offer significant data to help calibrate inputs, it also offers a way to understand how bacteria and other soil life stand to benefit and thrive if the right nutrients are added.
“Soil Life Monitor is a test that we are seeing greater demand for, especially with farmers looking to become more sustainable by using regenerative farming methods.
“It determines the total microbial
Soil Life Monitor uses the phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) method to measure the biological parameters of soil life, says Mr Brewer. Fatty acids present in the cell membranes of living organisms are measured to obtain a fingerprint of soil life.
“This makes it possible to distinguish between fungi and bacteria by measuring the way PLFAs are degraded in soil, which provides a more accurate picture of what soil needs to thrive,” he adds.
he future of potato crop production will be a hot topic at Potatoes in Practice (PiP), the industry event on 8 August at Balruddery Farm, Dundee.
Visitors will have the chance to see new potato varieties from plant breeders, agronomists demonstrating advancements in crop protection and researchers on hand to discuss their most recent findings.
Seminars will be led by experts including Mark Taylor from GB Potatoes, Mike Wilson from the Seed Potato Organisation, Faye Richie from ADAS, Mercedes Torres from B-Hive, and Graham Tomlin from VCS Potatoes.
The event aims to help UK producers navigate ‘unparalleled uncertainty’
Hosted by the James Hutton Institute in partnership with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Agrii, the event will include demonstrations, research results, trade exhibits, and knowledge from experts in the field – including a number of commercial companies.
SRUC senior potato consultant Kyran Maloney said: “Potato production in the UK and Ireland has a strong sustainability and productivity story, but the industry faces unparalleled uncertainty." Rising costs, labour shortages and technical challenges meant the need for innovation had seldom been greater, said Mr Maloney. The event would help producers overcome these barriers. For full details about the event, visit pip.hutton.ac.uk
Soil testing will mean a more informed choice when ordering new supplies, says Natalie Wood
e’re well into harvest and it’s also the time of year when growers are planning and ordering supplies for the
When crop nutrition companies release new season prices, it can be tempting for busy growers to rush out and buy straight nitrogen – or opt for the same products they used last year – without a second thought.
But with sulphur deficiency seen in many soils, growers should consider the importance of investing in the right crop nutrition products, carry-
ing out grain and soil testing – and keeping purchased products safe and secure.
Sulphur is an important for plant nutrition and a building block of protein production – fundamental for growth and development. So, don’t rush into buying fertiliser just based on price, consider that you’re probably likely to need sulphur too.
Boosting efficiency
There are real benefits to be gained from buying products that contain both nitrogen and sulphur in the
same granule or prill. If crops have sufficient sulphur, it automatically increases nitrogen use efficiency by promoting better take-up.
Early applications of both nutri ents followed by a ‘little and often ap proach’ throughout the season is not only more efficient, but it also makes things simpler as you have one prod uct you can use for multiple applica tion timings.
Nitrogen and sulphur product op tions include YaraBela Axan, and for those wanting high levels of sulphur, YaraBela Sulfan For even more effi ciency, growers can consider using an NPKS compound product, which in clude phosphate and potash.
These products include YaraMila Actyva S, YaraMila 52 S and YaraMila ExtraGrass. While this approach has proven to be highly successful in Yara trials, it may not be the ideal way for
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ward for everyone.
It’s not a viable approach for everybody because it is quite an expensive route to getting your nutrition in there. But from a purely agronomic kind of stance, if you’re getting all these nutrients on little and often, you’re making everything much
Rather than focusing solely on nitrogen use efficiency, growers should look at overall nutrient use efficiency. That means having a strategy that includes all your key nutrients.
Magnesium, manganese and other key micronutrients that are going to make a difference. Where any of these are lacking it will impact upon yield, so the goal is to try and minimise any
Post-harvest testing
Grain analysis will help identify the effectiveness of a nutrient strategy. It’s a great way to look back at what’s been done this season, whether their strategy has worked, and what impact the weather has had on nutrient uptake.
This allows growers to identify any deficiencies and adapt their strategy accordingly. Post-harvest soil analy-
sis can set growers up for the planning phase in October-December take the guesswork out of nutrient management planning.
Soil analysis can eliminate guesswork “
As growers know only too well, the weather can affect even the best laid nutrient management plans, and it can affect product quality too. That’s why keeping new season supplies safe and secure is crucial.
Storage needs to be considered when growers are buying their fertiliser. Not everybody has the luxury of having a lot of overwinter storage, which means they are limited in the amount of fertiliser they can buy early.
But growers should certainly make sure storage conditions are good and that products are secure. That goes a long way to making sure that the quality of products is maintained all the way through the season.
Natalie Wood is Yara agronomy operations manager for Yara. For more details, call or visit www.yara.com
Reducing soil acidity by increasing its pH before drilling winter crops will improve nutrient availability – and boost yields.
