Anglia Farmer June 2023

Anglia Farmer

EDITORIAL

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Anglia Farmer is a controlled circulation magazine published monthly for farmers and growers in the eastern counties. To be included on the circulation list, a farmer must have a minimum of 70 acres of land, or 50 dairy/beef stock, or 50 breeding sows/250 growing stock, or 15,000 laying hens/broiler chickens. Intensive horticulture units are required to have a minimum of two hectares. Subscription is £18 a year (including postage). No responsibility can be accepted by the publishers for the opinions expressed by contributors.

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OPINION Johann Tasker

Talk is cheap at Downing Street food summit

Last month's Farm to Fork summit at Downing Street was billed as a show of government support for UK farmers.

The summit fulfilled a commitment made by Rishi Sunak last summer to host the event as part of his pledge to back British farmers. Held on a sunny spring day at No. 10, the event brought together representatives from across the supply chain who spilled out into the Downing St garden to sample some great British food and drink.

Accompanied by a raft of government announcements, the summit was designed to demonstrate that the Prime Minister recognises the importance of UK agriculture – and domestic food production.

Did it succeed? Well, the package of support included a commitment to protect farming interests in future trade deals, support to boost domestic fruit and veg production – and new investment in agricultural technologies.

But talk is cheap, as the old saying goes. Nothing in the package will make any immediate difference to farmers who are battling high input costs, falling commodity prices and ultimately tighter margins.

Inflation might have eased – but that doesn't mean prices are falling. It just means they are rising less quickly. In fact, food price inflation re-

mains stubbornly high. So too do farm input costs, as the latest ag-inflation figures show.

The happiest people at the Downing St summit appeared to be the Prime Minister himself and Clarkson's Farm star Kaleb Cooper. Both men were pictured laughing together as they posed for the cameras.

Some cynics might say that inviting the 24-yearold agricultural contractor to No 10 proves that the summit was just a PR stunt – an opportunity for Rishi Sunak to highlight his pledge to “always back British farmers”.

The NFU has been more gracious, arguing that the summit and accompanying announcements show that he recognises and understands the strategic importance of British food and farming to the nation. In fact, the summit was held at the union's behest.

But to make a real difference, rather than empty words, the Prime Minister and his government need a coherent vision for the farmers and food producers they claim will always be “at the heart of our plans to grow the economy and build a more prosperous country”.

Johann Tasker Editor

Prime Minister urged to build on promises made to farmers

Actions speak louder than words, say farm leaders

Rishi Sunak has been urged to build on promises made at last month's Downing Street food summit – and help secure a more pros perous future for farming.

The Prime Minster hosted the Farm to Fork Summit in the Downing Street garden on Tuesday, 16 May. The NFU said it marked a significant step in the union's campaign for government rec ognition of the strategic importance of British food and farming.

Planning policy

Ahead of the meeting, the government made a raft of announcements – in cluding changes in planning policy, help for exports and protecting UK food standards under existing and fu ture free trade agreements.

Farm leaders at the summit includ ed Country Land and Business Associ ation president Mark Tufnell, Nick Al len from the British Meat Processors Association – and 24-year-old Clark son's Farm star Kaleb Cooper.

The Prime Minister said: “Farming isn’t just a job. It’s a way of life. And it doesn’t matter how young you are, there’s a role for you in farming. Anyone can do it. And farming businesses really thrive from having young entrepreneurial spirit.”

Food security

NFU president Minette Batters said Mr Sunak had delivered on a commitment made last year to host the summit. She added: "Many farmers and growers I represent will be relieved to see UK food security being taken seriously by the government.”

The number of cabinet ministers at the summit showed there was ambition across government to boost homegrown production – and support investment and growth in British food.

“What we need now is to build on these announcements,” said Mrs Batters afterwards.

"We are calling for a set of core agrifood import standards for trade. While it is pleasing government is looking to

maintain self-sufficiency at 60%, we believe there’s an opportunity to produce much more of our own food.”

"Vitally, the Farm to Fork Summit should become an annual event,

Clarkson's Farm star Kaleb Cooper shares a joke with Rishi Sunak

as our food supply is part of the UK’s national infrastructure and will ensure that food security never drops down the political agenda, across all parties, again.”

Risks and shocks

Other organisations also warned that more was needed. Vicki Hird, head of sustainable farming at campaign group Sustain, said: “The government cannot leave the nation’s food security in the hands of the supermarket chains alone.”

More support was needed for environmentally friendly farming. So too were legally binding supply chain codes of practice, and a strategy to ensure more agroecological, nature friendly food for consumers.

Nature Friendly Farming Network chairman Martin Lines said: “The food system has been increasingly commodified and consolidated, which has dramatically exposed our food and farming systems to risks and shocks.

“The government needs to recognise that the twin challenges of producing healthy food and protecting the environment are closely connected. It needs to take a systems view of what we can grow and produce that is ecologically appropriate."

Raft of pledges 'must now be delivered'

Pledges made by the government to coincide with the summit included reviews into fairness in the horticulture and egg supply chains – both of which have faced challenges over recent months.

Horticulture has been hit by labour shortages and high energy costs – both of which have seen growers forced to abandon production. Enrgy costs have also hit egg producers – as has bird flu – who have complained that retail prices are too low.

The government said the Groceries Code Adjudicator will not now be merged with the Competition and Markets Authority, in recognition of its importance in ensuring our food supply chains function as they should.

Meanwhile, new export opportunities will be

prioritised for UK food and drink. This includes a new bespoke £1m programme to encourage more dairy exports. Five additional special attaches will help spearhead the removal of restrictive market barriers.

The EU Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisation Scheme will now be retaned when it closes in 2026. And retrictions will be eased to make it easier to build new glasshouses through changes to national planning policy;

UK food standards will be protected under all existing and future free trade agreements – with the government finally ruling out the prospects of chlorine-washed chicken or hormone-treated beef coming into the UK.

British agriculture has bright future, says farm minister Technology can show way forward

Innovation and championing high-quality food production is the future of British agriculture, says farm minister Mark Spencer.

A renewed focus on food security means British farmers can look to the future with confidence, Mr Spencer told a 60-strong audience of growers, livestock producers, students and agricultural advisers at Shuttleworth College, Bedfordshire.

Organised by the East of England Agricultural Society, the event saw Mr Spencer welcomed back by the college he once attended as a student to deliver the annual Shuttleworth Lecture and answer questions from the audience on Thursday, 11 May.

The Conservative MP for Sherwood in Nottinghamshire was welcomed by East of England Agricultural Society chairman Charlie Reynolds. The Q&A session was hosted by Phil Jar-

vis, chairman of Albanwise Farming and Environment.

“It isn't always people but events that drive innovation in agriculture,” said Mr Spencer. “World War II drove huge innovation with the government solely focused on winning the war, which included feeding the nation.

Need to feed

“This policy led us to feeding the whole of Europe, which we did quite successfully for 80 years. The government at the time was focused wholly and laser-like on the need to feed, and I wonder what historians will look back on and think for 2022/23.

“Will we take on the challenges that we face in the same way? With the challenges coming out of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the need to challenge the climate crisis, we are the holders of the baton in our sector.”

Tendring Show celebrates creativity in the countryside

Next month's Tendring Show will celebrate creativity in the countryside after last year saw more than 20,000 people flock to the one-day event.

Taking place on Saturday 8 July, the Tendring Show was first held in 1899. It remains an important event in the local calendar and brings together the rural and urban communities of north Essex.

Organised by the Tendring Hundred Farmers’ Club, the show maintains its agricultural heritage with displays of agricultural machinery, livestock, and food on sale from local producers.

Show president for 2023 is local businessman Steven Rose, managing director of Rose Builders, a family-run firm established in 1896. With strong links to the event and the local farming community, Mr Rose's father Bill was show president in 2004.

“Since childhood, I have been fascinated and inspired by creating, designing, and making things,” said Mr Rose. “There is so much creativity that goes on in the countryside that is not seen or appreciated.

“This led me to want to ‘shine a light’ on some of the talent and creativity that goes on around us with this year’s theme. I hope you will visit our special theme area and be inspired to wonder, to think, to create, to design, and to make.”

Tendring Hundred Farmers’ Club chairman Will King said: “Last year’s show was

With horticultural producers in the audience, Mr Spencer was asked to address the power balance between growers, producers and the retailers. “We need to work on making both retailers and consumers understand that quality comes at a premium price,” he said.

Asked about the prospects for gene edited crops, Mr Spencer said: “We need to get better at communicating that moves in science can be good for us, and I think that’s one lesson we have all taken from the development and rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination.”

Mr Spencer also encouraged theity for marketing British produce to

Livestock classes remain a big draw for visitors to the Tendring Show (Picture: Paul Wishart / Shutterstock.com)

a tremendous success and early signs are that we can expect an even greater number of exhibitors and trade stands back on the showground this summer.

“Visitors can expect that special Tendring Show atmosphere that celebrates our agricultural heritage and the best of our local communities, including brilliant entertainment, plenty of shopping opportunities, livestock showing classes, big machinery, and small animal tents.”

For full information and ticket details, visit www.tendringshow.co.uk

Farm minister Mark Spencer (centre) with Charlie Reynolds (left) and Phil Jarvus (right)

We are the holders of the baton

“

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• The level of greenhouse gases sequestered in your soils, hedgerows and woodlands

• How you compare to similar businesses

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• Where you can make quick and simple changes to your business to reduce emissions

The level of greenhouse gases emitted from your farming and diversified businesses

The greenhouse gas emissions split across the different enterprises on your farm

The level of greenhouse gases sequestered in your soils, hedgerows and woodlands

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Where you can make quick and simple changes to your business to reduce emissions

If you cannot make the show but are interested inany of the above, please phone or email Ian Thompson on 01383 730 538 ian@laurencegould.com

you cannot make the show but are interested in any of the above, please phone or email Ian Thompson on 01383-730 538 ian@laurencegould.com

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Groundswell Regenerative farming event celebrates eighth year

Thousands of farmers to attend two-day celebration of farming

Organisers of the UK’s biggest regenerative farming event have unveiled a bumper pro gramme featuring more than 200 speakers.

Now in its eighth year, the Ground swell Festival takes place on 28-29 June 2023 at Lannock Manor Farm, near Hitchin, Hertfordshire. As well as talks, it will feature hundreds of trade stands and demonstrations.

Groundswell provides a forum for farmers, growers and anyone inter ested in food production and the en vironment to learn about the theory and practical applications of regener ative farming systems.

Organised by the Cherry family, the programme has been designed to cov er all aspects of farming – from live stock and agroforestry to machinery, crops and finance. Event director Alex Cherry feels that this is what makes Groundswell unique.

All welcome

“Last year we welcomed over 5,500 delegates to Groundswell from farmers to policymakers, all with a similar objective – to understand more about regenerative agriculture,” he says.

“Regardless of your farming operation or scale, everyone has a role to play in ensuring we protect our soil, look after the land and produce food in a safe and nutritious way.

“We use the five principals of regenerative agriculture to help guide our farming decisions. This includes protecting the soil surface, increasing diversity, integrating livestock, maintaining living roots and minimising soil disturbance.”

Mr Cherry added: “We want to ensure Groundswell remains an inclusive space for everyone to share their own thoughts, practical ideas and experiences to help make farming part of the solution, to many of the issues we face today.”

As well as sessions curated by the Groundswell team, organisations and individuals have been invited to put

applications nearly double the number of spaces available.

Advanced sessions

Science writer Anne Biklé will deliver the first keynote of Groundswell 2023. Her latest book – What Your Food Ate: How to Heal the Land and Reclaim our Health – delves into the connections between soil health and the health of crops, animals, and people. New this year, the event will include a number of advanced sessions. These will provide more depth on a topic, allowing farmers who are already using

pand their knowledge.

This year will have a strong focus on pasture-fed livestock, with the Cherry family integrating cattle into their rotation to improve soil health. Showgoers will be able to enjoy beef-cooked over an open fire.

During the event, visitors will have the opportunity to follow the full supply chain: hearing from Pasture for Life about 100% grass-fed cattle and sheep; seeing mob grazing in action; and viewing a mobile abattoir. For full details, including tickets, visit www.groundswellag.com

Global speakers flock to Groundswell

Speakers from around the world will give presentations at this year's Groundwell event.

Richard Perkins, who farms in Sweden, will look at different regenerative practices regardless of scale. With more than 160,000 YouTube subscribers, he has inspired farmers across the globe with his approach to profitable systems.

Other speakers include Frédéric Thomas who specialises in minimum tillage and conservation agriculture and supported the creation of the French BASE network for biodiversity, agriculture, soil and environment, which has over 1200 members.

Joel Williams, a plant and soil health consultant in microbial ecology and mineral nutrition, will give a presentation. So too will musician Andy Cato, who co-founded Wildfarmed, a regenerative farming business.

Emily Bull, who manages the FAI Farms regenerative dairy project in the UK, will give a speech about the system.

Judith Batchelor, a former Sainsbury's brand director, will lead a session. She is also deputy chair of the Environment Agency and honorary president of the British Nutrition Foundation.

The Groundswell event is expected to sell out, say organisers

Groundswell more popular than ever, say host farmers

This year's Groundswell event promises to be more popular than ever, with a jam-packed programme of exhibitors, demonstrations and talks.

Entering its eight year, Groundswell provides a forum for farmers and everyone else interested in food production or the environment to learn about the theory and practical applications of conservation agriculture – including no-till, cover crops and improving soil health.

The two-day event will feature talks, forums and discussions from leading international soil health experts, experienced arable and livestock farmers, agricultural policy experts, direct-drill demonstrations and agri-tech innovators.

No-till system

Aimed at all types of farmers, Groundswell was founded by the Cherry family on their mixed farm in Hertfordshire. Brothers John and Paul Cherry have farmed for more than 30 years, converting to no-till in 2010.

