Midland Farmer - November 2022

EDITORIAL

Editor:

07967

E: johann@ruralcity.co.uk

Mark

E: mark.shreeve@micropress.co.uk

E: polly.coleman@micropress.co.uk

Chloe

E: chloe.miller@micropress.co.uk

Daniel

01502

E: daniel.rice@micropress.co.uk

Mat

E: mat.roffey@micropress.co.uk

Mark

01502

E: mark.tait@micropress.co.uk

together

unsurprising.

huge

months –

animal feed and crop protection products. As seen in recent weeks, volatile movements in the value of Sterling can have a rapid affect on prices.

Midland

Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire)

have

minimum of

acres

breeding sows/250

©

dairy/beef stock, or

hens/broiler

or 15,000

Intensive

few signs of easing in the immediate future.

crisis

AF Group, which compiles the AgInflation Index, purchases more than £250m of farm inputs annually. This

inputs such as feed, fuel and fertiliser

as well tyres and building materials.

High costs are affecting all farm sectors, it says, with seven out of nine input categories

double digit inflation. Animal feed and medicine, fuel and fertiliser have seen the biggest increases at 36%, 42.8% and 133.8% respectively.

So what can be done?

is no doubt that planning ahead is more important than ever. With input prices changing daily – and sometimes hourly –accurate budgeting and forecasting will have a big impact on farm margins.

This is particularly the case when it comes to imported inputs – including fertiliser,

Energy is a real challenge. Prices have soared – and have a knock-on effect on other input costs. The government’s energy relief scheme has capped price rises to some extent – but it is only a temporary fix.

Suppliers as well as farmers are under pressure. Many businesses have been unable to fix their energy costs for the coming year. Others – including those who operate on liquefied gas or heating oil – haven’t been offered contracts at all.

Farmers who haven’t already done so should consider joining a buying group which procures inputs on behalf of its members –securing lower prices while reducing admin costs and time spent in the farm office.

No-one will escape these cost increases completely. But it is clear that working together can help mitigate their worst effects. This includes farmers and suppliers better understanding each other’s challenges and requirements.

Johann Tasker Editor

Call to pull together as farm input costs soar by 34%

AgInflation by input category 2022

FInflation Index – prompting calls for farmers to work together to find the best deals on prices.

watering 34.15% in the year ending 30 September 2022, according to the farmer-owned AF Group, which compiles the figures. The annual increase is way higher than the 22% increase recorded last year., it said.

show no farming enterprise has avoided double digit inflation. Seven out of nine input categories have seen double digit inflation with animal feed and medicine, fuel and fertiliser seeing greatest increases at 36%, 42.8% and 133.8% respectively.

the highest cost increases at just over 40%. Potato production costs rose by almost 40%, with dairying next at 37%. Beef and lamb producers saw costs rise bny 35%. The lowest increase was in the sugar beet sector, but event there growers saw costs rise almost 30%.

Plan ahead

AF Group chief executive David Horton-Fawkes said: “The results of our latest Aginflation index can only be described as alarming. The spiralling costs of farm inputs exceeds anything we have seen since we first published our index in 2006.”

The findings posed an existential threat to many farmers, added Mr Horton-Fawkes. The AF Group was seeing signs that some businesses were beginning to struggle. The consequences would be felt by the rest of the food supply chain, he said.

“We are urging our members to plan their cash flows and use our index to work with processors and advisors to confront these brutal facts because business as usual in 2023 is not going to be an option.

“The energy price cap will provide only temporary respite because the cap is limited and is not an open-ended commitment. Farmers are tough and

resourceful and we’ve all had our fill of doom and gloom but no one can afford to ignore these results.”

Food prices

Retail food prices are failing to compensate for higher farm costs. The total food Retail Price Index for a basket of foodstuffs has risen over the same one-year period by an average of 13.1%, according to official figures.

It is the steepest annual RPI rise since the AF Group started monitoring

ag-inflation in 2006. But it is still far below the cost increases faced by farmers. The exception is retail milk which rose 44.2% – slighting above dairy cost increases of 36.94%.

By comparison, the gap is widening between the retail price and the cost of producing many other foods.

The AF Group reports serious shortfalls for beef and lamb (18.1%); granulated sugar, bread and margarine (all about 20%); and potatoes (29.1%), the hardest hit sector of all.

Awards recognise role of apprentices

The next generation of agricultural engineers will be celebrated at this month’s Midlands Machinery Show on 16-17 November at the Newark Showground.

Like many career avenues, agricultural machinery firms sometimes struggle to recruit. The awards aim to encourage more youngsters to become agricultural engineers.

Andrew Silvester, academy manager at machinery dealer Chandlers, says the awards have an important role in helping to secure the next generation of apprentices.

“I taught agricultural engineering apprentices

for seven years at Riseholme College – the highest number was 21 at any one time,” he says.

“There’s a vast shortage of engineers in the country and across the world.”

“Students tend to learn better in the workplace because they’re mentored constantly – it’s education 24/7 really.

It’s not just learning about being an engineer, it’s learning about life at the same time as learning about the machinery, repairs and safety, adds Mr Silvester.

For more details about the show, please visit www.midlandsmachineryshow.com

The rise can only be described as alarming.

“

September and October were very busy months for us. Hectares of draining in the stubble as the harvest was finished and clients wanted their drains in before re planting.

The end of harvest always makes us a little more grey, gives us a a few more sleepless nights and moments of “ARRRRGGGHHHH”. Although we do try to smile as the phone rings for the 15th time that day with an enquiry that starts. “I have just finished my harvest and need some drains in before it comes wet. Any chance you get out tomorrow to have a look and start towards the end of the week? ” After a small explanation as to why we cant perform miracles on mass, the conversation usually ends with “Can you get to me as soon as possible then please? ” Followed by, “I knew I should have called you in March but the ground was dry back then!”

The end of September and beginning of October had us draining near Pershore for a regular client. 4 different fields spread around the estate all requiring something just a little different.

The first field had a ridge in the middle so was drained in two halves with outlets at either end through a small coppice. The second field had more gas and oil pipelines than Saudi Arabia. The third was thankfully just a field.

The fourth took a delicate touch as we had to miss another gas pipe and the freshly planted winter onions.

SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST DRAINAGE

Awards recognise high achievers

High achievers from across the Midlands were recognised at an awards ceremony last month at the House of Lords.

The English Panel of the Council for Awards of the Royal Agricultural Societies (CARAS) celebrates the achievements and contribution of individuals across food and farming. The awards were hosted by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 11 October.

Associateships of the Royal Agricultural Societies (ARAgS) were awarded to Leicestershire farmer Joe Stanley, for his contribution to farming education; solicitor Tim Russ, for pro bono legal help for farmers; Charles Smith, for building a more resilient farming community; David Ball, for business building and expansion; and Jake Freestone, for regenerative agriculture farming systems.

Fellowships of the Royal Agricultural Societies (FRAagS) were awarded to Professor Liam Sinclair, for improving the UK dairy industry through better dairy cow nutrition; and Debbie Winstanley, for her contribution to the benefit of agriculture in the fields

of pesticides management, the wider relationships of farmers, growers and retailers via collaboration, innovation and training.

The awards embrace both practical farming and the development of new husbandry practices. They also recog nise research, technology, economics, education, farming care, communica tion and administration.

Speaking at the event, awards chairman Nick Green said: “We are delighted to be able to organise such a fitting ceremony to highlight indi vidual personal achievement in such a historical and grand setting.”

A Fellowship (FRAgS) or Associate ship (ARAgS) recognises an outstand ing contribution by an individual to the understanding, efficiency and well-be ing of agriculture. There are over 800 fellows and over 350 associates.

The awards recognise personal achievement in a professional capacity. Recipients are frequently individuals of influence within Agriculture. They include farmers, academics, company directors, media practitioners, admin istrators, advisors and consultants.

Midlands included (l-r) Joe Stanley, Charles Smith MBE, Tim Russ and David Ball

Right: Recipients from the West Midlands included (l-r) Jake Freestone, Debbie Winstanley and Professor Liam Sinclair

Fordson Major marks 70th anniversary at vintage show

The Fordson Major E1A, will be cele brating its 70th anniversary at the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show this month.

