Arable Farming June 2023

Talking Arable

‘Septoria seems poised to explode in some crops’

Pages 12-13

TECHNICAL

Where to start with plant health testing

Pages 18-20

R&D

IPM solutions for BYDV control

Pages 48-49

MACHINERY

Weed control without herbicides

Pages 56-59

Business

6

Cereals preview

Machinery

50 Half-tracks o er cost-e ective power and traction boost

Why one Lincs farm business opted for half-tracks for frontline cultivations and drilling tasks

60 A PWM ‘leap’ forward for sprayers

Bespoke pulse width modulation systems are now available for sprayers big and small

62 Spec and tech with mounted sprayer

A tractor-mounted sprayer is providing the required capacity and exibility on-farm in Cheshire

65 View from the top: Award-winning best practice spray application tips

Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year 2022 winner Steve May on what it takes to be the best

67 What to see in the Cereals machinery lines

We preview machinery developments set to be showcased at Cereals

Podcast

73 Grant and funding opportunities for arable farmers

Listen in to the latest Crop it Like it’s Hot to nd out what funding is available

BASIS news

74 Next steps for NRoSO

Changes to the annual window for CPD points collection and the return of the operator training day

18 Technical

Plant health

Where to start with plant health testing

29 Potatoes

Sprout control

How a switch to liquid is helping one Lincs grower optimise timing of maleic hydrazide applications

48 Research and development

Integrated pest management

Researchers are exploring novel ways to manage BYDV

53

Farm power

Alternative fuels

Could hydrogen provide a power-equivalent, zero emissions alternative to diesel?

56

Machinery

Weed control

Want to control weeds without herbicides? Read our guide to the latest developments

a word from the editor

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We are mid-way through manic May and agronomy challenges are arriving thick and fast. After a cold, slow start to spring, temperatures have at last started to lift and cereal crops are now galloping through their growth stages. They certainly didn’t get the memo about barely travelable ground and stretched-to-the-limit sprayer capacity.

Memories of 2012 – the last big septoria year – are resurfacing, as agronomists revise spray recommendations and then revise them again in response to escalating disease levels, while sprayer operators look at T1 to T2 intervals in disbelief as the work sheets come through. Varieties and disease control strategies are certainly set to be tested in the next few weeks and there will no doubt be learnings to be had down the line.

On a more positive note, the wet weather in the eastern counties has meant later-sown sugar beet crops have been thrown a lifeline, with plenty of access to moisture, and the worst-case scenario of delayed drilling followed by a prolonged dry spell avoided.

Events

All this makes for a very interesting technical open day season and I’m certainly looking forward to getting to as many events as possible. Cereals too, is on the horizon; see p36-45 and p67-71 for our preview of what’s on offer at the new site at Thoresby Estate in Nottinghamshire in June.

Given the time of year, crop protection – chemical and cultural – and spray application are big themes in this issue. We take a look at the science and practice of plant health testing (p18-20), and Rob Beaumont also provides a timely farmer’s insight into

some of the techniques and tools being used in his Talking Arable column this month (p12-13).

Timely and targeted application of pesticides is a cornerstone of effective crop protection in conventional systems and our farm case studies from Lincolnshire (p29-31) and Cheshire (p62-64) highlight how growers are taking steps to improve their performance in this respect. And with the winner of the 2023 Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year competition due to be announced at Cereals, we catch up with last year’s winner Steve May to reflect on what best practice looks like (p65-66).

On a final note, after a somewhat bumpy handover from City & Guilds, BASIS is getting on with the work of administering NRoSO, with changes to the points collection window and the return of operator training days among recent announcements (p74).

www.croptecshow.com

Arable Farming, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ

by Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9NZ.

A season of lower prices, elevated costs and reducing support will put pressure on crop profitability. Cedric Porter reports.

Heat is on as prices slip and support fades

Last year’s shocks have subsided and grain markets now being driven by more fundamental issues of demand, supply and weather, Megan Hesketh, AHDB senior analyst, told the AHDB spring outlook webinar.

“There are more bearish factors than bullish at the moment, with large global wheat production, large opening stocks and a rebound in world maize production. The US and Canada areas are up, and EU conditions look relatively good, despite the very hot and dry conditions in Spain,” said Ms Hesketh.

There are some bulls stalking the market, including a forecast reduction in the Russian wheat harvest from 100 million tonnes last year to 84mt this year, although

Ms Hesketh pointed out that is still an historically very large crop.

The Ukrainian harvest will be smaller than last year, with a 20% and 17% drop in wheat and barley output expected. Periodical renewal of the Black Sea grain shipping corridor will cause tensions.

Elsewhere, the shift from a La Nina to El Nino weather pattern will have an impact on production in the southern hemisphere. It could benefit Argentina but will hinder the Australian crop.

The home market is also well supplied, according to Ms Hesketh. Opening wheat stocks for the 2023/24 harvest are forecast to be 2.475mt, the largest since the 2016/17 season and 625,000t more than the start of the 2022/23 season. The new wheat crop could be as large as 16.4mt, with a crop of

at least 14.6mt very possible. The 2022 wheat crop was 15.5mt. AHDB is expecting a total barley crop of between 6mt and 7.7mt –the 2022 harvest was 7.4mt. As last year, oat output could just top 1mt.

Oilseeds squeeze

The global oilseeds market is also bearish, according to fellow senior analyst Anthony Speight.

“Canada’s canola area is up 2% to 8.8m ha, the US soya bean area is up slightly to 34.1m ha, while a record Brazilian soya crop of 150mt is adding to global supplies. The EU’s total oilseed production is also expected to be up 7% to 33.5mt.”

He added that the UK oilseed rape crop could be as large as 1.576mt, which would be a 35% increase on last year, although pest damage may pull that volume back.

Prices have fallen from last year’s highs of £700/t to £400/t and Mr Speight did not expect them to return to £500/t without the intervention of some serious global weather events.

Costs ease

Although it may be of little comfort for growers, the forces that have led to a decline in crop prices have also pushed down input costs as supplies of essentials such as oil and gas increased.

Millie Askew, lead analyst at AHDB, said: “Natural gas makes up between 60% and 80% of the cost of producing nitrogen fertiliser, so its price has a massive impact on the price of fertiliser.

“Currently gas prices are sitting at around 95 pence a therm. That is much lower than the 650p/ therm last August, but still way above the 16p/therm it reached during the pandemic. Lower gas prices have had an effect on fertiliser prices with the March UK produced ammonium nitrate price at £465/t, which was down £166/t on the February price, £374/t lower than March 2022, but still £200/t higher than pre-Russia and Ukraine war prices.”

A policy of buying forward means that many growers will not see the benefits of lower fertiliser prices until the 2023/24 season.

Increased global wheat production, large opening stocks and a rebound in world maize production are currently keeping a lid on grain prices.

AHDB, Defra, industry sources & Agricultural Budgeting & Costings book

Using its own analysis, Defra data, industry contacts and the Agricultural Budgeting & Costing book, AHDB has calculated gross margins for 15 crops for the 2022 and 2023 harvests. Margins for all 15 are set to be significantly lower in 2023 than 2022, with the plunge in oilseed rape prices resulting in an 81% drop in the gross margin from £1,842/ha to £355/ha. The smallest decline was in spring milling oats at 18.5% to £658/ha. Winter milling wheat is likely to deliver the best gross margin in 2023 at £1,033/ha; last year it was winter OSR at £1,842/ha.

It is a similar picture in terms of the value of output per variable cost

of input. In 2022 winter oilseed rape delivered a return of £4.10 for every £1 of variable cost spent. That has tumbled to £1.37 this year. Winter feed beans give the best return this year at £2.23.

Cost management will be key this season according to Ms Askew, who gave a checklist of actions that farmers should take to improve performance. These were:

n Managing overheads

n Setting goals and budgets

n Comparing yourself with others

n Gathering information

n Understanding the market

n Focusing on details

n Openness to change and innovation

n Developing people n Specialising Support cut

In the past, difficult years In England were cushioned by support payments, but that cushion is being removed. Payments are already a third lower than in 2020 and will be halved by 2024. New Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options are emerging, but while they can help boost income, they will not fully replace the old supports.

Senior AHDB policy analyst Amandeep Kaur Purewal shared an analysis of the impact of various SFI options over the next three years. A 455-hectare arable farm adopting the most basic form of the incentive would see a 3% higher profit in 2023 than if it did not take up the scheme. The profit would be 4% higher in 2024 and 2025.

However, profit would be lower if the farm adopted a more complex SFI option and the countryside stewardship scheme. The penalty would be a 5% drop in profits in 2023 and 1% lower profits in 2024 and 2025.

“However, those figures were based on taking out productive arable land, in reality it is likely that less productive land that was put into a scheme,” said Ms Kaur Purewal.

“Also, as direct support fades away

until nothing in 2028, the SFI will become more and more important.”

Understanding carbon

Another source of income that growers are looking at is carbon credits, but it is an area where there is some confusion, said Sarah Baker, AHDB’s head of economic analysis.

“Carbon credits and trading does matter to farmers as there are net zero carbon targets. The UK has committed to being net zero by 2050, while the NFU has set a target of 2040. There is a danger that those buying carbon credits are more informed than those selling them, so it is important for farmers to understand them.”

Currently farming is outside the Government’s UK Emissions Trading Scheme, but there are voluntary schemes that pay between £7 and £30 for a tonne of sequestrated carbon. They are independently monitored, but there have been concerns about their robustness. So much so that Defra has launched a Nature Markets Framework to investigate how carbon credit and other commercial environmental market schemes operate.

Ms Baker urged farmers to increase their understanding of carbon markets and perhaps take professional advice. But she said the most important thing is to start measuring carbon on the farm through one of the trusted carbon measuring systems.

“Once you have chosen a carbon measure then stick with it as it is important that you are measuring like for like from year to year.”

There is a danger that those buying carbon credits are more informed than those selling them

SARAH BAKER

SOURCE: AHDB, Defra, industry sources & Agricultural Budgeting & Costings book

Parallel imports loss could cost ‘£10 million’

The Government needs to act ‘swiftly’ to extend parallel imports and permits for plant protection products until a proper regulatory process is put in place, with the NFU warning the industry is running out of time.

Parallel trade permits have allowed plant protection products to be imported into the UK, sold and used, based on regulatory assessment work done in another EU country; however, sales of parallel

products will end on June 30.

Losing the permits, will inevitably lead to price rises, less

Growing trade deficit in flour-based products

JThe latest annual UK import and export figures continue to show a shifting pattern of trade in flour and flour-based goods.

Since 2018 the UK trade deficit in such products has been increasing, with a particular surge post-Brexit, says millers’ organisation UK Flour Millers.

This has been driven primarily by a rise in imports of mixes, doughs and biscuits, with imports of the latter rising by 70,000 tonnes in 2022 on 2021.

While this paints a slightly

worrying picture of post-Brexit demand for UK flour, there is some reassurance to be found in the latest data, as flour exports rose by 64% in 2022 on 2021, driven almost entirely by an increase in trade with the Republic of Ireland, says the organisation.

However, flour imports continue to increase, up 20% on 2021, with Italian flour imports continuing a steady upward trajectory since 2015. Bread imports also continue to increase, with an increase seen from the Republic of Ireland.

availability for growers and will directly impact crop resistance. The loss could cost the sector

£10 million, the NFU warned at its April council meeting.

The NFU said it has drafted an ‘urgent letter’ to the secretary of state and minister to ask them to take immediate action in ensuring the ‘extension of parallel imports and permits’ to allow companies to bring in active ingredients until there is a proper ‘regulatory process’ in place.

The NFU told members it had been lobbying Defra ‘really hard’ but admitted it had hit a stumbling block as this is a legislative issue.

University team aims to boost impact of agricultural research

JA group of agricultural universities has produced a research strategy setting out new steps the institutions are taking are taking to join up their research and strengthen the difference they make on the ground.

The plans include working with farming networks to get a sector-wide picture of research priorities, coordinating how they share evidence, and training the next generation of scientists with skills to research complex, real-world farming systems.

The strategy has been produced by the Agricultural Universities Council (AUC), which represents 16 universities that both teach and research agriculture. Alongside the strategic research institutes, they deliver the lion’s share of agricultural research in the UK.

This is the first time that agricultural research providers have

teamed up on this scale and is the outcome of a year-long investigation into industry and policy priorities, current research activities, and the sector’s strengths and weaknesses.

The strategy responds to the major challenges and changes facing agriculture. While UK science is seen as world-leading, farmers and other stakeholders have concerns about the impact of publicly-funded agricultural research.

Professor Tom MacMillan, Elizabeth Creak chair in Rural Policy & Strategy at the Royal Agricultural University, the report’s lead author, says: “A good deal of time, money and thought goes into agricultural research, but is it achieving as much as it should? This strategy is about focusing that effort to make it more useful on the ground when farmers and the environment are under huge pressure.”

The NFU is calling on Government to swiftly extend parallel imports and pesticide permits.

The UK trade deficit in flour-based products is increasing, says millers’ organisation UK Flour Millers.

Harvest security warning issued as cost of GPS theft doubles in 2023

JRural insurer NFU Mutual has issued a security alert to farmers after thefts of global positioning systems (GPS) doubled in the first four months of 2023.

GPS systems have become one of the most targeted pieces of farm equipment because of their high value and portability.

April saw GPS thefts hit the second-highest monthly level ever reported to NFU Mutual. The rural insurer is now concerned that criminal gangs responsible for the farm-tech crime wave could be planning to take advantage of the busy harvest season to attack even

more farms, causing widespread delays and disruption.

Latest figures from NFU Mutual reveal the cost of GPS theft exceeded £500,000 in the first four months of the year. The insurer is urging farmers to review security as harvest approaches.

Scale

Bob Henderson, who leads NFU Mutual’s agricultural engineering field team, says: “The scale of GPS theft we’re currently seeing makes it vital that farmers take all possible steps to protect their GPS equipment by removing it from tractors,

combines and other machines and locking it up securely when not in use. The busy harvesting season is rapidly approaching. We are very concerned that the gangs committing these thefts will be upping their game.”

DC Chris Piggott, from the national construction and agri thefts

McCain funds community shop

JFrozen potato products manufacturer McCain is partnering with Community Shop to open a new social supermarket in Eastfield, North Yorkshire, the home of McCain GB since 1969.

Community Shop is an award-winning social enterprise, which redistributes surplus food and

household products through its network of 11 shops across the country, selling products to local members at deeply discounted prices. Opening this summer, the new Eastfield store will be the first in North Yorkshire and will support 750 people in the community.

It will sell high-quality products,

which are perfectly good to eat or use, that have been donated by major retailers, brands and manufacturers that otherwise may have gone to waste. Jillian Moffatt, regional president GB&I at McCain, said: “We’re proud to be partnering with Community Shop to bring a new store to Eastfield.”

team (NCATT), which forms part of the National Rural Crime Unit, says: “Organised and determined criminal gangs are now targeting GPS equipment on farms across the length and breadth of the UK.

“We’re seeing reports of thefts from every part of the UK — not just the arable areas in the east of England — with recent clusters of thefts in North West and North East England and Scotland. It looks as though at least two criminal gangs are currently active.

“They are putting a lot of effort into identifying farm equipment fitted with GPS, watching those farms and even using drones to spot opportunities to return to at night. They go to great lengths to get hold of kit, breaking through locked gates and buildings’ security systems.”

Insurer NFU Mutual is advising farmers to review GPS kit security.

FARM POLICY SUSTAINABILITY

With sustainability in the spotlight across the UK and Europe, Leaf and the Netherlands Embassy in London explored the situation for Dutch farmers. Cedric Porter reports.

Scaling up regenerative agriculture outcomes

Regenerative farming offers plenty of opportunities, but it is still misunderstood and not adequately rewarded. This was the message from a joint event held by the Dutch Embassy and Linking Environment and Farming (Leaf) recently.

Dutch farmer Djuke Smith van der Maat explained that regenerative practices, including the introduction of cattle and chickens on her fruit farm near Utrecht, Netherlands, have helped control pests and diseases with the use of less chemicals and added to the farm’s story.

“We sell a lot of our produce through our farm shop and to local restaurants, so the way we produce our food is very important,” she said.

Dutch agricultural policy is undergoing fundamental change as it implements the latest version of the Common Agricultural Policy and introduces its own measures to limit nitrogen

use. Arie van de Greft of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, who is the co-ordinator of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) national strategic plan, told the meeting that EU countries will be able take a more flexible approach to support.

Support

“The plan contains 21 different types of support, with an eco scheme an important part of the new policy. It has five themes of air, soil, water, landscape and biodiversity.

“Farmers can get extra payments if they reach bronze, silver and gold. Another plan is to farm 130,000 hectares of the Netherlands collectively and regeneratively, which represents about 7% of the agricultural land.”

Ms Smith van der Maat said the new system is complicated with double the amount of paperwork than the last, which could take two weeks to fill in on her 95ha farm.

It has led to a saving in chemicals and fertiliser

JAKE FREESTONE

Mr van de Greft admitted there could be modifications to the plan which is only in its first year.

The lack of information on how to farm more regeneratively is being addressed by a consortium of Dutch universities, farmer owned food processors, banks and institutes, said Wouter-Jan Schouten, the director of sustainable food systems at Dutch Top Institute of Food and Nutrition.

He said there was a need for a shift in farming approach to one

aiming for value growth, optimum efficiency and one that has a net positive impact.

“But there needs to be greater knowledge among farmers, input suppliers, processors, retailers and government,” he said.

Information gathering and measurement is key on Overbury Estate, near Tewkesbury, according to manager Jake Freestone. The estate has been farming more regeneratively for the last 10 years.

Mr Freestone said they tried to ‘mimic nature’ by using a mix of crops and cover crops.

“It has led to a saving in chemicals and fertiliser, and we only use around a third of the diesel we used to use. It also means that the staff are more enthusiastic about what they do,” he said.

He stressed the importance of

Leaf appoints new chief executive

JDavid Webster will take up the position of Leaf chief executive in September 2023, taking over from interim chief executive and chair of the board of trustees, Philip Wynn, who has been overseeing the organisation following the death of founder Caroline Drummond MBE in May last year.

Mr Webster joins Leaf from the UK grocery division of Associated British Foods (ABF), where he is currently director of sustainability and external affairs. He joined ABF via W. Jordans (Cereals)

and worked closely with founders Bill and David Jordan to publicise the Jordans breakfast cereal brand and its longstanding commitment to wildlife friendly farming.

He has a deep interest in farming and wildlife stemming from this work, and in particular the formation of the highly respected Jordans Farm Partnership, through which he worked alongside longstanding farm suppliers to the Jordans business together with Leaf, the Wildlife Trusts and The Prince’s Countryside Fund.

Jake Freestone

Biodiversity is one of five European agricultural policy pillars; the others are soil, water, landscape and air. learning from others, a reason why Overbury is a Leaf demonstration farm.

Retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2040. Its head of sustainability, Lucinda

Langton, said because most of its emissions are associated with agricultural production it has focused its efforts on carbon reduction in this area.

M&S is supporting its farmer suppliers to meet enhanced

landscape and nature Leaf Marque standards, with support for advice from the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), The Wildlife Trusts, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT),

pollination specialists AgriSound and Fera Science. However, Ms Langton told the meeting that the word regenerative has no resonance with consumers, but terms such as bee or wildlife friendly do.