“We started Groundswell out of a sense of frustration that noone was putting on a summer show to which we might want to go,” says John.

"A visit to the fabulous NoTill on the Plains Conference in Salina, Kansas showed us what could be done.

"One of the most striking things was how hungry for information the farmer delegates were about the soil and the ecosystems that lived in them.

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Radical ideas

“A lot of the speakers were describing some fairly radical farming ideas and techniques and their audiences were lapping it up. We thought that if the good people of Kansas were ready for this, we sure as hell ought to be ready in Europe.”

started Groundswell out of frustration

Groundswell continues to go from strength to strength – welcoming more than 5,500 visitors in 2022. This growth reflects in-

creasing interest in regenerative agriculture – and the benefits of such systems in terms of carbon sequestration and flood prevention.

“Despite these other interest groups, Groundswell remains a show ‘for farmers, by farmers’; we aim to explore ways of working with nature to grow food in a profitable way,” explains Paul.

“As the new saying goes: resilience is fertile – and profitability is one of the key factors that makes your operation resilient. It’s all very well regenerating your soil, but if you are not making money while you do it, you won’t be doing it for long.”

Tickets on sale – with discounts

Groundswell tickets are on sale for £80+VAT (single day) and £120 (both days) – with a 20% discount for students and a 10% discount for groups of 10 or more.

The two-day event takes place on 28-29 June at Lannock Manor Farm, near Hitchin, Hertfordshire. As well as field demonstrations and static exhibitions, the show includes speakers across nine different stages.

This year, alongside ‘first principle’ sessions for those at the start of their regenerative journey, the event includes a series of extended advanced sessions for those keen to dive deeper into the science and practical applications of regenerative farming.

For full details, visit groundswellag.com

The central Groundswell theme is soil health – and how it can be improved using sustainable farming systems

We

Mounted GD Disc Drill makes Groundswell debut

Weaving Machinery is showcasing its new mounted GD Disc Drill at this year's Groundswell event.

Available now, it is aimed at smaller farmers and those who prefer mounted, compact machines rather than larger trailed drills.

A host of new features includes a tubular coulter frame and a two-section folding mechanism for easy calibration and emptying of the hopper.

Popular

“The mounted GD was brought to the market in 2015 and has proved immensely popular, the new model has taken all of the proven features and refined them to enhance operator experience.” says Weaving Machinery sales director Simon Weaving.

“Every machine at Weaving is built with real farmers in mind. We’re proud to support more robust performance for British farmers, with

high-specification machinery that is easy to use and to maintain.”

Available in 3 metre and 4 metre working widths, the new Mounted GD comes complete with an ergonomic 2000L plastic tank, the same as Weaving's Sabre Drill, for better weight distribution, longevity and through-flow of material.

The tank is fitted with heavy duty steel lids, along with a side door, allowing easy access for maintenance and cleaning. Rear folding steps and twostage platform give operators ample room whilst filling the hopper.

Coulter system

The mounted machine carries the patented GD coulter system that makes it the lowest disturbance direct drill on the market. This system has also been upgraded to incorporate a gas spring to allow ease of operator set up and is more reliable than the previous hydraulic cylinders.

The GD Disc Drill from Weaving Machinery has a host of new features

A new coulter system also offers a more responsive and constant coulter pressure for even better seed placement. Seed distribution is powered by RDS Artemis Lite controls with electric metering. A six-inch hydraulic fan delivers the seed to the coulters.

Controls can be upgraded to Isocan GPS metering, which includes a larger user interface, allows multiple product application and is iSOBUS compatible.

We

• Personalised business audit: Receive three days of support, including a face-to-face meeting with an Andersons business consultant, a detailed report, and a follow-up meeting.

• Environmental review: An agri-environment adviser will visit and look at options for your farm including land management schemes, SFI, grants, biodiversity and pollution prevention. A report will be provided.

• Regional workshops and online resources

*Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF) – available to farming businesses in England with an SBI.

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Arable

Regional trials 'best for crop variety decisions'

• Local knowledge and performance

• Assess different disease situations

• Growers see valuable opportunities

Arable farmers favour local variety trials over national demonstrations when making crucial decisions about what varieties to grow next season, says a survey.

The online questionnaire by plant breeders Limagrain UK saw an over whelming majority (86%) of respond ents say they regard information gained from regional variety demonstrations as more relatable than from national events.

“This is mainly because local events offer the chance to see how new and existing varieties perform in local soils, climate, and disease situations,” says Limagrain UK cereals and pulses product manager Tom Barker.

“Indeed,43% of farmers responding to the survey have attended a regional event with variety trials in the past 12 months, compared with just 28% that have attended a national event, such as Cereals or Arable Scot-

Around one quarter of arable farmers have taken part in an online trials webinar, such as those organised by NIAB TAG or the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, according

Some three- quarters of growers are prepared to travel up to an hour or more to attend a regional variety trial, Alongside the location, date

plots is also important.

So too is seeing how varieties perform under seasonal pressures. Other areas of interest include; late versus early drilling comparisons, different methods of establishment, alternative fungicide programmes and trace element or micronutrient work.

Most interest

“It is also clear from the survey that growers take information from a range of sources when making variety decisions, says Mr Barker. This includes independent bodies, breeders, agronomists, and seed merchants.”

Winter wheat varieties are generally of most interest, followed by winter barley, spring barley, oilseed rape and then minor crops. The vast majority (93%) would confidently select a variety based on what they had seen or learned at a variety trial.

Survey summary

Regional variety trials are more relatable than national events

Comparing treated and untreated plots is important to growers

Left: Good quality technical information is vital, says Tom Barker

Good opportunity to see varieties in local conditions (soils, climate, disease pressure)

Untreated and treated comparisons are of particular interest

Trials events must offer good technical detail

Observations from variety trials inform decisions for following season.

“We organised the survey to find out what growers want from trials events, and how we can tailor them to their needs in the future,” says Mr Barker.

“It shows that growers base their varietal decision making on what they see or learn at demonstrations and trials, with regional events once again proving their worth as a place growers can go to gain knowledge and understanding of varieties.”

Regional trial days this summer

Plant breeders are hosting a number of events this season – highlighting the importance of local information when choosing a crop variety.

Limagrain's summer programme during June and July features five locations. These include its milling wheat demonstration on the Essex coast near Maldon, up to the Perth winter wheat trials in central Scotland.

Each demonstration will showcase a range of new and existing varieties, alongside five new candidate wheat varieties currently going

through Recommended List approval. These include two potential biscuit wheats, LG Arkle and LG Grendel, and two hard feed wheats, LG Beowulf – the highest yielding feed wheat candidate – and LG Redrum.

Limagrain’s Rothwell site will also feature the new winter barley Candidate LG Capitol, plus high yielding two-row feed LG Caravelle, which joined the Recommended List this year. For details, visit www.lgseeds.co.uk/ events-demos

Regional events are again proving their worth

“

Invitation to join pea and bean network

Pulse growers are being encouraged to get the best from their crops by joining the Pea and Bean Yield Enhancement Network (YEN).

Run by ADAS in partnership with the

breeder LS Plant Breeding.

PGRO chief executive Roger Vickers said: “Data for both YENs has been accumu lating from 2019. Now, after four years of entries, each YEN programme is now close to, or has exceeded, the magic 100 crops –the point at which more in-depth analyti cal tools can be used.”

Mr Vickers added: "For each crop, a com prehensive set of variables are monitored including such factors as previous crop ping, sowing date, seed rate, herbicide, fun gicide and insecticide usage, yield achieved, and quality analysis.”

YEN members receive a range of bene fits. These include entrance into the annual Pea or Bean YEN benchmarking network, one free soil analysis and a comprehensive report on their crop’s performance.

They also receive analysis of pea foot rot risk, Lancrop leaf tissue and seed nutri tion, Askew and Barrett grain sample mar ket quality assessment for peas, and PGRO bean grain bruchid beetle damage assess

LSPB product manager Michael Shuld ham said: “As breeders of the market lead ing spring bean variety Lynx, and the newly

Biologicals help farmers cut back on nitrogen

High fertiliser prices are encouraging more farmers to seek out cheaper alternatives – but timing is critical to get the best from applications.

Cambridgeshire grower Russ McKenzie says he has seen winter wheat yields increase by about 300kg/ha using the biological product Twoxo alongside nitrogen fertiliser on his 140ha no-till farm near Huntingdon.

“It may seem like a modest yield improvement, but we have trials to prove it and Twoxo gives a good bang for its buck,” says Mr McKenzie.

“We use it at growth stage 32 to boost nitrogen uptake in the wheat at a key time. It’s a no brainer product to build the foundations of a good yield.”

Mr McKenzie adds: “Twoxo is good at supporting what you’re doing and gets the plant working for itself.

“We’ve reduced nitrogen from the standard 200kg/ha to 180kg/ha and biologicals have helped us to trim it back.”

Good rooting

Mr McKenzie applies Twoxo on winter wheat that has good rooting and is looking healthy. “If you have a crop that’s struggling you might use a different product, but if you have good rooting, it pushes nitrogen use efficiency in the plant.”

John Haywood, of Twoxo supplier Unium Biosciences, says Twoxo can be used between growth stage 30-37 with the optimum timing at stage 31-32. “It’s a signalling compound designed to enhance nitrogen use efficiency and carbon sequestration.”

The product has two modes of action. The first is when the plant photosynthesises and fixes carbon, the Twoso signals to the plant to up-regulate the nitrogen uptake to bond to the carbon. It can also up-regulate photosynthesis to bond carbon to nitrogen.

“The carbon helps to keep the balance in the assimilation,” says Mr Haywood.

“We know that excess use of nitrogen causes lush floppy growth, making cells extend rather than divide, and carbon is central to optimising nitrogen use in the plant. Also, if excess nitrogen is exuded off the leaf it encourages pathogens and bugs.”

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Robust T2 can ease pressure on T3 top-up in Septoria season

• Variable ear emergence in crops

• Improve green leaf area retention

• Protect grain until end of season

Growers are being encouraged to plan their T3 sprays carefully with wheat under relatively high pressure from Septoria this spring.

Variations in ear emergence can complicate the optimum T3 fungicide timing, says David Howard, head of integrated crop management at agronomists Hutchinsons.

“It’s very rare for all ears to emerge at the same time, and with warmer than average temperatures through autumn into spring, some crops have raced through growth stages, so ear timing could be variable depending on variety, drilling date, and other factors.”

Mr Howard reinforces the case for using a T3 fungicide, especially as recent years have shown that disease pressure – septoria, yellow rust, or brown rust – towards the backend of the season is often much greater than expected.

“We must protect the main yield-building leaves as long as possible beyond the main T1 and T2 fungicide timings, while safeguarding grain quality. Crops can be quite exposed if the weather changes rapidly at the end of the season.”

Fungicide options

Before applying T3s, growers should complete an AHDB my cotoxin risk assessment. Legal limits cover fusarium mycotox ins, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) in wheat in tended for human consumption – and there are guidance limits for feed grain.

To manage fusarium – fa voured by warm and wet

conditions during flowering –and associated mycotoxins, Mr Howard says metconazole, prothioconazole, or tebuconazole, are all good options.

AHDB research indicates combinations of prothioconazole and tebuconazole are more effective than single actives alone. For controlling microdochium – cool, wet conditions – prothioconazole is preferred.

“Use a good fungicide dose of at least 50% recommended rate,” says Mr Howard.

Including strobilurins, such as azoxystrobin or fluoxastrobin, can be beneficial in either situation, by giving good persistency, helping manage rusts, Septoria nodorum and sooty moulds, and delivering greening benefits.

“Improving green leaf area retention and reducing crop stress can lead to wider yield benefits from the T3 aside from from disease control.”

In contrast to previous dry springs, rainfall throughout March and April was above average across much of the UK.

INSPIRING CONFIDENCE

This resulted in high septoria pressure – particularly in earlier-sown wheats.

With favourable conditions for disease development, growers who used a robust flag leaf fungicide will have taken some pressure off T3 sprays – a timing primarily aimed at managing ear diseases.

It is, however, very tricky to fully control both ear and foliar diseases with the T3, as the optimum timings are slightly different, he says.

For managing ear diseases, such as fusarium, microdochium and sooty moulds, there is a narrow window of opportunity to treat crops, around full ear emergence, with flowering just beginning in the middle of the ear, at growth stages 63-65.

Missed timings

“Applying fungicides even just a few days beyond that, means you will start to lose control rapidly, although there will still be benefits to foliar protection.”

If the priority is on protecting the top two leaves from foliar diseases, such as Septoria or rust, the optimum timing is slightly earlier – typically growth stage 59 – but this is too early for any significant effect on ear diseases, advises Mr Howard.

“Using prothioconazole or tebuconazole in programme at this earlier timing has been shown to slow ear diseases, but it’s not effective enough. Growers therefore need to have applied a robust T2 to protect crops through to full ear emergence.”

The strongest curative options at T2 are generally either fluxapyroxad + Mefentrifluconazole, or

Crops have seen relatively high Septoria pressure this season

Below: Reducing crop stress can have yield benefits, says David Howard

fenpicoxamid + prothioconazole, says Mr Howard. These should be go-to choices in anything other than a low risk situation, he adds.

Both offer similar Septoria control, so deciding between the two may come down to other factors. Mefentrifluconazole is slightly better on brown rust, while fenpicoxamid has an edge against yellow rust.

Extended protection

Including the multisite folpet can be worthwhile for extending Septoria protection in high pressure situations, and for resistance management.

Of the older chemistry, AHDB research shows a notable drop in the efficacy of some SDHIs that were once the mainstay of T2 programmes. Growers should be aware of the changes when choosing products, especially if curativity is needed.

Mr Howard says there is still a place for actives such as bixafen, Fluopyram + prothioconazole, or other bixafen, Fluopyram mixtures, which have shown higher activity than other SDHIs. But higher rates are required if Septoria pressure is significant.