Fordson fan Malcolm Booth plans to take six or seven Majors from the E1A range to the show. They will include a Fordson Ma jor Mark II 1957-58, two 1959 Power Ma jors, three blue/orange Super Majors from 1962/63 and a 1964 blue grey Super Major.

The show takes place on 5-6 November at the Newark Showground, Nottingham shire. It is expected to attract thousands of visitors – including tractor enthusiasts and collectors as well as farmers and growers.

“There is a picture of me sitting on a Ford son Major when I was about two,” says Mal colm. “Dad always had a smallholding and I’ve been collecting and working on them since the late 1970s. I had my first one in 1983 – a 1957 Mark II.

“My own son Thomas started restoring his first tractor at seven years old. It had come in for scrap. He spent all his holidays, nights and weekends scraping and clean ing it. I didn’t have the heart to scrap it and he restored it over the next seven years.”

Malcolm lives in Nettleham, Lincolnshire.

He acquires vintage tractors because he is passionate about them – not to make money.

“It is a hobby. I’ll never make money by fully restoring them because of the cost,” he says.

“I get people ringing up asking me to restore a tractor but when I tell them the price it is more than the tractor is worth. I have to be straight with them.”

James Hardstaff, who farms 800ha at Lindby, Nottinghamshire, has never missed a Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show since it started 20 years ago. He expects to take 6-10 Fordson tractors to this year’s event.

“There were a lot of derivatives of the Fordson Major,” he says. “We still use it in a small way for grass topping but restoring them is a hobby. ”

Thomas Booth and with one of his family’s many Fordson Majors

Arable

Four key soil nutrients are 'deficient' in the Midlands

• Tissue test can reveal shortfall

• Knock-on effect on crop yields

• Tailored applications can help

Growers are being encouraged to take steps to boost their crops after testing identified deficien cies in four key nutriends.

Soils in the Midlands are frequent ly deficient in magnesium, zinc, man ganese, and sulphur, according to crop nutrition company FMC. It collected 3,600 cereal crop samples over five years – including 265 tissue samples from crops in the Midlands.

FMC is conducting extensive tis sue tests to better support growers in tackling nutritional deficiencies. It says nutrition plays a crucial role in crop development, particularly in the winter months when plants need to build resilience.

FMC commercial technical man ager Chris Bond says “Tissue testing gives an accurate snapshot of where crops are nutritionally at that time, and samples from the Midlands have allowed us to identify which nutrient deficiencies are commonly being seen.

“From this data, we have a very clear picture on which nutrients crops across the region may be deficient in; we therefore can then use this infor mation to advise growers on the most accurate nutritional application pro gramme.”

Magnesium

Some 75% of crop samples from the region were found to have below op timum levels of magnesium – an im portant micronutrient for crops which plays a vital role in photosynthesis the release of energy stored in the form of ATP

“It’s an influential nutrient for

Crops could be at heightened risk of deficiency, says Chris Bond.

Below: Crops should be tissue tested ahead of key spray timings. Picture: Blackthorn Arable

crop development. Although magne sium deficiencies aren’t always obvi ous, growers can avoid severe issues if they apply foliar products contain ing the nutrient ahead of key growth timings.”

Zinc

In addition to magnesium, 74% of Mid lands crop samples were found to be deficient in zinc. “Iit’s important for root development and grain quality, meaning cereal crops will benefit from top-ups throughout the season,” says Mr Bond.

Manganese

Tissue testing also identified above av erage levels of deficiencies in manga nese across crops in the region.

“Manganese is vital for nitrogen assimilation and energy release. Like magnesium, manganese is important for photosynthesis and therefore plant growth, as it’s involved in the process of chlorophyll synthesis.”

Sulphur

Lastly, the testing found that 55% of crop samples had a below optimum lev el of sulphur – an important nutrient

Drilling for oil?

•

the

in their cells, they aren’t going to be able to utilise the nitrogen applied through NPK ap plications as efficiently as they could.

“So, if growers are spending mon ey on these applications, it would be worthwhile also considering sulphur fertiliser, and levels can be boosted via foliar applications.”

Nr Bond says this is especially im portant for wheat crops because sul phur is an important nutrient for building proteins in the plant.

Nutritional deficiencies

Mr Bond advises growers to apply fo liar nutrition at crucial timings in the growth season – such as ahead of win ter dormancy – to reduce the risk of de ficiencies impacting crop development.

A range of foliar products are avail able to growers, all with different for mulations.

“For example, applying a product such as Root 66, which contains mag nesium and manganese, or Cereal Plus

which contains a broad spectrum of key nutrients for cereals, at the key spray timings will pay dividends for crop development.”

But Mr Bond also encourages grow ers to keep on top of nutritional analy sis, by carrying out tissue testing and soil sampling, as there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to crop nutrition.

“Crop nutrition can be complex as there are a number of reasons why nu tritional deficiencies may occur,” he ex plains.

“Soils have significant influence over the availability of nutrients and there will be a wide range of soil types across the Midlands. Therefore, it’s likely deficiencies will be slightly dif ferent from farm to farm.”

Mr Bond says weather can also have indirect impacts on nutrition – for ex ample, increased rainfall can lead to nutrients leaching from soils.

“If growers want to create to the most accurate nutritional programme for their crops, it’s worthwhile carrying out nutritional analysis first so they can develop a tailored approach that will deliver a range of benefits for crop development throughout the season.”

Low levels of light leaf spot detected

Arapid test launched this autumn for light leaf spot in oil seed rape is already identify ing low levels of the disease with no visible signs on the plant.

Initial results from sam ples submitted since Sep tember have detected light leaf spotin varieties with resistance ratings of 5-6 de spite no evidence on the leaf, says Microgenetics, the com pany behind the SwiftDetect test.

Crop diagnostics product manager Chris Steele says the disease is out there – you just can’t see it yet.

“With a long latent period and almost microscopic ear ly symptoms, light leaf spot can be easily missed with out using a latent test. This

makes treating the disease challenging.”

SwiftDetect can detect a single cell of light leaf spot in oilseed rape from a sam ple of 10 leaves.

“It provides farmers with a cost-effective and accurate way to reveal how much dis ease is in the crop, when fun gicides will be at their most effective.”

Results are returned in one business day – helping farmers and agronomists op timise fungicide efficacy, de lay costly fungicide applica tions in low detection fields and target applications to specific fields with high and early pathogen detection.

“This can potentially re duce overall cost and min imise crop protection use,” says Mr Steele.

Autocaster helps establish legume mix for stewardship

Simple to autocast legume mixes

Cost-effective crop establishment

Option offers good fi nancial return

ANorthamptonshire arable farmer has is using his autocaster to establish legume mix fallow after moving into countryside stewardship.

Michael Gent purchased the Autocast V2 Applicator in 2021 to reduce the cost of establishing oilseed rape at GL Gent & Son, Oundle. He has now used it to establish a two-year grassfree legume fallow under higher level stewardship.

Mr Gent says the idea is proving cost-effective at improving wildlife habitats and soil health on the 500ha mixed enterprise farm he runs alongside his father John. It also meets all stewardship requirements.

He says: “Having successfully switched to autocasting in 2021 to get the rape away early and reduce some of our upfront costs, we were subsequently rewarded this summer with average yields of just over 3t/ha.

“Based on our light land, the final yield was easily in line with our historical average together with improved net profit margins based on reduced pass-

es and lower fuel costs via the Techneat autocasting system.

The next logical step wasto use the Autocast V2 to apply an AB15 two-year legume mix of vetch, red clover, lucerne, alsike clover, yellow and birdsfoot trefoil to improve soil health and provide a good entry for a first wheat planned for 2024, says Mr Gent.

“In my opinion, autocasting is the best application method for establishing most combinations of cover crops, given that they are best applied on the soil surface, rather than being drilled into the soil.

“Altering the set up on the Autocast V2 was quick and easy. It just needed a minor adjustment to the width of the seed rolls to allow for the larger legume seeds and then we simply increased the Techneat rate controller to 18kg/ha for the new mix.”

Seed from the Autocast’s 200L

The newly established cover crop legume mix

spaced equally along the full width of the combine header, says Mr Gent.