A new route to market

ROB Beaumont

Rob farms on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border with his parents and young family, growing combinable and forage crops with a mix of owned, tenanted and contracted land. An agronomist for Edaphos, Rob also hosts AHDB Monitor Farm events.

Ibought a new pair of walking boots in March. As yet, they haven’t done a single day out in the fields.

It’s nearly the middle of May and it feels like I’m living in my wellies and waterproof trousers (or not so waterproof as it turns out). I was in a patch of wheat today and flushed up two ducks who were swimming in a tramline rut. To say things are ‘challenging’ would be an understatement.

Some KWS Extase that received its delayed T1 only 10 days ago is now ready for its T2 treatment. Crops that seemed to be stalling in April are now racing through growth stages. Full credit to those sprayer operators who have managed to find windows and kept programmes up to date.

Septoria seems poised to explode in some crops. Graham, in particular, is starting to look a bit tired, especially where it hss been early drilled. Has this

Farm facts

rFamily farm covering 200 hectares of mainly silty/clay loams, growing combinable and forage crops

rRob is BASIS and FACTS qualified, having also received a post graduate diploma in sustainable agriculture from Harper Adams

rCurrently in the third year of strip till establishment

rFarming operation is focused on reducing inputs and maintaining profitability

rRob is using cover crops and organic manures to build fertility

rUsing integrated pest management practices to reduce pesticide usage

stalwart of the West finally run its last race? KWS Dawsum is looking strong and if the yields are good I think it will become a firm favourite for feed wheat growers. Disease control will need to be robust for T2, especially where N rates have remained relatively high. Most of my crops will be receiving Inatreq (fenpicoxamid) based products. It’s better on septoria than mefentrifluconazole and is more competitive on price. Fingers crossed that we don’t have any sprayer issues this year though.

Chemistry

Having to use more chemistry this season has been a bit frustrating considering how well we did last year reducing it or cutting it out altogether. However, pragmatism needs to be at the forefront of decision-making. It’s been exceptionally wet during March, April and now May. Sunshine has been hard to come by. Brix levels are low and a recent sap pH test in wheat revealed a reading of 5.7 which suggests an increased risk of disease. Interestingly, almost all cereal crops, both visually and through leaf tests, have shown consistent magnesium and potassium deficiency. Most crops have received several foliar applications to try and remedy this. Without magnesium plants cannot form chlorophyll and so photosynthesis will be compromised. Although without the sun it’s all a bit moot.

Spring cereal planting is complete at last. The speed at which crops hop out of the ground is remarkable. With the amount of moisture in the soil, hopefully yield won’t be compromised too much, although harvest may rumble on into September. We still have maize to plant at home and although muck has been spread and cultivated in, final seedbed preparation and drilling is on pause as it is soaking wet again. The narrow wheels went on for spraying the OSR and have come off again. I think T2 will be done with wide tyres unless it seriously dries out in the next few days - unlikely looking at the forecast. I would like to say that there are some really nice looking crops of wheat around, but I dare not in case the grain trade reads this and decides the price needs to fall by another £5. I had to smile the other day when a farmer I work with had a call from his friendly merchant. “What’s wheat worth at the moment?” he

I think T2 will be done with wide tyres unless it seriously dries out ROB BEAUMONT

With septoria poised to explode, T2 disease control programmes must be robust, especially where N rates have remained relatively high.

asked. “Oh, down that much” he responded when told the good news. “Well don’t worry, I’ve put my prices up anyway, everyone else seems to, inflation don’t you know”. I asked how ‘farming’s answer to Jordan Belfort’ took to

After

his quip - “genuine incredulity, he thought I’d lost the plot”. It’s important to remember, especially in a year like this one, you should always keep a sense of humour. The alternative isn’t worth it.

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an exceptionally wet spring, to say things are ‘challenging’ would be an understatement.

TALKING AGRONOMY

PHIL Warham

think this year will

illustrate the return on investment that fungicides can bring

It has been a challenging season in all sorts of respects and, regardless of what the weather does in the couple of weeks between this article being written and read, the legacy will affect agronomy decisions for weeks to come.

It is certainly not all doom and gloom. Winter barleys look good and there are plenty of winter wheat crops which look promising.

We have had to revisit fungicide plans and spend quite a bit more than we wanted to. But septoria is still lurking, yellow rust is out there and I’ve seen brown rust on so-called ‘resistant’ varieties, so we are looking at a bigger T3 than normal.

There are some potentially big crops out there, so spending £10-12/hectare makes good sense, even at £200/tonne.

Black-grass has recently thrown up heads everywhere; a legacy of the very dry autumn where there was no germination. I’ve already

Agronomist facts

JPhil Warham has been an agronomist with Agrovista for six years. He gained a degree in land and farm management at Harper Adams University and managed farms for several years afterwards. He now advises on combinable crops, cereals, maize and vining peas in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and into Leicestershire. Key interests include direct drilling and soil health, as well as making farms profitable. In his spare time he is a keen runner and horseman.

written off a 3ha field and advised patch spraying glyphosate on headlands.

In a week or so, the first oilseed rape crops will reach GS80, when pods are green and bendy –ideal timing for using Pod Lock or similar. I like to see this applied on its own at this timing, and then going again with glyphosate later. This prevents tramline losses when applying the glyphosate. Regardless of what sort of weather we then get, this alone will give a return on investment, even on varieties that have good pod shatter resistance.

Sugar beet was generally drilled a month later than ideal but has flown through growth stages. It is probably now in better shape than last year, when crops sat in a dust bowl for weeks.

Thoughts are now turning to planning fungicides and nutrition, especially on beet crops targeted for later lifting. This is the first year we don’t have Escolta (cyproconazole + trifloxystrobin), so our go-to will probably be Priori Gold (azoxystrobin + difenoconazole).

Potatoes

Potatoes have gone in after a fashion. I had one farm in May which had started full blight programmes in some fields while still planting others. But crops have since motored through and we are now on full blight programmes with plenty of nutrition. This may be a good season to stick with the crop. Growers have reduced the area in response to this year’s poor prices, so we could see a shortage. Potatoes out of store are certainly worth good money.

As always, we will be using robust rates in our

blight programmes and mixing up the chemistry. At the start of the year, it was reported that some samples in Denmark from one blight strain –EU_43_A1 – had been found to be resistant to the carboxylic acid amide (CAA) group of fungicides, which are key ingredients in blight control programmes. Nothing has been found in the UK, but it shows how important it is to ensure we tank mix and alternate products with different modes of action.

Maize

Maize has had a horrible start to the season, as have vining peas, with no chance of keeping to a planting programme. Growers are currently taking the lead from their vining groups. Maize is pretty much drilled up, but not all of it has received pre-emergence herbicide applications, so we’ve been chasing broad-leaved weeds and black-grass where necessary.

Where appropriate, maize, peas, and potatoes will receive timely applications of foliar products which boost nutrient availability and will not wash away to keep crops moving on as much as possible.

The time to consider cereal varieties for next season is fast approaching. I think this year will clearly illustrate the return on investment that fungicides can bring. You cannot abandon even highly resistant varieties to septoria in a season like this or you will break them. You can use a cheaper programme, but in my opinion ‘dirty’ varieties that cost more to protect still yield more and deliver a better return on investment.

I

clearly

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Growers know that pea and bean yields are notoriously unpredictable. Proven fungicides, such as Signum

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control, Signum leaves

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farm standard programme*, Signum

Widely recognised as the best product for chocolate spot maximises pulse yields by stopping botrytis and rust in their tracks, whilst also keeping leaves greener for longer. Shown to increase yields by 20% compared to untreated bean crops and achieve £30/ha more margin than a builds yield and margin. for more.

agricentre.basf.co.uk/signum

of Signum

*Based on two winter bean trials by PGRO and OAT in 2020 comparing two applications at 0.5kg/ha with two applications of azoxystrobin and tebuconazole, mean untreated yield of 4.2t/ha, no chocolate spot present. Beans price based on £200/t.

BEN Boothman

Well, the warmer weather has eventually turned up here in Yorkshire; it’s not quite the Mediterranean days we dream of, more floating around the mid-teens with an occasional 20degC thrown in for good measure. However, we will happily take that after the mixed bag of spring we have been dealt.

Crops have welcomed this slight temperature rise with open arms and have started to change to a healthy colour as nitrogen eventually works its way up through the roots and into the engine room of the plants.

Spring sulfonylurea (SU) herbicide applications have provided varied results. Some have worked extremely well, and control of black-grass, bromes and ryegrass has been pleasing.

Those applied later under cold conditions haven’t done so well. In some cases, ryegrass

Agronomist facts

just seems to have shrugged off the pound notes and is staring me straight in the face with a smirk.

Cereals are racing through the growth stages with early sown wheats now displaying their flag leaves and varieties such as KWS Extase already proudly showing theirs’ at full mast.

Even though some of these crops may have only received their T1 fungicide 14 days ago, orders will be given for the sprayers to enter again and apply the main fungicide T2 treatments.

Tank mixes

Depending on tank mixes, many of my programmes will be based around Inatreq (fenpicoxamid) chemistry with a suitable triazole or strobilurin partner (variety dependent).  Where other mixes are a little more complex, I will switch to fluxapyroxad and mefentrifluconazole, but at a slightly more robust rate than if already applied at T1.

Septoria is still bubbling away in the lower canopy with some infections showing on leaf 3 in lower-scoring varieties, so this will be the main target of the T2 spray.

Overall, I am very happy with how T1 programmes have fared. With the sudden increase in growth, many T2 programmes will be accompanied by a plant growth regulator (PGR). Product choice here may be dictated by chemical availability but mepiquat is the go-to active.

Winter barleys are all at some stage of ear emergence and will be getting their final fungicide applications imminently. This will be the final time I plan to send the sprayers through until pre-harvest glyphosates, if required. Again, disease levels are nicely under control and yield potential looks promising.

Winter linseeds look well, however in some cases where unsettled weather prolonged the early spring PGR, any nitrogen overlaps are just waiting for a heavy shower to send them on their way to join the coronation crowds and bow down to King Charles. We should have flowers opening within the next few days.

Fodder beet has now all entered the 2023 campaign, with the earliest sown on kind land now emerging and, with plenty of moisture available, emergence is proving to be nice and even for a change.

This bodes well for the Broadacre programme, which is my favoured herbicide approach. The first applications are going on this week where first true leaves are at 1cm.

To date, I am yet to have any maize go in the ground, which is late for this area.

Pre-emergence spray sheets of pendimethalin are all on-farm ready to go, when the drills have exited the fields. This will hopefully give crops some protection from emerging polygonums before they will get their main herbicide at around the 3-leaf stage of the crop. I will reveal this programme in my next column, to give you a reason to read it.

Cereals are racing through the growth stages with early sown wheats displaying their flag leaves

JBen Boothman is an independent agronomist and member of the Arable Advisor Group and the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC), covering Yorkshire and the North East. He is BASIS, FACTS and BETA qualified and studied for a degree in agriculture and crop management at Harper Adams University.

DARRYLShailes

We

are treating for blight on the more forward potato crops

When I retire, I’m going to enjoy having some time to think in May instead of it always being so manic; hopefully I’ll even be able to enjoy the various bank holidays and sit and listen to the cuckoos which have been echoing across the Waveney valley in the last few days.

This May has been challenging with all the rain leading to delayed planting, drilling and herbicide applications, with lots of changes of recommendations and extra visits to fields. It has been particularly difficult for those with potatoes and beet still to be put into the ground.

The garden has flooded with the last dose of rain and the canoe has been out. At least no grass cutting for a few days, we tend to do ‘no mow May’ in a large area anyway, but now we can’t mow even if we wanted to.

We are having the thatch replaced on our house and it has been fascinating watching the thatchers work with the reed they cut

themselves from Butley in Suffolk, and passers-by often stand to watch the work in progress. We booked them five years ago and they’re fully booked until 2029.

While the wet weather has delayed the thatchers on the odd day, they seem to have a pretty good forecast to manage their time.

The weather hasn’t stopped aphids flying between the downpours though and we’ve seen plenty in more advance crops of non-Cruiser SB (thiamethoxam) treated sugar beet. They seem to be attracted to the beet as soon the crop reaches the two true leaf fully expanded stage,when they are strongly visible in the row but not when cotyledon stage. Fields will be sprayed when the one green wingless aphid per four plants threshold is hit.

With the delay in planting, in many fields where crops are not treated with Cruiser they will be susceptible for a long time, so keeping them growing quickly and not hitting them too hard with herbicides to slow the growth will be critical. Getting the crop to the 12-leaf stage as quickly as possible is essential and foliar treatment of nutrients will be even more important this season with the compromised root systems and soils we are seeing.

I am pleased all the crops I am involved with have had a good pre-emergence herbicide, so we should be able to manage

the weeds without hurting the beet too much.

We are treating for blight on the more forward crops of potatoes as there has been suitable weather recorded on the various warning systems we have access to. All the recent blight epidemics have been early season and this season is shaping up to be just that, with lots of rain, high humidity and with crops growing rapidly.

Ravaged

The first major epidemic I remember was in 2007 and it was nearly all over by the end of July, but crops were ravaged, with growers treating crops with multiple tank mixes and going every five days just to stop the potatoes melting in the field. I was in Belgium at a field trials event that June and the same was happening across the whole of Europe and product supply was put under great pressure.   It’s more difficult to cover rapidly expanding crops and it is here that product choice is critical with oxathiapiprolin being the best active with its systemic activity and good kickback. We didn’t have oxathiapiprolin in 2007, but it would have been very useful.

If crops get infected early in the season blight becomes very challenging and expensive to manage in an already expensive crop to grow, so we can’t let it get away.

JDarryl Shailes is root crop technical manager for Hutchinsons, with a nationwide remit. He has been working in potato agronomy for more than 20 years.

Agronomist facts

Where to start with plant

Brix, sap or tissue testing: what can plant health testing really tell you? Alice Dyer finds out.

There is a myriad of different ways to monitor the health of a crop, from NDVI scanning, plant counts and GAI, to rootling about with a good old fashioned trowel. However, more growers are moving towards the use of testing plant material.

Such methods can be used to fine tune crop nutrition, which can in turn provide an opportunity to reduce inputs, improve crop quality and potentially reduce foliar disease pathogens and other issues such as lodging.

There are a few key tests which can help growers and agronomist determine if they have got the balance right.

rBrix meters, or refractometers can be bought relatively cheaply online and act as a crude tool to gauge overall plant health and immunity. However, many variables can influence readings, so to get the most out of brix testing, a fine eye for detail and note recording is essential, explains international soil expert, Joel Williams.

He says: “Brix testing is not a perfect tool, in fact it’s a bit of a blunt tool but it’s better than nothing. It can be used to compared relative treatments, good and bad areas and compare development over time.”

Brix is a measure of photosynthesis, including complex sugars, carbohydrates, amino acids and proteins, which make up a

plant’s ‘defence chemicals’.

Testing is carried out by crushing the leaf of the plant, for example using a garlic crush, and dropping sap onto a refractometer to take a reading.

“The more sugars, complex carbohydrates and so on that we have in that plant sap, the higher the brix reading will be,” says Mr Williams.

“You are chasing a high brix reading with a blurry line. A reading of 4 with a crisp line is low and means you’re at a foundational level of plant photosynthesis. The plant is only really producing smaller, simpler sugars. It takes additional nutrients to take that building block and convert it into more complex plant compounds which support the second stage of plant metabolism. They are the compounds that present this more blurry line.”

Optimised

This can give growers an idea of how well the plant is photosynthesising and how optimised its nutrient status is to produce defence chemicals that protect it against insect or disease attack.

rChlorophyll meters and sap pH tests can also be used to build a bigger body of data. But to get full diagnostics of plant nutrient status, Mr Williams suggests full tissue or sap analysis.

Tim Ashley, an independent agronomist and agroecologist based in Shropshire, initially uses two metrics to assess plant

health – sap pH and brix testing.

Sap pH is carried out in the field by squeezing sap from leaves onto a relatively inexpensive digital pH meter, to give generalised information on the status of the plant.

Mr Ashley explains: “We know the ideal pH of a plant is about 6.4. Anything less than 6, we can surmise there might be a cation problem such as calcium, magnesium or potassium. You would then clarify that with a sap or tissue test. Likewise, if the pH was reading high at 7 or above, it would be an anion problem such as nitrogen, phosphates or sulphur shortages. If that fitted in with management, e.g. the farmer had not put on any sulphur, then you could put two and two together, or confirm it with a tissue sample.”

Combining the two tests can be insightful; for example, a low brix and high pH would indicate incomplete nitrate metabolism, which might mean N is in excess relative to phosphates, sulphates or magnesium. In general, it is

showing poor soil biology function, Mr Ashley explains.

When to test

There is no need to start field testing until photosynthesis has fully kicked in in late March-April, and doing it before this can give skewed results.

“If we test too early the plant is going to be deficient in everything, so there is the temptation to throw everything at it. The focus should be on the soil biology and rooting at this stage. Once crops start to move and respond to nitrogen, that’s when we start looking at brix, sap pH and full sap analysis if we feel it’s relevant.”

Once testing has started, it should be repeated every two to three weeks.

Mr Ashley says: “At T0, I tend to take a broad spectrum approach to nutrition based on experience and field history. If it’s a ‘growy’ season, at T1 I do sap analysis to correct deficiencies to try to balance out any extremes.

Brix testing should be carried out during the sunniest part of the day.

plant health testing

Brix testing in brief

rCan be carried out in the field using affordable, handheld devices bought online

rGives measure of the sugar concentration in a plant

rOften acts as a preliminary test before sending plants off for sap or tissue testing

rShould be carried out when the plant is at peak photosynthetic activity e.g. the sunniest time of the day

rResults can be heavily influenced by the environment/weather which should be taken into account when analysing results

rThe higher the reading, the better the plant is photosynthesising

The test can also give you an understanding of whether a particular product has worked or not - does it actually get metabolised into the plant or just sit on the leaf surface?”

Two weeks later another test is

done to see if the T1 application worked and if any more issues need addressing at T2. For oilseed rape, two, possibly three, tests are carried out during the season, and only once for most spring crops, says Mr Ashley.

To get a representative sample of crops across the farm, he suggests breaking them into blocks.

“First and second wheats tend to be managed differently, plus feed wheat and milling wheat we treat differently, so I would do separate tests for these. I might also test different areas within crops based on things like soil type, or good and bad areas.”

Time of day the sample is taken is also very important.

“We want to take sap first thing in the morning. During the day the plant is photosynthesising so most of its energy is going into that and collecting nutrients. During the night, it’s metabolising those nutrients into secondary metabolites.

“One of the key things we’re looking for is if it has used all the nitrogen it pulled up through its roots during the day. I want sap results to be very low in ammonium and nitrate so I know it’s working efficiently from a nitrogen point of view.

“If nitrogen levels are high first thing in the morning, there is something wrong with how the

plant is using other nutrients to process soluble nitrogen.”

Differences

For the same reason, brix testing should be carried out where there is likely to be maximum photosynthesis, such as midday.

Mr Ashley says: “If I do a brix test and it’s particularly high first thing in the morning, it’s a clue the crop isn’t metabolising its sugars during the night. If you test on an overcast, drizzly day crops won’t be photosynthesising particularly efficiently so you’ll get a low result. If it’s a nice sunny day and it’s still low, you’ve got potential issues that need further investigation.”