More than half of all arable fields are below the target pH 6.7 recommended in AHDB’s Nutrient Management Guide (RB209), suggest results from NRM laboratories which analysed more than 50,000 soil samples from June 2022 to May 2023.
“Nearly 25% of the samples were pH 5.8 or lower, which is extremely low for most arable crops,” says NRM soil and crop nutrition agronomist Sajjad Awan. “While only around a fifth were in the more acceptable target pH range of 6.5 to 7.0.”
The findings reflect industry studies which suggest arable land is only limed on average once every 12 years – way less oftenthan the traditional recommendation of once every three to five years.
factors
Longer-term data from the NRM study suggests that the pH of arable soils dropped sharply in 2022/23 compared with previous years. There could be multiple factors behind the drop in pH from arable soils this year, says Mr Awan.
“It might be due to weather, an increase in samples from lower pH soils or from specific management systems. There are so many variables and the information provided with each sample is not sufficient to allow us to draw firm conclusions.”
The results highlight the importance of correct soil acidity, says British Sugar’s LimeX business manager Glenn Carlisle. Rectifying pH issues will improve the utilisation of the soil’s nutrients, in particular phosphate and nitrogen.
“Maintaining optimum soil pH ensures all the nutrients required for plant growth are at their most available, which will drive yield and may allow savings on fertiliser inputs,” adds Mr Carlisle.
Growers should soil test each field at least every three years. “It makes
sense to time soil sampling ahead of the most acid-sensitive crops in the rotation, such as sugar beet or barley.”
“Most testing takes place on stubbles after harvest. But taking samples earlier, using the tramlines, will mean results are available faster – so liming and fertiliser decisions can be made well ahead of time.
It is a case of matching your requirement with an appropriate liming product, says Mr Carlisle. Particle size as the critical factor for a grower seeking to remedy a pH issue before it affects crop performance.
“It might be due to the weather."
Research by the University of North Carolina shows that pH continues to drop after lime coarser than 0.84mm is applied.
In contrast, finer particles between 0.15 and 0.18mm will react within six months and hold pH at that level, and even finer lime will increase pH immediately, peaking at eight months before beginning a slow decline.
LimeX has a very fine particle size. It is a co-product of the sugar purification process in British Sugar’s factories, where calcium carbonate is created by chemical processes to remove organic matter and nutrients from sugar juice.
“You end up with a very fine particle-size lime product, making it very reactive. In the Ag-lime Quality Standard tests, it scores 100% for reactivity, meaning that 100% of the product you put on land will do the job of pH amendment.”
LimeX’s particle size is between 0.002mm-0.015mm at that spec. Given the right conditions after application, pH should rise within 4 to 6 weeks, whereas other products can take 6-12 months before acidity levels improve.
“The additional benefit of the fine particles size and high reactivity is that the available calcium increases much more quickly. That benefits soil flocculation and conditioning, which improves aeration, drainage and microbial activity.”
Calcium is an often overlooked but incredibly valuable macronutrient, helping crops combat disease.
LimeX has additional nutrient value, says Mr Carlisle. Each tonne has 9kg of phosphate, 8kg of magnesium and 7kg of sulphur.
Suffolk farmer James Forrest tests any new land he takes on – and usually applies LimeX within the first year if he has any doubts about soil acidity.
“It’s very good at correcting acidity, and we like the benefits of its nutrients,” he says. “There isn’t any fixed policy for when we put it on, but I would expect to apply it every five to seven years.”
Mr Forrest operates two spreaders, which allows him the flexibility to apply LimeX at the best time. They also sample the fields themselves, having previously dabbled in precision sampling before moving away from it.
“If we have been farming the land for a while, we tend to know where the problem areas are to concentrate on. If we have even the pH across a field, then a blanket application works well.
“However, on new fields we have taken on, we will up the rate for areas that are particularly low.”
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ANorfolk-based farming and contracting business has reduced soil compaction after adopting central tyre inflation for its tractor fleet.
Working in partnership with Hardingham Farms, HC Beales & Co farms 2,425ha of its own arable crops while providing a contract farming and general contracting service for other farms south-west of Norwich.
external pipework, so he looked at Fendt tractors with built-in CTI instead.
“Hardingham Farms uses two modern Fendts and rates them highly, so we arranged a demonstration which proved successful and ordered a Fendt 936 Vario with VarioGrip CTI, which arrived last autumn.”
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The eight-tractor fleet owned by HC Beales includes two Fendts – but this number is expected to increase after the business took delivery of the latest 728 Vario Gen 7-series supplied by Thurlow Nunn Standen at Attleborough.
“We had a single brand fleet previously including a tracked tractor for primary cultivations, but our stony land meant rubber track wear was too expensive to justify so we looked at alternatives,” says managing partner Charles Saffell.
“We look after our soils and try to avoid compaction, which is why we liked the tracks, but we could see that investing in a wheeled tractor with VF tyres and central tyre inflation would work better.”