Soil moisture

“Once we’d autocasted the new legume, chopped straw covered the seed ready to conserve the moisture as we waited for the long overdue mid-August rain. After the rain had given us the required moisture, we rolled down tight.”

Mr Gent says this sealed in the moisture beneath the straw, helping the new seedlings to quickly establish.

“Autocasting is a low cost, zero till, zero carbon application system and ticks all the key boxes,” he adds.

“When combining our spring wheat, we also intend to use the Autocast V2 to establish an over-wintered cover crop mix of linseed, phacelia and clover –again fulfilling the criteria within our new higher tier scheme.”

The new cover crop mix will improve soil health and fix more nitrogen before it is desiccated to make way for a low-input spring cereal crop in 2023, says Mr Gent.

“Our SW6 over-wintered cover crop option followed by an AB14 low input spring cereal option offers a good financial return of £362/ha before grain is even taken into account creating a healthy overall profit margin.”

The Autocast V2 is mounted on the header of the Claas Lexion

Decent performance for spring beans despite drought

Spring bean yields have held up well this season – with growers reporting decent crops despite the driest summer since 1976.

Higher rainfall in early spring, low disease pressure, and earlier drilling windows after a mild winter helped many farmers during a year later dominated by extreme heat and summer drought conditions.

“Had there also been high disease pressure, it would have certainly compounded the issues already facing growers leading to much greater yield losses,” says Danny Richardson, combinable seed product specialist for the Wynnstay Group.

“That aside, it’s been a good year, particularly for those who drilled spring beans early. There’s a squeeze on soya right now which has helped increase demand for pulses, and the market for home grown protein is buoyant with good ex farm prices being paid.”

Of the newer varieties on the 2022 PGRO Descriptive list, Mr Richardson says Capri catches the eye as a high yielding, early maturing bean. It has a solid rust score,

respectable thousand seed weight and excellent standing ability.

“It ticks the right boxes for both domestic and export markets and is definitely a variety that growers need to keep onside,” says Mr Richardson.

Right strategy

Boston-based first-time Capri grower Danny Anderson, of P&N Anderson and Son, says an early drilling window of 23-24 March proved to be the right strategy as his 14ha crop of Capri raced away during April, despite a dry spring and low moisture.

“We direct drilled this time to get the seed a little deeper into the soil, allowing it to find more moisture, then rolled immediately afterwards to lock in the moisture. The Capri established very evenly and there were no bare batches.

Mr Anderson sprayed a combination of Laser plus Toil to clear up some wild oats and post emergence weeds on 10 May. The crop then successfully grew away from any smaller emerging weeds, so it was a cautionary

spray if anything, he says.

“Only one fungicide was applied post-flowering, primarily for rust and downy mildew control and we added some foliar feed to give the Capri a boost during the pre-longed dry spell. Overall the crop coped very well.”

An overall yield of 5t/ha was impressive when the Capri was cut on 29 August. “With more moisture I’ve no doubt we’d have been looking at an even higher yield,” says Mr Anderson. The potential is there for an even higher yield with slightly better weather.”

Spring bean variety Capri ticks the right boxes, says Danny Richardson

Natural. Effective. Powerful.

Root Crop Special

New organisation launched to represent potato sector

• Working together for benefit of industry

• Representing farmers and supply chain

• Voluntary membership, not compulsory

Anew organisation for the po tato sector aims to bring the industry together following votes to scrap the compulsory levy paid by growers and processors.

Called GB Potatoes, the new body will be funded by a voluntary levy. It will bring together cross-industry stakeholders through a voluntary subscription on a membership basis following the demise of AHDB Potatoes and Horticulture.

The focus aims to meet the needs of the GB potato crop across the whole supply chain. But the organisation –which is being backed by a number of key growers – will also maintain strong links with the horticulture sector.

The proposal was put together by a group of potato industry stakeholders interested to explore the opportunity for cross industry collaboration away from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

Working together

GB Potatoes chairman Mark Taylor said: “Our launch couldn’t come at a more important time for the GB Potato Industry. Working as a collective group must be the way forward if we are to both understand, and then work through these turbulent times.”

Mr Taylor said the potato industry collectively respected the outcome of ballot to scrap the compulsory levy. But he said the sector couldn’t afford to “look into a void.” A new independent industry body was needed to represent its interests and development.

“While recognising different views from across the industry, I strongly encourage everyone to engage and get involved,” said Mr Taylor.

“The Great British Potato needs to be championed.”

The levy payer vote demonstrated that AHDB had lost the consensus of industry to run and manage an industry

body. But it remained important to work with trade associations and other bodies as a collective group to promote the sector’s interests.

Rather than a new AHDB body, it was also important that Defra recognised past failings and engaged to support an acceptable alternative organisation which reflected the whole GB potato supply chain.

More inclusive

“We need a less bureaucratic, more inclusive and more appropriately funded successor that gains engagement across industry and determines what future structures and priority activities are required,” said Mr Taylor.

This vision brings together all aspects of the GB potato supply chain – growers, packers, processors, seed supply, research organisations, independent advisors, trade

associations and service providers to benefit from collaboration.

The group proposes the establishment of an “over-arching” structure so that the entire sector is represented with good governance and accountability. A cross industry foverning body is expected to will oversee this.

Focal point

GB Potatoes was keen to engage with all organisations working to the benefit of the sector, said Mr Taylor. As a focal point for the whole industry, we believe we can strengthen and complement their activity.

“Action is required now – and that’s what this new organisation brings. Industry needs leadership and a plan to move things on. We believe this proposal sets that in motion.”

“We are not re-inventing the AHDB but believe there is mutual interest in fundamental research and protecting our industry. GB Potatoes needs to demonstrate its value and continue to improve its performance and remain competitive.”

For more information, please visit www.gb-potatoes.co.uk.

The new body is being supported by a number of key growers

“Nottingham University research has proven that Quantis helps plants

to better regulate excess heat and continue to utilise available sunlight.”

Results of irrigated trials in Kent and the midlands were most noticeable in producing the greatest uplift in tuber numbers in the 50-60 mm size category. At Weobley in Herefordshire, the crop of Nectar produced 24% more tubers of marketable size and over 30% higher total tuber weight of marketable grades.

More extreme

“The results have been remarkable, but not entirely surprising given the season’s temperatures,” said Mr Cunningham.

“It must be remembered that this season was the hottest summer since 2018. These events are becoming more frequent and more extreme – which growers need to prepare for.”

£2m project to secure Net Zero potato production

A£2m project aims to change the way UK potatoes are grown, stored and transported – and ultimately secure a net zero carbon supply chain for the crop.

The Net Zero Hectare project is led by Lincolnshire-based potato supplier Branston in partnership with B-hive Innovations, Crop Systems, Lincoln University, David Armstrong Farms and the Arbikie Distillery.

Together, the partnership has secured £2.06 million in funding acquired from the government’s Farming Innovation Programme, run by Defra in cooperation with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The three-year collaborative project will work with industry experts in each part of the supply chain to idrentiy ways tackle the three key areas of emissions in growing ware potato crops: fertiliser, storage, and transport.

New approach

B-hive Innovations managing director Vidyanath Gururajan said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this funding to support our aim of net zero. Pulling different technologies to solve real world problems is at the heart of what we do at B-hive Innovations.”

Collaborating with Lincoln University, the project is trialling innovative approaches to growing potatoes. It aims to show how better crop management, including reduced tillage, improves soil composition and crop resilience much more than previously tested.

Lead researchers Sandra Varga

and Iain Gould said: “This is a unique opportunity to try something farmers usually are unable to trial due to capacity and cost limitations. The advances it could bring will significantly transform the farming industry.”

Extensive research seek to understand how by-products from the potato peeling process can be used as low-carbon fertiliser. This aims to release 80% fewer kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare than industry-standard synthetic fertilisers.

Lincolnshire farmer David Armstrong will trial the field research. “Reducing our on-farm carbon emissions is essential for the future of our planet, therefore being involved

in a project like this from the start gives us the chance to make a real difference.”

John Stirling, farmer and owner of the Arbikie Distillery in Montrose, said he was delighted to be involved in such an innovative and potentially important project.