If rust is the focus, rather than curative Septoria control, Mr Howard says products such as benzovindiflupyr + prothioconazole offer good efficacy –and may deliver some Septoria protection too.

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Defra ruling fuels demand for 'cleaner' fertiliser

Farmers are being encouraged to take steps to reduce ammonia pollution from urea fertiliser after Defra clarified its position on the issue.

Rules to mitigate emmissions from urea fertilisers mean farmers must use inhibitors – or other permitted forms of mitigation –after 1 April 2024. The guidelines will be applied through Red Tractor Assurance.

Government ministers agreed with the NFU and industry partners that a voluntary approach will work best for the environment and food production. But regulation could be introduced if farmers fail to deliver the required reductions in emissions.

Tried and tested

Fertiliser companies have been working hard to introduce urease inhibitors. Omex Agriculture launched its own inhibitor in Novem-

NitroShield reduces ammonia emissions by more than 70%, says David Booty

ber 2022, in anticipation ofthe Defra ruling.

NitroShield can reduce ammonia emissions from urea containing fertilisers by more than 70%, as well as lift winter wheat yields by 0.3t/ha and grain protein by 0.2%.

“We wanted to be in a position where we had a tried and tested product alongside solid research and advice to offer farmers before the guidance became official,” said Omex technical lead David Booty.

“Adding NitroShield to liquid nitrogen applications can help farmers meet this requirement, while improving efficiency at the most effective application rates.

“With less ammonia lost to the atmosphere and contained within the soil, the ni-

trogen applied alongside this innovative urease inhibitor is better utilised by crops.

“NitroShield gives reliable reductions of over 70% in ammonia emissions when mixed with Nitroflo or Nitroflo S grades prior to application,” added Mr Booty.

“The choice of whether to add it or not should be made on farm, on the day according to the date of application, the soil and weather conditions and any other mitigation factors, such as if fertiliser is incorporated within 24 hours.”

Mr Booty recommends that NitroShield should be routinely used for all nitrogen applications after 31 March unless signed off as unnecessary by a FACTS qualified adviser.

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'More to hybrid rye than meets the eye'

• Cropped area to double by 2028

• Agronomic benefits for farmers

• Breeders say new varieties soon

Hybrid rye has significant agronomic advantages over other crops – with a potential UK market that could double in the coming years, say seed suppliers.

Some 50,000ha of hybrid rye are currently grown in the UK. But opportunities in pig and poultry diets and the distilling sector mean there is no reason why that area shouldn’t increase to 100,000ha by 2028, says Nigel Walley, national seeds manager for Agrovista.

Mr Walley has been commercially involved with hybrid rye since the crop established itself as a key energy source for anaerobic digestion several years ago. The agronomic benefits of rye in the rotation are clear, he says.

“Hybrid rye is an excellent choice for growers,” says Mr Walley.

The crop is flexible in the rotation and can be drilled early or late, helping to spread harvest. Other benefits include lower seed rates, rapid spring growth, exceptional water efficiency and an aggressive root system that can scavenge for moisture and nutrients.

Profit margins

These benefits can help growers bolster profit margins by reducing input costs. Hybrid rye requires about half the fertiliser of a second wheat and has far less susceptibility to take-all

to combat any brown rust. Some 40% should be applied by growth stage 25 with the remaining 60% at growth stage 37, he adds.

With most hybrid rye currently grown as wholecrop for anaerobic di gestion, seed breeders are developing new, higher yielding varieties that meet the right physical and nutri tional qualities specifically required by the distilling and pig feed sectors.

Agrovista has a key partnership with German breeder Saaten Union and their UK partner Elsoms Seeds. Winter rye varieties, such as SU Per former, regularly exceed 50t/ha when harvested wholecrop. Newer vari eties, such as SU Arvid, are well suited to UK con ditions.

Consistent yields

“Both SU Performer and SU Ar vid offer flexible drilling dates and consistently high yields, even when drilled in late November. Both varie ties have low susceptibility to lodging but you may still need a Plant Growth Regulator for insurance in very fertile conditions.”

Saaten Union cereal product manager Andrew Creasy agrees that the planted area could double within the

Strong pipeline of robust rye varieties

Elsoms seed specialist Emily Pick sees a strong future for hybrid rye based on the pipeline of new SU candidate varieties and established SU varieties already.

Of 11 hybrid rye varieties on the current descriptive kust, six are from breeders Saaten Union, They include SU Baresi, SU Arvid and SU Perspectiv, all of which continue to receive significant interest from growers.

With its excellent disease resistance to brown rust, SU Baresi has performed well in both trials and

Breeders are developing more resilient hybrid rye varieties

ture was clearly demonstrated in the trials with several SU varieties still achieving fresh weight yields of over 60t/ha.

“If that 2022 summer was to be replicated regularly, then I can see a strong long term sustainability argument for growing more rye. However, the key to unlocking more growing area in the short-medium term is establishing new markets.”

Another potential new market could be bioethanol production, says Mr Creasy. “Although wheat is still the primary source for this, rye could do the job equally well – if not better –given its lower inputs versus wheat.”

real farm situations, says Ms Pick. It has recorded a specific weight of 78.2kg/hl and achieved gas yields 6% higher than controls.

SU Arvid has continued to exhibit the highest fresh weight output amongst all varieties in UK trials, adds Mr Pick. Meanwhile, SU Perspectiv has shown yield consistency in cooler, less volatile growing conditions in Scottish trials.

“With good disease scores and excellent lodging resistance due to its lower plant height, it looks a strong addition to the portfolio.”

Summarising yield performances in the wholecrop trials, SU Arvid was the dominant variety. It consistently yielded 5t/ha more than SU Performer and 1.5t/ha more than SU Baresi. On further analysis, SU Arvid was also the top performing variety

“In terms of new candidate varieties for the next Descriptive List, SU Perspectiv achieved higher yields in on-farm trials in both northern England and Scotland – and looks to be one to follow as a high yielding grain variety with potential for the distill-

Inset Nigel Walley

Survey Reveals Variety Decisions Driven by Regional Trials Information

Arable farmers favour local variety trials over national demonstrations when making crucial decisions about what varieties to grow next season, a survey by plant breeders Limagrain UK reveals.

The online questionnaire shows the overwhelming majority (86%) regard the information they gain from regional variety demonstrations as being more relatable than from national events.

“This is mainly because local events offer the chance to see how new and existing varieties perform in local soils, climate, and disease situations,” comments Limagrain UK cereals and pulses product manager, Tom Barker.

“Indeed, 43% of farmers responding to the survey have attended a regional event with variety trials in the past 12 months, compared with just 28% that have attended a national event, such as Cereals or Arable Scotland.”

“Around one quarter have taken part in an online trials webinar, such as those organised by AHDB, or NIAB TAG.”

“Three-quarters of growers are prepared to travel up to an hour or more to attend a regional variety trial, and alongside location and practical considerations, such as date and time, the quality of technical information on offer is a major factor influencing the decision to attend,” he says.

This shows growers value the opportunity to gather technical information on individual varieties, and how to grow them, he points

out, although of particular interest is the ability to compare treated and untreated plots to see first-hand how varietal characteristics stand up to seasonal pressures.

“Other areas of interest include; late versus early drilling comparisons, different methods of establishment, alternative fungicide programmes, and trace element/ micronutrient work.”

As might be expected, winter wheat varieties are generally of most interest, followed by winter barley, spring barley, oilseed rape, then a host of other minor crops.

“It is also clear from the survey that, while growers take information from a range of sources when making variety decisions, including independent bodies, breeders, agronomists, and seed merchants, the vast majority (93%) would confidently select a variety based on what they had seen or learned at a variety trial,” says Mr Barker.

“We organised the survey to find out what growers want from trials events, and how we can tailor them to their needs in the future.”

“It shows that growers base their varietal decision making on what they see or learn at demonstrations and trials, with regional events once again proving their worth as a place growers can go to gain knowledge and understanding of varieties.”

Recognising the importance of local information when making variety choices, Limagrain UK hosts a series of events around the country every year.

Regional Events

Register for any of the regional events lgseeds.co.uk/demos23 or scan the QR code

This summer’s programme during June and July features five locations, from our milling wheat demonstration on the Essex coast near Maldon, up to the Perth winter wheat trials in central Scotland (see panel for details of all events).

Every demonstration will showcase a range of new and existing varieties, alongside five new Candidate wheat varieties currently going through Recommended List approval. These include two potential biscuit wheats, LG Arkle and LG Grendel, and two hard feed wheats, LG Beowulf - the highest yielding feed wheat Candidate - and LG Redrum.

Limagrain UK’s Rothwell site will also feature the new winter barley Candidate, LG Capitol, plus the highest yielding two-row feed, LG Caravelle, which joined the RL this year.

Survey Summary

• Regional variety trials are more relatable than national events

• Good opportunity to see varieties in local conditions (soils, climate, disease pressure)

• Untreated and treated comparisons are of particular interest

• Trials events must offer good technical detail

• Observations from variety trials inform decisions for the following season

Top tips for controlling late season potato blight

uccessful potato blight control depends on a range of factors –and each requires growers to pay

Before the blight season starts, it is important to assess how well your herbicide spray has worked. This can help identify any errors in sprayer setup. Most importantly, section control must be accurately calibrated to avoid

If you can see an area of weeds, it is very likely you missed them with the sprayer. This means you will probably miss them again when you go in with the blight spray. Just tweaking sprayer set-up can offer pay-back when

Despite low blight pressure in 2022 and the likelihood of low inoculum carry-over, growers should take no chances this year. It is also important to fol-

low the Fungicide Resistance Action Group (FRAG) guidelines.

Rosette stage

Blight control programmes should start when the crop is at the rosette stage. Growers should adhere to a ‘mix and match’ strategy – matching actives according to conditions at the time the Hutton Criteria is triggered.

We rotate our chemistry across the different fungicide groups to avoid putting a single active under pressure. Fungicide choice is not set in stone, but very much depends on the conditions in the field at the time.

Although outbreaks of fluazinam-insensitive blight strain 37_A2 – formerly known as Dark Green 37 –were less prevalent in 2022 than in recent years, growers should only use it mid-programme in a mix at full rate

Growers should follow fungicide resistance guidelines when tackling blight

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(400ml/ha).

We used to use fluazinam for the first spray, but we now tend to opt for cyazofamid and for the second spray we often follow it with fluopicolide + propamocarb because it works well with the crop at this stage.

Mandipropamid remains a good-value fungicide and it works particularly well as a second spray, particularly when it is mixed with cymoxanil.

Unsettled weather

Mandipropamid can be useful in unsettled weather because of the speed of its rainfastness, highlighting the need for caution because of the recent rise of new blight strain 43_A1, which is insensitive to mandipropamid.

One of the concerns is that other actives within the same fungicide group (CAAs) may also be at risk, and therefore they should not be used alone.

Although 43_A1 has not so far been found in Britain, it has proliferated in Denmark and has been found in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The addition of an adjuvant with mandipropamid to reduce drift has shown better effectiveness but it will not affect the strain’s insensitivity.

At mid-season, oxathiapiprolin can be very useful because it is effective, persistent and it moves well round the plant – although it is one of the more expensive options – when the pressure is really high.

We tend to use oxathiapiprolin in sequence with cyazofamid, fluopicolide + propamocarb or fluazinameither side.

Fluazinam still has a place because of its effectiveness against sclerotinia and botrytis. We avoid using oxathiapiprolin on its own.

Spray programmes

Effective blight control is about building up the product in and on the crop, so to minimise the chance of missing

a blight spray when wet weather sets in, it is good to start a seven or tenday spray programme on a Monday. This means that if you miss a day or two, you are not then up against a weekend. As well as ensuring the right fungicide choice at the right time, spray operators also need to choose the right spray nozzle for the particular task.

The IDTA04 Flat Fan and the 3D Ninety nozzles offer the best coverage because they can be set to cover the different parts of the canopy including the underside of the leaves.

Some of the newer blight strains

are able to incubate during colder periods – and their spores can travel a long way in the wind. We often underestimate the spread of blight inoculum from unsprayed crops, including those in allotments and gardens.

If weather conditions are dry when crops are at maximum canopy, you may be able to stretch your spray intervals a little or use cheaper alternative products, but the potential impact of late blight on the investment you have made in your crops remains huge.

Andrew Goodinson is a potato agronomist at crop production specialists Hutchinsons.

How resilient rotations bring multiple benefits

• Varietal choice key to building success

• Choose crops to fit individual situations

• Big benefits for productivity and income applications after a dry February and wet March-April could greatly increase the risk of lodging.

Choice of crops grown and picking varieties best suited to individual farm conditions can have a major impact on the resilience of arable production systems.

Building resilience into rotations means selecting varieties that can make the most out of individual growing situations and local marketing opportunities, says KWS cereals product manager Kirsty Richards.

"A one-size-fits-all approach is increasingly limiting if you are serious about building long-term resilience and sustainability into a farming business,” Dr Richards told a recent KWS business briefing for the seed trade.

"Looking at untreated yield is a good starting point in identifying which varieties might be the best for an individual farm in terms of their resilience, but this needs to be considered in line with regional information too.

"Twenty years ago in 2003, just 26% of the varieties on the RL had untreated yields over 80% of treated controls, whereas in 2023 it is now 97%.”

Some 85% of all KWS varie ties on the current RL have un treated yields of over 90%, led by KWS Extase at 97% and KWS Dawsum at 95%. These are ex ceptional, real-world indications of such varieties' ability to cope with a range of adverse growing conditions.

"This is particularly relevant with all indications pointing to 2023 being a year with a high incidence of Septoria following the very wet spring just experi enced."

Physical strength

Standing power and overall phys ical strength is another indicator of variety resilience. Again this is important this year, as nitrogen

"In 2003,the average lodging resistance with PGR for the top 10 varieties was less than 1% lodged crop whereas in 2023 the top 10 varieties in the ground have an average of over 5% lodging with PGR.