Central tyre inflation or enables tyre pressures to be adjusted to improve traction and reduce soil compaction according to field or road conditions – with the driver having complete control from inside the cab.
The farm’s previous tractor brand wasn’t available with an integrated CTI system. Mr Saffell was keen to avoid vulnerable,
The Fendt 936 Vario performed well, establishing crops with the farm’s Horsch Pronto 8m drill. A Fendt 728 Vario with VarioGrip then arrived on the farm this February – one of the first of its type sold in the UK.
“For a tractor with more than 300hp, the manoeuvrability is exceptional,” said Mr Saffell. “Drilling with the 4m power-harrow drill combination, it will turn back on itself rather than working in lands, saving time.”
When we are spraying the engine runs at only 800rpm but there is plenty of torque to maintain the required travel speed,
the 728 Vario comes surprisingly close in terms of torque, says Mr Saffell, giving the business extra flexibility when working under pressure.
A Sumo Trio nine-leg, 4.5m deep cultivator is pulled by the 936 Vario, and a six-leg, 3m version is used with the 728 Vario. “We tried the larger implement behind the 728 Vario and it pulled it, but the 3m is a better match.”
With Michelin AgriBib 2 VF710/70R42 rear tyres and VF600/70R30 fronts set at optimum working pressures, the 728 Vario runs out of revs before it loses traction. “The pulling ability is impressive for a relatively light and compact tractor.”
The 728 Vario consumed 29.97 litres/hour during a 12.5 hour working day drilling 28.5ha
With the Kockerling Profiline 6m cultivator, the Fendt consumed 36 litres of diesel per hour to achieve an average 8ha/ hour rate of work. Average consumption across all applications since the tractor arrived is 3.56 litres/hour.
Although the 728 Vario is economical, Mr Saffell will specify a larger fuel tank when its replaced. “The standard 450 litres is usually adequate, but for demanding PTO applications and heavy cultivations a bigger tank will allow longer days in the fields.”
RTK guidance is used for field mapping and autosteer, and the drill and fertiliser spreader utilise the tractor’s ISOBUS connection. “The spreader software needed updating, but the drill connected immediately, says Mr Saffell.
“FendtONE allows us to switch the guidance display to the dashboard screen,” he adds. “The controls are well designed and extremely operator friendly. Everyone who uses the 728 Var-
During its first four months on the farm, the 728 worked 441 hours. Mr Saffell says he expects to keep the it for up to five years or 6,500 working hours. “It’s well thought out and I’m very
“It’s quite compact for the power, but the ride quality is excellent – superior to any of our other tractors. The torque is phenomenal and the VarioDrive transmission makes the most of the power available and gets it down to the ground.”
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Farming and healthy soils are at the heart of the Kenton Hall Estate.
Afamily-run Suffolk estate is moving to a fully regenerative zero-tillage farming system – after experimenting with different cropping methods.
Many farms tackle generational change with trepidation, but the McVeigh family has used it to transform the Kenton Hall Estate into the hub for a diversified and integrated network of local businesses.
Located just outside Debenham, the estate has grown to include a wedding venue, cooking school, glamping site, and Duke of Edinburgh residential accommodation – all with farming at its core.
The farm and its businesses are managed by siblings Lucy Davenport, Tom McVeigh and Emily Aitchison, with support from the rest of the family. Their complementary skills and interests have spearheaded the estate’s business expansion.
Mr McVeigh, who takes the lead on the farm, was an early applicant for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pilot, which pays farmers to implement environmental measures alongside food production.
The scheme stacks up financially and the farm has been experimenting with different cropping methods, says Mr McVeigh, who has established a trial field that replicates the entire rotation of wheat, barley, beans, and borage.
A beetle bank or pollen mix alternates with walnut and hazelnut agroforestry to separate each strip of cropping and is effectively ‘controlled traffic farmed’ to minimise soil compaction.
The team has planted a 12-metre strip around the field to act as a wildlife corridor, allowing access to the whole farm. The theory is to
The scheme stacks up financially “
join up wildlife habitats, enhancing the growth of populations, says Mr McVeigh.
The idea is to use the different crops as a firebreak for pests and diseases. An additional strip of grass has been planted to allow for turning machinery. This will be grazed by cattle during the summer months.
The overall aim is to move the estate to a fully no-till regenerative system – although the heavy clay soils need careful management. “The ability to grow food is more paramount than the methodology behind it,” says Mr McVeigh.
“We have a strong agronomist who has managed the transition with oth-
er farmers. This year, we have bought a low disturbance subsoiler to aerate the soil and remove compaction without disrupting the soil.
“Our tractor now has autosteer, and depending on budgets, we hope to invest in a direct drill in the next year or so. These are the critical pieces of kit that we need to manage the transition to a new system, and my agronomist is confident we can do it.”
The changes, though, will take time. “For someone who is quite impatient, it has been a crash realisation that this won’t happen in two years,” says Mr McVeigh.