Carbon emissions

“It is vitally important for us to look at all aspects of our carbon emissions and how we can make things better. This project gives us the opportunity to challenge some conventional thinking across all scopes and look to improve our carbon footprint substantially.”

Crop storage technology firm

Continued overleaf

From

In the field: (lr) Branston technical director Mark Willcox and B-hive managing director Vidyanath Gururajan

Root

special

Crop Systems Ltd is also part of the consortium to innovate store design to keep stored crops in optimum condition while minimising energy usage and environmental impact.

The firm is also looking at how to improve crop transport. Preconditioning potatoes ready for retail during transport could reduce storage time in warehouses. A similar system to maintain the optimum temperature could reduce potato bruising.

Crop Systems managing director Ray Andrews said: “We are proud to be involved in this important project and can’t wait to impart our potato storage knowledge and experience, helping to work towards a net-zero supply chain.”

Branston technical director Mark Willcox said: “This funding marks a significant milestone in the collaboration between Branston and B-hive and we’re incredibly excited to continue to share knowledge and innovate potato production, storage and transport.

“The project is sure to step-change the entire potato industry and leads the opportunity for dramatic change across the whole supply chain.”

Potato supplier aims for more sustainable production

Trials led by potato supplier Branston aim to help the company achieve net zero status by 2030 – benefiting producers and consumers.

Branston technical director Mark Willcox said tt was more pertinent than ever for the food industry to reduce its carbon footprint giv en the speed at which retailers were rapidly preparing climate strategies to meet the gov ernment’s net zero target by 2050.

Some 85% of consumers are making more sustainable lifestyle choices, according to De loitte – particularly when moving to a plantbased diet. Separate research shows that sustainable practices can also deliver better financial results for businesses.

Branston has continued to invest in sus tainable initiatives at all its sites. This year the company has invested over £1 million into dou bling the number of solar panels on its roofs, feeding the energy supply back into its own production facilities.

All HGV drivers have undergone addition al training to improve fuel efficiency and fol

lowing a successful trial the fleet will have bulky refrigeration units removed from the trailers during the cooler months when they are not needed.

Low-carbon fertiliser

Branston is also helping develop a low-carbon fertiliser which uses potato pulp, a by-product of their peeling process. This should release 80% less carbon than standard synthetic fer tilisers and will be fully trialled as part of the Tuber Net Zero project.

The company has already trialled an in itiative to reduce reliance on wooden boxes in the harvesting, storing and transporting of potatoes. It says removing wooden boxes will enable each lorry to carry an extra 4t of potatoes.

The transition to a box-to-bulk system will reduce transport costs, while removing the need for forklifts to load and unload lorries as well as avoiding the return of lorry loads of empty wooden boxes to farms.

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Midlands Machinery Show

Key machinery trends at fore of flagship regional event

Interest in regenerative farming is driving big changes in demand for machinery – with more farmers investing in robotics and data-based decisions.

Low disturbance tillage is becoming increasingly popular as growers as continue to move away from ploughing and embrace modern regenerative farming practices, say exhibitors preparing for this month’s Midlands Machinery Show.

“After root crops or pigs, there is certainly a place for ploughing to reset the land,” says Chandlers managing director Gavin Pell. “But many growers are moving towards regenerative systems which leave the soil profile and structure intact,”

“Some modern subsoilers have very low surface disturbance and can be used to alleviate compaction without disturbing the soil profile. For example, with the HE-VA Stealth a disc makes a cut and a leg passes through. The soil

About the event

It is a platform for agricultural businesses to showcase their latest range of tractors, machinery, services and technology to farmers, machinery operators, contractors and landowners.

An agricultural charity, NNAS objectives include promoting and organising the show, as well as supporting young people with careers in agriculture, through annual awards, including the Midlands Agricultural Engineering Apprenticeship awards.

For details, visit www.midlandsmachineryshow.com.

subsoil to relieve compaction, assist drainage, aeration, nitrogen uptake and to encourage crop rooting.”

Very shallow surface cultivators are also proving popular for stale seedbeds, he adds. “They promote weed seeds to chit. As the cost of chemicals rises some growers are using cultivators instead of glyphosate.”

With less and lighter cultivation,

“

says more farmers are looking for low disturbance direct drills that don’t compromise on quality of the seedbed. In particular, they want good seed-to -soil contact, she adds.

“The flagship Pro-Til one-pass drill offers strip tillage and direct establishment into stubble and cover crops and remains a popular choice with growers looking to reduce establishment costs compared to conventional systems.”

Popular robots

Some growers are looking at dispensing with tractors altogether in favour of robots for some applications,. The FarmDroid is a fully autonomous, solar-powered robot capable of precision drilling and weeding. It has just joined the Opico line-up.

The FarmDroid uses GPS to record exactly where it places each seed. On each subsequent weeding pass, it has no need to identify what’s a weed and what’s not – it simply knows where the crop plants should be and works around them.

“We believe robotics will form the backbone of the next major step in technological development for agriculture,” says Opico managing director James Woolway.

“While it’s early days, we’re coming to the UK market with a product that is tried and tested. The timing couldn’t be better with rising energy costs, labour issues and environmental factors at the forefront of UK farmers’ minds.

As input costs rise, Farol director Kevin Newman says efficiency is a growing trend.

“We are collecting data like fuel consumption on field operations and spray/fertiliser application information. We then use this data to pinpoint inefficiencies which we can

“At busy times on the farm, it’s easy to jump out of a tractor or machine to do a quick job which turns into a big job. By leaving the tractor/machine running operators are using fuel, eating into servicing hours and negatively affecting its residual value.”

The Midlands Machinery Show is organised by the Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society (NNAS).

JCB's Fastrac 4220 iCON will be among the exhibits at the event

The timing couldn’t be better

Double celebration for drainage experts at Newark showground

Drainage specialist Masten broek will celebrate two mile stones at this year’s Midlands Machinery Show.

The UK manufacturer of agricultural drainage trenchers will be marking the 40th anniversary of its CT12 crawler truck and the first birthday of its innovative Magic Eye package at this month’s event.

The Mastenbroek Magic Eye package was developed to improve the accuracy of backfill levels when installing drainage schemes. It uses a radar sensor to control the amount of gravel or sand dispensed by the hopper when backfilling.

Available as an optional extra on Mastenbroek’s trenchers and retrofittable to any machine with a suitable hydraulic variable height gravel hopper, the Magic Eye regulates itself to the ground level, ensuring the optimum amount of gravel is dispensed.

“We developed the Magic Eye in response to requests from agricultural drainage contractors for an automated way of minimising wastage,” says Mastenbroek commercial director Christopher Pett.

“Gravel is increasingly expensive, and in the past, some contractors have found it difficult to ensure they are laying it effectively and accurately. The Magic Eye ensures that contractors are using just the right amount of gravel and is very easy to use.”

Crawler truck

Designed in 1982, the CT12 crawler truck has proved incredibly popular with agricultural drainage contractors.

It has been refined over the years –most recently this summer when it incorporated a larger, full-width tipping hopper to reduce spillages when loading.

The hopper is fully visible when the operator cabin is raised to its highest position, and its variable speed conveyor provides a free-flow discharge for aggregates of varying viscosity.

As well as allowing the operator to place materials into trenches accurately, the hopper means the CT12 can be used as a dump truck to, for example, haul aggregate along pipeline rights of way.

At the front of the CT12, Mastenbroek’s variable height, variable speed, 180-degree swing conveyor makes it easy for the operator to place backfill material directly into a trench or the hopper mounted on the trencher.

Inside the specially designed cabin,

Mastenbroek is celebrating two anniversaries this year

the controls have been brought closer to hand and feature an improved ergonomic design. Mastenbroek has also replaced the manual levers found on previous models with electronic track controls.

With colder days in mind, Mastenbroek is now fitting heated windows to the front and right-hand side. The 2022 CT12 can also be specified with a 360-degree camera system to provide the operator with complete visibility of their surroundings.

This year, a new front-mounted ladder provides easy access to radiator levels, with side-mounted wideopening doors facilitating access to the CT12’s 248hp Volvo Penta D8 eightlitre six-cylinder engine.

Mastenbroek has now mounted the hydraulic oil cooler independently to the engine radiator, with both having opening grills for easy access.