"This indicates that lodging resistance has generally gone down which is worrying, particularly as the RL data is based on the last five years when there hasn't really been a lodging year.

"As well as greater resilience, shorter, stiffer strawed varieties can deliver cash and workload savings resulting from reduced PGR passes, better harvest security and reduced drying costs that often result from lodged crops."

Financial resilience is also an important factor to bear in mind when planning rotations, with the ability of a variety to hit premium contract specification acting as a vital shock absorber in the current climate of high input costs.

"Modern Group 1 and 2 varie

of hitting high yields with usable protein levels compared to older varieties.

"Protein content might be a bit lower than some of the older varieties but this is not a problem as millers' requirements are different. A range of specifications is now needed for the greater range of products now demanded by consumers.

"There are very lucrative contracts out there for proteins of over 12% and if you can achieve these whilst achieving 10.511.5t/ha yields, these can deliver really high returns."

Financial benefits

sis carried out by the company shows the benefits can be worth over £2000/ha across a six-year rotation with more diverse cropping, including cover crops and sugar beet.

Working with costings from the John Nix farm management handbook, suggests a restricted 6-year rotation based on just two wheats followed by OSR and this then being repeated, would produce a net gross margin of £6628/ha.

Introducing a more diversified rotation adding winter barley, sugar beet and spring barley interspersed with catch and cover crops where appropriate would lift this to £8726/ha over the same six-year rotation.

This is an improvement of £2098/ha or over 30% in real terms. Plus of course that's before you factor in all the additional benefits such as better soil structure, reduced use of key inputs and less incidence of diseas-

"A well-structured rotation can also ensure water is used more effectively, secure higher yields, increase biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas pro-

(Below left and right) Kirsty Richards and Olivia Potter

Sunflower Sugarbeet Sorghum Pumpkin Cotton

Maize OSR Beans

Sugar beet

Delayed drilling compresses spring spray programmes

• Most beet not drilled until April

• Crops a month behind in areas

• Be flexible and tweak approach

Growers are being urged to remain vigilant and continue adapting sugar beet spray programmes where necessary after the soggy spring delayed drilling.

The wettest March for 40 years saw much beet drilled well into April on all but the lightest land. Growers should tweak control strategies for weeds and diseases accordingly, say crop protection specialists.

Met Office figures suggest the main sugar beet growing area experienced 200% of its average rainfall during March and above-average rainfall in April. This left land saturated with little opportunity for it to dry out.

The BBRO estimates that 70% of the UK sugar beet crop was drilled up to 25 April. Very little was drilled in March, it said, leaving the bulk of the

UK crop being drilled up to a month later than average.

Cambridgeshire-based farmer and contractor Tom Jackson, of WR Jackson & Son, delayed sugar beet drilling

until late April. “As soon as we felt the land was finally ready, we drilled 240ha of sugar beet in six days,” he added.

Disease and weed control strategies have taken a beating this year Continued overleaf

Watch out for virus yellows

“Growers can still apply a neonicotinoid foliar spray in the programme, with Afinto followed by acetamiprid as a good option.” Farmers should alternate chemistry and use resistance management strategies to minimise the risk of issues developing further.

With virus yellows occurring from a complex of different viruses, insecticides such as Afinto that quickly stop feeding activity are more effective at preventing the persistent pathogens, although not essential for semi- or non-persistent types.

Tracking aphid populations through the Rothamsted Insect Survey or BBRO Aphid Survey can give a useful guide to regional risks for timing and insecticide strategies.

In 2020, for example, infection rates with virus yellows varied from over 60% of crops around the Wissington factory in King’s Lynn, to just 6% of crops surrounding the Cantley factory near Norwich.

Continued from previous page

“The seed beds were fantastic and we had good establishment. One advantage of drilling later is that emergence is much quicker because of the warmer soil temperatures. But we have lost a month, so the crop may never quite compensate.”

Speaking early last month, Mr Jackson said: “We have not yet put a herbicide on. The priority will be a graminicide on the cover crops sown on the black land as they are now getting quite big.

Two new varieties added to 2024 sugar beet list

• Built-in tolerance to disease

• Talk options with breeders

• Dry summer was challenge

Sugar beet growers have two new varieties to choose from following publication of the recommended list for 2024.

“Our sprayer has been busy catching up with wheat T1s, and winter barley T2s will be next on the list. I expect we will make fewer herbicide applications this year because of the later drilling. We will start as soon as the weeds are ready.”

Warmer soil temperatures and sunnier days over more recent weeks have seen grass and broadleaf weeds emerging quickly. But the weather has meant decent spray days are few and far between, so early weed control has been challenging.

Problem weeds

UPL sugar beet technical specialist

Antonia Walker said growers who applied pre-emergence herbicide Bettix Flo (metamitron) and Oblix 500 (ethofumesate) would have some flexibility on timings for follow-up post-emergence herbicides.”

Programmes should be built around the three key actives for post-emergence broadleaf weed control: ethofumesate, metamitron and phenmedipham. “Rates can be adjusted to reflect the size species of the weeds present,” says Ms Walker.

This will be especially important with the later drilled crops and disrupted spray programmes this spring.

“The BRRO offers excellent guidance on the relative efficacy of each active against common broadleaf weeds in their 2023 sugar beet reference book. We have found this approach to deliver the most cost-effective herbicide programme for sugar beet.”

Growers should consult stewardship guidelines before using Centurion Max (clethodim) for post-emergence control. This includes observes the no-spray period and sot spraying any herbicide five days before application – or 14 days afterwards.

Osprey is an AYPR rhizomania tolerant va riety from SESVanderHave UK for growing in areas where the disease is present. RL tri als are carried out on AYPR-free sites and Os prey yielded 99.2% of the controls’ adjusted tonnes/ha with 16.9% sugar content.

Smart Vesnica KWS is an ALS tolerant variety which achieved an adjusted yield of 94.0% and 17.4% sugar content. These yields were achieved in trials treated with conventional herbicides. Higher yields are expected when the ALS herbicide system is used.

As both varieties are new to the list, there is limited data on their tolerances to foliar diseases. Neither variety has any restriction on sowing date. Five varieties were withdrawn which means the 2024 list comprises 19 varieties.

Dry summer

“The 2022 trials were subjected to a very dry summer and this was one of the major factors that affected establishment of two of the eight RL trials which were not taken to harvest, said RL board chairman Mike May.

“One of the harvested trials was rejected by the statisticians owing to variability in growth across the site. There were six NL trials sown with four suitable for harvest. None of the trials suffered significant damage from virus yellows or beet moth larvae.”

All the RL trials were sown at 9cm spacing and then gapped whilst all the NL trials harvested had been sown to a stand. Harvest of the NL trials was completed by mid-October and the RL by mid November.

Mr May said: “Once again all credit must go to the teams working on the project both in the field and tarehouse for ensuring sufficient trials were harvested and analysed to allow this RL programme to be completed on time.”

The yield of the control varieties for the 2024 list was 103.3 adjusted tonnes per hectare. This compareds to 112.0t/ha in 2021 and 105.8t/ha in 2020. Average sugar content (17.2%) was similar to the previous two years.

Plant populations

The average plant population of the five controls was 99,000/ha. This compared to 100,900/ha for the 2023 RL and 98,000/ha for the 2022 RL. The number of bolters from early

sown trials was lower than in 2021 and 2020. The numbers of early-sown bolters are from trials sown between mid-February up to the first five days of March. Growers should use the early sown bolting figures for guidance if sowing early, or if very cold or other stressful conditions are expected.

Those five varieties indicated by X in the tables are not recommended for sowing before the 15th March but present a much lower risk for normal sowing. In some instances breeders may suggest some other varieties should not be sown early.

“Before ordering any of the special varieties bred for BCN, AYPR, yellowing virus tolerance or ALS herbicide tolerance, growers should discuss options with the BBRO and breeders who will have more information on their performance and use,” said Mr May.

About the recommended list

The sugar beet recommended list is funded by British Beet Research Organisation – but the data for 2020 is from when the RL was run and funded jointly by BBRO and BSPB. The yield data is presented as a mean from 24 RL and NL trials in total (nine in 2022, ten in 2021 and five in 2020).

Seed is not primed and in 2021 and 2022 used breeders’ own pellets. A number of trials are sown at close spacing and gapped. Early-sown bolters and disease susceptibility were determined in separate trials that were not taken to yield.

The additional descriptive data relates to varieties with special traits where more than just RL trials data are required. For 2023 this includes enhanced rhizomania resistant (AYPR), yellowing virus tolerant and ALS herbicide tolerant varieties.

The 2024 RL dataset also includes disease infection from separate trials that were not treated with foliar fungicides.

The crop may never quite compensate

Resilient varieties you can depend on whatever the season

Our varieties undergo 10 years of UK testing before 3 years National Listing trials to confirm VCU* for high yield, performance and excellent establishment. All 4 varieties are BBRO Recommended. With more frequent extreme weather and regional variation, choose robust, resilient varieties.

Sugar beet

Coming to a field near you: Robot-planted sugar beet

Robots are set to plant and weed sugar beet as farm management company Sentry seeks to improve productivity and reduce its environmental footprint.

Sentry has joined forces with Autonomous Agri Solutions to implement the beet planting and weed control programme in partnership with British Sugar and the British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO).

Autonomous Agri Solutions imports the Robotti farm robot – an advanced autonomous robot that uses sensors and algorithms to plant seeds extremely accurately. The machine is designed to work in various soil conditions and terrains.

Sentry describes the move as a major leap towards sustainability, saying robot technology will help improve its planting efficiency, reduce the compa-

ny's carbon footprint and lower its environmental impact by reducing reliance on pesticides.

The development fits with Sentry’s mantra of optimising farm inputs and reducing waste – and doing both while looking after the soil and the surrounding environment, says Sentry director John Barrett.

Real-time

The Robotti is an ideal solution for largescale farming operations,says Mr Barrett. In addition, its real-time monitoring capabilities enable operators to adjust planting parameters on the fly, ensuring the best possible results.

“We are taking a major step towards a more sustainable future for agriculture. This technology will not only improve our planting process, but also help to reduce our environmental im-

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Andrew Dear believes the Robotti is a significant step towards more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices. He adds: “We look forward to seeing the benefits it will bring to the industry."

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Lower profits forecast at British Sugar

British Sugar is forecasting lower profits for this year – due to a fall in UK sugar output.

In an interim statement, parent company Associated British Foods said it expected a decline in adjusted operating profit for the full year at AB Sugar mainly as a consequence of much lower UK sugar production.

“Adverse weather conditions damaged the UK beet crop and as a result sugar production was the lowest seen in decades at British Sugar,” said ABF chairman George Weston.

UK sugar production for the 2022/23 campaign was 740,000 tonnes, down from 1.03m tonnes the previous year – an exceptionally low level of production.

The drop was caused by both low beet yields and

sugar content following an unusually adverse sequence of weather events over the summer and winter. Energy costs and beet costs were higher in the period compared to last year.

As a consequence of the production shortfall, British Sugar said it had secured alternative sources of supply and was continuing to work with customers to ensure continuity of supply, with profitability will be significantly impacted as a result.

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Data is key to maintain sugar beet profitability

EXPERT VIEW

Local trials bring benefits when it comes to sugar beet, says Ian Munnery

ugar beet remains an important crop –and little wonder because it has demonstrated huge resilience, whatever nature throws at it, and remained profitable.

As one of the world’s largest sugar beet breeders, our challenge as SESVanderHave is to anticipate the needs of our local breeding programmes over the next decade while considering the reliability of seasonal and regional data to make short term decisions on production and sales.

We are constantly anticipating longer term trends – assessing how we can bring innovative traits from world-wide research into our genetics for specific countries, but also adapting our trial programmes to make valid assessments locally.

As a business, we continue to invest heavily in local trials here in the UK.

Traditionally, like many plant breeders in the UK, we consolidated selection trials on larger, fewer sites safe in the knowledge that climate was not too extreme and we had a full crop protection arsenal to protect gainst most weeds, pests and diseases.

But more extreme climate events – often very localised – and the loss of chemistry mean it is evident that bigger sites are no longer necessarily better. In fact, basing selection on a three- year average alone could

This volatility makes it vital that we review regional data in depth rather than just averaging data across all sites and multiple years. It's why cereals and oilseed growers look at diverse regional data too.

The contrast in regional performance is becoming clearer. The climate on the coastal fringe, for example, tends to be more stable than further inland.

This explains why the Cantley area in Norfolk and the Pas de Calais in France suffered far less virus yellows in 2020, while growers around Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk suffered more than most with beet moth in 2022.

Against this background, we have significantly increased the number of our trials across the UK sugar beet area. Every site is monitored with our own weather stations and soil moisture probes – as well as drone and satellite observations.

Our most important asset remains our trials teams, who between them have over 120 years experience of variety assessment.

We also operate our mobile tarehouse –the only one in the UK. It means we can instantly weigh and determine the sugar content of every beet variety as it is harvested and before we even leave the plot.

Sugar analysis

Accuracy is vastly improved compared to just 10 years ago thanks to GPS self-steering on our drill, hoe and harvester. But while near infrared spectroscopy has many benefits to accelerate sugar analysis and reduce costs, it cannot accurately record impurities.

Few growers worry about impurities, but they affect processing efficiency. Impurities also provide a good proxy to determine stress on a variety or site – something we use to im-

TOP TIPS: Recommendations for growers

Grow a mixture of genetics – a monoculture carries significant risk.

Drill as early as practical to maximise yield, but also consider seed rates carefully. You will never maximise yield if light is intercepted by soil rather than leaves. At the risk of repeating ourselves, “a gappy crop is an unhappy crop” – so check the germination of the seed you are planting and review seed rates accordingly. There is no one standard rate, it will vary by seed bed, seed lot and year.