“It will be a minimum of five years, but more like seven.”
Fresh thinking and diversification are at the heart of the family’s estate
management. In 1999, their father began a successful agricultural engineering business alongside the main farming enterprise.
The estate recently secured a ‘Cultivate a Generation’ grant from Kramp, which has supplied the farm business's engineering workshop with tools, parts, and consumables since.
“Tom and I are the 13th generation of farmers in our family, which has been farming since 1640,” says Ms Davenport. “We haven’t just remained an arable farm – we have used the 185ha to launch other exciting projects and businesses.”
The estate includes a wedding venue, cookery school and a glamping site –all managed by Ms Aitchison. These are all interlinked to manage seasonal peaks in demand and ensure Kenton Hall is busy throughout the year.
The engineering workshop means the estate can do most things in-house – building almost all of the farm's infrastructure, from the glamping pods to a New Zealand-style circular cattle shed, which houses their pedigree Longhorn cattle.
The wedding venue is open throughout summer, and the glamping pods provide guest accommodation. On weekdays, when it is quieter for wedding bookings, teenagers doing Duke of Edinburgh residential courses use the glamping facility.
The cookery school has a full-time chef who runs it and provides most of the classes. Specialist chefs are then brought in for specific courses. Most indoor classes take place in the winter, and the school hosts barbeque courses in the summer.
“We produce beef on the farm, which is used in the cookery school or at our events. Five Rod Farm is a nodig market garden that started here two years ago. They provide seasonal produce for the school,” explains Ms Davenport.
Five Rod Farm was set up by Mr McVeigh’s friend, Cameron Wheeler, who is a resident of the estate. It is a no-dig market garden growing seasonal vegetables, salad leaves, herbs, edible and cut flowers.
To apply for a ‘Cultivate a Generation’ grant from Kramp, visit www.bit.ly/krampgrant
Healthier livestock are more productive and can help mitigate climate change, suggests a study.
Improving animal health may reduce greenhouse gas emissions without the need to switch to a meat-free diet or cut food production – helping to boost farm livelihoods and enhance animal welfare.
The finding – by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast – will be welcomed by farmers who have found themselves under growing pressure from climate change activists to reduce livestock numbers.
Working with 14 leading academic institutions from across the globe, scientists from the university’s Institute for Global Food Security out to identify the contribution of animal diseases to emissions – and whether they could be easily reduced.
Evidence
Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the results reveal evidence that emissions increased in animals whose health is compromised, indicating that improved health could subse-
quently help mitigate climate change.
Until now, lack of data has made it hard to estimate the reductions attributable to improved health. But the research suggests that emissions could be reduced right away by preventing and treating the diseases with the highest GHG impacts.
Challenges such as common, low-grade infections with parasites and bacteria, and other diseases like mastitis and lameness account for much of the burden – but are not tracked as closely as higher profile outbreaks.
The impact of such diseases is poorly represented within existing accounting methods for greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that efforts to reduce emissions through improved animal health do not always receive the support they deserve.
Lead scientist Ilias Kyriazakis said: “This is a serious missed opportunity because, unlike many other technical and policy solutions to livestock emissions, improved health has multiple proven positive impacts and risks fewer unintended consequences.
ldi sells more British free-range eggs than any other UK supermarket, according to the latest data from market researchers Kantar.
Almost 200 million free-range eggs were purchased at Aldi during the 12 weeks to 9 June. The retailer has invested more than £50m in UK egg producers during the past two years – and all Aldi eggs are British Lion Code approved.
Cattle in good condition are better for farming and the environment
“This is a serious missed opportunity
The discount supermarket chain says it also implements long-term contracts for its egg suppliers, providing them with certainty and security for continued investment to grow their own businesses.
Aldi buying director Julie Ashfield said: “British suppliers are integral to Aldi’s success, and the long-term relationships we’ve formed with our UK egg farmers are something we take great pride in.
“Improving animal health can deliver an immediate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and at the same time improve production efficiency but is not prioritised because its benefits are not well quantified.
“We propose a new and rigorous method to account for these benefits and drive action to reduce the impact of livestock systems.”
The scientists say livestock are crucial to livelihoods around the world and play an important role in food security and the provision of nutrient-dense food in the southern hemisphere.
Researcher Frances Ryan, from Edinburgh University, said livestock were especially important for climate adaptation. In reducing emissions, it was important not to undermine these benefits or endanger food security.
“Reducing emissions by improving animal health allows us to address environmental issues while protecting people who rely on livestock.
“We should seize this opportunity to get closer to a sustainable planetary future.’’
“Becoming the largest provider of freerange eggs is a great achievement which wouldn’t have been possible without these brilliant suppliers, who continue to work with us to put animal welfare first.”
Ms Ashfield says Aldi spent an additional £1.3bn with British suppliers in 2023. The supermarket is continuing to invest more than ever before in British farmers and growers, she adds.