Pallet protection system aims to set the Pace

Pace Mechanical Handling will put the spotlight on an innovative new protection system for palletised products at this year’s Midlands Machinery Show.

It follows a partnership with TMI – one of Spain’s leading bagging, palletising and wrapping machinery manufacturers. The Midlands event is PACE’s first appearance at an agricultural show since agreeing to represent TMI in the UK this summer.

Latest innovation

Established in 2000, TMI offers a range of end-of-line machines, used manufacturing companies in 25 countries. Pace will use the Midlands event to showcase TMI’s latest innovation – the Ilerbox – a protection system for palletised products.

The Ilerbox automatic wrapping system places a protective layer of corrugated cardboard around the pallet. It is then stretch-wrapped securely to protect the product in transit and storage – reducing the

pallet boxes used.

“We are very much looking forward to talking to Midlands Machinery Show visitors about it and our own range of robotic palletising and mechanical handling solutions,” says Nick Cesare, managing director at Pace Mechanical Handling.

“The shortage of labour is one of the most significant challenges faced by packers today.

“By introducing robotic packing, it is possible to reduce the number of people needed, increase throughput and lower downtime.”

Pace has been designing, installing and servicing automated packing solutions since 1996. It has worked with more than 200 growers and packers, automating the packing of potatoes, carrots and onions.

The company offers a range of robots – from pick and place up to specialist heavy lifting models.

Machines are build and developed by Pace’s own team of fabricators, software engineers and designers.

reduces the number

palletised

boxes used

The Ilerbox

Big interest expected in seaweed-based biostimulant

ALincolnshire company says it is an ticipating a tidal wave of interest in its seaweed-based biostimulant at this year’s Midlands Machinery Show.

Rising fertiliser prices, challenging weather conditions and increasing desire to use natural products have seen sales of Algifol surpass 6,000 litres per year – a 33% increase in sales over the past 12 months.

Distributed in the UK by MJP Supplies, Algifol is derived from brown algae, which is dried and refined. The result is a natural liquid containing trace elements, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, carbohydrates, polyuronides and growth-regulating plant hormones.

“It’s not only new customers behind the surge in sales,” says Marcus Palmer, owner of MJP Supplies. “We’ve also benefited from lots of repeat orders from growers who have seen the benefits of using Algifol first hand.”

Drought conditions

Sales have been bolstered by high fertiliser prices – caused by Russia’s invasion of

Focus on machinery to reduce input costs

Farmers and contractors are showing more interest in machinery and equip ment to farm more sustainably and reduce production costs.

Better efficiency and lower input costs are increasingly important in the face of high in put costs, say exhibitors preparing for the Midlands Machinery Show.

Visitors to show will be able to get plen ty of advice from farm business consultants, while also seeing the machinery up close and talking to equipment manufacturers.

“People are interested in machinery that will help them be more efficient and reduce input costs, while still allowing them to con tinue with the same farming system,” says Alex Olivant, farm business consultant at Active Business Partnerships.

“A lot of people are looking at fertiliser spreaders so they can use variable rate ap plications, and also direct drills, which used

Ukraine. Drought this summer have also seen more growers turn to biostimulants.

As well as an increasing number of farmers, there is a growing appreciation of biostimulants among agronomists, such as John Carney, of Carney Agricultural Services, who has recommended Algifol to his clients since 2018.

“We have sold seaweed products to farmers and growers for over 40 years and have always kept to products that are sourced solely from the correct plants and extracted without losing natural ingredients,” says Mr Carney.

“We supply Algifol to our customers as a nutrient enhancer to the minerals already available to the plant. Biostimulants are best used before ‘fire-engine’ remedies are needed and are applied regularly during the growing season.”

“This is particularly so with fruit growing, where the evidence of quality is easily visible. Where any quality measurements such as tuber size, sugar content or grain specific gravity are made, Algifol has always been shown to be an essential ingredient.”

Better efficiency

“There is 100% more interest in efficiency and what the new environmental schemes will push towards. Better efficiency is bet ter for the environment and your back pock et, so it’s a win-win.”

Sam Tugwell, a regional advisor at Vel court who covers a large area in and around Leicestershire, helped a number of clients last winter to access government capital

grant for reduced input machinery, like di rect drills,” says Mr Tugwell. “It wasn’t peo ple who were having a wholesale change to the way they farm, it was those who were up grading their existing direct drills.”

Farmers are also showing interest in in ter-row hoes for cereal crops, and rotary hoes that remove weeds from standing crops. The trend for machinery that reduces inputs and environmental impact to increase in the com ing years, says Mr Tugwell.

Marcus Palmer of MJP Supplies at last year's Midlands Machinery Show

Technology

Croptec

Two-day event focuses on cost control and resilience

The latest machinery and tech nology will be exhibited at this month’s CropTec show, which returns to the East of England Show ground on 23-24 November.

Celebrating its 10th year at the Peterborough venue, the event will include networking and discussion opportunities – as well as valuable updates about developments across the arable sector.

“CropTec’s seminar programme is renowned for bringing together the industry’s top experts, policymakers and most successful farmers and this year is no exception,” says event manager Gareth Jones.

“In our 10th year we were particularly keen to deliver a schedule providing the chance for farmers to invest in their knowledge and give practical insight into controlling costs and cultivating business resilience.”

Coping with change is the focus of the first seminar sessions. With aginflation continuing to rise, speakers will tackle some of the most pressing questions around cost management in the arable sector.

Expert line-up Speakers will include Harry Henderson of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, agribusiness advisor Carl Atkin of consultants Terravost; and Cambridgeshire arable farmer Ed Reynolds.

Further sessions will explore how new technology and data can help growers and agronomists control fertiliser costs – and how farmers can generate revenue from delivering environmental deliverables on-farm.

Experts on hand for advice will include George Cook from Andersons and Michael Kavanagh from Green Farm Collective and Liz Reddy of ADAS.

Specialist hubs will explore subjects including Water (sponsored by Anglian Water), IPM (AHDB), Natural Capital (Trinity AgTech) and Digital Farming (Bayer). Each hub has its own schedule and experts on hand for one-to-one discussion and questions.

The Training Zone provides visitors

with practical information, advice and inspiration on career development. It will include a number of sessions, including best practice in agrochemical applications.

BASIS head of environment Teresa Meadows will discuss the importance of continuous training for farmers. She will introduce BASIS’s new course Principles of Sustainable Land Management and how it supports the transition to ELMS.

BASIS as head of operations Andy Brooks will speak about how BASIS courses link to education. Sprayer Operator of the Year Steve May will explain how BASIS helped develop his career.

A sprayer demonstration will once again give farmers the opportunity to experience a working demo of the latest spraying equipment. Tickets are free and available now at www.croptecshow.com.

The CropTec show is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month

How to improve your farm business

Organisers say CropTec will inspire and inform visitors with the latest technol ogy, innovations and thinking to enable them to improve their businesses.

Stand space in the event’s four halls has now 80% sold out with an exciting number of first-time exhibitors including RAGT, Trinity Ag, Rhiza, YC Agro, RH3S, Eurofins, Thomas Bell and PES technologies.

Water, natural capital and digital farming will all be under the spotlight at three new ‘Hubs’. AHDB will also be returning to update visitors on its latest findings via a series of bitesized seminars at its Knowledge Hub.

The new Training Zone will showcase the

many and varied opportunities for professional development while the Ag-Tech Zone will focus on the latest technological innovations to improve efficiency and sustainability.

Trinity Agtech head of marketing Jacob Dowling says: “Carbon is on everyone’s mind – and many of those minds will be confused. We chose to sponsor the Natural Capital Knowledge Hub as a means of relieving some of that confusion.

“Our Knowledge Hub will explore the latest thinking on farm carbon and natural capital – and ways to generate income from those initiatives, whether through natural capital trading or provenance-backed produce.”

Seminars tackle arable sector's biggest issues

Arable experts will tackle the biggest challenges facing Brit ish farming in an exciting sem inar programme marking the CropTec show’s 10th anniversary.