When it comes to sap and tissue testing, there are fundamental differences between the two tests, he explains.

“Tissue testing is like taking some fat tissue or muscle from a person, whereas sap analysis is like taking blood – you are able to see what is being metabolised.

“Tissue testing will measure that but also include minerals and compounds that the plant is storing; for example, plants need iron in the reduced form but will absorb and store iron in the unavailable oxidised form. It will potentially show high or

TECHNICAL PLANT HEALTH

Sap testing in brief

rGives a snapshot of plant uptake of nutrients and nutrient deficiencies, excesses or imbalances

rThe first leaf samples should be taken at the start of the season as photosynthetic activity/rapid growth in the plant takes off

rSample early in morning

rBoth old and new leaves can be sent for sampling

rResults should come back within three days so any corrective action can be taken

rSubsequent samples should be taken every twofour weeks throughout the season

adequate in a tissue test but deficient in the sap test.  Elements that are not particularly good from a tissue point of view but are good in sap analysis are boron, copper, iron and potentially manganese.

“Tissue testing will eventually get there but if you look at some of the comparisons between tissue and sap, tissue analysis lags behind by 20-30 days. Sap will give you the most accurate and instant understanding of how the crop is metabolising minerals at that point in time. Whereas tissue analysis might confirm your observations, in which case it’s a useful and relatively cheap management tool. There are pros and cons to each.”

But what benefits can carrying out these tests actually bring?

“Such tests will help growers determine a crop’s susceptibility to pest or disease attack.

“There’s a fairly significant body of evidence and studies that look into [nutritional impact on plant defence]. Not all of these studies were successful at managing insects or disease with nutrition, but in many instances nutrition can indeed support the immune processes and be one tool in the toolbox of an integrated strategy.

“Key disease-fighting nutrients

include calcium, silicon and boron for cell strength – the more of those in the cell walls, the more robust the plant, making it more difficult for pests and pathogens to penetrate,” says Mr Williams.

Nutrients

Manganese, copper and boron are important for the ‘skin’ of the plant, while internal systemic compounds like silicon, manganese and copper all have a role as immune inducers.

However, the nutrient normally under the most scrutiny is nitrogen There is a view that while too much too much nitrogen will increase yield, it also induces greater disease pressure.

“That is valid but it is more about having an imbalance of nitrogen – there is too much nitrogen in relation to the other minerals that support nitrogen metabolism,” says Mr Williams.

Problems with nitrogen metabolism arise when there are deficiencies of other minerals such as molybdenum, sulphur and iron, which support a plant’s conversion of nitrogen into ammonium.

“This emphasises the importance of monitoring and managing plant nutrition. One benefit of sap analysis is that you can test both

the young and old leaves. That really helps us tap into nutrient mobility throughout the plant.

For example, potassium is very mobile, so if younger leaves have adequate potassium, but older leaves are much lower in potassium and bordering on deficiency, the plant has taken it from older leaves and sent it to new growth areas that are more photosynthetically active. As the potassium departs those older leaves to go to the new leaves, we’re inducing a potassium deficiency in the older leaves, which is often the place where we see disease starting.

“Equally, calcium is a highly immobile nutrient so doesn’t move from the older leaves to new growth areas quite so easily. If calcium in older leaves was at an adequate level, but is marginal in the younger leaves, this is signalling to us it was okay, but now we have an immediate potential issue on the horizon.”

While these tests offer useful insight, Mr Ashley urges growers not to overlook using all the tools in the box.

“Don’t just rely on lab analysis. If you want to reduce inputs, use all of your senses – does the crop look stressed? Does the soil smell healthy?

“Look at soil structure, and rooting habits and assess soil biology - they are the key to efficient crop nutrition.

“Some are a bit crude, but they can give you instant information to give you something to focus your attention on.”

Workshop details

Sap testing will give a snapshot of how a crop is metabolising minerals at a point in time.

JJoel Williams was speaking as part of an AHDB plant health analysis workshop, available online at: youtube.com/@ AHDBCerealsOilseeds

Don’t just rely on lab analysis. If you want to reduce inputs, use all of your senses

– does the crop look stressed? Does the soil smell healthy?

TIM ASHLEY

ARABLE FARMER OF THE YEAR

Winning

James and Emma LoderSymonds demonstrate focus, belief and confidence in the clear path they have set out for their farming business at Nonington Farms, from their use of technology to their evolving approach to profitable and sustainable crop production. The couple have also created a business model that supports new entrants and engages with the local public and wider consumers.

Managing more than 1,200 hectares of arable land six miles southeast of Canterbury, they specialise in whole farm contracting, with the Loder-Symonds family owning 160ha and the remaining land made up of six contract or share-farming agreements.

James is a qualified agronomist and Emma is a chartered surveyor and teacher who leads the farm’s education programme. Their team includes assistant farm manager Hugo Dwerryhouse; Phil Cooper and Richard Jordan, who help implement key ideas on the farm; and Abby

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Nonington Farms is based around a regenerative farming system, involving both arable crops and grazing livestock. James describes the transition to regenerative farming as a learning journey, and one of the initial stages of this journey is to understand that arable enterprises must be flexible with crop rotations.

He says: “As we are moving further into reducing inputs and increasing our carbon sequestration elements, we need to identify any problems when deciding our crop rotation,

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

XSmall flock of sheep grazing herbal leys and cover crops, then slaughtered close to the farm and lamb sold locally

XNitrogen testing

XInstalling solar panels on grain store

XIdentifying and reducing diesel usage

servicing agricultural, OEM, forestry and groundcare customers from Cornwall to Caithness.

We remain a family-run business, with the same values and creed as when we started 72 years ago. We exist in the UK to support British farming, champion efficiency and innovation and provide British farmers with all the tools they need to do what they do best: feeding the nation.

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rather than carrying on with what we have always done.

“For example, if we have blackgrass issues we would like to alter the rotation and graze a cover crop to sort out the problem rather than keep throwing money at herbicides.”

The arable rotation is flexible, with crops selected dependent on seasonal pressure. It often consists of wheat, beans, oats, oilseed rape, and either herbal leys or annual cover crops.

Focus

One of the central focuses of regenerative farming is reducing inputs. To highlight this, James pays close attention to varieties selected for the farm, servicing his contracts with Warburtons and Allied Mills.

He says: “We grow Group 1 varieties like Crusoe and Skyfall, but the latter is susceptible to yellow rust. To counter the high disease risk on that, we also grow Group 2 varieties like Mayflower and Palladium, where resistance scoring is far higher.

“Mayflower is not susceptible to septoria, and that makes us less reliant on fungicides. We also grow heritage wheats, which are far more sustainable. The yields are half those of a modern variety, but they are more nutritionally dense and not so nutrient hungry. It is a niche market selling to local artisan bakers.”

Livestock also contribute to increasing soil health, as pedigree Romneys and Jacob sheep are grazed across a range of cover crops and herbal leys, ensuring

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XThis award recognises the ongoing versatility required by arable farmers who must respond to fluctuating commodity prices, unpredictable weather and evolving legislation, while striving to achieve a profitable and sustainable business. You will have made a key change to improve your farm and be open to exploring

there is always a root in the ground to protect the soil.

The cover crop is usually drilled in late July until October, when the following year’s beans and oats are direct drilled.

James says: “The sheep nibbled off the old [wheat] tillers which were full of septoria, and after we took them off, you could see the effect in the vigour of new tiller growth compared to the non-grazed areas.”

Challenge and success

A significant challenge the farm is experiencing through its regenerative journey is trying to balance the required contractual protein levels of 12% for Group 1 milling wheat with reducing artificial nitrogen inputs.

James says: “That is the real challenge for us, but we are doing a lot of monitoring of both nitrogen in the soil, nitrogen in the plant

new possibilities to help safeguard your business now and for the future, whether that be through progressive, environmental or more collaborative approaches.

ENTER OR NOMINATE

For more information, visit visit britishfarmingawards.co.uk

the prestigious Arable Farmer of the Year award at last year’s British Farming Awards has allowed one Kent regenerative farming business to access new opportunities while raising its farm pro le. Ash Burbidge nd out more.

Since winning, we have had lots of people contact us; it has certainly had an impact and raised our pro le. All our hard work and everything we have done to improve and streamline the business has paid o

James Loder-Symonds

FARM FACTS

X1,200 hectares in total; 160 owned and the rest under share-farm agreements

XMixed farm with arable and sheep

XLinking Environment and Farming Demonstration Farm since 2020

XEducational farm visits with over 1,500 visitors per year

XRotation: wheat, beans, oats/wheat, oilseed rape and either herbal leys, annual cover crop or rotational Countryside Stewardship option

and levels within the grain. We are looking at historic levels and linking how much nitrogen each field has historically had and, as we are reducing the nitrogen, we can see what impact that has on protein level. It is not an exact science; this is a gradual journey that takes time to find the optimum.”

Cost reduction to benefit profitability is a key driver for success, and the couple prefer to look at their costs over several years rather than over the previous 12 months.

“Aiming to reduce the peaks and troughs of profitability, as well as trying to carve out more sustainable markets, would be our key drivers,” says James.

Nitrogen efficiency is another important focus at the farm and, so far, the business has managed to reduce inputs from 25kg per tonne of wheat to 13.8kg/t of wheat.

“We do nitrate testing on every field, all of which have different requirements. We count tillers per square metre, and we monitor the potential bank of nitrogen in the soil that can be mineralised. Because we apply variable rates across the fields, we are only putting nitrogen on where it is required,” says James.

Liquid nitrogen is applied with

a 36-metre sprayer, allowing applications to be controlled down to each individual nozzle. This ensures there is no overlapping along the tramlines and that a reduced rate of chemical is used.

James explains: “Most people assume because you are reducing inputs, yields go down, but we found that yields have stayed the same, [which we put] down to yield mapping and precision technology, but also because the soil is healthy. It is allowed to recover, and because we do not use insecticides anymore, birds and other natural predators like ladybirds eat slugs and aphids.

“The areas taken out of production never yielded much, so all we are doing is enhancing the yield elsewhere by using them as havens for natural predators who counterbalance the reduction in inputs.”

Education

In 2020, Nonington became a Linking Environment and Farming Demonstration Farm, which Emma believes has widened the farm’s network.

She says: “We are brainstorming with farmers across the country and around the world; it opens our eyes to things going on beyond Kent.”

Their original Higher-Level

Stewardship agreement required them to host 25 educational farm visits a year, but they estimate that there are 1,500 visitors to the farm yearly.

“There is a huge demand, but it is something we are very passionate about. I have this sense that you should build a community around you. If people do not understand about farming, what are we doing about it?

“I think sometimes teachers fear coming out to a farm, and farmers fear having teachers and children on the farm.

“The best thing is when the children come back, not just year after year, but even week after week. That is when they begin to see what the farm is about and can see the flowers and trees – which they have sometimes planted themselves –growing and learn about the birds nesting in them. They will care much more about nature as a result,” says Emma.

James adds: “Other farmers come here too. A lot of them do not have the confidence to deal with the general public, and we can help them. Our success is all about having a good team around us, with an emphasis on attention to detail.

The farm hopes to continue producing Class 1 milling wheat

and progress with its carbon journey. James also hopes to grow biodiversity by planting hedges, trees and increasing the number of species on the farm.

There are also ambitions to expand the educational activities on the farm by extending the schools programme and encouraging new entrants to promote the farming industry.

“The dream would be to not use any artificial nitrogen at all which will be a challenge, but we see it as more of a long-term goal,” says James.

Confidence

The couple agree that winning last year’s Arable Farmer of the Year Award at the British Farming Awards has given them a confidence boost in terms of where they are at as a business and provided opportunities with prospective ventures and access to products.

James says: “Since winning, we have had lots of people contact us; it has certainly had an impact and raised our profile. All our hard work and everything we have done to improve and streamline the business has paid off, and it is nice to know other people see what we see for the business and its future.”

Hugo Dwerryhouse, assistant farm manager at Nonington Farms (left), with Matt Ryan, head of sales at Oxbury Bank.

FULLY LOADED HYBRIDS

Feeding the soil microbiome is claimed to deliver improved soil function and reduced costs. Arable

Building soil the Breton

Building soil health can be difficult where organic manures are hard to obtain - and afford - in sufficient quantity. And even where they are available using them presents challenges in sensitive catchments and for anyone wanting to avoid the soil disturbance demanded by incorporation.

The solution to this problem lies in carefully targeted soil biostimulation to make the most of crop residues and soil reserves alone, according to Brittany-based agroecology specialist, the Olmix Group; a solution backed by four decades of experience across Europe and long-term research which will be available to UK farmers from 2024.

“Feeding the soil first is what matters really matters,” says the family-run company’s Benoit Le Rumeur, who has spent a lifetime working on how best to do this with scientists and growers across Europe.

plant roots and organic matter.

“If we are to feed them effectively we have to understand how they function in helping to structure the soil, transform organic matter into humus, make minerals available, support plant nutrient uptake and restrict pathogens,” he says.

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“This is especially important where soils have become damaged or degraded. Living organisms may make up only 0.25% of a well-functioning soil, but each hectare contains 6-10 tonnes of them within its top 30cm.

“The many millions of bacteria and fungi that are the conductors of this wonderfully complex orchestra of life work in different ways. And they do so in close association with one another,

“We also need to appreciate the extent to which their activity varies with both temperature and moisture so that we feed them at the most appropriate time.”

Rotations

Just like regenerative pioneer, Frederic Thomas and his BASE network of farmers – also originating in Brittany – Mr Le Rumeur finds the best soil functioning invariably comes with the widest possible rotations; the least possible tillage; the greatest possible crop residue return, and year-round root activity.

deliver a range of benefits which include Arable Farming finds out more.

soil health Breton way

Feeding the soil

human health, it has found the best approach is to provide the soil with the right balance of minerals for microbial growth in a concentrated and bio-available form with the right algal-based active ingredients.

BENOIT LE RUMEUR

He also believes that better soil microbial activity is the best way of enabling fertiliser use to be reduced without compromising crop production. And he is only too aware of the dramatic way it can improve soil structure and stability, drainage and soil moisture retention, and overall resilience to both trafficking and increasingly intense weather events.

So, alongside wider rotations, less tillage, well-planned residue return and cover cropping, how can we best build and maintain the most effective and sustainable soil microbiomes?

Although progress in doing so may be more rapid if some organic manures are available, Olmix has demonstrated this need not involve organic manuring. Nor does it require any biological additions. Instead, rather like the difference between prebiotics and probiotics in

It has also discovered that different balances of ‘soil food’ are required by different groups of microbes. Those involved in improving soil aggregation and humification, for instance, respond best to one balance, while those responsible for plant nutrient mineralisation and rooting promotion do better with another.

Bio-activators

“From this understanding, we have developed two crucial soil bio-activators ,” says Mr Le Rumeur.

“Both are based on our patented mineral inducer process (MIP) technology which harnesses the bioactive properties of specific minerals and trace elements to boost enzyme-based microbial activity. Fully certified for organic use, they are formulated as pellets for application with ordinary fertiliser spreaders.

“Neosol is a soil enhancer primarily designed for application after harvest and before cover or catch crop establishment. It is targeted at the aerobic bacteria and fungi in the ‘humusphere’ which build soil structure and improve porosity and capillarity as well as those that convert

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VIGOUR TE IFIC”

The UK’s Number 1 Oilseed Rape Variety

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first is what matters really matters... especially where soils have become damaged or degraded

TECHNICAL SOIL HEALTH

organic matter into humus and store carbon.

“Typically applied at 150kg/ha, its blend of soil minerals and trace element complexes with algal seaweed extracts can stimulate remarkable microbial growth and development without any organic manuring even on very degraded soils.”

Trials

The latest field-scale trials, conducted by an independent research institution over a five year rotation, under generally hot and dry land conditions in the Czech Republic with crop residue returns alone, underline this potential, Mr Le Rumeur maintains.

When compared with a standard 12% N, 52%P fertiliser regime at150kg/ha/year, 150kg/ ha of Neosol applied in the first year and 120kg/ha in each of the following four years gave improvements in all the key

Overall change in key soil health measures in Czech research institute field-scale trials 2017-2020

measures of soil health (see chart). This resulted in higher yields in every year of the spring wheat/

winter wheat/winter oilseed rape/winter wheat/sugar beet rotation, together with increasing economies in diesel use.

At spring 2023 exchange rates, the £430 average annual return on investment from using Neosol was almost exactly £150/ha better than the control regime (under which most soil health measures actually declined). And this return was achieved despite providing 18 kg/ha less nitrogen and 78kg/ha less phosphate each year, says Mr Le Rumeur.

“We have equally strong research evidence of the value of feeding the microbes in the ‘rhizosphere’ involved in making nutrients available to the plant and maximising root development and uptake efficiency with our Primeo S12 stimulator, says Mr Le Rumeur.

“Providing 12% sulphur as well as a different branded blend of minerals and trace elements, we recommend it is applied at 120-150kg/ha between the sowing and growing phases of the crop. Amongst other things, this stimulates the mineralisation of

nitrogen, improves the bio-availability of phosphorus and increases the soil-plant exchange surface –primarily through a more developed root system – at just the time the crops need to grow.

“The 6% improvement in the mineralisation of nitrogen to ammonia and 20% increase in the conversion of that ammonia to nitrate recorded in independent studies generates at least an extra 20kg/ha of nitrogen for early spring crop growth,” he says.

Benefits

Further benefits are said to include a 3-10 fold increase in the activity of the enzymes responsible for solubilising phosphorus and a 6-18% in root volume.

Spring applied at 150kg/ha in 2021 field trials, Primeo is said to have increased the yield of winter barley by  almost 0.7t/ha for a return on investment of over £100/ha at current exchange rates. And, in separate trials in the same season, it improved winter wheat yields by a similar amount and protein content by well over one percentage point in a high pH soil sensitive to mineral lock-up despite not providing additional P or K.

“For the best performance, we know our crops require three things above all else – the biggest, most efficient root system; good access to water; and equally good access to the nutrients they need when they need them. Our experience is that all these things follow if we feed the microbes correctly.

“This has to be the key to improving the crop nutrient use efficiency that has become even more important these days with escalating fertiliser prices and increasing environmental restrictions. In this context, we know our soil-first route to improvement can easily save 20-30kg/ha of nitrogen, 30-40kg of phosphate and up to 80kg/ha of potash a year.”

Continues over the page.

There is strong research evidence of the value of feeding the microbes in the ‘rhizosphere’ involved in making nutrients available to the plant.

*Ratio of 10-25mm aggregates to the rest of the soil

of humic to fulvic acids in the humus

In the field Fabian Bocher, Brittany, France

JCentral Brittany grower, Fabien Bocher considers use of soil activators essential to his cropping success and sustainability.

Since taking on the 72-hectare, all-arable farm at Bois de Lourach near Saint-Connec in the Côtesd’Armor department 12 years ago he has been improving the consistency of crop performance from his sandy clay soils with a more regenerative approach, despite around 10% of the area being down to potatoes every year

Alongside soil biostimulation, he has been extending the rotation, reducing tillage and growing cover crops.

“When we moved here the land had been plough for generations,” he says.

“But we were acutely conscious of the poor results many people in the area were getting when they stopped using the plough.