• Fears grow over African Swine Fever
• Call to keep out illegal meat imports
• More checks needed, warn leaders
Pig industry leaders have urged the government to stop illegal meat imports and animal disease from entering the UK.
The National Pig Association national biosecurity and better border controls should be a top priority amid fears that a major disease outbreak could devastate Britain’s outdoor herds and indoor units.
It comes as African Swine Fever continues to spread to new regions and new countries.
More cases of the disease have been confirmed in Asia and Europe over the past few months, including four cases in Germany this summer.
NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson and senior policy adviser Tom Haynes held top level talks with Defra farm minister Daniel Zeichner on the issue last month. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled in due course.
Ms Wilson said: “We outlined our concerns around the lack of border controls for both illegally imported meat and now legally imported commercial meat since the Border TOM system was introduced.”
It remains illegal for travellers to import meat or dairy products from Asia and other non-EU country areas. Imports of infected pork from affected parts of Asia present a significant route of entry of African Swine Fever into the UK, says the NPA.
The German cases are particularly worrying. The virus was initially detected among wild boar in June. It was then detected on a smallholding in early July – followed by a pig unit with 1,100 animals in mid-July.
Pig farmers in the affected region
for signs of disease and to report them immediately to their local veterinary office. This process resulted in the discovery of the two latest outbreaks.
Some commentators fear it is only a matter of time before the virus reaches the UK. People returning from affected areas are advised to avoid contact with pigs on commercial farmers, and smallholdings..
Ms Wilson said the NPA wanted to continue its close working relationship with the new government – as well as investment in Britain’s biosecurity, including proper checks on illegal meat imports at the Port of Dover.
“There remain a number of challenges that we must continue working hard to overcome, not least the threat of African Swine Fever in Europe and the need to deliver fairness in the supply chain for our farmers.”
Consumers were encouraged to Feed Your Family for Less when the British pork campaign returned last month.
The AHDB initiative aims to inspire consumers to see British pork as an affordable, tasty and healthy meal choice. It was seen on social media, on YouTube and in seven supermarket chains between 5–31 July.
The campaign showcases pork as a delicious, healthy and budget-friendly choice with easyto-prepare recipes using cuts such as 5%-fat mince, loin steaks and fillet, all under £1.50 per portion.
Summer recipes included Mexican-style
pork burgers, creamy lemon pork pasta and Korean-style pork mince bowls – all shown in social media adverts across Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
The recipes also featured in the healthy pork recipes collection on the AHDB’s Love Pork website. Shoppers could download affordable recipe ideas through on-pack stickers with QR codes to scan as well as signage in aisles.
Influencer Lucy Kent said pork was quick and easy to prepare – as well as being healthy. Social media is an increasingly popular way to reach consumers on a regular basis. The AHDB uses it throughout the year to promote British pork.
Egg producers and pullet rearers are being asked to remain vigilant against the threat of salmonella in British layers.
The layer industry has been working to prevent the disease, but Elanco layer business manager Jeremy Marsh said it still was important for the industry to keep a watchful eye against food safety risks.
Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) and Salmonella Typhimurium remain the most common types in British layers. And with numbers still increasing, Mr Marsh said following Elanco’s recent Layer Conference.
SE is known for its ability to vertically contaminate the egg as well as via the shell pre- or post-lay, before the cuticle hardens. This meant there was a need to protect the egg both internally and externally.
“To control the disease, it’s crucial
vaccination programmes are as robust as possible and we're not taking risks. Equally, from a biosecurity perspec tive, we need to ensure we’re not cut ting corners and doing everything we can to minimise risks.”
The importance of biosecurity, and in particular rodent control, was al luded to in the presentation given by Gary Ford from the British Egg Indus try Council. Stringent measures need ed to be in place to control the disease, said Mr Marsh.
“As Gary highlighted, protecting eggs from Salmonella spans beyond optimising bird health and welfare. We need to keep the disease under con trol to maintain consumer confidence and trust in the UK egg industry.”
Production losses related to the disease can cost as much as £17 per bird. Recommending a three-pronged against Salmonella, Mr Marsh said it was important not to skimp on control and prevention.
“An effective vaccination strategy is key. It’s the first line of defence, but it’s not a silver bullet. Excellent biosecurity and hygiene alongside continuous monitoring and flock management is needed to bolster the success of a vaccination programme.”
Pigs can still thrive despite the removal of potentially harmful zinc oxide from their diets, says an industry specialist.
Zinc oxide has been used for many years in the industry to reduce diarrhoea in post-weaned pigs. But concern over the potential risk to the environment saw the therapeutic use of zinc oxide banned across the European Union in 2022.
Brexit enabled the government’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate to grant an extension in the UK, allowing British farmers to use up any product purchased. But that authorisation expired in June 2022.
Following the ban, pig producers have been on a deadline to use any remaining products and utilise alternative methods of supporting gut health and preventing post-weaning diarrhoea in their weaned pigs.