Aim to establish more than 100,000 sugar beet plants per hectare.

Get to know how varieties perform on your farm. Look at regional data, annual data, soil type and compare notes with your neighbours.

Ensure good weed control, which will be aided by a good plant population. Unhindered weeds attract disease, so don’t skimp on herbicides or fungicides.

Look in detail at trials data for sugar beet varieties. Look at the year, the site, ask whether thhe trials practices mirror your own situation. What is the least significant difference to treat data with reserve?

When reviewing performance of our genetics, we factor in all our trial and laboratory data – from both raw seed and our own blue SV pellet, which is produced to optimise the performance of every seed lot.

Evaluating around 30,000 plots of 100 beet in the UK each year for several decades means we can identify and optimally process our varieties to deliver resilience and durability to UK growers.

This is why so many of our varieties – like Wren, Adder and Tawny – endure. It enables UK growers to fine tune their management to our varieties and treatments as well as to their land and climate.

Yield increase

With Osprey, the only new conventional variety recommended by the BBRO this year, it highlights the significant increase in yield with the added benefit of increased resilience to AYPR rhizomania.

Looking ahead, we’re very much anticipating the arrival of our next exciting wave of genetics which show a massive leap in performance in our own trials over the pastdecade, delivering robust performance and excellent establishment.

Broader, more robust performance is key to reliable sugar beet production.

We focus strongly on commercial practice, which is why we don’t gap any of our commercial trials. This ensures we are assessing each variety’s true performance not the result of carefully ‘gardened’ plants.

Ian Munnery is general manager of SESVanderHave UK. For more information, see www.sesvanderhave.com.

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How silicon can help control sugar beet aphids

when silicon product Sirius is applied in addition to common aphicides. Researchers tank-mixed Sirius with two insecticides: Insyst at 0.25kg/ha and Teppeki at 0.14kg/ha. Both treatments showed a reduction in virus transmission when sili-

Plants were more resistant to powdery mildew and beet yellows virus.

con was added to the tank Following one application, both treatments also showed no, or very low numbers, of wingless green aphids per plot.

The indings are reinforced by data from a previous trial which showed silicon accumulation in pea plants also reduced aphid feeding and lowered population numbers.

Continued on page 38

THE NO. 1 CHOICE FOR UK GROWERS

Left: A silicon biostimulant can help reduce virus transmission.

Sugar beet

Continued from page 36

Stronger plants

“Sugar beet plants, and many other crops, are essentially stronger when more silicon is accumulated,” said Kate Williams, technical manager with Orion FT, which manufactures a range of silicon-based products, including Sirus.

“Increased levels of silicon also make the plant less attractive to pests, such as aphids, which reduces feeding and the likelihood of viruses being transmitted.

“Combining Sirius with aphicides in this way has provided the most encouraging results to date.”

Silicon is applied as a foliar spray to sugar beet at growth stage 6-8 true leaves. It then reduces the feeding time of predating pests such as aphids – helping to reduce virus transmission while leading to healthier plants with an improved yield.

“It is clear that helping sugar beet plants to accumulate more silicon by applying Sirius will help to reduce the threat of pests and disease,” said Ms Williams. Silicon-treated crop were more resilient and likely to be of better quality, she added.

Latest Strube varieties offer good cover and canopies

Sugar beet breeder Strube is offering varieties Morgan, Stewart and Button for the second consecutive year on the latest recommended list.

All three varieties give good early ground cover and a full canopy later. Button and Stewart offer lower than average bolting performance and can be sown as soon as conditions reasonably allow, whereas Morgan is for drilling after mid-March.

The focus for Strube's current and future classic breeding is to select for traits other than absolute yield. Button offers tolerance to beet cyst nematode to protect against yield loss, combined with excellent establishment.

All three recommended list varieties demonstrate very low total impurities, supporting optimised sugar extraction as a consequence.

Morgan and Stewart have the lowest total impurities on the 2024 list.

Tolerance

Since 2015, Strube’s top research priority has been to identify varieties tolerant to virus yel-

Good yields all-round.

lows, culminating in replicated yield trials in France and Germany assessing variety response to inoculation with the three primary aphid borne viruses.

Specifically for the UK, Strube now has a number of virus yellows tolerant candidate varieties in recommended and national list trials as it strives to bring virus yellows tolerance and other traits to growers.

In the fodder beet and energy beet markets, the goal is high fresh and dry matter yields. Long-serving variety Barents offers very low bolting for early sowing and has been widely grown as an energy beet.

Market share

More recently, Degas and Gahan have increased their market share, delivering higher yields with increased crown height above ground, making them more suitable for machine lifted or field grazed options.

New for 2023 is Clemens, which adds seed priming with excellent yield stability under climatic and disease pressure.

Cereals Event preview

Cutting-edge arable machinery showcased at Cereals event

• Sprays and sprayer demonstrations

• Latest crop establishment technology

• Range of latest machines available

Arable farmers will be able to see the latest innovation, product ranges and precision technology available to growers at this month's Cereals event.

Hosted for the first time on the Thoresby Estate, Nottinghamshire, the two-day show takes place on 13-14 June. It will include live demonstrations across a wide range of manufacturers and machinery types.

In the Syngenta Sprays & Sprayers Arena, visitors will be able to discover how they can improve efficiency, deliver accuracy and lower costs, with a full schedule of sprayer demonstrations.

The latest sprayers will be put through their paces including air-assisted, skid unit, self-propelled, trailed and mounted sprayers. Market-leading companies will present the latest innovation and application technology on offer.

Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year award nominees and winners will be announced at noon on the first day at the Stories Stage. Visitors will be able to learn about Syngenta’s 3D Ninety nozzle and Easyconnect closed transfer agrochemical system.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Amazone is exhibiting machinery from the past four decades – with an open-house seminar programme starting each day at 11am. Speakers will cover the latest thinking on crop establishment and management.

The company is demonstrating its new UX7601 long-bodied trailed sprayer with 8,000-litre capacity and the latest 36m boom. It will also showcaser its Pantera self-propelled sprayer and UF02 with front tank.

Good event

“We are hoping for a good event. It’s on our doorstep – only about 10 miles from our Doncaster base,” says Amazone managing director Simon Brown. The company will demonstrate its Primera 3000 C direct tine drill in the drill arena. “Each chisel opener can follow contours over a huge variation in topography, with the impact angle of the chisel point pulling the coulter down to the set placement depth.”

Kuhn Farm Machinery is exhibiting its 32.1 and GT 60.1 Aero machines, alongside the 12m Optimer L12000 disc cultivator and Multi-Leader XT plough. The Lexis 3000

trailed sprayer will be on show in the Sprays & Sprayers Arena.

“We hope to show visitors the strength and depth Kuhn has in the arable sector,” says product marketing specialist Edd Fanshawe.

“We will also have a range of drills, a Striger 600R strip till machine, and a selection of balers.”

Direct strip seeding specialists Claydon will demonstrate its Opti-Till system – and the latest Evolution mounted drill and straw harrow. It will exhibit a 4.8m Evolution drill, 4.8m TerraBlade inter-row hoe and 6m TerraStar light rotary cultivator.

The Evolution line-up, which includes a 5m unit and 4m rigid grain/ fertiliser model, incorporates new features to improve operational functionality. Seeding depth adjustment is now controlled hydraulically.

Improved access to the metering unit allows easier calibration, while front-mounted discs, operated hydraulically from the tractor seat, can be specified for seeding into high residue situations.

We hope to show visitors our strength and depth

About the Cereals event

Where: Thoresby Estate, Perlethorpe, Newark,NG22 9EQ. Once near the event, turn off sat-nav and follow Cereals Visitor or Exhibitor Parking signs.

When: 13-14 June 2023

Working demos

• More than 200 machinery demonstrations

• Sold-out Syngenta Sprays & Sprayers Arena

• Sold-out Drill Area

• Mechanical weeding demos presented by Garford

• Working demo plots presented by Bednar, Case IH, Hardi & New Holland

• Robotics & automation demos presented by Agxeed

New for 2023

• Biomass demonstrations and seminars to get a working view of your renewable energy options

• Bednar working demonstrations in partnership with Case IH

For tickets and full details, visit www.cerealsevent.co.uk

Sprayer demonstrations will take place on both days at Cereals

• New and established crop varieties

• Showcase for wheat and barley

• Benefits of biostimulant fertilisers

Crop plots at the Cereals site in Nottinghamshire are said to be looking good as the Thoresby Estate prepares to host the two-day event on 1314 June.

With 6ha of plots growing a wide range of crops, there will be plenty for visitors to see, says Cereals arable project manager Jonathan Backhouse.

“We had a kind autumn and good conditions for drilling. It was a kind winter up until the period after Christmas when we had some late frosts. Recent rainfall has been welcome on the sandy land here.”

Mark Carter, co-owner at BioNature, is exhibiting at Cereals for the second time. “Last year we had a real success and so much interest. This year we’ve raised our

game and have trial plots of oilseed rape and wheat.”

Special

“We are looking at where we use Delta – nitrogen in a special form which encourages rooting, tillering and stem strength. It is applied at T0, T1 and T2, saving extra passes. We can tell differences in evenness of wheat and branching of OSR already.”

KWS will showcase its ‘wheels’ of winter wheat, winter barley,

time we were back after a break,” says KWS technical specialist Olivia Potter. It was really good for getting farmer contact and we are looking forward to that aspect this year.”

As well as cereals, there will be trials of sugar beet, including Conviso Smart, treated and untreated for weed control. KWS will exhibit a virus yellows tolerant beet variety and a pipeline variety tolerant to cercospora.

Resilient future

NIAB is demonstrating options to support more resilient future arable systems. Visitors can look at a diverse range of the UK’s under-utilised and novel crops that may become more popular over the next few years, says NIAB agronomy director Stuart Knight.

“With five herbal grazing ley mixtures alongside buckwheat, quinoa, grain maize, durum wheat, hybrid rye and triticale, growers have the option to view the crops above and below ground in the 20m long NIAB soil hole.”

Lee Bennett, managing director at RAGT Seeds, is a recent returnee to Cereals. “It promises to be a good show. We have a bit of everything. We have breeding plots with new and established

varieties including Group One

stow, and new two-row winter

sistant and tolerant varieties. It is nice to see what’s out there and meet the competition. Cereals is a great networking event.”

Biostimulants

Farmers looking to get the most out of their fertiliser use have access to a new nitrogen efficiency optimiser, widely available across the UK and Ireland for the first time this year, says Corteva marketing manager Alex Nichols.

“BlueN is a biostimulant containing a naturally available bacteria that enables crops, including cereals, oilseed rape and maize to fix nitrogen from the air and make it available throughout the plant’s lifecycle. Farmers will be able to view crop plots treated with BlueN and talk to Corteva’s experts on the stand over both days.”

DSV is celebrating its 100th anniversary at Cereals and will be showcasing barley variety Sensation, which is resistant to BYDV and barley mosaic virus types one and two.

Cereals host farmer and Thoresby Estate partner Gregor Pierrepont says he is looking forward to the event. “I’m incredibly honoured and excited to play a part in Cereals, which has been a key part of the farming calendar for decades.”

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Exhibitors and agronomists visited the crop plots at the Cereals site in April

Land-levelling machine showcased at Cereals

Visitors to this year's Cereals event will be able to see an agricultural land forming and land levelling machine.

Mastenbroek, which has been manufacturing drainage trenchers since 1977, has invited agricultural drainage contractors, AMS Contracting, to

and-fill maps allowing farmland to be formed or levelled, improving drainage and yields.

More productive

Land forming, which is commonplace in the USA and the European Union, uses a GPS survey to identify uneven

"AMS Contracting is one of a handful of businesses in the UK using our machinery and Trimble's technology to undertake land forming and land levelling," says Christopher Pett, commercial director at Mastenbroek.

AMS has already helped several farmers improve their land and yields. “We think their scraper will attract a lot of interest from farmers and other contractors keen to see how they add a new service to their business."

Word of mouth

Established by Ashley and Myles

Strange in 2011, AMS Contracting began life as a big bale contractor but moved into agricultural drainage and land forming in 2017. Based in Chichester, AMS predominately works in south-east England.

"I don't think people are aware of the benefits of land forming,” says Myles. “We've seen land forming grow to be a third of our business, and turnover has risen by 30% as a result.

"We've been very lucky so far, and lots of farmers have put their trust in us, and word of mouth from clients has undoubtedly helped.”

Vbe able to learn about the benefits of seaweed-derived biostimulants as the UK distributor of Algifol makes its debut at the twoday event.

Produced by NeoMed-Pharma in Germany, Algifol is derived from brown algae, which is dried and refined. The result is a liquid containing trace elements, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, carbohydrates, polyuronides and growth-regulating plant hormones.

MJP Supplies has been importing and market-

cus Palmer (pictured right) has used the biostimulant on wheat, sugar beet, peas and potatoes on his own farm near Spalding, Lincolnshire.

"We have seen first-hand the benefits Algifol can have on cereals," says Mr Palmer.

"It increases yield, improves rooting and helps the crop cope with extreme weather. Over the last couple of years, we have seen a significant increase in sales, especially from cereal growers, and we can now afford to take a stand at Cereals.

Crop drying, ventilation and storage systems specialists.

Cereals Event preview

McCormick plans major presence at Cereals as arable sales grow

Tractor maker is marking its commitment to the UK farming industry with a significant presence at Cereals.

The company's stand at the twoday event will centre on key mid-range models from around the UK’s 170hp average power figure – a sector where McCormick says it is enjoying increasing sales success.

On display will be key models from the 135-155 max hp X6.4 P6-Drive series with six-speed powershift. Visitors to the McCormick stand will also find displays of the brand’s latest precision farming technology.

This includes the X6.414 – judged Tractor of the Year 2023 in the Best Utility category for features including its front axle suspension, four-wheel braking and P6-Drive transmission with six powershift gears and four robotised ranges.