Long-term

“Having found Neosol so valuable in improving some badly-degraded land on our previous farm, we decided to see if the Olmix approach would help us achieve the long-term soil improvement we wanted without losing crop performance. And we are very glad we did.”

The soil enhancer is regularly applied across the farm each autumn. It helps to break down the stover after grain maize ahead of either wheat or potatoes. It allows utilisation of chicken manure ahead of oilseed and maize after a

winter cover. It has made it easier to direct drill both winter wheat and spring beans. And it has proved invaluable in supporting soils after potatoes.

Alongside it, rhizo-acting Primeo in the spring does good service with the farm’s biggest earner - potatoes - as well as the spring beans.

Even though potato growing is hardly the best thing for soil structure, in marked contrast to other farms in the area, Mr Bocher finds it now takes little more than two years for his soils to recover from the extra disturbance they suffer with the crop.

He has also recorded an organic matter increase of 0.12 percentage points/year across the ground – almost double the rate of gain generally expected from good soil management practice.

At the same time, he is now typically using 160-180kg/ ha of nitrogen on his wheat compared to an initial 200210kg/ha.

“Yields on our productive

ground haven’t increased noticeably,” says Mr Bocher.

“But at 8.5-9.5t/ha for our winter wheat and corn, 4.3-4.5t/ha for our oilseed rape and 38-45t/ha for our potatoes, they have become very much more stable over the years. And, most importantly, they definitely haven’t declined as we’ve reduced our tillage.

Saving

“As well as saving on fertiliser, we’ve seen some valuable reductions in diesel use as the soils have become much easier to work. And the gains we’ve been making in soil organic matter are becoming even more valuable now the EU are paying us to sequester carbon.

“The soil activators have become an essential part of our strategy to make our farming as sustainable as it can be,” he says.

“They give us a really good annual return on investment. Otherwise, we certainly wouldn’t still be using them.”

Oilseed rape growing strongly through the cereal stubble at Bois de Lourach.

Inset: Soil improvement means excellent OSR root and crown structure.

Fabien Bocher

Foundations for effective potato sprout control are laid with a well-timed foliar application of maleic hydrazide. Arable Farming visits a grower whose switch to a liquid formulation is helping him get the most out of this valuable active.

Application efficiency boost from liquid switch

After switching to a liquid maleic hydrazide formulation, one Lincolnshire potato producer has dramatically increased application efficiency and his ability to get application timing right.

With timing the most significant factor in product efficacy, he is now getting the most out of maleic hydrazide for both volunteer control and sprout suppression in chipping varieties destined for medium- and long-term storage.

Based near Spalding, M.L. Smith and Sons is a family run business, with operations carried out by Leon Smith, alongside his uncle, brother, nephew and one full time member of staff.

High value

Focused on producing high value crops on fertile, silty clay soils around Spalding, the business’ farmed area fluctuates from year to year, but typically is looking after 280-320 hectares of owned and rented land.

Key crops include potatoes and high-value brassica veg, with bulbs, vining peas, and winter

wheat among several other crop types grown each season.

“Our potatoes are all grown for the chipping trade and varieties include Agria, Sagitta, Markies and some Babylon.

“The Sagitta all goes into our ambient bulk store and is typically gone by the end of February. The Agria and Babylon are loaded into our refrigerated box stores and we tend to wait and see what the market is doing before opening them up,” says Leon.

With crops going into store for a significant length of time, sprout suppression is key to preventing weight loss and protecting quality until the crop is delivered to the customer.

Leon says the business has been a long-term user of granular maleic hydrazide product Fazor, applying the product for volunteer control – helping to limit propagation of problems like

Our potatoes are all grown for the chipping trade

LEON SMITH

TECHNICAL POTATOES

potato cyst nematode (PCN) –and sprout suppression in the early stages of storage.

However, since the withdrawal of CIPC, much more emphasis has been placed on the foliar-applied plant growth regulator’s ability to translocate into tubers and limit sprout growth post-harvest.

Leon explains that Fazor has always been effective and until recently had few reservations about using the product, but a change in agronomist drew his attention to liquid maleic hydrazide formulation Crown MH.

Frontier’s Sam Cooke is now providing agronomy advice for the farm’s potato enterprise and in 2021, convinced Leon to give it liquid maleic hydrazide a try with the aim of improving the sprayer’s operational efficiency.

“I’m always a bit dubious of new products, as I believe that if ‘it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, but Sam got me onto Crown MH with its closed transfer system and I’ve never looked back,” says Leon.

While Crown MH is available in smaller 20-litre containers, most growers order it in a 600-litre intermediate bulk container (IBC).

This is coupled with a Fastran 850 closed transfer system (CTS) from Hereford-based specialist Wisdom Systems, which connects to the sprayer and IBC via dry-break couplings.

It allows the sprayer operator to draw the desired amount of chemical at the same time as filling up with clean water. A digital flow meter keeps track of

the quantity of maleic hydrazide being delivered.

Leon has a Sands self-propelled sprayer and when deciding to go for the IBC and CTS, he consulted the Norwich-based outfit, who made up the correct pipework and coupling and plumbed it into the suction side of the clean water induction system.

“Within a week of giving them a call, I’d got everything on farm, and I was ready to go. There wasn’t much cost involved either. I think the Sands bill was about £300. They didn’t charge any labour, just parts,” he adds.

Filling

Once up and running, Leon says filling was much quicker and more efficient than ripping open bags and tipping granules into the induction hopper.

M.L. Smith and Sons, Spalding, Lincolnshire

rFarming 280-320ha of silty clay soils each year

rCropping includes potatoes, brassica veg, vining peas and wheat

rChipping potato varieties include Agria, Sagitta, Markies

and Babylon

rAmbient bulk and refrigerated box stores hold crop until February onwards

rSprouting controlled by a mix of Crown MH, DMN, mint and orange oil

The anti-foaming liquid formulation also means he can fill the tank to the top, rather than three-quarters full to accommodate the foam created by the granular maleic hydrazide formulation.

“Once you have what you need, you shut off the transfer system, it seals itself. There is no spillage risk and all the couplings are clean. There is no packaging to worry about either, as the empty IBCs are returnable.

“We work in a 25-mile radius of the main farm, so there is a lot of roadwork. Since using Crown MH, I’ve managed to get the whole potato area sprayed in one day instead of two.”

With timing critical to maximising efficacy, and the recommended water rate for maleic hydrazide applications at 400 litres/ha, it is an inherently slower job relative to blight spraying at 200 litres/ha.

“Using the IBC and closed transfer system, we can speed up that process as much as possible and get it applied when conditions are right.

“We tend to spray in the evenings and into the night, as it doesn’t dry as quickly on the leaf

and is better absorbed by the plant,” says Leon.

This approach has paid off handsomely in recent seasons, with 2021 harvested crops not requiring additional storage treatments until February.

Last year’s crops were more of a challenge due to the hot, dry, and stressful conditions during July and August, which in some cases led to rapid senescence of some maincrop varieties earmarked for maleic hydrazide.

Applied

As the product is ideally applied to a healthy haulm three to five weeks before desiccation, this raised questions about whether to apply the product or not as crops wilted in the heat.

“We used PK Maxx and a seaweed-based product from Ilex EnviroSciences on crops last year. Previously, we’d not seen much effect in brassicas or potatoes, but it really made a difference in the dry season.

“We managed to get our Crown MH on and it still stopped sprouting in store until December, despite everything wanting to grow because of the stressful conditions,” says Leon.

With crops going into store for a significant lenghth of time, sprout suppression is key to preventing weight loss and protecting quality.

Storage experts on last year’s maleic hydrazide lessons

JLessons from last year’s stressful season suggest growers should still get a maleic hydrazide (MH) product on, even if they think the window has almost shut.

Many crops due to receive an application missed out as heat stress and premature senescence discouraged growers through fear of wasting money on something that would give poor results.

Adrian Cunnington, director at Potato Storage Insight, says while some crops did die off quickly and would not have taken up adequate active substance, other crops missed out on useful sprout control in the early part of the storage period.

He adds that 12ppm of MH residue in potato tubers has historically been the accepted minimum for good residual sprout control, but this might be an overestimation based on results in many stores holding 2022-harvested crops.

“It’s difficult to be prescriptive on the exact concentration you need, but the good news is where growers applied a bit later and in marginal circumstances last year, it still did a job.

“MH is a very important part of the sprout suppression toolbox now, giving us that residual control that used to be provided by CIPC, so getting it on as best you can, is important,” says Mr Cunnington.

Tim Kitson, independent

potato storage consultant with Norfolk-based Potato Solutions, agrees, and says his clients –like M.L. Smith and Sons – that pressed on with MH applications in 2022 have reaped the rewards by reducing the need for in-store suppressant use early on.

“Last year’s ambient conditions put a huge amount of sprouting pressure on crops, more so than for several years, and although there was debate on the use of MH last year, we have seen big differences in sprout growth where it was and wasn’t applied.”

Although maleic hydrazide might still be worth applying in marginal circumstances, both Mr Cunnington and Mr Kitson stress growers must always prepare to apply it in optimal conditions, as set out by manufacturers, to maximise residues and duration of activity.

“Start thinking about MH early, ahead of that three to five weeks before desiccation window, otherwise you are always chasing your tail,” adds Mr Kitson.

Optimum application parameters for MH

rTreat healthy and actively growing crops

rApply three to five weeks before haulm destruction when 80% of tubers are >25mm

rSpray on a cool day (<25degC) when RH is >50% and no rain forecast, or

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KWS Tardis, the 2-row winter feed variety that’s already become a rm farm favourite. It’s one of the UK’s highest yielding 2-row winter feed barley, with a performance that rivals some 6-row hybrid and conventional types. It is especially strong in the east 105% and, thanks to its super stiff straw, performs well on heavy land where it delivers yields of 107% controls.

irrigation scheduled, for at least 24 hours (evening is best)

rUse high water volume –minimum of 400 litres/ha recommended

rReduce forward speed of sprayer to 8-12kph

Source: Certis UK

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Adrian Cunnington

Cover crop destruction method led to significant differences in the amount of nitrogen released.

Some of the opportunities and challenges of regenerative agriculture were examined at an Association of Applied Biologist’s Conference. Alice Dyer reports.

hen it comes to minimising soil erosion, boosting biodiversity and improving soil structure the benefits of cover crops are well established, but there is also a wealth of other benefits that have yet to be fully utilised.

A team of researchers is exploring how, when, and how much nitrogen a cover crop can release, and how it impacts crops later in the rotation.

Working alongside Affinity Water and Portsmouth Water, Dr Anne Bhogal, senior soil scientist at ADAS, is carrying out trials to quantify the effect of cover crop type on overwinter nitrate leaching losses and the impact that destruction method has on nitrogen release and following crop yields.

In 2021-22 trials were carried out across two sites – one on silty clay loam in West Sussex and one on clay over chalk in Hertfordshire. There were three treatments – mix one which had no cover crop but weedy stubble was left to regenerate; mix two was a 20% phacelia, 80% oil radish mix drilled at 15kg/ha; and mix three, a 45% black oat, 45% buckwheat, 10% phacelia mix drilled at 40kg/ha.

Chemical destruction at both sites was with glyphosate, and

WSharing science to help support regenerative agriculture

mechanical destruction depended on the host farmer’s set-up.

In West Sussex the cover crop was chopped and incorporated, and in Hertfordshire it was rolled on a frost. The weedy stubble was destroyed in the same ways, said Dr Bhogal.

Nitrates

When nitrate concentrations were measured in drainage water, both farms showed the same pattern in results.

Dr Bhogal said: “Where we had no cover crop, nitrate concentrations were close to or above the EU limit. The cover crops were very effective at reducing nitrates [leaching], particularly cover crops with brassicas like oil radish in it.”

Looking at kg/ha of nitrogen lost over the whole drainage period, there was a significant difference between the two sites, with more N being lost from the deeper West Sussex soils which saw heavier rainfall.

“But there was still a similar relationship,” Dr Bhogal added.

“On the stubble treatments where there was only 25% and 50% cover, there were significant losses of between 10 and 25kg of nitrogen. Where we had really good 80-90% cover with the brassica mix, we really knocked leaching on the head and there were negligible losses.”

In terms of spring nitrogen balance at cover crop destruction, where nitrogen was either in the soil, cover crop or leached, the amount potentially

available ranged from 60-100kgN/ha.

After destroying the cover crop, the team measured AN levels in the first 15cm of top soil on five occasions.

Dr Bhogal said: “At the West Sussex site, where the cover crop was chopped and incorporated to around 5cm depth, and the system was stirred up, we saw significant differences in nitrogen released from the two different destruction methods.

The chemically-destroyed cover crop released nitrogen much quicker than the mechanical method and there was high N availability compared to chopping and incorporating.”

The mechanical destruction method also led to weed issues later down the line.

ADAS’ Dr Anne Bhogal

“In May we did a simple assessment of ground cover in the following spring barley crop. The chemical treatment had virtually no weed cover. However, in the mechanical plots, particularly on stubble, there was volunteer wheat and in mix one the oil radish regrew and caused some problems, so the farmer had to go in with a selective herbicide to control those weeds. We didn’t see the same weed problem in Hertfordshire where we rolled on a frost, but black-grass was a big problem.”

Yield increase

Following spring barley crop yields at the West Sussex site saw a significant increase of up to 1t/ha, particularly following the radish phacelia mix.

“However, that was only the case where we destroyed the cover crop using glyphosate,” Dr Bhogal said. “Where the cover crop and stubble were destroyed mechanically there was a 0.7-1t/ ha yield reduction. We think the

JBanks will be asking for farmers’ carbon reduction plans, if they want to access funding in the future, the conference heard.

Emily Norton, research analyst rural research Savills, said: “It is not just supply chains demanding from agriculture, but also financial drivers.

“If you think about a bank and its proportional lending that might be in agriculture, that is responsible for an outsized proportion of its overall funded emissions. For a bank, that is a major concern in terms of its regulatory position and what the Bank of England expects of it.

“It is a major driver of change at farm level and expect to see a lot more pressure [starting to build from banks] towards farmers to access lending going forwards.”

yield benefit is down to an early boost of nitrogen in the crop at early growth.”

Looking at spring barley nitrogen uptake, only 5-10kg/ha N was recovered from the cover crop, despite there being about 70kgN/ha in the cover crop.

“We want to try and understand when that nitrogen is likely to become available in subsequent crops.

“The benefits of cover crops for water quality are a no brainer, but we need to get a better handle on how to destroy cover crops, particularly if we don’t have glyphosate in our toolkit,” said Dr Bhogal.

Continues over the page.

HIGHEST YIELDING THE WHEAT LG REDWALD

Scan here to learn how to tame the beast!

Banks will be looking for green credentials

TECHNICAL AGROECOLOGY

What is driving beneficial insect populations in arable fields?

JNew research set to be published by Rothamsted Research suggests carabid beetles, known for predating weed seeds and crop pests such as slugs, aphids, weevils and flea beetles, may be more abundant in field centres than first thought.

Dr Kelly Jowett, who is an applied entomologist at Rothamsted, having completed a PhD on beneficial species said: “There is an assumption that by providing semi-natural habitats in field edges there will be spill over [of carabids] into the field. But I found that’s not the case.

“Most carabid abundance was in field centres in crops including maize, OSR, and sugar beet.”

Farm scale comparisons at Rothamsted explored grass, wildflower margins and a control strip to monitor abundance of carabids in crops.

Dr Jowett said: “Although abundance varied by crop, it stayed the same pattern in the centre of the crop. The grass

Each species of carabid beetle has different tolerances to tillage.

margin almost had this barrier effect. Where there was a flower margin, in the margin there was less abundance which was quite surprising. These margins aren’t acting in the way we supposed. However, this was only measurement over one season.”

Response

When response to different tillage methods was measured, there was also no general response, but again, some at species level.

There are around 30 species of carabids common in farmland, and each species has different environmental tolerances, and capacity for predation of different pests, Dr Jowett explained.

“For example, Carabus violaceus, which is one of the biggest species, was associated with zero tillage. They will hunt on the surface of soil better when they’re hidden [under crop residue] because they’re so big. Carabus violaceus preferentially

Influence of no-till on weed populations

JMoving to zero tillage will naturally lead to a big increase in weed seed concentration in the first 5cm of the soil, but what does that mean for managing weed populations?

Many zero-tillers are likely to see changes in their weed populations as they move through the transition, with species like vulpia, which is a much smaller seeded annual grass-weed suiting the system, NIAB research agronomist, Will Smith explained.

“We are also seeing higher infestations of meadow bromes in no-till, which we think is down to its ability to stay dormant and then emerge in the crop itself. We might also see plantains, thistles and couch grasses.”

Growers must also consider what potential weeds are

being brought in in cover crop mixtures, Mr Smith said.

“Leaving the odd bean or phacelia volunteer requires a second pass of a herbicide which may not have been anticipated. There is also the potential for more dangerous non-native species which exist as significant weed threats.

“Barnyard grass is a significant weed in southern Europe, Japan, Argentina and America. It is often confused with millet, so these types of species are often found in game covers. Making sure you’re not bringing these type of species on-farm is going to be a priority.”

The use of no-till can also have an impact on herbicide use, with increased potential for lock up of herbicides.

“This may be very different for different herbicides, but products like pendimethalin have a very high propensity to bind on organic material so can potentially lock onto residues and either not be released at the right time to efficiently control [weeds], or be released over a slower period and not be as effective as we’d like.”

However, there is a bit of a trade-off, he added. “Some work we’ve done looks at the mulching effect in black-grass.

feeds on slugs and snails, so is important to consider in crop protection.”

Separate research at Rothamsted found use of zero- or min-till can significantly improve survival rates of parasitoid wasps, which predate cabbage stem flea beetle.

Senior research scientist Dr Samantha Cook said: “Parasitoid wasps are great natural enemies and can serve as effective biocontrol agents of CSFB. They lay their eggs inside crop pests, and the larvae eat the pest from the inside. When it drops to the ground to pupate in the soil the parasitoid makes a cocoon and then emerges later on. If you’re tilling the soil you’re burying these cocoons.

“At Rothamsted we looked at ploughed versus zero tillage OSR and found many more parasitoids in min-till compared to ploughed. It is only the first year of trials but I’m quite convinced by the numbers I’ve seen.”

Having this high level of crop residue on the soil surface is going to be preventing weed seeds from germinating. The effect of that is very small but it’s certainly a consideration.

“The other risk is that all those seeds are on the surface, so if you do have a herbicide failure, you are far more likely to have a serious failure in no-till compared to if you have a cultivation element in your system.”

There is also a risk of expediting herbicide resistance.

“You’re putting selection pressure year on year on the cohorts of the previous seeds that have been produced, whereas with cultivation you’re mixing up cohorts of seed and selection pressure on different ages and seeds overall.”

NIAB’s Will Smith

HOW TO PROMOTE FARMING

Farmers are by far the best people to promote agriculture and educate the public - just look at the huge audience figures of television programmes such as Clarkson's Farm, This Farming Life and Springtime on the Farm People love learning about agriculture direct from farmers and there are many different ways of communicating the industry’s key messages.