Bringing together practical knowhow and scientific research the ses sions will help growers future-proof their businesses in a number of are as likely to be of interest to a range of growers. They include:

• Coping with change: Costs, environ

•

•

•

"As farmers grapple with

diesel, there has never been a better

time to discuss cost management, said Abi Kay, head of news at Farmers Guardian, who will be chairing the Coping with Change session.

Fewer chemicals

Another pressure point being ad dressed is the loss of agri-chemicals for combatting plant diseases and pests.

A strong line-up of speakers will be on hand for advice

The withdrawal of some products may be further exacerbated by the effects of climate change.

Eastern region NIAB agronomist Andrew Watson will be on the panel to discuss strategies for disease control. “It looks highly likely that tebuconazole, and some other related ingredients, will be banned in the UK within

two years,” he said.

“Teb is really the only pesticide that can quickly eradicate yellow and brown rust already established in a wheat crop. If it is banned, around a third of the current recommended list winter wheat varieties may be too risky to grow. Integrated control of yellow rust is possible, however planning and risk management are key.”

As costs of inputs continue to rise, farmers are under increasing pressure to improve efficiencies. NFU combinable crops board chairman Matt Culley says plenty of advice will be on hand during his Trusting Data session, which is sponsored by YARA.

Crop nutrition

“It has never been more important to get crop nutrition right, which means not just focussing on nitrogen, but also potassium, phosphorus, and sulphur. My aim is to help growers learn a bit more about the technologies available and ways that they can get the best out of the fertiliser that they will use next spring.”

A session on Maximising Natural Capital will round off the 2022 CropTec Show seminar series. This session aims

Knowledge and practical insight

“CropTec’s seminar programme is renowned for bringing together the industry’s top experts, policymakers and most successful farmers and this year is no exception,” says event manager Gareth Jones.

“In our 10th anniversary year, we were particularly keen to deliver a schedule providing the chance for farmers to invest in their knowledge and give practical insight into costcutting and cultivating business resilience.”

will help farmers understand how they can make the most of new opportunities. Itw will be chaired by ADAS policy and economics director Liz Lewis-Reddy.

“

Some wheat may be too risky to grow

“My goal is for this session is to break down some barriers and help others overcome their resistance to environmental markets and natural capital, and instead see them as an opportunity for the long-term viability of the agricultural sector.

“Every farm has natural capital and is generating environmental goods and services, so this is not necessarily about fundamental change. This is about revealing that existing value, maximising its production potential and turning it into something that works.”

Could robots be the future of slug control?

Robots are being used to track down and destroy slugs – saving growers time and money while reducing crop damage.

It follows work funded by Innovate UK – bringing together the Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) agritech centre, the Small Robot Company and farming enterprise AV&N Lee – to explore new cost-effective and environmentallyfriendly ways to control the pest.

The SlugBot monitors the exact location of slugs in the field – and then spot-sprays a small amount of bio-molluscide to destroy the pest. Project leader Jenna Ross said: “Excitingly, we’ve shown that it soon could be reality.”

More than 1600 slugs were collected during the first stage of the project –

focusing the grey field slug and the Spanish slug. Image data was collected across a wide range of enivronments and scenarios.

For stage two, slug-mapping capabilities were trialled in the field using the Small Robot Company’s ‘Tom’ robot. This included testing Tom’s ability to take images, upload them or identification, and then triggering the spray application.

A final stage focused on developing the precision spraying capabilities of the robot, and trialing its use with a biological control agent. Rather than spraying a large area, the final

The SlugBot team who have developed the precision spraying system

protoype was able to spray 20x20cm square – reducing the cost.

Small Robot Company product manager Andy Hall said: “We can detect and map slugs in a field using our monitoring Tom robot and also an on-robot precision detect and spray system, which can be used to spray slugs in real time.”

The work has also proven the potential of autonomous monitoring and precision application within broadacre arable crops. The platform could be adapted to include new data sets to target a wide range of weeds, pests and diseases.

Yara – Your partner for complete crop nutrition

Find out how to reduce risk in your fertiliser management strategy

Come and talk to us at Midlands Machinery Show on stand 14. Our experts will be on hand to advise how you can build yield resilience and maximise potential. We are also exhibiting at Croptec 2022, please come and visit us on stand 1.300.

Hands-free Farm team marks six years of success

Ateam of researchers who set out to prove that robots could be the future of farming is celebrating its sixth anniversary.

Based at Harper Adams University –and in the Agri EPI Midlands Innovation hub – the Hands-free Farm team started out growing wheat on a 1ha field. It now operates across a 35ha robotic farm.

This autumn, the team joined 50 researchers, sponsors and VIP guests to celebrate what was the world’s first autonomous agriculture project – and look forward to the next steps in their mission to transform global agriculture.

The event came shortly after the Handsfree Farm completed its 2022 harvest – its sixith without operators in the driving seats or agronomists on the ground – at the AgriEPI Centre on the Harper Adams campus.

Global reach

Harper Adams vice-chancellor Ken Sloan said the global reach of the project – led by Kit Franklin – had captured his interest in autonomous agricultural vehicles while he was in his previous role at Monash University in Australia.

“We are really keen to talk about the project – not just what is happening now, but some of the next steps as well. As Kit has reminded me, this is not something the university could have done in isolation – and I look forward to collaborating in the future.”

The project, which has come on in leaps and bounds, has been run in partnership between Harper Adams and Precision Decisions, along with the UK division of Australian precision agriculture

specialist Farmscan AG.

Organisations who have visited and worked with the farm include the British Standards Institute, NFU Mutual, OFCOM, and the Health and Safety Executive – as well as the Princess Royal and former Defra secretary Michael Gove.

Huge interest

The Hands-free Farm has won numerous awards and garnered huge media interest. But Mr Franklin said its true value had been in driving forward commercial research, policy development and learning for Harper Adams students across a variety of courses.

Mr Franklin added: “Going forward, the project as is comes to an end – but we have a unique opportunity to keep learning, and to learn more. We have some fairly unconventional equipment, but with this sort of equipment and this sort of land, it opens the farm – right here, right now – to starting an autonomous strip crop field here on the Harper Adams site.”

As this new project develops, academics will work with the Hands-free Farm team to examine everything from soil quality to insect life and biodiversity on the site, which will be prepared for spring crops to be harvested in early 2023.

Build profitability and sustainability at CropTec

Agronomy company Hutchinsons will showcase ways growers can meet the challenges of rising costs and uncer tainty at this year’s CropTec event.

Visitors to the Hutchinsons stand will be able to discover how the firm’s services and technologies can build more resilient farming systems that harness natural processes and reduce the need for artificial inputs.

This will include trialling and testing regenerative practices on its Helix Agroecology farm. A year into the project, Hutchinsons will explain how the findings can be adopted on to different farms in ways that are practical, profitable and sustainable.

Soil health is widely recognised as a

cornerstone of sustainable farming systems. Hutuchinsons says it is key to understand your soil before making any significant structural or operational changes.

The company’s TerraMap soil scanning system provides the most accurate and repeatable soil mapping available

This can now be aligned with TerraMap Gold – a comprehensive soil analysis which provides soil nutritional and management service,

The Omnia Digital Farming platform has continued to evolve and develop offering a range of innovative new developments using farm data, such as Cost of Production and Yield Performance mapping, Terramap,

Carbon mapping and E-Seed.

The most recent of these is the Business Performance planning module which uses this data to cost out a range of potential cropping and machinery scenario’s in terms of both financial and CO2 equivalent performance.

Omnia also now provides a management platform to complete all SFI Soil standard requirements in a functional and easy way, allowing farmers to improve their soil health and gain their SFI Soils Standard payment.

To ensure it remains up-to-date as scheme requirements change, further updates are planned to accommodate the wider release of other SFI measures, including the Advanced Standard which is due in 2024.

Livestock

Farmers urged to test silage after challenging season

Plan to maximise value of forage

Drought boosts dry matter values

Promote optimum fi bre digestion

Beef and dairy farmers are being urged to draw up plans to make the most of this year’s ‘mixed bag’ silage following the drought-hit summer.

Lientjie Colahan (pictured), technical sales support at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, says farmers should get silage tested and plan winter diets accordingly following one of the hottest and driest summers on record.

The plea comes as the Met Office confirmed that summer 2022 was the driest since 1976 and the UK’s warmest on record. Many areas went months without rain as temperatures soared for weeks on end.