Also present will be X7 short wheelbase tractors with six-step powershift and continuously-variable drive. The range includes the four-cylinder 165hp X7.417 and 175hp X7.418, plus the six-cylinder X7.617 and X7.618 with the same maximum power outputs.

Potential buyers have a choice of configurations to suit their needs, with a wheelbase of 2,651mm (four-cylin-

ders) and 2,760mm (six-cylinders). All models have a maximum 11,500kg gross vehicle weight and maximum 710/60 R38 rear tyre size.

Topping the display will be representatives of the latest X7.6 six-cylinder long wheelbase range, spanning 190/210/225hp (max) with P6-Drive six-step powershift or 210/225/240hp (max) with VT-Drive.

Features include a brake-boosting system to reduce braking effort required while improving driving accuracy and safety. Visitors to the McCormick stand will also find farmer-focused solutions for finance and

minimising ownership costs.

“We’re really looking forward to being a major presence once more at Cereals,” says Argo Tractors UK managing director Adrian Winnett. “With well-planned pipeline stock-ordering well in advance of the 2023 season, we have immediate availability on most models.

“As a growing number of farmers and contractors choose our family-run dealerships as an alternative to the multi-branch majors, we’re confident Cereals can help grow our sales among those looking for a more personal and local service.”

LSPB showcases pulse and oilseed rape varieties

Arange of varieties from LS Plant Breeding will be showcased at the Cereals event, held on 13-14 June at theThoresby Estate, Nottinghamshire.

“We had a high footfall of growers, agronomists and trade visitors to our stand last year,” says LSPB managing director Chris Guest.

“The great interest in our variety demonstration plots at the stand confirmed the decision to take part in Cereals again in 2023.

“This June we have expanded the range of our varieties on show at the enlarged stand (Stand 404). The comprehensive series of plots feature our winter oilseed rape, spring and winter beans, spring combining peas, and spring wheat.”

The company has a long heritage in winter oilseed rape breeding. Heading up a range of varieties on display, LSPB will showcase Murray, Turing and Vegas – which boasts the RlmS

phoma resistance gene with light leaf spot resistance.

LSPB are well known to growers for their spring bean portfolio. Varieties will include top of the PGRO Descriptive List variety Genius, Lynx and market expanding low vicine/convicine varieties Futura and Victus.

The company’s combining peas are at the top or near top of the PGRO List. Plots will include Carrington and Butterfly green peas, alongside Orchestra yellow pea, plus the new high yield marrowfat pea Takayama.

“We will also be demonstrating a selection of our candidate varieties for the first time. Zidane RL candidate winter oilseed rape will be there as well as some very promising coded varieties with exceptional packages of traits which we are evaluating.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors to our stand and showing them all that we can offer UK growers and the seed trade.”

McCormick will put forcus on key mid-range models

We have immediate availability on most models

“

Harvest

Warning to avoid collisions during summer harvest

• Ensure vehicles are roadworthy

• Maintain tractors and machinery

• Take care even under pressure

Farmers and harvest workers are being urged to take extra care on rural roads this summer –and help reduce the number of harvest accidents.

Collisions between agricultural vehicles and other road users are 52% more likely between the start of May and the end of September, according to the latest accident statistics published by NFU Mutual.

As farmers prepare to begin the harvest season and agricultural traffic increases, the rural insurer has teamed up with local police – urging all rural road users to take extra care over the coming months.

Coinciding with the hotter weather when people look to explore the countryside, harvest season brings a greater need for all motorists to respect their fellow road users – and the usual hazards on country roads, says NFU Mutual.

Heavy traffic

First cut silage has already seen an increase in road traffic. The next few months will see even higher volumes – including inexperienced harvest workers driving tractors pulling heavy grain trailers or wide agricultural machinery.

On average, there were 423 of accidents per month between May and Sep-

ing, hay making and harvesting cereal crops – compared to 249 per month between October and April.

As well as an increase in agricultural traffic, the summer months also coincide with the school holidays and a greater amount of leisure traffic, with road users not necessarily used to rural roads, which can further increase the risk of accidents.

The increase in agricultural vehicles in the road coincides with the sunnier weather and school holidays to greatly increase the volume of traffic on rural roads during this time, said NFU Mutual road sfety specialist Jade Devlin.

Accident advice

Rural motorists should be aware of tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery, said Ms Devlin. “We’re beginning to see more tractors, trailers and large agricultural machinery such as combine harvesters on our ru-

“Unfortunately, our claims data shows that accidents involving these agricultural vehicles and third parties are over 50% more likely in the harvesting season, so we’re sharing some advice on how everyone can stay safe on rural roads this spring and summer.

“Agricultural vehicles are generally large, wide and slow, which can tempt road users to overtake, but it’s vital to remain patient and only overtake when it’s safe – when you can see a clear road ahead, there are no field openings, and you have space to pass."

Farmers and contractors should not drive too quickly, said Ms Devlin. But they should pull over where safe to do so to allow built-up traffic to pass –unless they were going a very short distance to the next field or farmyard.

“Motorists and cyclists should be patient, give agricultural vehicles room to turn and not drive too close-

Road safety is everyone’s responsibility

Motorists sometimes try to overtake where it is unsafe to do so.

Picture: BG Media / Shutterstock.com

Sponsored by

Harvest preview

Continued from previous page

ly to them, which can be dangerous and can obstruct your view before overtaking,” she said.

Mutual respect

“It’s important to remember that rural roads are vital arteries for our agricultural industry, allowing farmers to bring in the harvest which helps feed the population, as well as valued spaces which allow us to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

“Mutual respect from those who use rural roads for work and for pleasure will ultimately help keep our motorists, cyclists, horse riders and walkers safe this harvest season."

Reiterating the importance of staying safe on rural roads this summer, police inspector Jem Mountford, from Warwickshire Police Roads Policing Unit, said: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.

“With more people using country roads during the summer months, it is important we are all patient and show respect to other road users. If everyone does this, then we can reduce the number of collisions and injuries on these roads.”

Harvest advice for rural road users

For farmers

• Ensure all equipment is road worthy and pay particular care to things like trailers which may not have been used for months.

• Check brakes and indicators and make sure you have reflectors and a beacon for your vehicle. Use the Tilly Checklist to inspect your trailer.

• Be aware of vulnerable road users or hidden junctions, making contractors aware of these junctions and commonly-used walking, cycling and riding routes.

• Familiarise yourself and your contractors with the speed limits for your vehicles.

• If your agricultural vehicles leave mud in the road, remember to clean it up.

• When turning, indicate in plenty of time and check more than once for road users on your inside.

• Be respectful to fellow road users, but only allow them to pass when it is safe to pull over.

All road users

• Give plenty of space when overtaking. Vulnerable road users, such as walkers, runners, horse riders and cyclists, should be given as much room as motorists where possible.

• Always check for other road users, particularly at the entrance of fields and junctions.

• Be patient with fellow road users and only overtake when it is safe for all road users.

• Consider where you park to avoid blocking field entrances or obstructing the road for wide agricultural machinery, such as combine harvesters, as they will often need to drive across two lanes.

• Be aware of mud on the road. Rural roads are essential to our farming industry and therefore some mud will be dragged from fields to the road.

• Familiarise yourself with the Highway Code.

• Avoid unnecessary distractions like looking at your phone or listening to music through headphones, allowing you to be aware of your surroundings.

Pedestrians, cyclists and motorists

• Speed limits are not targets. Always drive appropriately and remember rural roads are likely to have hazards such as tighter carriageways, blind corners, and animals in the road.

• Pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders should consider wearing appropriate clothing which enables them to be seen.

• Respect that rural roads are vital to our farming industry and expect to encounter tractors, farm machinery or animals in the road.

• Signal correctly and in plenty of time, whether you are a motorist, cyclist or horse rider.

12 Buckingham Close, Bermuda Ind Est, Nuneaton, Warks CV10 7JT

[Source: NFU Mutual]

Storage technology saves energy and reduces waste

• Wireless crop temperature sensors

• Monitor and manage grain storage

• Highly efficient crop cooling system

Innovative post-harvest technology is helping farmers optimise crop storage, reduce energy consumption and ensure a higher-quality end product.

Crop storage specialist Martin Lishman reports strong interest in its grain cooling FloorVent system –which uses the same high airflow perforated tube as the company’s popular Pile-Dry Pedestals but via underfloor ducts instead of vertical columns.

Fans are placed on the outside of the building to vent hot air directly to the exterior to remove the possibility of warm air being drawn back into the grain, making the cooling process highly efficient.

Barn Owl Wireless provides store managers with the convenience of monitoring crop store temperatures from anywhere in the world. Using wireless crop temperature sensors, the temperature data is transmitted to the user's Barn Owl Wireless web portal.

This web portal allows the users to easily check the crop temperatures, humidity levels, and even CO2 readings for all their stores. Additionally, users can efficiently manage cooling programmes for their stores with this system.

Optimum condition

Bulk tipper haulage company T French & Son, located in Cumnock, Scotland, began their venture into crop storage when they were approached by several grain merchants about storage of their products.

“Ensuring that our customers' products remain in optimum condition while stored at our facility was an important consideration for this project,” says T French & Son director Liz-Ann McMenemy.

“The large part of our work is deliveries and collections within the agricultural sector. Our farming customers asked about crop storage, and as we had the space within our yard, we decided to build a large grain store to

accommodate their storage requirements.”

The new storage fa cility is 78m long, 60m wide and 9m high. It has a capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes. Given the size of the store, a highly efficient cooling sys tem was required to rapidly re duce grain temperatures.

In addition, the facility's movable concrete bunker walls had to cater for different commodities – which meant designers opted for a versatile modu lar approach to the installation, says Ms McMenemy.

“The FloorVent appealed to us as it can be quickly installed or removed depending on what type of products we had, and the Barn Owl Wireless system would handle both the remote and on-site monitoring and automatic control of cooling fans.”

Zonal cooling

The T French & Son team opted for 48 floor vents, 48 Martin Lishman PileDry fans and 28 Barn Owl Wireless crop sensors to cater for the changing store layout – and to ensure the store is cooled efficiently and effectively.

Utilising Martin Lishman’s wireless fan controllers, the fans are con-

FloorVent Pedestals

Inset: Barn Owl Wireless Crop Sensors

work and controlled automatically. In automatic mode, the system uses a choice of control programmes and zonal cooling.

This means fans are turned on only when it is most efficient to do so, which results in faster cooling and a vast reduction on energy bills. The wireless crop sensors have been very reliable, and the online portal is easy to operate, says Ms McMenemy.

“Joel from Martin Lishman was very helpful during the installation – speaking to both us during the planning stage and the electricians during the installation stage – which made the process incredibly smooth.”

Cooling system is versatile and efficient

Floor-vent cooling offers a balance of versatility, installation cost and performance, says Joel Capper, managing director at Martin Lishman.

“We were thrilled when T French & Son approached us for a FloorVent system, and we were even more excited when they opted for a Barn Owl Wireless System to accompany it,” explains Mr Capper.

“Individually, the products work very well, but together they create a trouble-free storage solution that can quickly drive down grain temperatures while using less energy. Plus, with rising electricity prices, the energy cost savings will become even more apparent.”

Martin Lishman's Barn Owl Wireless and FloorVent systems are versatile and scalable, making them suitable for any size storage facility. Originally designed for larger-scale operations, these systems are now being more widely adopted.

Smaller farmers like the system, thanks to its modular design. With these products, Mr Capper says farmers can enjoy the benefits of fast, efficient cooling and reduced energy costs, regardless of their operation's size.

“Farmers have come to recognize the value of optimizing the cooling and management of their stored crops, and hundreds of farms in the UK are using these systems.”

The process was incredibly smooth

“

The Plug&Cool Poly Pedestals are the biggest on the market with a minimum height of 4 meters, giving you more airflow through your grain pile.

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Home-cleaned seed boosts farm margins

• Sieve cleaner is easy to operate

• Worthwhile return on investment

• Meets high standards for purity

ALincolnshire farming family says they expect a good return on investment after purchasing a sieve cleaner to ensure herbage grass seed meets high standards.

Andrew Stovin farms 500ha with father Alan and brother Mathew at NM Stovin Farms, near Alford, on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. Cleaning grass seed on farm has increased their bottom line, he says.

The JCM VibroMAX vibrating sieve cleaner supplied by McArthur Agriculture allows the Stovin family to meet the cleaning standards of their grass seed merchants – and is also used to clean home-saved seed.

“As well as growing wheat, barley and spring beans and having around 60 suckler cattle, we grow around 160ha of grass seed,” says Andrew Stovin.

“Before we had the JCM VibroMAX we had to pay our seed merchants to clean the seed for us.

“They would come and take a sample and anything below 98% pure seed had to be cleaned – so it's not hard to see that paying for cleaning quickly eroded our profit margin.”

Trial sample

Mr Stovin saw one of his university friends using a JCM VibroMAX to clean grain two years ago. Seeing its potential, he asked McArthur Agriculture to clean a trial sample of grass seed – and liked the results.

“Seed cleaning of any kind has a lot of variables that can affect the outcome. But the results achieved with the JCM VibroMAX gave us the confidence that it would deliver the high standard required by our merchants.”

For harvest 2021, the Stovins used the JCM VibroMAX cleaner as a standalone machine. Before making any additional investment in handling equipment, they wanted the cleaner to prove that it would deliver as expected.

“The JCM VibroMAX performed extremely well so we asked McArthur Agriculture to design a handling system to further streamline the processing of our grass seed in time for harvest 2022,” says Mr Stovin.

Bucket elevator

Grass seed is now tipped into a Skandia Elevator AB KTG above ground intake which feeds one of two Skandia SE140 belt and bucket elevators transporting the grain to the JCM VibroMAX.