OPEN DAYS

Organised by Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), Open Farm Sunday is one of the farming industry’s biggest successes. Since its launch in 2006, over 1,600 farmers across the UK have opened their gates and welcomed more than 2.7million people onto farms for one Sunday each year. The next event is Sunday, June 11, 2023. farmsunday.org

CLUBBING TOGETHER

The farming community is no stranger to the thinking that there is strength in numbers. From local farmers’discussion groups to the likes of the NFU, the CLA, the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs and a whole host of other organisations, the agricultural industry has for generations enjoyed sharing its message as part of a group. These clubs and societies often offer training to help promote farming.

FGinsight.com/thisisagriculture

SPEAKING UP

From volunteering to filling a speaking gap for a local group at a village hall, to talking to a class of schoolchildren as part of NFU Education’s Speakers for Schools - there is a lot to be said for getting out of the farmyard and in front of an audience.

education.nfuonline.com/SpeakersForSchools

SCAN

VIEW FROM THE FIELD

Nick Grayson was just 23 years old when he took over the tenancy of the 80-hectare (200-acre) Nether Haugh Farm after the sudden death of his father.

Joining Future Farmers of Yorkshire, of which he is now chair, helped give him access to mentors and industry experts, as well as enabling him to further his learning with networking, social media training and attending events such as the Oxford Farming and NFU conferences.

Promote your farming story through the power of social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Post images - the British countryside is a beautiful canvas

• Shoot and share videosyour experiences are stories that need to be told

• Tag your MP and politiciansmake your voice heard

• Share facts and stats - if you're proud of our industry, share its achievements

HASHTAGS

Using hashtags is a great way to make your voice heard. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#). Adding a hashtag to digital content identifies it as about a specific topic - opening it up to a far greater audience.

Nick Grayson, Rotherham, South Yorkshire

Farmers; there are vets, land agents, agronomists, tractor salespeople - more than 1,000 people from all walks of country life. If you need help with something there will be somebody who will be only too glad to offer it,” says Nick. As well as singing the praises of joining a group for like-minded people, Nick says social media has helped him grow direct meat sales from his farm.

customers know what we have available and when we will be in their area - we can come away with £700 in sales without having to travel further than three miles from the farm gate.

“People love to hear what has been happening on-farm - social media has helped me grow the business while promoting British farming.”

Future Farmers of Yorkshire is supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. @agrinick

“We aren’t just farmers in Future

“If we manage the Facebook posts right - letting

SUPPORTED BY

THE QR CODE OR VISIT FGINSIGHT.COM/THISISAGRICULTURE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND MORE WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR FARM

Notts estate makes its debut as Cereals host

Cereals is taking place at a new venue this year, on the contrasting sand and heavy clay land near Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.

Gregor Pierrepont, partner at Thoresby Farming and the latest generation of the Pierrepont family to live at Thoresby, says: “We are incredibly honoured and excited to be part of what has been a key fixture in the farming calendar for decades. It is always a place where you can learn best practice and there is the social element in catching up with familiar faces. It is also a chance to show off our beautiful landscape.”

Managing the arable part of this half sandy and half heavy clay landscape is farm manager Will Baker. He says: “On the sandy land we grow hybrid winter barley seed, maize for anaerobic digestion, sugar beet, potatoes, carrots and onions. On the heavy land we grow wheat, spring barley, spring beans drilled in

December, and oilseed rape. Most of the heavy land is rented or contract farmed. We also rent some sandy land on an annual let for potatoes and carrots.”

Mr Baker usually grows RGT Skyfall milling wheat. This year, however, the area where it would have been grown in the rotation is dedicated to Cereals. He also grows hybrid winter barley seed for Syngenta.

“The company likes a double break as the land needs to be clean. If we haven’t been able fit in a double break, we put winter wheat in. Varieties include Champion, Dawsum, Typhoon and Extase. We also grow spring barley –Laureate – and maize to supply two

third-party anaerobic digesters. Digestate from these is used on sugar beet, maize and hybrid oilseed rape,” he says.

Rotation

On the heavy land, Mr Baker has a six-year rotation of cereal/cereal/ oilseed rape/cereal/cereal/spring beans.

“Our aim is to keep the land in

Farm facts

rThe Thoresby Estate totals 3,200 hectares with 800ha farmed in-hand

rThe farming business, including contract farming services, totals 2,200ha; half sand land and half brick clay heavy land

rCrops include hybrid winter barley seed, winter wheat, spring barley, maize,

good heart,” he says. “We don’t practice regenerative agriculture but we’re not massive fans of ploughs and power harrows. Cultivation of heavy land is based around the Vaderstad TopDown cultivator. With the range of crops on the sand land, we have lots of cultivation kit which we can also use on the heavy ground. We don’t have a blueprint for how we farm; we just do what’s

sugar beet, potatoes, winter beans drilled in December, carrots and onions

rLand is rented to Cranswick Farms for outdoor pig production

rLivestock includes 1,000 commercial ewes, 140 Longhorn cattle and 300 Hebridean sheep for woodland management

rRainfall is 625mm a year

As Cereals returns for 2023, Marianne Curtis finds out how the this year’s host farm business near Sherwood Forest is staying ahead of the curve.

Last season,winter wheat yielded almost a tonne above the farm’s 10-year average.

Will Baker

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CEREALS PREVIEW

right at the time of the season.”

Combinable crop yields did better than expected last year. Winter wheat averaged at just over 10 tonnes per hectare, with a five-year average of 9.1t/ha.

Oilseed rape averaged 4.5t/ha in 2022 and beans ranged from 3.5 to 7t/ha. The sugar beet five-year average is around 85 to 90t/ha. Beet is not usually harvested until after Christmas.

Potatoes (190ha) are mainly packing grade and go directly from field to packer, although some are stored for processing. Carrots (40ha) go to three packers and are lifted between September and Christmas. Onions (40ha) are stored in a specialist store.

Machinery

Machinery includes two large Fendt tractors mainly for cultivation, with John Deere tractors used for other operations.

Mr Baker says: “We have a pair of Dammann sprayers and a pair of Claas Lexion combines. Most of the vegetable kit is Grimme. We have two Vaderstad Rapid drills, a Horsch Sprinter drill and three Kramer telehandlers. We try to keep our machinery fleet fresh and the staff look after it. We like to keep investing in what we are doing.”

There is no fixed rotation on the sandy land.

“It is a bit of a jigsaw,” Mr Baker says. “Carrots are on a 10-year plus rotation, potatoes on an eight- to 10-year cycle and everything else fits

in between. Sandy land is heavily irrigated using 22 Briggs and IrriFrance rain gun irrigators serviced by boreholes, rivers, reservoirs and a lake. All have pressurised ring mains. Every crop on sandy land is irrigated. We used 1.2 million cubic metres of water last summer between mid-April and the first week in September.

“Where crops got water we had some very good yields last year. Rainfall was 605mm – only 20mm below the rolling average. The sunlight levels were high which

New features and old favourites

JNew items for 2023 include the Cereals Stories Stage in the main catering and fundraising area, where visitors will hear from farming social medial influencers about their journey into farming, individual industry views and how social media has changed their businesses.

The AgAnalyst academy is also new for 2023, featuring a programme to make precision

agriculture profitable and to help farmers and agronomists organise data sources into a format that can help decision-making and increase profit margins.

The 20-metre-long NIAB soil hole is back, showcasing a wide range of research and information on rotations, cultivations, tillage and soil management from NIAB specialists and project partners.

helped. Sugar beet didn’t get as much water due to pressure from the root veg crops, and suffered.”

Career

Mr Baker began working at Thoresby in 2017.

He says: “I worked under a colleague for two to three years and took over as farm manager in 2020. I grew up on the estate – my father ran the farms for 20 years. I never planned to come back, but when a management role was advertised, I couldn’t not apply and luckily got the role.”

Dr Elizabeth Stockdale, soil scientist at NIAB, says: “Rotational decisions are often made with limited thought about the impact on soil. It is imperative that farmers look at using plants and tillage together to drive soil health and create the ideal structure, with a range of pore sizes for maximum water and nutrient holding capacity.”

Cereals information

rWhen: Tuesday,, June 13 and Wednesday, June 14

rOpening times: Tuesday 8am to 5pm and Wednesday 8am to 4pm. Car parks open at 6am each day, and gates open at 7.30am. Stands and features are open from 8am

rWhere: Thoresby Estate, Perlethorpe, Newark, NG22 9EQ

rMore information: To find out more, visit Cerealsevent.co.uk

As well as Mr Baker, there are two assistant managers, 11 full-time staff and two full-time stockmen.

So, what are his future plans?

“Attention to detail is a massive factor; keeping staff interested and trying to continue making small tweaks. Agriculture is changing day by day and we need to keep doing what we’re doing well, keep up to date and try to be forward-thinking. With lots of different enterprises, some will be winning when others are losing, which helps spread the risk.”

Although the farm has not gone into any carbon trading, the estate is environmentally ahead, incorporating Sherwood Forest which is heavily protected via various schemes.

“We are also considering a Landscape Recovery Scheme with others in the area, which is in the very early stages,” Mr Baker says.

Hosting Cereals is exciting, he adds.

“It is a different place for people to come and a completely different site – not an 80ha flat field. Hopefully we’ll attract a few people from slightly different areas of the country.”

The estate grows a diverse rotation incorporating root and veg crops.

What to see and do at Cereals

More than a quarter of the 400 exhibitors at Cereals are new for 2023. Visitors will also have the opportunity to explore two stages, a land drainage hub, crop demonstrations and the AgAnalyst Academy , which is

focused on making precision farming pay.

The Knowledge Exchange Zone aims to provide practical answers and guidance to challenge and inspire Featuring two stages, visitors will hear from opinion leaders on what lies ahead for the industry and how to best prepare for change.

Environmental focus on main stage

JThe Cereals main stage includes sessions available on both days on topics including environmental incentives, business successes, soil health, technology and regenerative agriculture.

New income provided by ecosystem services can provide opportunities for farmers to deliver greater biodiversity, protect species and curb pollution and will be discussed on the main

stage within the ‘Privately funded environment incentive’ session.

Session speaker Annie Leeson, chief executive of Agricarbon, says: “Incentivising and de-risking the regenerative transition requires measuring soil carbon in a way that people will trust. We recognise best practice as robust measurement, alignment with international protocols, and farmers being treated fairly.”

Continues over the page.

BASIS and NRoSO are offering CPD points for attending Cereals and completing the Knowledge Trail.

CEREALS PREVIEW

Environmental focus cont.

Speakers will also discuss publicly funded environmental incentives including the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Plus and a host of other Governmentfunded grant schemes.

Five expert speakers will also discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change and the drive to net zero.

Rothamsted Research plant scientist Dr Matthew Paul will be speaking in the ‘Net zero and climate change’ session. He says: “I will be presenting research from an international team which shows how a biostimulant spray based on a naturally occurring sugar will give a step-change increase in wheat yields in wet and dry years with no additional fertiliser, contributing

significantly to food security and net zero.”

Political leaders including NFU president, Minette Batters and Defra Minister, Mark Spencer will discuss policy with Nichola Bell, chief executive of Farmdeals, providing visitors with an opportunity to quiz political and industry leaders on their thinking on food security, trade deals, grant schemes, new technologies and everything in between.

Farmer insights

Visitors will also hear from three farmers from across the UK who will provide insights and practical experiences of the benefits of circular and regenerative farming methods in the ‘Regenerative inspiration’ session.

Charlie Steer, arable manager

Social media influence on ag

JNew for 2023 is the Cereals Stories Stage where farming social medial influencers will discuss their paths to farming, their views on the industry and how social media has changed their businesses.

The Stories Stage will also host fundraising for the nominated event charity the Multiple System Atrophy Trust (MSAT), with sessions from Hugh Matheson and host farmer Gregor Pierrepont, who will discuss their family connections to the trust.

Social media journeys

Visitors can also listen to four social media influencers within individual sessions, who will each discuss their journeys into social media and how they got into farming.

Erin McNaught is a fourthgeneration farmer at Pandy Farm, an NFU student and a

Young Farmers Ambassador who won the BBC’s One Man and his Dog competition and was the British Young Handler champion in 2018.

Olly Harrison is a farm contractor with a strong social media presence who documents his life through his YouTube channel ‘OllyBlogsAgricontractFarmer’.

Flavian Obiero is a UK-based, Kenya-born pig farmer committed to diversifying in agriculture. Visitors are invited to join Mr Obiero to learn about his story from Kenya and into UK agriculture.

And finally, James Bannister is the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) chair. He will chat with Jill Hewitt, NAAC chief executive, about his life-changing farm incident and the importance of farm safety.

at Grosvenor Farms, is speaking within this session.

He says: “I will be speaking about the contribution the circular economy can make to regen agriculture to operate circular farming systems, based on the findings of my Nuffield Farming Scholarship travels.

“The business and environmental benefits of a circular farming approach can reduce input costs, improve

the soil and produce safe healthy nutritious food, whilst reducing carbon emissions and enhancing biodiversity.”

And finally, visitors to the main stage sessions will hear how a sustainable and competitive agricultural future can often mean new innovations and technologies are required. Six industry professionals will be taking part in a ‘quick-fire’ session to

Technical crop advice

JThe crop plots offer the latest technical, research, independent agronomy, soil

and rotational management advice rom a wide range of exhibitors.

New to the crop plots for 2023 are Amstel Agro, Bionature UK, Emerald Research, the James Hutton Institute and RAGT.

Cereals visitors will have the opportunity to explore two stages, crop demonstrations and speak with industry professionals across the two day show

explore exciting ideas within the industry.

Kit Franklin, of Harper Adams University, says:

“With a range of expertise and insight on the panel the “New thinking, new technology” session should make for some thought-provoking discussions. I cannot wait to see what synergies come through as we look to future technologies and farming systems.”

Knowledge trail

JBASIS and NRoSO are offering CPD points for attending Cereals and completing the Knowledge Trail. Visitors can claim two BASIS and two NRoSO points for general attendance.

To collect points, visitors must return their completed stamp cards to the relevant stand.

Winter wheat and barley demos

JNew for 2023 are daily demonstrations led by Ceres Rural agronomists. These take place at 10am and 2pm both show days and tours will start near the NIAB stand off the main promenade.

Cereals arable project manager, Jonathan Backhouse, in partnership with Cereals

NAAC Land Drainage Hub

JThe National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) Land Drainage Hub aims to create opportunities for networking between manufacturers, contractors and farmers looking to make the most of their land.

The hub will run the same schedule on both days, which will include an update on

what UK drainage looks like currently in a session led by Lawrence Castle, of Harper Adams University.

The hub will then take visitors on a journey signposting where to go next in terms of water management, what to consider when constructing land drainage and how to make land drainage and

exhibitors, has curated a portfolio of popular winter wheat varieties from the AHDB Recommended List representing winter wheat groups 1-4. This demonstration will also include winter barleys, with popular picks to represent malting, two-row feed and sixrow hybrid varieties.

minimum tillage work together. The sessions will also cover specific contractor queries such as how contractors can manage their risks and keep insurance premiums down and Matt Redman, owner of Matt Redman Agriculture, will run a session focused on how to employ professional contractors and what farmers must check.

Transforming Innovation

Expanding Horizons

For a resilient agriculture, environment, economy and society

CHAP is driving innovation to support the changing role of the grower – custodians of technology, innovation, diversification, environmental stewardship and more.

• An integrated perspective of agriculture, the environment, economy and society will be key to unlocking true net zero gains; CHAP is here to build those links.

• As one of the Agri-Tech Innovation Centres, CHAP is supported by a wider network of expertise and knowledge within agriculture, combining sector insight and opportunity.

• Breaking down silos to enable the integration of minds, technologies and systems, is a role CHAP is here to play.

chap-solutions.co.uk

CEREALS PREVIEW

The new Thoresby Cereals site includes six hectares of plots growing a wide range of popular and emerging crops and varieties. Alice Dyer and Ash Burbidge got early access to see what is in store for visitors.

What to see this year in the Cereals crop plots

Against a backdrop of rolling hills, visitors to this year’s Cereals event on June 13 and 14 will be able to see how new and established crop types and varieties perform on Thoresby Farming’s sandy soils.

JIntegrated pest management will be the main thrust on the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) stand this year.

PGRO principal technical officer, Steve Belcher said: “We will be looking at cultural pest control for weevils and bruchid.

“This includes trap crops such as lucerne and vetch, which will attract the pests and prevent them from migrating into the pulse crop.”

Growers will also have the opportunity to see winter and spring varieties, including green seeded, yellow and vining peas, as well as an intercropping plot.

Mr Belcher added: “Pulses give breaks in the rotation and fix nitrogen — they should be part of every rotation.

“We will be discussing major projects looking at grower engagement, and how we can get more pulses into the arable rotation, because at the moment they are generally only grown every one in five years. ”

KWS

JKWS will showcase its ‘wheels’ of winter wheat, winter barley, spring wheat and spring barley at Cereals; a feature which proved popular last year.

New AHDB Recommended List spring wheat varieties KWS Alicium and KWS Harsum, and newly

Corteva

JFrom high yielding varieties to nitrogen fixing bacteria, Corteva will be showcasing all its technology in one place.

On display will be RL-topping oilseed rape, PT303, which achieved 104% gross output in the RL 2023/24 list trials and is the first OSR variety to offer tolerance against sclerotinia, while also providing resistance to turnip yellows virus.

Other pipeline varieties include PT312, which is in RL

recommended spring malting barley variety, KWS Curtis, as well as KWS Ladum will also be on display at KWS’ stand, said the firm’s technical specialist Olivia Potter.

Visitors will also be able to see KWS’ sugar beet varieties, including the newly recommended Conviso

Smart variety, Smart Vesnica KWS; virus yellows tolerant Maruscha KWS; and an upcoming variety with tolerance to cercospora.

This year’s KWS stand will also include a launch tent where growers can find out more about new and emerging varieties.

trials, and PT315, which has both sclerotinia and pod shatter resistance. Visitors will also be able to see Clearfield variety PT279CL, which is a high yielding Clearfield variety which has no yield drag, said Alex Nichols, marketing manager at Corteva.

“The stand will be a showcase of all Corteva technology, including herbicides and fungicides as well as plant breeding and biologicals such

as BlueN. BlueN contains bacteria that capture free nitrogen and convert it to ammonium. This gives the plant more energy by increasing photosynthesis.

“It can be used on top of nitrogen programmes, or as a replacement, giving around 30kg/ha of nitrogen.”

Farmers will be able to view crop plots treated with BlueN and talk to Corteva’s experts on the stand over both days.

Established and pipeline varieties will be on show at Thoresby Estate.

PGRO

FarmersGuardian and ArableFarming

November 29-30, 2023

NAEC Stoneleigh, Warwickshire

2023 new venue announced

The CropTec Show will be relocating to NAEC Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, in November 2023.

The East of England Showground, Peterborough, announced its closure earlier this year, but the success of The CropTec Show will continue to serve exhibitors and visitors at the NAEC Stoneleigh. Providing even more opportunities to the agricultural community following the success of the 10th anniversary show in November 2022.

Key factors of the new location

Set in a countryside venue in the heart of England

Easily accessible via road and rail

Free car parking for more than 30,000 cars

A showcase for the future of farming

Chosen by exhibitors as the new home of The CropTec Show

For more information visit:

CEREALS PREVIEW

DSV

JAs it celebrates its 100th anniversary, DSV will have its full range of hybrid oilseed rape, barley, wheat and forage crop varieties for visitors to see, as well as providing growers with the opportunity to learn more about the recently announced PhomaBlocker trait, said the company’s Sarah Hawthorne.