Mixed bag

“It’s really a mixed bag this year in terms of forage quality and availability so it’s important for farmers to get their silage analysed so they can draw up plans to maximise the value of the forage available to them,” says Mrs Colahan.

“Some farmers have got very dry silage, which could influence intakes; some will be short of silage for the winter having produced lower volumes; and others have been forced to start

feeding their winter feedstocks early due to a lack of grass growth.”

In many cases, farmers will be faced with high dry matter (DM) silage, which Mrs Colahan likens to eating a dry breakfast cereal without any milk. “Steps will need to be taken to improve forage palatability to ensure adequate feed intake,” she says.

“Sorting can also be an issue in high DM total mixed rations – increasing the risk of digestive upsets and acidosis which can severely hamper rumen function and feed efficiency.”

Adding water to the ration can be a simple, yet effective option for dealing with this. In instances where silage is wet Mrs Colahan says cows will need to eat a higher total volume of silage to receive the same DM as they would get from drier silage.

“This can result in lower dry matter intakes (DMIs) due to the bulk fill of water from the silage,” adds Ms Colahan.

Optimum fibre

“Wet silage also tends to create an increased acid load in the

Forage quality and quality are a 'mixed bag' this year.

rumen, due to higher lactic acid concentrations in the silage, so farmers should look to balance wet silage with drier silages such as wholecrop cereal silage where available.”

Farmers also need to be thinking about promoting optimum fibre digestion in the rumen, says Mrs Colahan. This leads to higher production, more fertile and healthier animals and improved margins.

“There are several practical ways to optimise fibre digestion, including feeding more often, pushing up regularly, offering a cool, stable and palatable ration, and avoiding overcrowding at the feed face to maximise eating.”

Live yeast

Mycotoxins could pose challenge in maize

Dairy farmers are being encouraged to look for signs of mycotoxins when feeding maize this winter to avoid a reduction in performance.

BCW Agriculture agronomist Dave Harris, says growing conditions suggest this year’s maize is at higher risk of mycotoxin contamination, which could hamper milk production.

“There’s an increased risk of mycotoxin problems due to the dry weather and higher levels of bird damage in crops,” adds Mr Harris. “Many crops have a dry matter (DM) of 40% or above, increasing the risk of heating and mould

formation once opened.”

The stover opened early in many maize crops, letting in birds and insects. Wet weather which followed increased the risk of mycotoxins. Producers should work closely with their nutritionist, says Mr Harris.

Farmers concerned about mycotoxins in their maize this winter and could find it useful to test silage to assess the risk. They should also consider using a proven bacterial inoculants that can minimise the development of mycotoxins for next year.

She says including live yeast in the ration is also another way of improving fibre digestion. Rumenspecific live yeast can enhance ruminal microbiota establishment, balance the rumen environment and improve fermentation conditions.

“This helps control rumen pH, reducing the risk of acidosis and significantly improves fibre digestibility within the rumen, as well as overall feed efficiency.”

Cows fed using Lallemand’s rumenspecific live yeast – Levucell SC – as part of their ration experienced an average increase in milk yields of 1.1kg a day as well as a 3% improvement in feed efficiency.

to protect cattle from parasites at housing

1. Identify the parasite risk

Taking an evidence-based approach using diagnostic tests at strategic times can help you assess the parasite risk, disease status and need for treatment.

Faecal egg count tests to detect worms and coproantigen tests for fluke should be used in combination with farm history, symptoms and post-mortem information to determine the issue and whether there is a worm burden, fluke burden, or both – a mixed burden.

Cattle may also present symptoms such as scours in younger cattle due to worms,

hair loss or scratching from ectoparasites or coughing from lungworm, for example. Speak to your vet about the most appropriate diagnostic test and any symptoms your stock encounters.

2. Treatment timing

Housing is a stressful time due to the change in housing, diet and mixing of groups. By eliminating parasites at this time, you are reducing the burden on the animal and stress by only handling the cattle once. This also cuts labour costs and saves you time.

3. Treatment choice

Treatment will depend on the parasites present. For a mixed parasite burden, a combination product such as Cydectin TriclaMox Cattle Pour-On will treat gutworms, lungworm, lice, as well as late immature and adult fluke.

Treatment choice will also be influenced by the animal's age and purpose, with meat and milk withdrawal times something that should be considered. It is vital to always work with your animal health care provider when drawing up a parasite control plan.

Protecting cattle will maximise growth during the initial housing period by removing the worm burden. It will also reduce the fluke burden. Animals can then be tested for fluke before turnout to confirm if further treatment is needed to reduce fluke egg output at turnout.

4. Correct application

Administering the treatment correctly is essential for it to work properly and delay the development of resistant worms. Ideally, all animals should be weighed and dosed according to their individual

-

-

Tub

weight. Dosing equipment should be calibrated and thoroughly cleaned between use.

5. Monitoring stock during housing

It is vital to continually monitor stock throughout the housing period to ensure they are performing at their best and to nip any health issues in the bud.

In cases where cattle have not been treated at housing for parasites, diagnostic tests should be performed during housing to prevent stock from overwintering liver fluke and risking pasture contamination at turnout.

Clover could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions

New varieties of clover will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions through improved nitrogen fixation – and boost farm performance.

That was the message at a ‘Net Zero for Productive Grasslands’ seminar hosted by Germinal and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at this year’s Countryside COP event.

“Clovers can fix between 100-380kg of nitrogen per hectare per year,” said David Lloyd, head of plant breeding for Germinal Horizon – Germinal’s research and innovation division based at IBERS.

“When fixed at the higher end of this range, there is enough nitrogen to support high production livestock systems. It is therefore possible to replace the vast amounts of nitrogen fertiliser applied to UK grasslands with cloverproduced nitrogen.

“This could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.4 million tonnes CO2 equivalent, and at current prices, could save UK farmers £904 million per year.”

To achieve this, clover needs to fix nitrogen at the highest possible level, said Dr Lloyd.

Germinal was developing improved clover varieties for climate-smart solutions, he added, as well as improving clover’s use of phosphorus.

“Phosphorus is a limited resource and its mining and production leave a significant carbon footprint – yet legumes like clover traditionally require phosphorus to reach yield potentials.”

Longer life

Clover varieties with a longer life span could also reduce emissions – by reducing the need to establish swards so frequently, he added. “We need to reduce how often we plough, and how much we disturb the soil.

“One way is to breed more persistent varieties which are productive for longer.

“With older clover varieties you would expect only a two-year lifespan – yet newly bred varieties like AberClaret can last five years.”

Further advances in this area included breeding disease and pest resistant clover varieties, said Mr Lloyd.

Developing seed coating technologies would speed up establishment and further reduce the need for ploughing.

Energy Efficiency Audits

Professional services

Carbon could unlock valuable farm income

• Potential payments are worth £500m

• Confidence needed to enter market

• Farmers require better information

Farmers could benefit from pay ments worth up to £500m eve ry year if myths around carbon are corrected, say experts.

Growers could top-up their annual incomes by thousands of pounds if they monetise the carbon they capture each year through sustainable farming practices like reducing the intensity of their tillage and planting cover crops.

Speaking at a carbon round table event, more than 20 experts from across agriculture discussed ways to correct misunderstandings about how carbon markets work so more growers feel confident to enter the market.

Carbon programme

Top of the list was how to help producers realise that carbon markets pay for carbon saved or added to the soil onfarm each year a farmer participates in a carbon programme — not for carbon locked in the soil in the distant past.

Farmer Andrew Randall, who hosted the round table on his 320ha

arable farm, signed up to Soil Capital’s carbon payment scheme earlier this year – after researching the market and realising much of what he’d heard about carbon markets was incorrect.

Mr Randell told attendees he expects to make about £50/ha in his first year by utilising sustainable farming practices.

These include direct drilling, multispecies cover crops, reducing nitrogen use and spreading organic matter across 240ha of his business.

“When people started talking about carbon payments I realised we were ticking a lot of boxes with our planned practices and that we could capitalise on that,” he said.

“A lot of the farm-level chat has been ‘don’t sell the rights to all the carbon under your feet’, which is a huge myth that needs to be busted.