Once cleaned, the seed is taken by the second belt and bucket elevator to feed a Skandia KTF horizontal chain and flight conveyor which carries the seed to one of three bunkers housed in the same shed as the cleaner.

The system has been designed so cleaning and handling capability and

in helping to drive up the all-important bottom line. We have reduced what we pay for grass seed to be cleaned by our seed merchants, plus as we can now clean our home-saved seed on farm

“We are no longer having to pay for a mobile seed cleaning lorry to clean it for us," says Mr Stovin.

"We don’t have to wait for the mobile seed cleaning team to fit us in, we can clean the seed as and when we need to, which helps speed up our entire seed handling process.”

Mr Stovin says he hopes to generate another revenue stream by offering neighbouring farmers the opportunity to use the cleaner.

This will allow them to reduce their costs by producing their own cleaned home saved seed, regardless of the crop, he adds.

“Looking at the big picture around how we have been able to successfully utilise the cleaner, I anticipate that we will meet our expectation of achieving a return on our investment within three to four years.”

The JCM 10122 VibroMax cleaner with Skandia grain handling system.

We now clean our home-saved seed

UK debut for Fendt's Corus 500 combine

Fendt will debut its new Fendt Corus 500 straw walker combine harvester in the UK this month when the machine is showcased at the Royal Highland Show.

The machine will take pride of place on Fendt's stand during the four-day event which runs from 22-25 June at the Royal Highland Showground., Ingliston, just outside Edinburgh.

The Corus range offers power outputs of 185-260hp from a four or six-cylinder engine, with a new electro-hydrostatic drive for all models. The entry level model sits in the up to 260hp segment and the range includes nine five-straw walker models with working widths up to 7.6m.

Flexible machine

“Scotland has always been an important market for our combines so it is fitting that the first opportunity for operators to see the new model will be

at this year’s Royal Highland Show. We are looking forward to welcoming customers to see the machine."

Fendt says the Corus was designed for flexible use in different crops, with a focus on high threshing performance with reliable, efficient and robust technology. It says these features make the new series the ideal entry-level model for self-mechanised farmers.

Field and road

Two modes for field and road control the speed intelligently. In road mode, the Fendt Corus 500 lowers the engine speed and thus consumes less fuel. In field mode, the full speed is available depending on demand.

The multifunction joystick allows the driver to control, among other things, the speed, the header and the unloading auger of the Corus. For ergonomic working, this joystick is di-

The Corus is designed to be an entry-level model for arable farmers.

rectly connected to the armrest, with the concave and sieves now controlled directly from the cab.

The on-board computer and two optional cameras provide an optimal overview of the machine. The large panoramic windscreen and new working lights at the front of the combine ensure the best visibility.

Automatic cutting height control and TerraControl II header control are controlled directly from the cab and guide the header precisely according to the harvesting parameters.

• Storage applications to lower product respiration. (reduced weight loss)

• Ultra-stable store temperature and humidity control.

• Hydrocooling & rapid cooling (removal of field heat for optimum post-harvest)

• Glycol or direct expansion systems. (Natural Refrigerants)

• Carbon reduction solutions to support NetZero targets.

• Reduced running costs using sustainable technologies.

• Heat recovery and free defrost.

• Free cooling and CO2 ventilation systems.

• Service and maintenance support 24/7, 365 days. King’s Lynn

Harvest preview

Mixed outlook for farmers on ag-inflation

Many farmers face a tough harvest because input costs remain stubbornly high, suggest the latest ag-inflation figures from the AF Group.

Average farm input costs fell by 3.17% in the six months to 31 March – the first decrease in more than three years, according to the group's interim Aginflation Index. But farmers still face contrasting trends.

Two out of nine input categories saw double digit negative deflation with the cost of fertiliser and fuel falling by 30% and 23% respectively. Three other categories – machinery, contract hire and animal feed and medicine – fell by 2.3%, 1.9% and 1.7%.

Mixed picture

But some other input costs continued to rise. Agrochemical costs were up by almost 13%. Rent and other business operating expenses increased by more than 7% with labour costs rising by 6.6%.

Farm enterprise types are also experiencing contrasting fortunes.

“The significant drop in fertiliser prices is, of course, welcome but many farmers bought their fertiliser when prices were still sky high and now output values are falling,

so this could be a very difficult harvest,” said AF chief executive David Horton-Fawkes.

“It’s alarming that crop protection prices are continuing to rise, and we are encouraging our members to look beyond brand names and focus on active ingredients. If previous patterns continue, we should see these prices begin to ease next year.”

Enterprise types

Sectors experiencing lower costs include dairy (-4.84%), potatoes (-3.71%) and beef and lamb (-2.68%). But sugar beet production costs have increased by 4.75%, with cereals and oilseed rape seeing input costs rise by 0.56%.

“The dip in aginflation is very good news but it is too variable across different types of farm business to give much cause for relief,” said Mr Horton-Fawkes.

“The gap between the cost of production and the value of sales is still too wide and too variable.”

The total food Retail Price Index rose by 14.3% over the same six months. Retail milk prices rose 44% with beef and lamb prices rising by 16.3%. But these rises were still too low to offset higher farm input costs.

David Horton-Fawkes: farmers still face a series of alarming cost increases

45,000 visas for seasonal workers from overseas

• Government pledge on visa scheme

• Farm leaders say workers are vital

• Employees would like longer visas

The government has confirmed that 45,000 visas will be made available again to the horticulture sector next year – enabling growers to plan ahead for harvest and overcome a shortage of workers.

The announcement was made ahead of last month's Farm to Fork summit at 10 Downing Street. Hosted by Rishi Sunak, the summit brought together representatives from across UK’s farming, horticulture and agri-food sectors.

The summit looked at ways the government and industry can work together to increase investment, innovation and sustainability and support the long-term resilience at every stage of the food supply chain.

Urgent need

Speaking before the event, the Prime Minister pledged: “Supporting our farmers and food producers must, and always will be, at the heart of our plans to grow the economy and build a more prosperous country."

The NFU has been lobbying government on the issue for a number of years reinforcing the urgency around the supply of seasonal workers and the pressing need for government commit-

ment to the sector.

An NFU survey of union members carried out during 2022 revealed that £22 million worth of fruit and vegeta bles had been wasted directly because of workforce shortages in the first half of 2022 alone.

Last December, Defra confirmed that 45,000 visas for seasonal workers will be available for horticultural businesses in 2023, as part of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Scheme (SAWS) with potential to increase this by another 10,000 if necessary.

Updated guidance

The decision came following a letter the NFU sent to the immigration minister in November 2022 which included signatures from 160 members, expressing concern about the lack of visas for seasonal workers in the future.

The government has since updated its seasonal worker scheme guidance to include a provision which allows returnee workers from 2022 to come back a month sooner than would have been allowed in 2023.

Workers can now return to the UK after five months, rather than waiting the full six months from the end

of their 2022 visa. The NFU said the move would help ease the shortage of available workers from overseas caused by the war in Ukraine.

NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said: “While this is only a modest change, it is an important one that will help growers this season and add further weight to our discussions over the length of visas within the scheme.”

Seasonal workers recruited from overseas for 2023

Recruitment of the 45,000 visas for 2023 is now well underway with Defra currently deciding whether a further 10,000 potential visas will be required.

A further seasonal agricultural workers scheme operator is expected to appointed this summer, says the Association of Labour Providers (ALP). The new operator will bring the total up to six and will be inplace for the 2024 season.

Currently, the visa allocation for 2024 is the same as for 2023. There is no information on the scheme for 2025 and beyond. The ALP said it was continuing to work with government departments on the operation of the scheme.

foodstuffs have been exported from Ukraine under the deal since the war started. United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres said some issues remained but he was positive about the future.

“The continuation is good news for

– despite the wet spring and lower than normal temperatures, according to the latest AHDB crop development survey.

Disease pressure

After heavy rainfall in March, the weather improved somewhat in April

pressure from Septoria and other cere al diseases – an issue that is worsened by late fungicide application. Cabbage stem flea beetle remained the biggest issue in winter rape, with some crops replaced with spring beans.

Spring plantings have reportedly been delayed by around a month on average. While some growers took advantage of the dry February, unsettled weather in March and April conspired to set some farmers back.

Even so, some 88% of the GB winter wheat crop was in good/excellent condition, ahead of 84% at the same point last season. Only 1% of the crop was reportedly in poor or very poor condition – unchanged on the month, and down from 3%.

For most crops, yield prospects for harvest 2023 will depend greatly on an improvement to weather and soil conditions, said the AHDB. For now, prospects are looking positive, despite the adverse weather, it added.

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The Ukraine export deal will continue for a further 60 days

(Picture: Elena Larina / Shutterstock.com)

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Livestock

We must learn to live with bird flu – expert

• Disease threat is all-year-round

• Biosecurity must be maintained

• All holding sizes to take action

Ppert who has written a report outlin ing ways to combat the disease.

Strict biosecurity on all holdings and early detection of the disease must be a shared responsibility for poultry producers – irrespective of holding size or production system, says the study, published by the Centre of Inno vation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL).

Authored by Professor Lisa Boden and her team at Edinburgh Universi ty's Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems, the report identi fies a number of knowledge gaps, and recommends future research priorities to help manage and prevent bird flu.

The UK experienced the worst out break of Highly Pathogenic Avian In fluenza (HPAI) in 2022 –both in terms of frequency and severity,said CIEL head of innovation Mark Young.

Disease risk

“It is now considered a year-round challenge. With the disease showing no signs of abating, it’s vital the industry considers how we can live with the risk of disease,” said Dr Young.

It was important to address industry challenges when dealing with the ongoing threat of bird flu, he added. This included possible prevention and control methods, and the role of science and innovation in helping to tackle the disease.

“There is a significant degree of variability in biosecurity implementation across the sector due to different perceptions of risk and awareness of the regulation and guidance available among all poultry keepers,” said Dr Young.

FEATURING SHEEP & DAIRY FOCUS

Biosecurity must be a shared responsibility, says the report

The disease shows no signs of abating, says Dr Mark Young (inset)

whole supply chain to ensure up-todate information is disseminated to

CIEL director Phil Bicknell said the need for a clear and concise summary of the bird flu situation was a key factor in commissioning the report. Government support would need to be enhanced to ensure that all outbreaks were handled promptly and

“Science and innovation were essential to how we successfully live with

"Research into production systems, vaccine development, advances in genomic sequencing, and new technologies to support the rapid detection of the disease could all help

Concern deepens over UK pig breeds

The future of UK native pig breeds is becoming increasingly insecure following the crisis affecting the pig sector, says the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

This year marks 50 years of the charity’s work to save and safeguard the future of rare and native livestock and equine breeds. The annual RBST Watchlist includes annual numbers for breeding females and measures the genetic diversity within each breed.

RBST chief executive Christopher Price said: “Crisis in the pig industry over the past two years is driving a very worrying and worsening situation for several of our rare native breeds. Fewer people are keeping these breeds now, and the number of new piglet births is falling too.

Priority breed

Numbers of the British Landrace pig breed –which was already listed as an urgent priority breed – have declined dramatically. There were

just 23 Landrace dams producing pedigree progeny in 2022 – down from 43 in 2021.

This compares with 495 dams registered in 2006. These very low numbers are in stark contrast to the 1970s, 80s and 90s when the British Landrace breed expanded rapidly to become what the RSBT describes as one of the UK's most popular breeds of commercial pig.

Mr Price said: “The British Landrace is in a particularly worrying situation. It is a fantastic breed for really high quality bacon and pork production, very easy to manage and excellent for improving other breeds of pig. But it is not as well known as some of our other native pig breeds.

“We are working with the British Pig Association and the small but dedicated community of British Landrace keepers to make sure the breed’s excellent attributes aren’t overlooked, as well as ramping up support for conservation and breeding programmes.”

Optimism despite 'global pressure' on wool prices

Signs that wool will recover, says marketing board

British Wool says it remains optimistic for the future – despite global pressures limiting the price it pays farmers for wool.

Some £6.6m will be paid to British farmers this year with exact prices depending on grade and type of wool. Members were sent a personalised letter in mid-May confirming the total value of their 2022 wool.

Core grades achieved 30p/kg, with Blackface wool worth 20p/kg, Welsh Mountain wool 10p/kg and Swaledale 8p/kg. Fleeces from organic flocks attract a premium of 70p/kg for core types and 20p/kg for the Welsh Mountain type.

British Wool chief executive Andrew Hogley said: “We understand that prices will be disappointing to our members, particularly on the back of falling lamb prices and other diffi-

culties in the wider industry. We are frustrated too."

Global prices have been under pressure in recent months, said Mr Hogley. This, alongside the cost inflation experienced by the wider industry, had created significant difficulties in the marketplace, he added.

“As a farmers' cooperative, the returns we offer our members are determined by the value we can achieve for the wool we sell on their behalf and the costs of bringing that wool to market,” said Mr Hogley.

There had been positive signs of recovery in the wool market after the devastating impact of the Covid pandemic. But the war in Ukraine and subsequent spike in energy prices reversed much of those improvements.

High energy costs and consumer confidence had led to a very chal-

lenging environment for all raw material suppliers including wool,” said Mr Hogley.

“The impact of high energy prices on the cost of processing wool has been enormous. Commercial scouring tariffs have increased by 30% over the past 12 months. Increased haulage rates and diesel prices have also been a significant challenge.”

'Positive future'

Despite these difficulties, British Wool had still been able to sell the wool achieving prices comparable to those in New Zealand. “We are optimistic about the future and believe there is much to be positive about.

“Our focus on the environmental and sustainability credentials of British wool is gaining traction. Over the past year the number of brands with

There is still much to be positive about, says Andrew Hogley

Coronation showcases British sheep sector

Sheep farmers played an important role during last month's coronation celebrations – with street party organisers urged to add a lamb dish to their menus.

King Charles' support of UK sheep farmers – including lamb and mutton – is well documented, so it was little surprise that the National Sheep Association was chosen to be part of the official celebrations.