“DSV Champion produced an incredible 17.95t/ha to take the Guinness world record for wheat yield last year, while new Group 4 DSV Oxford is a great all-rounder with excellent scores for yellow rust resistance, high untreated yields, excellent standing power and OWBM resistance.

“We will also be featuring our new Group 1 wheat DSV Loxton, which is already receiving interest from growers and millers alike. The UK’s most popular Clearfield variety, DSV Matrix CL can also be seen, as can our new Clearfield contenders DSV Beatrix CL and Miraculix CL.”

OSR varieties DSV Dart, Duke and Duplo will be on display alongside the clubroot-resistant variety DSV Crocodile CR and DSV’s latest high yielding OSR DSV Dolphin.

She adds: “Visitors can also see the first varieties to feature our new multi-layered PhomaBlocker technology.”

NIAB

JWith more than 100 trials plots at this year’s event, NIAB’s stand will act as a showcase for more resilient arable farming systems. With 20 different crop species on display, the organisation aims is to show how each can impact the whole farming system.

Additions to this year’s stand include grain maize, grazing leys, quinoa, cover crops, and bi-crops of clover and wheat, and barley with oats.

Septoria

Growers can see how each species affects the farm’s sandy soils in the popular 20m walk through Soil Pit, which is back for another year.

Other old favourites include the 32 winter wheat demo plots incorporating all RL and candidate varieties; and pathology plots for septoria management, including both treated and untreated wheat blends, which were a popular discussion point last year.

Barley fungicide programmes are also being reintroduced, with senior NIAB specialist, Dr Aiofe O’Driscoll on hand to

Senova

JSenova will be displaying plots of winter wheat, winter barley, winter beans and winter oat varieties at Cereals, including a new winter wheat Group 3 candidate, Almara.

“This variety is suitable for all soft wheat markets and agronomically has been looking strong in trials,” said Senova technical marketing manager, Alison Barrow.

Winter wheat variety Swallow will also be showcased as a variety best suited to the north of England, particularly liked by distillers.

Old favourite Costello is also

Additions to this year’s NIAB stand include bi-crops of clover and wheat, and barley with oats.

speak to growers.

Although no oilseed rape varieties will be on display, flea beetle expert Colin Peters will be presenting new research which could potentially change late summer/early autumn cultivation habits for better pest control.

Uncovering the benefits of protein crops, Dr Phil Howell will be discussing legume pre-breeding research

being undertaken at NIAB; opportunities for crop diversification and lowering inputs on farm; plus new market prospects as a plant-derived protein source in food and animal feed.

Growers will also have the chance to explore different and alternative nitrogen strategies and hear more about NIAB’s spring wheat prebreeding programme.

making a return to Cereals, boasting the highest specific weight and hagberg falling number on the RL.

“We also have winter barley variety Valerie. It has excellent grain quality, stands well and is resistant to both strain 1 and strain 2 of barley yellow mosaic virus, of increasing importance, with more reports of strain 2 incidence this year,” said Ms Barrow.

This year Senova is sharing its stand with Just Oats, which is holding a breakfast club, which includes

an informal question and answer session at 9am and 10am each show day. During the session, growers can pick up some free porridge and quiz experts on oat production, as well as be in with the chance of winning a free oat hamper. Finally, visitors will get the chance to see the new husked winter oat addition to the RL, Cromwell.

“This Mascani cross has a significant yield advantage, good quality and has received positive feedback from millers,” said Tom Yewbrey, Senova seed sales manager.

Thoresby Estate in Nottinghamshire will host Cereals 2023.

Bionature

JWith growing interest in the role of biostimulants, growers will have the opportunity to see the effects of products favoured by multiple cereal yield world record holder, Tim Lamyman.

For the first time, Bionature UK has plots of both treated and untreated winter wheat and oilseed rape, demonstrating the programme designed by Mr Lamyman.

Visiting the trials site, Mr

Premium Crops

JPremium Crops is returning to this year’s Cereals event to showcase a diverse range of crops, including varieties of winter linseed, spring linseed, high erucic acid rape (HEAR), winter spelt, canary seed, red wheat and a range of cover crop mixes.

A new range of autumn sown, small-seeded cover crops will be announced with mixes

RAGT

JWith many growers looking to reduce insecticide use on-farm, the RAGT plots will showcase the company’s new barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) resistance breeding programme.

The line-up of new varieties, which have popular wheat line backgrounds, have been inoculated with BYDV to show the strength of the new gene.

Among the plots will be AHDB Recommended List candidate variety RGT Grouse, which has a Santiago background, and another close-to-market variety with an Illustrious background, which has both BYDV resistance and orange wheat blossom

Lamyman said: “The trial plots show a clear difference in wheat evenness and in OSR branching structure already. We are expecting the OSR to be much taller in treated plots. It is all about building biomass and finishing the crop.”

Treatments already applied include Tip Top, Delta, XStress and Calfite Extra, which are claimed to encourage rooting, tillering and stem strength.

CONSISTENT HIGH-QUALITY AND

We’ve grown LG Skyscraper for 3 years; it suits our system, stands well and is particularly good as a 2nd wheat.

John,

Cleveland

specifically designed as an entry into spring linseed and canary seed. These mixes will include clover, phacelia and buckwheat for deep-rooting properties to aid soil health and structure.

Premium Crops will be sharing a stand with Cefetra and Anglo America, which owns the mining rights to Poly4 polyhalite fertiliser products.

midge (OWBM) resistance, said RAGT managing director, Lee Bennett.

“One year behind that, is a variety with a feed wheat background — we have four variety plots that have both OWBM and BYDV resistance.

“At the moment this is single gene [BYDV] resistance, but RAGT is working on two other resistance genes to bolster protection further.”

RAGT will also be showcasing BYDV-tolerant two-row winter barley, Orcade and spring barley, Oracle, and oilseed rape AHDB RL candidate varieties Kanzzas and Blackmoon.

LG SKYSCRAPER WINTER WHEAT

• High Yielding in All Situations

• Bold Grain Quality and widely used by Distillers

• Good Agronomics suitable for Blackgrass Control

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Tim Lamyman and Mark Carter of Bionature.

Best practice will bring gains from new herbicide

Now fully GB-available, Luximo (cinmethylin), BASF’s new grassweed control active available as the herbicide Luxinum Plus, looks set to give wheat growers fresh hope in the black-grass battle.

But only sound stewardship will ensure good season-long results and long-term efficacy. While its activity is impressive, it must be at the heart of an integrated programme of weed prevention and risk minimisation measures to ensure its long-term efficacy, suggests the firm, a message supported by agronomists.

John Cussans, NIAB weed biology and management specialist, says:  “Given other actives’ reductions in performance over recent years, Luximo represents a fantastic opportunity to form a black-grass control strategy from a new building block.

Efficacy

“While its inherent efficacy is very high, that does not mean that as individual farm businesses or as an industry we can ease off other integrated grassweed management measures.

“Prior experience has taught the industry not to rely on herbicides in isolation.

“Luximo is not a silver bullet and does not change sound husbandry fundamentals which must still be followed to get the best overall control.

“Black-grass thrives in our typical

high-yielding UK wheat-growing environment of heavy, moisture-retentive soils. To address this, the basis for tackling bad black-grass situations has to be cultural controls first, supplemented by a herbicide.

“The most useful are competitive varieties and delayed drilling. While holding off in good weather is hard, the flipside of much higher weed pressure will cancel out any potential yield gain. With black-grass becoming established in the crop, rather than largely before it, you set off on the back foot, with seed return worsening the problem down the line.”

John says his impression of the first season with Luximo is that growers have taken a measured approach to its use and, alongside agronomists, have a better-developed understanding about tackling black-grass, particularly integrated management, to achieve good results short-term and protect product efficacy long-term.

He says: “Black-grass issues can

vary widely from field to field, but this past autumn, because it had been so dry, drilling date was even more influential than usual. Farmers who drilled too early struggled to achieve good control, while those delaying and adopting a more risk-based approach benefited.”

Factors such as weed history, drilling date and crop competition will always come before chemistry used, and a new active does not change this, says John, but as a much-needed new option to provide the chemical element of control, Luximo has delivered on its promise during its first full commercial year.

He says: “As an industry, we have become better at individual field risk management. So far this season, a broad judgement of crops in key black-grass areas would suggest that while control in fields with a difficult black-grass history was not helped by the dry, they are the minority, and where Luxinum Plus applications were well-timed pre-emergence, they appear to have performed well.

“Any initial concerns about temptations to let the product do all the work appear to have been unfounded.

“Grassweed management is about risk assessment and prioritisation. Putting fields in order of winter cropping suitability is a good first step – there will be some which should be put down to a winter cereal crop, for example.”

John urges growers to recognise that control does not end with what happens immediately post-drilling, though.

“With some challenging early growing conditions and a cold, late spring, crops which benefited from a decent level of autumn weed control may still face challenges from thin canopies which hence do not provide good levels of weed suppression through the rest of the year.

“Assess your known problem fields and map patches where possible.

“If your black-grass populations are in defined patches, this may be a year for hand roguing to minimise seed return and spread.

John Cussans

Matt Keane Stu Kevis

New chemistry benefits from judicious use as part of an IPM strategy, to maximise its performance in the short- and long-term. BASF advises that best practice is key to getting the best results from Luximo, the brand name for cinmethylin, its grassweed herbicide active. Martin Rickatson reports.

“This can be especially successful where there are relatively few plants but they are relatively large. If you have a sea of plants though, roguing probably is not going to be easy or effective.

“Remember that it is possible to have 60 tillers per plant, that one plant can set eight to 10 heads and that each head can set 100 seeds. Preventing as much seed return as possible is essential.

“I think that with good results from the first full season with Luximo we have good grounds to be optimistic for 2023-2024, but again it is not a magic solution and using it as part of integrated control will be essential.

“Autumn is always pressured, so prioritising fields will be just as important. Examine each field’s issues individually, identify those with the highest pressure and prioritise them for stale seedbeds, sprayed-off flushes, delayed drilling and timely pre-em spraying.

“As an industry, we have been eulogising about integrated weed management for many years. I think we are now in a better place and if we complement Luximo’s abilities with those cultural controls, we will benefit considerably.”

Potential

Matt Keane, BASF’s agronomy manager in East Anglia, says the serious black-grass burden in some areas of his region made it a good place to not only test Luximo’s capabilities, but also underline how important it is to use it as part of an integrated programme of controls.

He says: “Delayed drilling is a prime example. As we have done for the past couple of years, we are running split field trials here in the East, comparing late September and late October sowings on a Suffolk field containing a consistent high black-grass population of 300-400 heads/sq.m in untreated areas.

“Where we applied Luxinum Plus at the standard rate and recommended pre-emergence timing, we have achieved control levels of 95-98% in the October-drilled plots.”

Although a vital step for good control, herbicide applications should be considered your last line of defence, says Matt.

“It is that delayed drilling which really provides the foundation on which to build everything else and minimises the population to which you are exposing the crop and the herbicide.

“Hold on until mid-October if you can, use stale seedbeds, ensure the crop seedbed quality is good – especially if after roots like late-lifted beet – and seed depth is correct, then the herbicide has the best chance to produce the best results.

“Nominal autumn cut-off for Luxinum Plus pre-em use is November 15. Although guidance rather than a label statement, seedbeds after this are likely to be poorer

and will not work so well. Either wait for the crop to emerge and apply post-emergence, or switch to a spring crop instead.

“Spraying tight behind the drill –within 48 hours if possible – will always produce the best control levels. But while post-em results will rarely be anywhere near as good, if necessary Luximo can be used up to GS30 and it is still the most effective product post-emergence up to this timing.”

Stu Kevis, BASF UK technical lead for cereal herbicides, says one of the key pluses of Luximo is that it is not just a new active ingredient against grassweeds, but works via a mode of action not previously used for grassweed control in cereals.

He says: “The molecule was actually discovered in the late 1970s by North American scientists working on research into annual meadow grass control, but its development was not taken further at the time for that purpose in that region.

“Although its use was commercialised in Asia in rice, it was never marketed in Europe. But just over a decade ago, during research into black-grass control, our development scientists revisited the molecule and found during screening that it had a particularly interesting effect on black-grass, as well as Italian ryegrass, when used pre-emergence as a soil-acting residual.”

Under the recently revised Mode of Action Classification System for Herbicides, Luximo/cinmethylin sits with just one other non-commercial molecule in HRAC Group 30, which describes the inhibition of the fatty acid thioesterase enzyme which is critical to the development and maintenance of the plant cell membrane, says Stu.

BASF’s Luximo looks set to give wheat growers fresh hope in the black-grass battle.

Seeking IPM solutions

Novel

ways to manage aphid-transmitted barley yellow dwarf virus in cereals are being explored in a three-year AHDB-funded research project*. Andrew Blake reports.

Withdrawal of neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments, aphid resistance to pyrethroids, and pressure to reduce reliance on chemicals by adopting integrated pest management (IPM) are making BYDV control more challenging (see panel).

BYDV can cut yields by up to 80% in susceptible cereal varieties and so, in a PhD study at Harper Adams University, Maria Damascena is examining the relationship between aphid pests and cereal varieties.

Ms Damascena believes her work may lead to the use of trap cereal crops to deter aphids from invading specific fields.

“The main objective of our research is to contribute to the integrated pest management of BYDV,” she says.

“More specifically, we are trying to better understand how and why aphids choose their

‘Quick fix’ control ineffective

JThe low cost and ready availability of pyrethroid insecticides has been the driving force for controlling aphids and BYDV, says Yorkshire-based independent agronomist Patrick Stephenson.

“This has led to a lack of understanding of the mechanism of BYDV transmission,” he says. “The increasing level of pyrethroid resistance will make this ‘quick fix’ approach no longer effective.

“This research should certainly further our understanding of the transmission cycle and help develop more integrated pest management practices.

“My concern is that the grain aphid also transmits the virus, so will the answers for bird cherry aphid be the same for grain aphid?

“Also, if we can breed more resistant varieties is this not the most cost-effective solution?”

hosts, based on parameters such as landing behaviour and host plant susceptibility/resistance.”

A key aim is to pinpoint winter wheats which vary in their susceptibility to bird cherry aphid, one of the most important BYDV vectors.

“We’re conducting experiments looking closely into aphid performance parameters, such as the intrinsic rates of increase, weight gain and fecundity in winter wheat varieties both old and modern.

“We’re also investigating aphids’ landing behaviour to understand the extent to which wheat genotypes play a role in the aphids’ choices,” says Ms Damascena.

Populations

Apart from planning, conducting, and analysing experimental work in the lab, glasshouse and field, much of the day-to-day work involves keeping plenty of each of the aphid populations healthy, she explains.

“We’re also doing molecular analysis to ensure the aphids are BYDV positive or negative, depending on the aim of each trial.”

The work involves five varieties: the modern wheat varieties Gleam; Skyscraper; Wolverine and old varieties Flanders and Maris Huntsman.

In the landing trial to test host plant susceptibility, blocks of 18 randomly arranged tubes containing the wheat varieties and barley are spaced evenly around circles in mesh cages in a glasshouse.

From the stock population, 100 adult winged aphids are

released into the centre of the experiment and allowed to land.

The number of winged aphids on each plant is recorded daily after release every 24 hours for four days.

“Most flights occur within four days, so this time should be enough to allow aphids to settle,” says Ms Damascena.

“It’s important to note that we are referring to host plant susceptibility,” she stresses.

“When feeding on less susceptible wheat varieties aphid weight gain is reduced, and nymph development time extended. For the aphids these effects increase the risk of predation and parasitism, decrease fecundity, and increase mortality.”

We are trying to better understand how and why aphids choose their hosts

MARIA DAMASCENA

One of the challenges facing the research team is to untangle the mechanisms through which BYDV vectors select and thrive on different wheat genotypes.

solutions to BYDV control

Although not statistically significant, the trend is that Wolverine is the least susceptible of the five varieties.

“It’s not known to have aphid resistance, but it was the first UK winter wheat variety with BYDV resistance.

“Aphid performance has been worse when Wolverine was provided as a host for all parameters measured, strongly indicating that this variety also has some degree of resistance to bird cherry-oat aphid.”

Landing behaviour

The landing behaviour experiments have shown quite different results to what had been expected based on

previous research, she adds.

“We were expecting to see bigger differences in the numbers of aphids landing on modern and old wheat varieties, because we believed the latter were somehow more attractive to flying aphids.

“So far, our results have shown no statistically significant differences between the varieties, which has led to discussion about our methods and how we might improve them to generate more robust data.

“This is something that we will be following up in this final year of the project.

“The challenge is to untangle the mechanisms through which

BYDV vectors select and thrive on different wheat genotypes, so we can select trap crop candidates,” says Ms Damascena.

Spread

Each experiment covers an important aspect of BYDV spread within the field, she explains.

“Our landing experiment should not only help us decide which wheat genotype might work best as a trap crop but should also help us understand the primary spread of BYDV, which is when virus-carrying aphids first fly into the crop.”

The aphids’ performance on the other hand is assessed using wingless aphids (aptera), which

A key aim of the research is to pinpoint winter wheats which vary in their susceptibility to bird cherry aphid, a key vector of BYDV.

are crucial for the secondary spread of BYDV.

“Once winged aphids select the host to land on and settle, they start producing wingless offspring which then move through the crop potentially carrying BYDV.”

Project information

J*AHDB project: 21120186

Novel solutions to manage BYDV

rNovember 2020 –

December 2023

rPartner: Pheromone

manufacturer Russell IPM

rFunding: £74,100 (all AHDB)

Half-tracks offer cost-effective power and traction boost

From Grange Farm, Birthorpe near Sleaford, W.R. Chapman and Son, Lincolnshire, farms 1,000 hectares of combinable crops within a seven-mile radius of its base. In addition, the family-run operation also provides contract services to local growers, with a modern fleet

of tractors and equipment. As the business has grown, so too has the need for more productivity and efficiency. And where a pair of Challenger twin-track machines once dominated, the mantle has now passed to a Blue Power edition of New Holland’s T8.435 Genesis tractor that boasts a maximum

and

with Smart Trax. Geoff Ashcroft reports.

boosted power of 435hp. Bringing an additional 100hp to the table over the outgoing MT765, the T8.435 also comes with New Holland’s Smart Trax running gear, combining the best of tyres and tracks, through operating as a half-track.

“We’ve enjoyed working with rubber tracks, but the twin-track system was not without its flaws,” says Toby Chapman. “Conditions had to be pretty good to use the power to full effect, and any dew or moisture on stubbles would lead to track slip, rendering it useless until the ground dried out.”

He says the farm considered many options in its quest to boost power and traction efficiently and cost-effectively. It also wanted to maintain good manoeuvrability and improve on-road comfort when travelling further afield for contract work. And while the farm had a shortlist of high powered options to try out, only its local New Holland dealer G. and J. Peck provided a timely demonstration.

“We had a T8 Smart Trax on demo from Pecks and it delivered everything we wanted,” Mr Chapman says.

“The deal was good and with a

cost-effective

four-year warranty plus a service pack, and the option to further extend the warranty to five years, we have confidence in both the tractor and the dealer. And we’ve fixed our operating costs too.