Animal feed company Harbro, which offers a tailored nutritional programme to its customers, began
removing medicinal zinc oxide from its Fostercare piglet range in 2023, and has also added a number of new products.
Some producers are achieving excellent results without medicinal zinc in their livestock’s diets, says Harbro’s pig business development manager James Hall, who is working with a number of farmers.
Mr Hall said: “We are not seeing any negative impacts from removing the zinc oxide from the diets when the adjusted nutritional approach is combined with good hygiene and management in the nursery.
“We have customers who are currently achieving weights of 35kg in their 10-week old pigs, compared with the 30kg industry average. On a 300 sow unit, improving nursery weight by 5kg could be worth an additional £200,000 a year.”
Harbro technical specialist Kevin Stickney said there was no silver bullet to the withdrawal of zinc oxide. Producers should employ number of different strategies – including improved
Following the success of the trailed versions of the Progressive Cultivator, we are pleased to now offer a more costeffective alternative. A fully mounted model which suits larger horsepower wheeled tractors and smaller tracked machines.
Some producers are achieving excellent results without medicinal zinc
hygiene, he added.
Piglets could thrive without medicinal zinc, but there had good on-farm hygiene – and assistance through the water supply immediately after weaning, when feed intake rates were less predictable.
Comprising of Discs, new Low Disturbance Tines and an all-weather compatible Packer. Trialled in 2022; in some cases it outperformed the larger trailed versions on output and cost per acre basis. Call now for more details on the
Poultry and pig producers are being advised to review hygiene protocols to reduce the risk of pathogenic infections affecting performance.
Better hygiene and disinfection procedures are seen as a key way to maximise biosecurity and reduce productivity losses – including those resulting from sub-clinical health issues.
“Monogastric units remain at risk of a broad spectrum of pathogens where infections can compromise performance,” says Dan Clow, pig and poultry specialist with food safety company Neogen.
“In poultry units we typically see reduced growth, rate of lay, egg quality, duration of lay or mortality. In pig units, growth and feed conversion will typically be reduced under pathogenic challenges.”
hygiene programmes are being used on many farms
chicks or young birds and piglets will not tolerate them so well.
All too often poor performance, especially poor feed conversion ratio (FCR) is put down to feeding, but in many cases will be due to sub-clinical pathogenic infections, says Mr Clow.
“Cleaning and disinfection will always be a key pillar in monogastric farm biosecurity. A foam detergent will help remove soiling before applying disinfectant. Disinfectants that combine a high initial kill rate with a long-lasting residual action are ideal.
“Over time, however, routines have tended to become increasingly standardised and the time available to remove litter and other organic material, to clean and then disinfect is becoming tighter.”
This means that simpler programmes are being used on many farms, says Mr Clow, including farmers who are adopting higher chemical rates as a standard procedure “just to be sure”.
One problem is that the previous
batch of pigs or birds will have been exposed to micro-organisms that may have caused disease. While older animals may fight off the challenge,
“In addition, time constraints may mean that target application contact times are seldom achieved, or stages are simply cut out, reducing the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfecting.”
Operating for over 69 years, Rattlerow Farms is one of the UK’s longest established, family owned pig producers. Due to continued expansion, we are looking for more pig finishing places. If you are an existing contract finisher or would like to diversify your farming business with a secure income through a new pig enterprise, give us a call to hear about our competitive contracts.
james.lambert@tnpltd.com
Jim Lambert 07384 461163
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Deborah Je ries 07909 724028
https://www.tnpltd.com/ farming-oppurtunities
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Reducing on-farm emissions by making simple changes is helping to increase profits on one of the UK’s biggest dairy units.
That was the message delivered by Grosvenor Farms dairy manager David Craven to 1300 visitors at last month’s Down to Earth event in Cheshire. The 2,600-cow herd is housed all year round and produces more than 12,000 litres per cow.
Feeding more efficiently, introducing co-products into cow diets, improving herd genetics and focusing on waste management can all increase dairy margins while being better for the environment, said Mr Craven.
Grosvenor Farms aims to reach net zero within six years, listeners were told. Arable manager Charlie Steer said all sides of the business were taking a joined-up approach to create a circular farming system.
The integrated farming strategy, such as recycling manure into organic fertilisers to replenish soils, means more than 80% of the animal feed at
use of artificial fertilisers.
It has one of the lowest carbon emissions within the Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group milk pool at 939kg of CO2e/litre, reducing emissions by over 40% over the last 10 years while improving profits. The Tesco group average is 1,158 kg of CO2e/litre of milk.
Mr Steer said it was vital that farmers knew their carbon footprint to move forward.
“You need to understand your position and where you can get to, and then you can set out a plan to do so. Without that, if you haven't got a starting point, you don't know where you will go," he said.
AHDB environment advisor John Gilliland said on-farm emission data was vital for farmers to tell their climate change story with transparency and integrity. Producers should be armed with it, he added.