Launched in 2004, the Mutton Renaissance campaign promotes the eating of quality mutton. The campaign brings together farmers, abattoirs, chefs and retailers to promote minimum standards that help ensure mutton's eating quality and traceability.

King Charles is also a Patron of the

verified British wool product ranges has increased to more than 100.

“Increasingly we are seeing manufacturers willing to pay a premium for traceable British wool and we have invested in our systems that give full traceability back to the farm. We are also exploring new uses and markets

Campaign for Wool. The fibre’s natural fire resistance and hardwearing qualities make it well suited as a traditional fabric for military uniforms, religious cloths, and instrument case linings.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “Once in a lifetime events such as King Charles’s Coronation are occasions to enjoy the very best and so it is fitting that produce from UK sheep farms will be on display during the impressive celebrations.

“We urged the great British public to consider adding a delicious lamb dish to their coronation lunch menus, or to maybe pull out a British wool blanket for warmth and comfort when joining community picnics and activities taking place.”

for wool was ongoing too he said.

“We encourage sheep farmers to continue supporting us as we continue to navigate these difficult times. We truly believe that with continued effort, determination, and innovation we can build a positive future for wool, but we all need to work together.”

Summer heat stress is big challenge for dairy cows

Data from cows grazed outdoors found they experienced heat stress for 37 days, or 22% of the trial period, with the heat stress season running from the middle of June until the middle of September.

“Predicted milk yield losses averaged 138 litres per cow for housed cattle, ranging from 100 to 187 litres, while grazing cattle experienced an average loss of 129 litres per cow, ranging from 79 to 169 litres,” added Dr Chamberlain.

“The average financial loss incurred was £128 per cow, ranging from £96 to £180 a cow, with herd losses ranging from £24,000 to £90,000.”

He said the study results show heat

stress is a growing problem for both housed and grazed dairy cows, and it should be considered in herd management plans.

Milk yield

“Cows will start to suffer when the temperature is about 19-20°C in the UK, and once you have cows suffering for too long, you’ll start to have problems with milk yield and fertility as well as a deterioration in rumen health,” added Dr Chamberlain.

Dairy farmers can mitigate the impact of heat stress by focusing on water, the cows’ environment, and nutrition.

He said: “Farmers should open up

Results were streamed in real-time

sheds as much as possible, install fans and misting systems to keep cows cool, and ensure a good supply of clean and cool drinking water that’s less than 20°C.

“They can also improve rumen health by feeding fresh rations more frequently, using high-quality forage, and including a rumen-specific live yeast, such as Levucell SC, in the ration.”

The heat stress trial will be expanded for 2023 to comprise 12 farms across the UK – ranging from dairy units near Edinburgh in Scotland to Southampton in the south of England, including a holding in Northern Ireland.

Water remains a good way to combat heat stress

Photo: Tim Scrivener

Milk production holds up despite fewer producers

for many dairy farmers. The current high level of cull cow prices, as well as ongoing uncertainties about changes to agricultural subsidy schemes has led to some producers changing their future direction.”

Grass guide offers useful forage planning advice

Forage planning advice is included in the 2023 dition of the Field Options grass, clover and forage crop guide – alongside the company’s latest seed mixtures.

As well as forage crops, cover crops and specialist grass, clover and herbage seed mixtures, the new publication also contains details of specialist fertilisers and silage inoculants along with guidance for how and when these products should be used.

“With farm margins continuing to be squeezed by high input costs, livestock farmers need to do all they can to maximise production from homegrown forage,” says Field Options technical team leader Simon Montgomery.

High cull cow prices are encouraging dairy farmers to reassess their future, with some taking the opportunity to leave the industry.

There were 7,500 dairy producers in Great Britain as of April this year, according to the most recent survey of major milk buyers by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. This represents a 4.8% fall in the number of farmers over the past year.

Feed costs

“Compared to previous years, more producers have left the industry,” said AHDB analyst Tom Price. “Despite the fact that the latest Agricultural Price Index indicates input cost inflation has eased, input costs remain historically high.”

As with many inputs, inflation for compound feed, for example, has remained flat since peaking last summer. Compound feed costs remain some 26% above the level from this time last year and 47% higher than in 2021.

“Combined with falling milk prices, this has squeezed profit margins

Despite producer numbers dropping over the last 12 months, good weather conditions last autumn and higher milk prices at the end of last year meant that average milk production per farm remained high over the autumn and winter months.

Output figures

Farmgate milk prices have since fallen – in some cases below 40p per litre. But the latest AHDB figure suggesting that the average British dairy farm produces 4,500 litres of milk daily, equating to some 1.65mn litres per year.

GB milk production was estimated at 1,098 million litres in April – slightly less (-2%) than forecasted deliveries and 0.4% more (4.0m litres) than the same month last year. Daily deliveries averaged 36.59m litres daily during the month.

The year-on-year growth which has been seen since September, however, slowed. Falling farmgate prices contributed to the relatively flat volumes. Monthly daily deliveries for April were 0.2% (2 million litres) less than the five-year average for April.

Continuing unseasonably cool and wet weather in April further suppressed volumes with a delayed or below average flush. Ongoing pressure on farm margins will not help, said the AHBD, How this develops will be a key impact on production this season.

A good way to achieve this is by rejuvenating existing grassland leys and – where applicable – introducing new crops to offset boughtin feed and fertiliser costs. The new guide contains advice on crop management alongside trial results from grass and clover mixtures.

“It also contains findings from our independent programme of maize, fodder beet and cover crop trials – all of which are carried out so that we can recommend proven products to give greater assurance of performance to customers,” says Mr Montgomery.

The 2023 Grass, Clover and Forage Crop Guide can be downloaded free at www.field-options.co.uk.

Farm charity boost from beef week

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) was chosen as the nominated charity for Great British Beef Week again this year.

The weeklong celebration of British beef’s quality and world-leading farming credentials took place this year on 23-30 April – with consumers encouraged to enjoy a “naturally delicious” Sunday beef roast.

Campaign group Ladies in Beef is behind Great British Beef Week. Since being involved in the annual campaign, RABI has organised more than 50 beef week events and raised £90,000 for farming people in need of financial support.

• Farmers consider future in milk

• High costs affect dairy prospects

• Milk output is still relatively flat

Above: Profit margins continue to be tight for milk producers

More producers have left the industry

“

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Call for help to solve dairy labour shortage

Farm leaders have called on the government to help ease the labour shortage in the dairy sector.

It follows a roundtable meeting organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. Held at the House of Lords, the meeting discussed the growing labour crisis in the dairy industry and outline ways to overcome it.

Hosted by RABDF president Lord Ewen Cameron and chaired by RABDF Chairman Di Wastenage MBE, the meeting included government officials, dairy farmers, processors and other industry representatives.

Topics discussed immediate and longer term labour requirements; identifying and improving the image of dairy farming; and ways to overcome barriers to recruitment and entry into the

industry.

RABDF chairwoman Di Was tenage said: “This week’s round table was an invaluable discus sion on how to create a short- and longer-term pipeline of employ ees coming into the industry.

“This isn’t something that can be done overnight, and it will take time to prioritise how we do this and the key stakeholders need ed to help us get there. It’s clear that access to foreign labour is something we still need in the short term.”

Submission

Ms Wastenage said the RABDF would be reiterating that message in its submission to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) Review. But she warned that overseas labour was not a longterm solution.

“For that, we need to look at a

myriad of options from education in schools, brand building, skills development, attracting employees from diverse backgrounds, and setting up a dairy scholarship scheme, as examples.”

“Labour on dairy farms is a

paramount issue and we need this pipeline of employees to safeguard the industry. Following the roundtable, the next steps are to identify the key players and where shortages lie, which we will achieve with our labour survey.”

Staff recruitment remains a challenge on many dairy farms

Professional services

Eastern region farmland market remains robust

Highest farmland prices since 2015 with big increase in poorer land

Farmland values in the east of England are continuing to rise, with the average price of prime arable land now at its highest in almost a decade.

Prices for “all types” of farmland in East Anglia – pasture and arable – averaged £9,747/acre at the end of March, according to the latest quarterly index from land agents Savills – a 15.4% increase on the same time last year.

This was well ahead of the average national farmland price £7,939/acre.

The value of eastern region prime arable land was £10,563/ acre compared to £9,140/acre in March 2022. This is the highest average value for the region's farmland since March 2015 when the price topped out at £11,028/acre.

But it is poorer quality arable land that has seen one of the biggest increases in value in the East – rising 27.8% from an average of £6,112/acre in March 2022 to an average of £7,808/acre in March 2023.

The value of poor livestock land has also jumped by 14.3% to an average of £2,871/acre.

Significant pent up demand is continuing to drive price growth – with buyers spurred on by a variety of reasons, says Oliver Carr, associate director in the Savills rural agency team for West Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertford shire and Bedfordshire.

Rollover relief

“A backlog of buyers moti vated by capital gains tax rollover relief remain a par ticular force in the market. These pur chasers are required to reinvest within three years of disposing of an asset to qualify.

Mr Carr adds: “Given supply has been constrained for the last three years, the clock is ticking for many. We also continue to see strong interest from buyers in the market for high quality commercial farmland.

“Poorer quality land continues to attract those who have an interest in delivering nature-based solutions such as tree planting, biodiversity net gain (BNG), natural capital, and regenerative farming. The latter are now a significant influence on the market and often backed by substantial funds.”

Some 16,700 acres of farmland were publicly marketed across Great Britain during the first three months of this year. This was the most since 2016 and 30% more than the same period of 2022.

Some 2,925 acres of eastern region land has been publicly marketed so far this year – of which 1,391 acres have been in Norfolk, 1,073 acres in Essex and 461 acres in Suffolk. This is 2% up on March 2022 – with more ex-

pected to launch over the spring.

Ready to launch

Will Radbourne (left), of Savills' rural agency team in Essex, says: “It's early days and the next few months will be significant in determining the supply side of the

farmland market, but that said we have a good number of farms ready to launch as the weather improves.

“As is often the case, some sellers need the reassurance from the visibility of other sales or market activity before pressing ahead with their own sale, and late March in particular has seen a flurry of activity.

“In January and February, a number of properties were offered privately with vendors choosing to test the market rather than embarking upon an open launch. [But] to what extent the increases in supply will meet demand in 2023 is yet to be seen.

"Quarter two will undoubtedly paint a clearer picture, with close to half of the acreage marketed each year usually launched during this period. Many prospective buyers will hope this trend continues.”

Strutt & Parker appoints new senior rural director

Land agent and farm consultant

Strutt & Parker has appointed Tom McLaughlin as a senior director in its rural department.

Mr McLaughlin joins the business with more than two decades of experience work ing within the rural property sector. He will be based in the St Albans office and will work on strategic estate matters.

With a proven track record in advis ing private and institutional clients, McLaughlin will cover a range of strate gic rural asset matters, valuations, as well as overseeing diversification and develop ment work.

He is also regularly involved in dispute resolution, with a long record of acting as a mediator in rural property and farming disputes – as well as enabling strategic and practical succession planning.

Tom McLaughlin: senior rural director

Supermarket sweep

Processors and retails are winning more control over family farms, says Fen Tiger .

What will become of your farm business? Especially if you keep your head down and plod on regardless of everything around you?

High input costs, high borrowing costs and ever tighter enterprise margin. Little wonder that more growers and livestock producers are choosing to retire – or at least cutting back on their farming operations.

Supermarket shelves are devoid of eggs, milk prices have slumped and glasshouses are lying empty. Growing root crops is an increasingly precarious and occupation – made even more challenging by the cold, wet spring.

Potato prices have climbed as high as £800/tonne – prompting major buyers who need the humble spud to suddenly wake up and realise that most growers have scaled down their planted area this spring.

Risk and reward

With the crisp market being held artificially high by our favorite crisp producer, growers are faced with large borrowing requirements to finance the crop, so the risk versus reward serenario has taken on a different meaning.

Contracts are hard to come by and remain at unrealistic values for many growers. It leaves me wondering how long it might be before major buyers become more involved with the growing and financing of crops grown by the farmer?

It has already happened with British Sug-

lies which had grown beet for generations to leave the crop out of their rotations.

Prices as low as £19/t did nobody any favours – neither grower nor processor. In fact, I would argue that with a little foresight, even a slightly higher price would have helped to maintain grower interest.

Contractors

But such a rise was a long time coming. Instead British Sugar has chosen to grow some of the crop itself, paying farmers so it could rent the land. Then it asked contractors to do the field work.

Having itself encountered the self-same problems that growers have faced year on year, including frozen beet, British Sugar finally upped the beet price to £40/t in a bid to keep farmers interested in the crop.

But the processing giant has still struggled to secure enough farmers willing to grow

beet –prompting a series of last minute offers in an attempt to woo them back. The claim is that beet is profitable at £40/t – but does that figure take into account the late entry for the following wheat crop and its associated cost and yield implications?

It wouldn't surprise me to see the potato sector head down a similar path. Surely it's only a matter of time before the major potato processors start to own and lease back large areas of land to produce the crop ?

Meltdown

How long, in fact, before the major supermarkets control all aspects of farming – if they don't already do so? It has been rumoured for many years that one major supermarket already owns and controls a large scale vegetable producer.

When local staff are paid directly by the supermarket, maybe the rumours are true? Margins are so tight in the fresh produce sector that no matter how large and secure some of the bigger growers are, they seldom seem far away from financial meltdown.

Ever-increasing borrowing requirements mean many growers feel driven to plant crops across a wider and wider area. But this also increases their transport costs and road work – eating into additional revenue.

It's not surprising then that these same growers – who seem on the surface to be so secure – are perhaps secretly longing for assistance from a major processor in whatever shape assists both parties.

Supermarkets already decide a large amount of what we eat. They largely decide how it is produced and packaged too. In time,

Big retailers already largely control what

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