“Pecks look after our New Holland CR9.90 combine, so we have experience of their back-up and support.”

Grange Farm operates a mix of colours in its tractor fleet, with John Deere 6930, 6R175 and

7R250 models managing the need for mid-power tasks. While the farm relinquished its older MT765, it kept the more powerful Challenger 775E for use with an 8m Vaderstad Rapid drill.

The heavier draft work, using a 4.8m TWB Alternator and a 6m Triton tine drill, now falls squarely at the door of the T8.435.

“We widened the Triton drill from 4.8m to 6m, primarily to use as a one-pass bean drill, and that’s

when we found that more power was going to help,” says Mr Chapman.

Performance

“The Challenger is still a very useful tractor for the 8m Vaderstad drill, and it could help to keep things moving should the T8 suffer any unforeseen downtime.”

He says that after 600 hours of good performance and reliability, the New Holland T8

is earning its keep at Grange Farm.

“The T8 is burning a similar amount of fuel on a daily basis to the Challenger, but it outperforms in the productivity stakes by a comfortable margin,” he says. “So we are much more efficient, and we’re now comfortably on top of our power requirement.”

The T8.435 sits on 650/65 R34 front tyres, with 30-inch wide rubber tracks replacing the rear wheels. But this isn’t simply a case

Heavy draft is where the T8.435 Smart Trax delivers with productivity and efficiency for W.R. Chapman and Son.

MACHINERY TRACTORS

of removing the rear wheels and fitting tracks – New Holland says the T8 Smart Trax version has received detailed modifications to the transmission and driveline, along with a revised rear end, so it operates as a dedicated half-track unlike its wheeled stablemate.

With the track assembly pivoting around the rear axle’s high drive location, ground contour following is said to be far superior to a twin-track crawler design. And with a suspended cab and front axle contributing to ride comfort, the tractor’s 16.5 tonnes can be better used to full effect with traction.

“I now get true four-wheel drive, which I didn’t have with the Challenger,” Mr Chapman says. “It could squirm and wriggle about on the surface under full power, where the T8 with its diff locks, just grips and pulls arrow straight.

“We’ve also gained a CVT transmission, which lets me set a cruise speed and the T8 will just hold on. With the Challenger’s powershift, you had some limitations – it was very much pick a gear and go. And changing between 12th and 13th was never the smoothest thanks to the Challenger’s a range-change.

“With Auto-Command, I can just lower the implement and smoothly pull in and accelerate to the desired speed,” he adds. “It means forward speed is no longer a restriction. I can adjust my speed to suit the soil type, and engine load.”

He has plenty of praise for the T8’s cab, which he describes as quiet and roomy.

“I’m just over six-foot tall, and

there’s room enough to stretch out,” he says. It’s not a cramped cab at all, and there’s no need to mind your head when going through the door, unlike the Challenger.

“Noise levels are low, and the comfort and convenience of the SideWinder Ultra armrest is superb. Pretty much everything is at my fingertips. If it’s not on the joystick, there’s a button close by.”

He adds that the leather-covered seat provides heating and cooling functions, and the LED light package around the cab roof provides the best illumination of any of the farm’s tractors.

“Working at night is like being surrounded by a patch of daylight,” says Mr Chapman. “There are two LEDs on the side of the cab roof too, which light up both sides, so you can see where to pull back in,

when running along the headland.”

He adds New Holland’s attention to detail is impressive, picking out the different coloured spool controls as one example.

“Colour-coding is useful, and it’s easy to swap spools through the touchscreen,” he says. “I also like the smaller display in front of the steering wheel, which is used for tractor information such as engine speed, transmission and rear linkage settings, plus gauges.”

Tool storage

There is little Mr Chapman can find fault with, but like many other tractor manufacturers, New Holland’s solution for on-board tool storage remains a challenge.

“One small toolbox on the left-hand side has been supplemented by my own box on the

right-hand side,” he says. “I think most manufacturers expect tractor drivers to have a front-mounted ballast box with additional storage – and I do have one, but it can’t be fitted when the front seed hopper is used with the Triton drill.”

Mr Chapman’s front ballast box offers an extra 500kg, into which a further 200kg of weight can be deposited.

“It still leaves useful space for spare parts such as drill points, shear bolts and cultivator parts,” he says. “You’ve got to be self-sufficient when you go off for a long day’s cultivating or drilling. Not everything is close to home or the farm workshop.

“Reaching those outlying blocks of land is much quicker with the T8’s 40kph road speed,” he says. “It’s much less forgiving on the road than the Challenger.”

Smart Trax gives all the benefits of a rubber track machine, but with true four-wheel drive, says Toby Chapman.

The Sidewinder Ultra armrest provides comfort and convenience when it comes to tractor operation.

An additional toolbox provides modest storage space to complement that provided with the T8.

While cars and vans are rapidly changing to all-electric drives, agriculture’s power and energy storage requirements have left it largely addicted to diesel. The explosive element hydrogen could offer a power-equivalent alternative with zero emissions. Toby Whatley and Emma Penny report.

Farming without fossils

Like all users of fossil fuels to power engines, agriculture has a part to play in finding and utilising alternative fuels which reduce or eliminate exhaust emissions. On-road vehicles including cars and vans are successfully changing to full electrical drives with significant investment from established, and new, manufacturers in this sector.

The lighter weight and low torque requirements of passenger transport have allowed the rapid changeover to battery power, however, the high torque, and power requirements of agriculture make battery-based electric drive physically impossible with the current battery technology available.

CNH has had some success with developing alternative combustion fuels , evidenced by the commercial launch of its

Chemical properties

JHydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and occupies nearly 75% of all matter.

Odourless, non-toxic and highly flammable, it offers significant possibilities as an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines. Discovered in the late 1700s and sitting at the top of the periodic table, hydrogen is the lightest of all elements.

It easily creates stable bonds with other elements of which water is the most common compound of hydrogen found on earth, existing as a molecule containing two hydrogen atoms

175hp methane gas-powered T6 in 2021 , followed by the unveiling of its 270hp prototype T7 in late 2022.

Methane generation on-farm from livestock slurries and anaerobic digestion plants gives rise to the possibility of homegrown energy. Emissions from burning it still exist, but up to 11% less carbon dioxide is released, with overall emissions cut by up to 80% if operating with biomethane, according to New Holland.

Potential

Hydrogen as a fuel source offers the potential for exhaust emissions of pure water, as the combustion of hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the air to create water, typically in the form of steam.

Fundamentally, the burning of hydrogen in a combustion engine works in a similar way to any

and one oxygen. Hydrogen was the gas used to create the lighterthan-air lift inside the ill-fated Hindenburg airship.

Compared to petrol or diesel, hydrogen has a much higher energy density. This is a measure of the energy potential of a substance.

Diesel and petrol offer broadly similar megajoules per kilogram (MJ/kg) at 45.5 MJ/kg for diesel and 45.8 MJ/kg for petrol.

Pressurised hydrogen offers 120 MJ/kg. This greater energy density allows a lower fuel consumption while offering the same potential power output.

other fuel, with pistons, cranks, valves and injectors largely functioning as before.

Alternatively, hydrogen can be used within a fuel-cell. This technology is currently more widely used, with a fuel-cell using hydrogen as part of an electrochemical reaction.

During this process, hydrogen and oxygen from the air react within electrodes to create water and an electrical charge. This charge is then used as a power source for drive motors.

Hydrogen use and generation on-farm is progressing to become a practical alternative, explains Dr Da Huo, lecturer in energy intelligence at Cranfield University.

He says: “Hydrogen tractors are no longer just a hi-tech gimmick – the hydrogen-powered farm is becoming a practical option and a realistic basis for widespread decarbonisation of

the sector. The spur to the shift to hydrogen will be linked to the Government’s commitment to introduce a whole energy system.”

In theory, the whole energy approach will look to utilise all generation systems to produce a usable output instead of charging renewable producers for overproduction when the electrical grid does not require the supply.

Dr Huo says: “Between 2015-2021 for example, around 15% of energy from wind power went unused because the supply outstripped demand. Similarly, when demand is higher than expected, hydrogen reserves can be converted into electricity to maintain supplies.”

This green energy surplus could be utilised to produce hydrogen through electrolysis, generating a regional supply chain.

Blue and green hydrogen

JCommercially, hydrogen as a fuel exists in two main forms referred to as blue and green hydrogen. These are chemically identical, with the colour-based naming highlighting different production methods.

Blue hydrogen is created mainly using natural gas in a process called steam reforming. The process breaks apart the chemical structure of natural gas, but also creates carbon dioxide in the process.

Because of the CO2 generation, blue hydrogen is not regarded as carbon neutral.

Green hydrogen is potentially of greater interest to agriculture as the creation method requires the electrolysis of water.

An electrical charge is passed through water which breaks apart the molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.

While the production process for green hydrogen is much less energy-efficient than that for blue hydrogen, green hydrogen can be created using solar or wind-generated electricity and could utilise over-production when generation outstrips demand.

More over the page.

MACHINERY FARM POWER

Hydrogen Hilux

JToyota’s iconic Hilux pickup could soon be powered by hydrogen if a new £11.3 million project to develop a prototype fuel-cell-powered pickup is successful.

The hydrogen Hilux is not the Japanese manufacturer’s first foray into the sector, with the fuel-celled Mirai passenger car currently offered for sale. The Mirai has been running in the UK since its launch in 2015 and was designed to be as convenient to drive as a conventional petrol-powered car, claims Toyota.

Similar to the JCB concept (see below), hydrogen fuel is stored onboard in high-pressure tanks but is used to generate electricity within a Toyota-

British investment

JStaffordshire-based JCB unveiled its hydrogen-fuelled combustion engine last year. The engine is based on the mechanicals of the firm’s existing four-cylinder Dieselmax engine and is the result of a £100 million investment by the firm as part of its strategy to develop a zero-carbon energy source for its products.

Hydrogen fuel and its associated creation, transportation and storage have

designed fuel-cell stack instead of a combustion process. The energy produced is used to drive the car, with the only tailpipe emissions being water vapour.

Refuelling

Refuelling from empty takes three to five minutes at the pumps and Mirai has a driving range similar to conventionally powered vehicles.

Commenting on the move to develop the hydrogen Hilux, Toyota says: “Driven by an evolving customer demand the company has identified a new opportunity in the commercial vehicle market in terms of a zero-emissions product offering.”

The consortium developing the prototype is led by Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK, but also involves four UK-based technical engineering partners: Ricardo, ETL, D2H and Thatcham Research. Ricardo is an engineering and environmental consultancy specialising in transport, energy and scarce resources sectors, and will be involved in the technical integration of fuelcell components into the Hilux chassis.

The initial prototype vehicles

will be produced at the Toyota plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire, this year. Following successful performance results, the target is to prepare for small series production.

Toyota says: “This project represents an exciting opportunity to investigate an additional application of Toyota’s fuel-cell technology in a vehicle segment that is key to a number of industry groups and will help support the sector’s move towards decarbonisation.”

become a major project for the manufacturer, with the owner Lord Anthony Bamford taking a significantly engaged role in the firm’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy.

This has already seen the creation of the world’s first battery-powered mini digger.

The firm has been surprisingly open with details of its hydrogen project, which has included the creation of two fuel-celled 20-tonne excavators. However, although

technically possible and operating comparatively to a conventional machine, these were felt to be too complex and cost-prohibitive to continue into production.

Progressed

With the business concluding that fuel-cells presented too many technical drawbacks for direct diesel replacements, it has progressed its hydrogen engine with its fitment into a

JCB’s range of hydrogen vehicles.

Loadall telehandler and 3CX backhoe loader, alongside a claimed 50 engine units being created at its Derbyshire factory. The engine itself utilises the same block as its four-cylinder diesel cousins but is fitted with a completely new cylinder head. Engine pressures have been reduced to less than 10% of the diesel equivalent, with the combustion system closer in relation to a petrol engine. A coil and spark ignition system are used which generates a watervapour-only exhaust operating at 300degC.

Lubrication is still achieved using mineral oil, with a unique hydrophobic formula being developed to prevent the exhaust gases from emulsifying with the oil.

Intriguingly, a version of JCB’s hydrogen power system has also been fitted into a Mercedes 7.5t truck, giving an indication of the brand’s interest in offering hydrogen drivetrains as direct replacements outside its

Toyota’s new prototype fuel-cell hydrogen powered pickup.

Power performers

JPotentially better known in the heavy engineering and power generation sector, South Korean-based multinational Hyundai Doosan Infracore (HDI) has announced that it will be mass-producing hydrogen engines by 2025.

Currently operating in the prototype stage, the group has created a hydrogen-fuelled

version of its 11-litre engine offering power outputs of 402hp.

HDI engines are already used in larger construction vehicles and remote power generation. The design is claimed to operate with lower-purity hydrogen while maintaining a zero CO2 exhaust release.

Output

Business Development Manager

Agriconnect is a business unit within the Arc network, a global events, data, and media platform. Arc is a fast-growing global events, data, and media platform with a varied portfolio content led portals, magazines, and events. Agriconnect’s mission is to empower, inspire, and connect people and business in agriculture by creating trusted content and connections that help the industry thrive.

Since 1844, the brands of Agriconnect have been the trusted source of information for farmers and with brands like Farmers Guardian, events, like LAMMA and Farm Business Innovation, and digital platforms, like FG Insights, Agriconnect continues to bring together the British farming community.

The

The power output of its initial hydrogen engine and HDI’s position as an engine manufacturer for the industrial sector gives an indication of the capability and opportunities hydrogen can offer as a fossil fuel replacement.

THE ROLE:

• We are now looking for a motivated and driven salesperson to join our Sales team.

• The main function of the role is to develop business through growth in revenue, yield, and to increase customer numbers. You will be required to identify new opportunities and in uence companies’ media buying habits within the agricultural sector. Due to the ever-changing nature of the industry, this person will have the ability to spot new avenues and exploit market trends.

• Hours: 35 hours per week – Mon – Fri

• Location: Preston – temporary hybrid remote

• Salary: Competitive, dependant on experience.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:

• Own, support and fully develop speci c market sectors

• Conduct sales presentations by telephone, email or face to face to existing and prospective clients in order to develop existing business and generate new business wherever possible.

• Advise existing and new customers on the most e ective solution to meet client needs within the Agriconnect portfolio. Continually seek and develop new sales & opportunities.

• Ability to accurately forecast future sales

• Keep abreast of all current trends, activities and relevant news within agriculture and speci c sector

• An interest in agriculture

• Highly motivated & driven, with an ability to meet ambitious performance goals

• Be enthusiastic and motivated to continually explore new opportunities, whilst possessing a natural inquisitive nature

• Excellent communication written and interpersonal skills

traditional off-highway markets.

Mobile fuel supply has also been somewhat addressed with a technical concept fuel delivery system. Loosely based on a Fastrac and aimed at the construction sector, the system carries a large pressurised tank and transfer apparatus to refuel machines onsite.

The manufacturer claims 97% of its machines are refuelled remotely, so users of its new technology would require a bowser replacement. A trailed version of the tank may also be offered for operators who do

not require a dedicated delivery vehicle.

Supply chain

Extending further than hydrogen engines, JCB has considerable involvement in the wider hydrogen supply chain with a separate business, Ryze Hydrogen.

The Oxford-based company is working to create a whole fuel solution using renewable energy to generate the fuel, combined with a distribution and refuelling infrastructure. Ryze claims to be able to distribute hydrogen at a comparative cost to diesel.

We o er an excellent package including:

• A competitive basic salary

• 25 days holiday increasing to 27 after two years

• An extra day o on your birthday

• Free life assurance

• Contributory pension scheme

• Employee assistance programme

Arc has ambitious plans for growth, and this is an opportunity to be part of our continuing success story whilst enjoying a fabulous work/ life balance.

We strive to create a culture that is open and respectful, where di erences are valued and celebrated. We want everyone to be able to reach their full potential, so we are committed to cultivating a company that promotes inclusion and belonging.

To apply for this role, please email amber.tabiner@agriconnect.com

Doosan hydrogen engine.

JCB’s new hydrogen engine is fitted with a completely new cylinder head.

Weed control without

Increasing numbers of farmers are considering non-chemical weed control for at least some crops or markets. Jane Carley and Geoff Ashcroft look at the options.

eeds are one of the major challenges to yield and crop quality, and while in conventional agriculture, the main defence in recent years has been chemical herbicides, the tide is turning. Active ingredients are becoming increasingly restricted, or for some crops and growing situations have been removed altogether.

Herbicide resistance is another issue – weeds have evolved resistance to 21 of the 31 known herbicide sites of action and to 165 herbicides, and herbicide resistant weeds have been reported in 98 crops in 72 countries.

For organic growers of course, tackling weeds without chemicals is nothing new and Soil Association chair Jerry Alford says that many of the techniques used can be applied to conventional crops.

Mr Alford says: “Organic farms are also having to consider new approaches as vegetable and salad growers spend £1 million a year on manual weeding, and that’s if the labour is available. The aim is to keep weed competitiveness down, either by managing the rotation or using mechanical means.”

Extending rotations, using cover crops and increasing diversity can all help to minimise weeds, he adds, and variety choice is also significant. Livestock grazing not only hits emerging weeds but can make for a stronger crop, Mr Alford

suggests, such as in oats where it encourages tillering.

While farmers may not welcome the idea of to ‘learning to live with weeds’, Mr Alford says that organic growers look at ‘acceptable levels’ of weeds.

“Some weeds are more competitive; some you can live with,” he says.

Mechanical

Mechanical weeding using hoes and comb harrows is familiar territory for organic growers, although the choice of manufacturer has expanded considerably in recent years.

Other weed destruction techniques have also evolved –traditional weed burning has some acknowledged drawbacks but more targeted heat-based solutions are being developed, such as the Dutch-built prototype Andela Robot Weeder. Electrical, laser and controlled light source destruction equipment is in commercial trials or early production.

All these developments benefit from the latest technology to locate and identify weeds in growing crops and for steering/ guiding the weed destruction

Mechanical weeders

JAlong with wider spaced rows and advanced precision, mechanical weeders can operate with more speed and precision than before. These implements come in two key formats – inter-row hoe, and rotary hoes. While one cuts through the soil between the rows of crop to leave weeds on the surface to wither and die, the other gently teases its way through the standing crop, removing small weeds from between the rows.

Timing and accuracy hold the key to the successful application of both methods, along with RTK and cameraguidance for enhanced accuracy and precision.

But, as cereal crops are starting to appear at wider row spacings, the ability to make mechanical weeding a much more viable and available process to supplement pesticide applications is evolving fast.

In the organic sector,

mechanical weeding has become a proven practice with makers such as Garford Farm Machinery, Edwards Farm Machinery, Opico and Terrington Machinery among the established players.

Alongside them sit several revised options including kit from Lemken which bought the Dutchbuilt Steketee range, KRM which imports the French-built Carre models, Standen Imports with the Italian-built Ferrari hoes, and Claydon with its front-mounted Terrablade inter-row hoe.

Mechanical weeder suppliers

rAmazone

rClaydon

rEdwards Farm Machinery

rGarford Farm Machinery

rKRM

rKverneland

tools between the rows, and within the field. At present most are tractor drawn which brings the use of fuel and thus carbon efficiency into the equation, although autonomous, battery powered solutions are also emerging.