“Know your numbers, go for the win-wins and engage the win-wins.
Grosvenor Farms has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the Tesco milk group
well; they've leveraged the win-wins to show that as they bring their footprint down, their profit has gone up.”
Speakers advised visitors on some of the easy wins they could take to reduce emissions. Consultant Adrian Packington outlined how new feed ingredient Bovaer was helping to reduce enteric methane emissions at Grosvenor Farms.
Some 1300 visitors attended the one-day event on 3 July in
The product is being fed at 60 parts per million (ppm) in the total diet, equating to 1.5g fed per cow per day. Initial data at Grosvenor showed that feeding Bovaer had reduced methane by 31%, or 1.3 tonnes of C02 per cow per year, said Mr Packington.
"If we're going to move towards low-carbon dairy, we really have got to address enteric methane. At COP 26 in Glasgow, 155 countries signed up to the global methane pledge to reduce methane by 30% by 2030. So, reducing methane by 10% is not enough."
AB Dairy ruminant technical manager Anna Sutcliffe gave examples of how dietary changes can reduce emissions. Swapping soya for a protected rape was a good start, she explained.
"At Grosvenor, they use rape as their primary protein source. Nova Pro, a protected rape product, has a bypass protein content similar to soya so that you can replace that quality protein."
Dr Sutcliffe said co-products such as Trafford Gold and Brewers Grain draft had very low emissions values as the carbon has followed the head prodContinued on page 55
Dairy fortunes are showing signs of recovery – but milk prices still have some way to go to cover production costs on many farms.
Values have steadily risen over the past year following a sharp drop to 36.49ppl in July 2023. But they frequently fail to provide a fair return for family labour, says the latest annual Kingshay Dairy Costings Focus Report.
The gap between the highest and lowest milk prices has also fluctuated, peaking at 13.8ppl in March 2023 before narrowing to 11.6ppl in March 2024, says Kingshay senior farm services manager Kathryn Rowland.
Efficiency ranges widely across production systems. All-year-round calving herds with a housing focus produce the greatest margin per cow (£2,495); and autumn / split block calving herds with a grazing focus the highest margin per litre (29p).
Continued from page 53
uct. Better breeding is also contributing to emission reductions, she added.
Speakers from Cogent explained how Eco Feed, an index that measures feed conversion, can reduce feed intake and methane production by 15% for every 5-point increase in the EcoFeed score while maintaining production.
Habitat protection
Grosvenor Farms is also de-risking its business by using higher-yielding land areas for food production and less productive areas for habitat protection and enhancement. In total,12%
Above: Milk prices are recovering – but some systems perform better than others
Below: Kathryn Rowland: market needs to deliver premiums
of the land is in a biodiversity scheme.
Edward Earnshaw from Just Farm explained that other farmers could also make money by identifying unproductive land and entering it into Defra’s Environment Land Management Scheme (ELMs).
"For those people that are prepared to look at it, these payments can add up to be quite a significant part of the gross margin, let alone net margin, and that is where I'd encourage people to start with and focus on what works, what fits and what pays.
"Unproductive flower-rich grass areas are one of the best ones because they are hugely practical (to plant) in
erative farming practices and going forward, it is likely that the range in pricing even within contracts –let alone between them – is going to widen.”
Average milk yields have slightly increased over the past decade and remain in the mid 8,000 litres/cow range, says the Kingshay report. But milk solids have hit a new record of 646kg/cow, it adds.
This marks almost an 11% increase over the past 10 years, outpacing the 5.4% rise in milk yield. This is most likely due to producers focusing on feed efficiency and fulfilling their milk contract requirements.
Average herd sizes have increased by two head, year-on-year, and now stand at 219 cows compared to 185 in 2014. Stocking rates have also seen a rise, reaching 2.39 cows/hectare compared to 2.25 a decade ago.
Atrocious weather during the current season means milk from forage has decreased by 3% on last year, to 2,691 litres per cow. But Scotland managed to buck the trend with a 16% year-on-year increase.
Herd health has generally improved in nearly all areas. Mastitis cases have decreased to an average of 26 cases per 100 cows, indicating better management, facilities, breeding and recording, says the report.
But lameness has seen an increase which, having declined annually since 2020, jumped by four cases per 100 cows to 37. This is likely due to poor weather in 2023/24 affecting grazing access and leading to longer housing periods.
Fertility trends have returned to normal following the hot summer of 2022/23. The cost of an extended calving interval has dropped from £5.89/ day per cow to £4.88/day – mainly due to lower milk prices and feed costs.
an area that doesn't perform well. It's worth almost £330 an acre, and that comes back to making every acre pay.”
The Down to Earth event was organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. Chairman Robert Craig said it highlighted that reducing on-farm emissions doesn't have to be about making huge investments.
"Fine-tuning can make a big difference over time, not only in emission reductions but also in overall farm profitability. Grosvenor Farms is a clear example of how a drive to reduce emissions has positively impacted productivity and output.”