I’m not selling a bank of carbon – I’m benefitting annually from the practices we do on farm.

Generating income

“If we don’t benefit financially from those environmental gains we’re making, it’s simply a wasted opportunity. From now until next harvest, what happens in the field above and below ground is what we’re being rewarded for.”

Mr Randell said he was net sequestering at least 2t/ha of carbon annually by adapting his farm’s rotation, increasing cover crops, spreading organic matter one year in six, and reducing nitrogen use.

“From Soil Capital’s calculations, that will hopefully see us make over £10,000 this year, which is a useful way of starting to get back what we’re losing from the basic payment scheme.”

“If we don’t capitalise on the opportunity now, we don’t benefit from all of the improvements we’re making on farm to become more sustainable.”

Certificates

Lack of good information means UK farmers are lagging behind growers in countries like France and Belgium when it comes to monetising carbon, suggested Andrew Voysey, head of carbon at Soil Capital, which organised the round table event. The company helps farmers create new income streams by monetising carbon.

“British growers should understand that carbon certificates can be bought by crop buyers, not just high-emitting businesses unrelated to farming.”

Trinity AgTech grows farm support team

Carbon calculator and natural capital trading company Trinity AgTech has recruited two new employees to help farmers measure, optimise and generate an income from their natural capital assets.

Scott Millar and Louise Rix will work with farmers who are looking to build their business resilience, profitability and sustainability. Mr Millar will work with livestock and dairy customers; while Ms Rix will support arable and horticulture customers.

Arable farmer Andrew Randell expects to make £50/ha in his first year

Farmers plan to diversify to boost farm incomes

• Goal to create new revenue streams

• Cost of living crisis fuels uncertainty

• Diversification hub to advise farmers

More farmers plan to boost their incomes by diversify their businesses to gener ate additional revenue streams.

Farmers see diversification providing a larg er part of their incomes over the longer terms, but they are holding back on investment due to uncertainty over government support, accord ing to research from NFU Mutual.

Some 37% of UK farmers plan to increase di versification over the next five years, up 3% on 2021’s figures, according to the rural insurer’s annual diversification survey which was pub lished last month.

But many farmers are waiting for details of forthcoming farm support schemesbfroe taking the plunge. The drop of 4% to 33% this year fol lows a sharp increase in 2021 when farmers pushed ahead with diversification plans after the coronavirus pandemic.

New opportunities

A further NFU Mutual poll shows that most farmers (46%) are currently diversifying to boost farm incomes, with safeguarding their farm’s future the second most common reason (29%).

Other reasons for diversifying are providing new opportunities for family members (18%) while 7% are seeking to make use of redundant farm buildings. But some are reluctant to invest because of the cost of living crisis.

NFU Mutual farm insurance specialist Chris Walsh said: “For many farmers, diversification is now essential to keep a decent income flow ing into their business with high input costs se riously affecting profitability in every sector of agriculture and horticulture.

“Farm diversification is a sophisticated sec tor of the rural economy, providing significant income and employment opportunities. It givess the public the chance to visit the heart of our spectacular countryside and enjoy our excellent food straight from the grower.

Staycations

Research carried out with over 1,650 farmers across the UK earlier this year found that income from diversification represented 12% of a farm business’ total income – down from 16% in 2021.

While a post-lockdown staycation boom sup ported income from agricultural tourism, a rise

in farm output prices pushed overall farm in come above the previous year’s figure, explained Mr Walsh.

Against a background of uncertainty over new farm payments and more recently an ex pected new direct support scheme, 11% of farm ers yet to diversify say they now plan to do so in the next five years.

Future farm diversification plans are also being radically changed by the energy crisis. NFU Mutual’s latest poll reveals that seven in ten respondents (72%) believe that renewables are now the enterprise most likely to be success ful in the future.

Popular

Camping, glamping, caravan sites, B&B and hol iday cottages are the most popular diversifica tions developed by farmers, suggests the NFU Mutual research. In joint second place was re newable energy together with non-holiday prop erty letting.

Mr Walsh said : “Farmers’ renewable ener gy schemes are providing an increasing amount of the nation’s power, reducing reliance on fos sil fuels and helping us towards the net car bon zero goal.

“We’re not surprised to see that some farm ers have put a hold on their plans while wait ing for more details of an expected new govern ment farm support scheme. For new ventures involving the public, such as holiday accommo dation, food processing and retailing,

Mr Walsh said it was vital to assess the like ly impact of the cost-of-living crisis on public spending. NFU Mutual had launched a new Di versification Hub to help farmers understand the opportunities and risks involved, he added.

Financial planning key to success

A financial planning review is a key part of launching a successful di versication, say business analysts.

Partnership and Sharehold er agreements, Wills, and Protec tion cover should all be revisited to make sure they reflect the diversi fied business. Diversifying can also have significant impacts on your in heritance tax liabilities.

NFU Mutual chartered finan cial planner Sean McCann said: “Not only can diversification open up new sources of revenue, it can also offer business opportunities to younger members of the family.

But Mr McCann said it was im portant to consider the inheritance tax implications before making any changes. This could ensure farm ing families avoid a large and un expected tax bill in the future.

“A key requirement in securing Agricultural Property Relief is that the land or buildings must be occu pied for agriculture, so converting farm buildings and letting them out for non-agricultural use will nor mally mean that APR is lost.

To get Business Property Relief, the land or buildings must normal ly be used for trading rather than investment purposes. Diversifica tions that involve collecting rent with minimal management or pro vision of services, are less likely to qualify for BPR.

Holiday cottages are among

most popular

Licence to kill

Any attempt to send a paper application will be rejected, I discovered recently.

Before you ask, not having your own computer does not excuse you from this new process. I was advised to ask a trusted friend or tech-savvy family member to help. Or I could use the computer at my public library.

Unfortunately, my local library closed down several years ago.

digital photo quickly enough. Then, once I had solved this particular puzzle, the photo failed to appear on the screen in time to complete the process.

Doctor’s orders

So far as I know, I’m in full control of my faculties – and I have no mental or physical conditions that prevent me from having procession of shotguns or a licence to hold one.

But after nearly 50 years dealing with shotguns, it now appears vermin control is beyond people of a certain age. Try to obtain a licence today and the boys in blue will insist you apply online, refusing to accept paper applications for shotguns or firearms.

I was then informed that I might be entitled me to complete a paper form if I had a valid “protected characteristic” under the 2010 equality act. If so, I could contact my local police force and they would consider my request on an individual basis.

Big decision

What this means I am unsure. But it is not good enough to say I am incompetent in the use of computer technology or that I was born in the Fens. Neither are a valid arguments.

So, after much debate whether I should hand in my shotguns, retire from shooting and leave the local pigeon population alone this autumn, I decided to apply for a licence online – despite quietly knowing that my less than flexible joints can no longer jump in and out of hides too well.

First, I ticked the box stating I had read the guidance notes, even though I hadn’t. I then completed two pages before realising I hadn’t got all the information needed to hand. My second attempt failed because I didn’t know my referee’s middle name or place of birth. I’ve only know him 40 years.

On my third attempt, I got timed out because I couldn’t work out how to download a

I had thought I was well-prepared. Before this online game started, I had to ask my local doctor to complete a medical information pro forma – despite my not knowing my doctor’s name because I last visited my GP in 2001 and he had since passed away.

Soon I was £40 lighter in the pocket – and in possession of a pro forma that the computer couldn’t download because it was in the wrong format. Nevertheless, by 4.45pm on Friday, my online application was almost complete – apart from one last hiccup.

The police required my doctor’s email address, which I had submitted but according to the application was incorrect.

I called the surgery but there was no answer. So I inserted my own email, paid my £49 and submitted my application.

In all, it took me four attempts and more than a fortnight to fill out the online form. My application was a success – despite the incorrect email address.

But this was modern technology at its worst and it would have been far quicker for me to complete the paper version.

I understand the reasons but forcing people online is discriminatory and makes a simple process ridiculously complicated – and not just for those of a certain age. If I survive another five years, I doubt I will bother again. Bring back pen and paper.

Applying for a shotgun licence has become ridiculously complicated – with no good reason, says Clodhopper.

I called the surgery. There was no answer.