North (19,589 acres) saw more farmland marketed in the six months to the end of June, according to the quarterly farmland survey from Savills.
In total, 14,292 acres of farmland have been publicly marketed in the East of England since the start of the year. This is 9% increase on the 13,072 acres put up for sale in the first half of 2023.
Savills also reports a dip in value for some eastern region farmland types – although in many cases they remain above the national average, says Harry Kennedy, associate in the firm’s rural agency team in Norfolk.
market for £4.5m.
Below: Harry Kennedy: alternative incomes
“Our last survey forecast the supply of farmland would continue upwards and this has played out – predominantly
Scheme (BPS).
“The continued reduction in funding is encouraging many farmers to diversify and find alternative sources of income. But others are making the difficult decision to leave the industry completely or consolidate and sell part of their holding.”
Some 118,232 acres of farmland were marketed across Great Britain in the first six months of 2024 – a rise of 36% year on year. Overall, farmland values
acre. Average prime arable land values reached £10,140 per acre, while Grade 3 arable sits at an average of £8,674 an acre.
In the East of England the average value of all farmland dropped to £9,276 an acre at the end of June –a fall of 6.6% but still higher than the national average, says Will Radbourne, of Savills rural agency team in Chelmsford.
The value of prime arable land dropped 8.3% to an average of £9,928, while the value of Grade 3 arable now sits at an average of £9,251 an acre –a rise of 7.3% in the last 12 months, says Mr Radbourne.
“Over the last 18 months or so, the East of England has led the way in terms of farmland values – with prices hitting an almost historic high and significantly ahead when compared to the rest of the UK.
“But more farmland on the market means more choice and – although values are still higher than they were two years ago and for the most part still outperforming the national picture – we have started to see a slight rebalancing.
Encouragingly for vendors, Mr Radourne says there continues to be a strong pool of committed buyers with appetite for best-in-class properties ranging from prime residential estates to substantial farming portfolios.
“The cumulative effect of the ag-
Demand for land suitable for vines and established vineyards is more buoyant than ever with the UK wine industry bucking worldwide trends.
More than £80m was invested in the UK wine industry during 2023, taking the total invested over the past 10 years to almost £570m, suggests Strutt & Parker’s annual viticulture report.
Global wine production dropped 10% last year due to extreme weather and fungal diseases, according the International
Afarming friend of mine has just delayed his farm sale until late September. It was going take place early the same month – but a difficult season, challenging harvest and poor yields has put paid to that idea.
The run-up to harvest is traditionally a time for belt-tightening. Many of us this year were looking forward to combines rolling into crops. But lower yields and lower prices mean harvest hasn't been anything to write home about.
The basic payment is slowly coming to an end and I’m hearing of more farms having to re-finance. With lending rates still high, it’s an uncomfortable time to have a conversation with the bank, let alone take on more land.
Many farm businesses have borrowed on
the strength of high land prices. Although the land market is still strong, many lenders will expect substantial guarantees or security on the back of higher than expected interest rates.
A recent conversation with a farm accountant recently made me realise how many farms are currently losing money. He reckoned almost half of them, with some smaller arable units quickly calling it a day.
Others, though, are expanding in an effort to spread costs. But doing so is not always the answer. Nor is it always profitable. Harvest 2024 poses many difficult questions –not least for combinable crops.
UK feed wheat levels are expected to be less than 14m tonnes. Traditionally, the UK is not a great exporter of feed wheat. This year, with very little surplus grain, the country will again have to import.
Milling premiums should remain strong – hopefully somewhere near the £70/tonne we saw last year. There or thereabouts, anyway. And provided the weather finally provides us with some sunshine, milling wheat supplies should be stable.
With large amounts of spring crops planted, it’s anyone’s guess where the market for spring barley is likely to be. It’s also questionable whether the crop adds up with process around £130/tonne and yields little more than 6t/ha.
No wonder the that many local farms decided to leave land fallow this season, giving them the opportunity to get on top of blackgrass and pave the way for a clean entry into winter wheat this autumn.
Further afield, I wonder how the markets will react with India and China facing wheat shortages and Russia no longer claiming an exportable surplus. Then again, perhaps they have already factored all of that in.
Closer to home, Europe was in the grip of heavy storms last month. It doesn’t do much for food production – especially at a time when governments are telling farmers they must be more environmentally friendly.
Danish growers, for example, face a pesticide levy based on weight. It has been around for some time but with farmers now reducing application rates accordingly, farm output has fallen because many cereal diseases are now either rampant, resistant or both. Meanwhile, people are still complaining about the cost of their weekly shop. Food prices increased by almost 25% from January 2022 and January 2024. Yet food inflation is at lowest level since April 2022 although still relatively.
Yet farmers don’t see the benefit. High shop prices are seldom passed down the food chain. So this harvest will be difficult in more ways that one – let’s hope the new government supports agriculture on all fronts.
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