“We have had involvement in trials of equipment such as

rLemken

rOpico

rStanden Imports

rTerrington Machinery

rToucan Farm Machinery

rVaderstad

electrical weeders as well as the latest hoes through our Innovative Farmers programme, and there is potential for broadacre crops as well as for the more immediate vegetable, salad, fruit and vine markets,” says Mr Alford.

“It may be that farms need to use a combination of approaches to tackle weeds in the future.”

WSome weeds are more competitive; some you can live with JERRY ALFORD

herbicides

enabling the implement to lift and lower every tine element at headlands.

Models are available in working widths of 4.5-6.75m and are capable of dealing with row widths from 45cm up to 75cm.

Vaderstad has produced this artist’s impression of how the Thyregod models will look in its red and yellow livery.

A new name in the UK market is Schmotzer, and while the German firm has been making hoes for almost 100 years, its new owner Amazone has yet to reveal its new Venterra 2K series to British farmers. However, a Cereals show introduction is looking increasingly likely this season (see p68-71)

A key feature of the Venterra is said to be its ability to be used over longer growing periods due to a deep underframe clearance and increased lift-out height. Amazone says this enables the continued use of the hoe during the season in crops of up to 50cm high.

Its advanced technology includes automatic section control on individual hoeing units,

Earlier this year, Kverneland and Vaderstad announced that they had bought in to the mechanical weeding sector. In the case of Kverneland, it was the acquisition of French maker BC Technique SAS which produces the Phenix Agrosystems range of mechanical weeding equipment. Vaderstad’s, investment saw it buy into Danish firm Thyregod’s TRV interrow mechanical weeders.

Kverneland’s weeding line-up includes the Helios star-wheel equipped rotary hoe; Lynx guidance interface with colour scanning self-steering camera for use with any existing hoe; and the high-tech X-Green guidance interface solution that can be equipped with up to two colour scanning self-steering cameras.

In addition, the product range also includes the Onyx series of row-specific tined hoes offering working widths from 3-12m. When equipped with IsoBus and the

X-Control parallelogram for each unit, the Onyx can provide section control through automatic raising and lowering of individual weeding assemblies at headlands.

Kverneland product manager Adam Burt says: “Mechanical weeding is no longer the preserve of specialist growers, with highvalue crops. With camera and console technology provided by Tillet and Hague, we’re confident of the reliability and accuracy of this new range.”

Vaderstad says the recent purchase of all intellectual property rights to Danish manufacturer Thyregod’s TRV inter-row cultivator rangeincluding the Swingking - will give the Swedish maker a line-up that dovetails with its Tempo precision drill and the Proceed direct drill.

Initially, the inter-row cultivators will be sold under the Thyregod brand and will be manufactured at Thyregod’s production facilities in Denmark. From June 2024,

the products will carry the Vaderstad brand, and adopt the firm’s red and yellow livery.

Thyregod’s TRV technology includes a patented section lift, extensive adjustment options and is claimed by the firm to be the world’s first cameracontrolled inter-row cultivator, with individual frames each controlled by a camera.

The TRV Swingking features an innovative chassis that carries two independent weeder frames in one implement. In a market where precision is everything, most mechanical weeders are bought to match the width of the drill, to avoid damage if the pass-to-pass drilling accuracy is not 100%.

However, the Swingking’s design enables twice the working width of the drill to be weeded, increasing efficiency and saving a pass.

Andy Gamble, Vaderstad UK sales and marketing manager, says: “Using a Tempo precision

The Schmotzer weeder range, now part of the Amazone stable, is due to be launched at this year’s Cereals event.

MACHINERY WEEDERS

Mechanical weeders cont.

drill with a 6m working width and 75cm row widths would usually require an eight-row interrow cultivator to be used when following exactly where the drill has been. This double-frame solution would allow the use of a 12m cultivator that carries two six-metre weeding units, to achieve a precise weeding method without damaging the crops where the drill meets pass-to-pass.”

The Swingking can accommodate working widths

of up to 18m, suiting drilling equipment up to 9m wide.

“We believe that customers will increasingly turn towards inter-row cultivators,” says Mr Gamble.

“We have already identified that in the future many of our Tempo farmers will move to more mechanical solutions for effective weed control.”

Terrington Machinery’s Einboch range now includes the Chopstar-Prime – a row crop cultivator with a newly designed

parallelogram frame for each of its individual hoeing elements. A high lift height of up to 50cm keeps the machine working for longer, during the growing season.

Multiple hoeing options are available, as is Row-Guard – an auto-guidance system that uses a hydraulic frame with 500mm of sideshift, to accurately steer and position the hoe between rows.

Row-Guard relies on camera guidance and allows operation at up to 15kph depending on field conditions. It uses two camera lenses with different exposure settings to minimise the influence of shade and strong sunlight, and the large field of vision over several rows from both lenses is said to result in accurate guidance, even where there is a large weed population.

Laser systems

JWith working widths of up to 3.3m and outputs of 1ha/ hr, Pixel Farming Robotics’ autonomous Robot One is positioned as a challenger to tractor-drawn non-chemical weeding using camera vision to work on a per plant basis.

Large solar panels on its roof top up the batteries for six to eight hours run time and its

design is intended to conserve power – it consumes just 800w when travelling.

Laser weeder modules are part of a range of tools which can be configured for different row widths and Robot One is said to be suitable for use in a number of crops, including sugar beet, cabbage, onions and bulbs.

USA-based Carbon Robotics

has developed the tractormounted LaserWeeder for specialist crops, designed to work on multi-bed systems up to 6m wide.

Made up of a series of independent weeding modules which can be adjusted for different row widths, it uses tracking cameras assisted by a lightbar and 30 150w CO2 lasers which can fire every 50 milliseconds, giving weeding capacity of 0.81ha/ hr. The company claims 80% savings in weeding costs and a breakeven period of two to three years.

Artificial intelligence

Developed in Riga, Latvia, Weedbot uses an AI-backed algorithm to discern weeds from the crop, claiming 2mm precision, targeting weeds with a blue light laser powered

Electrical systems

JWarwickshire-based manufacturer RootWave has developed the Volta electrical weed control (eWeeding) system for orchards, vineyards and fruit, and is eyeing row crops for the future.

In independent trials in orchards last year, the company’s patented high-frequency eWeeding system delivered full control of weeds. Successful trials have also been carried out on maize and sugar beet.

The company launched the RootWave Pro hand-held eWeeder in 2018 and has sold more than 150 units in the UK and Europe for use in municipal and environmental applications.

The tractor-drawn Volta machine treats weeds using electrodes mounted on purpose-designed hydraulic arms to work between different

by a PTO driven generator. Working speeds up to 1.2km/ hr (0.7ha/hr) are claimed and initial trials have been carried out in carrots - the modular build allowing three to 15 ridges to be treated. A limited commercial release is planned for 2024.

Pixel Farming Robotics’ autonomous Robot One.

Carbon Robotics’ tractormounted LaserWeeder is designed to work on multibed systems up to 6m wide.

With its Onyx and Helios models, Kverneland is looking to provide alternative solutions for growers exploring all aspects of cultural control.

row widths of crops. Electricity creates heat within the weed and its roots, ‘boiling’ them from the inside out.

RootWave says its trials have demonstrated that eWeeding provides full control of weeds at a lower total energy use than chemical herbicides, and the 18khz electricity which is driven around a circuit that includes the weed, the ground and the return is said to be safer than DC or standard 50Hz.

Prototypes

Commercial prototypes will be working at demonstration days this summer, and orders for the orchard version are being taken now for 2024 delivery. A system for row crops is expected to be available in 2025.

CNH Industrial offshoot

AgXtend has been developing the XPower range of electrical

weeders in recent seasons, working with partner Zasso which also offers solutions for vineyards, orchards and municipal applications.

The latest design, the tractorpowered XPR is a high voltage, non-chemical weeder designed to work in row crops in beds up to 3.7m wide and is adjustable for row widths from 25 to 40cm.

Designed to kill weeds down to the roots, the system consists of two components

that are attached to the front and rear of tractors. The supply unit includes a generator, the electrical control unit and the switch cabinet. The applicator

unit in the front includes 24 high-voltage power modules with an output of 72 kW.

CNHi says it will be rolled out over the next three years.

RootWave has developed the Volta electrical weed control (eWeeding) system.

Concentrated light systems

JCLAWS (Concentrated Light AutoWeeding and Scouting) is an electrically powered weeding robot being developed by a consortium including leading organic grower Pollybell Farms in North Lincolnshire.

It uses cameras to capture images of the crop and weed growth which are processed onboard and the data used to target weeds as small as 1mm.

Concentrated light is said to be superior to lasers as it focuses several smaller beams of light at the same place at the same time, requiring less energy and with less risk of beams bouncing

off objects such as stones, potentially causing damage or injury. Cells in the weed meristem burst when the light passes through them, killing the weed at its growing point. As well as being able to kill a claimed 60 weeds/sec, it offers added value since the data gathered also measures plant performance which can be analysed using in-house software to inform future plant management decisions.

Initially focused on salads and vegetables, CLAWS has also been successfully trialled in wheat. Five units are on-farm this year, with full commercial availability in 2025.

CNH Industrial offshoot AgXtend has been working with partner Zasso on the XPower range of electrical weeders.

Weedbot uses an AI-backed algorithm to discern weeds from the crop.

A leap forward for sprayers?

High-tech solutions for nozzle control are taking spraying to new levels of precision, saving chemical, cutting the risk of contamination and helping to prevent soil or crop damage.

Sprayer manufacturers work in a volume market and may be part of a multinational corporation, yet the sprayer retains a bespoke character not found on many other machines.

There is a place in the market therefore for specialised technology which may be retrofitted to meet farmers’ specific requirements or adopted by smaller-scale manufacturers before catching the attention of these multinationals.

Netherlands-based company BBLeap was founded by individuals with a background in spray technology and crop protection and who are approaching sprayer design differently.

“The aim is farming at plant

MARTINE SMEIJERS

level,” says the company’s Martine Smeijers.

LeapBox is a modular PWM nozzle control system designed to spray a variable rate every 25cm x 25cm (100 duty cycles a second and 40 variable rates per second).

It consists of electric valves to perform the output on/off plus control modules on the boom governed by a central computer

mounted on the sprayer. Equipment also includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for turn and yaw compensation, power back up and other hardware depending on the sprayer.

It can be completely integrated with the existing electronic system of the sprayer, or can work beside the existing system, using IsoBus for the virtual terminal (VT) and task control (TC) for section control and variable rate.

Installation

The system can be installed on any crop sprayer, orchard sprayer, robot or fertiliser injection system. It is offered as a Leap Edition (fully integrated system) in collaboration with OEMs or as a retrofit directly to the customer.

The objective of PWM is to be able to control application rate regardless of pressure and forward speed, says Ms Smeijers.

“LeapBox regulates the

application rate based on a fixed pressure, maintaining the optimal droplet size. Application rate is turn compensated and prepared for compensation of movement of the boom relative to the machine, so that coverage is consistent regardless of the terrain or field shape.”

The system is designed to be capable of working at 100Hz at nozzle level rather than using blended PWM (bPWM). This minimises the time elapsing between which the valve is completely open and completely closed, offering a wide application rate range, even at high spraying speeds.

High switching speed of the valves provides stepless rate regulation at low driving speed for each nozzle, from 2% to 98% of the full rate. At high driving speed (up to

A bespoke PWM system is offering greater accuracy for variable rate spraying and could accommodate the smallest to the largest booms, reports Jane Carley.

The LeapBox PWM system is offered as a retrofit or factory fit, and grower Jacob Van Den Borne has recently added a third Dammann sprayer with the system to his fleet.

LeapBox regulates the application rate based on a fixed pressure, maintaining the optimal droplet size

LeapBox consists of a central computer, control modules and electric valves and can easily be adapted to sprayers of all sizes and types.

Leap Core, the ‘brains’ of the system.

In the field Jacob Van Den Borne, Netherlands

JVan den Borne Aardappelen grows 550 hectares of potatoes along with sugar beet, barley, wheat and onions near Reusel in the Netherlands. The business moved into variable rate spraying in 2012, explains Jacob Van Den Borne.

“A Dammann sprayer was equipped with six sections and using a six-outlet nozzle switching system, combined to tackle the issues associated with small fields and frequent turning. But we were always struggling to get pressures and application rates right.”

BBLeap offered Mr Van Den Borne the opportunity to work at plant level with individual nozzle control reducing the 1.5m sections to 50cm.

“I was concerned that the

pulsing action of PWM would affect coverage so in the initial phase we carried out a lot of water paper testing, and I quickly saw that there were no such issues.”

A further benefit of the high frequency PWM is fine control of application rate on the headlands, he explains.

“When the sprayer valve is opened, conventional controllers will overdose in this area, which has a negative environmental impact. The LeapBox PWM applies only when the sprayer is driving forward, which ensures that the correct rate is applied from the start of the run.”

He says that at €1,000/m (£882/m) the system compares well with the cost of six nozzles per valve and

that wear part costs have not been an issue, compared with frequent valve leaks previously.

“We also get fewer blocked nozzles, and it is a simpler system exerting less weight on the boom,” he says.

The system helps with other challenges such as fields surrounded by woodland and works with ‘shadow maps’ –task maps based on which parts of the field stay wet for longer due to the shading. The new sprayer, a triaxle Dammann 3500 Series with 33m boom and 12,000-litre twin tank, is also to be fitted with a camera system for spot spraying of volunteer potatoes. A LeapEdition system was fitted by the manufacturer in its factory to give a fully integrated solution.

36kph), the stepless rate regulation range slightly decreases, providing 15% to 85%, and at all speeds 0% (completely closed) and 100% (completely open) are available.

The system is designed for 250 spraying positions, which means it can be used on booms up to 60m with 25cm nozzle spacing. Each spraying position can have more than one valve, for example to give A/B line switching.

LeapBox is capable of changing the rate per nozzle within 10cm at 36kph compared to a minimum of 100cm for a 10Hz system. The requested application rate can also be set over the whole boom, at a variable rate for groups of nozzles,

a variable rate per nozzle, and to meet the requirements of a spot spray system.

LeapBB developer Martijn van Alphen says: “LeapBox is 10 times faster than the competition. A higher frequency and the shortest opening and closing time provide LeapBox with a shorter spraying cycle. The working range of application rates is therefore very broad.”

Task maps can be used to set the application rate, and LeapBox can work with a camera or sensor technique for real time database spraying. BBLeap is developing its own camera system, but also supports the sensors and systems of other providers.

As a modular system, purchasers can start simply upgrading spray quality using LeapBox, progressing to work with task maps and later add camera or sensor technology.

Operation

Operation is via the VT, where the desired droplet size and application rate are selected, and BB Leap’s latest development is a platform which ‘bypasses’ the sprayer or tractor’s data management system to input data from task maps directly to the spray controller, and similarly to receive as applied data.

“We are not limited by speed or data use,” says Ms Smeijers.

“Customers can upload any task map easily to LeapBox through the platform that we have developed for them. Other systems cannot handle the data load and consequently make the smaller ‘cells’ into larger sections. That’s when precision gets lost, and operators have to revert to working with sections or boom width.”

BBLeap has retrofitted LeapBox systems to a wide range of sprayer brands. Work with more specialist manufacturers includes developing a factory fit system (LEAP edition) for Dutch company CHD which offers a range of bespoke machines, and for mist blower specialist KWH.

Rapid changes of application rate at a fixed pressure allow for effective turn compensation, says BBLeap.

Spec and tech with

With several 3,500-litre self-propelled sprayer options on the market, can a tractor-mounted sprayer deliver capacity and technology on-farm? James Huyton talked to a mixed farming business following the mounted route.

hen looking to invest in a new sprayer, Andrew Shaw assessed a range of options.  The business was running an 1,800-litre mounted Vicon iXterB sprayer, but with an expanding business and land further afield the need for a

Whigher capacity sprayer became apparent. Based in Warrington, Cheshire, the Shaw family’s mixed farm comprises 265 hectares of combinable crops, including wheat, barley and beans, 10ha of maincrop potatoes and 10ha in stewardship agreements alongside short-term leys.

Barley grown on-farm is used to feed 550-head of beef cattle, reared on contract for a major food retailer.

With such a diverse farming business, Mr Shaw was looking for a sprayer to offer capacity and flexibility.

He says: “We wanted a sprayer with the capacity to cover our acreage and range of crops, but after looking at trailed sprayers and used self-propelled machines on the market, nothing really seemed to fit the bill.”

The Shaws had looked at Amazone sprayers in 2012, when they eventually purchased the Vicon, but at the time they had reservations with their local dealer support and the machine specification available led them to choose the Vicon.

“Since then, the Amazone machine has been vastly improved, alongside an increased technical specification and larger tank capacity with the option of a front-mounted tank,” says Mr Shaw.

“We opted for a UF2002 sprayer combined with an FT1502 front tank because we felt it gave us the

flexibility of having another tractor on farm when needed, compared to having a self-propelled machine.”

The complete set-up has a fully laden capacity of 3,500 litres from both the front and rear tanks, which Mr Shaw feels creates a well-balanced combination when fitted to the farm’s Fendt 516. Mounting the sprayer is remarkably quick and easy he adds, but space between the back wheel of the tractor and the sprayer can be an issue when attaching the top link and fitting the pto shaft.

He says: “If we were buying the machine again we would opt for Amazone’s quick coupling system.”

Space

This optional feature uses a pto shaft with longer travel, working in conjunction with a pivoting drop-down top link mounting point.

This is designed to create a more user-friendly space between the tractor and the sprayer. Once all

Front-mounted cameras provide improved visibility at road junctions.

mounted sprayer

pipework is connected the operator reverses back, in turn latching the top link quick coupling unit into place and linking in the two lower link arms.

When spraying, the pto-driven pump automatically draws the spray solution from both the front and rear tank, with the auto levelling system ensuring weight distribution across the machine is maintained.

This is a great feature but, equally, Mr Shaw also likes the fact that in certain circumstances he can fill the front tank with a different mix in addition to the rear tank. Once filled, he can isolate the front mix and apply the rear tank mix before washing out and spraying a different crop with the front tank mix.

“This is especially useful when travelling to blocks of land further away where you want to finish off a field with a tank mix, before moving onto your next crop on your spray programme,” he says.

A potential challenge when isolating a separate mix in the front tank is the requirement to fill and mix product through the rear tank induction system before pumping the contents into the front tank for isolation. This is because the front

tank lacks an individual pump and induction system.

Mr Shaw only occasionally uses split mixes, so the added complexity of filling is generally not a major issue; however, if the rear tank is completely empty, the dry pump will not pull from the front tank to the rear.

In this situation he uses the 350-litre capacity rear tank wash facility to clean the tank, retaining 50 litres of clean water to prime the pump ready to draw the mix into the rear tank to continue spraying.

Heis pleased with the layout of the tank induction and filling system.

The induction bowl pulls out to

In print, in pocket, informed, in profit.

Automatic self-levelling is provided between the front and rear tank.

Andrew Shaw

offer a jug filling station and any washed jugs or chemical containers

can be left to drain out into the induction bowl with an internal

MACHINERY SPRAYERS

mounting bracket. The pump supplies a suction capacity of 150 litres/minute, delivering a fresh water supply during both suction and pressure filling, providing effective mixing of liquid, powder and granular chemicals.

The flow meter and pump have a capacity of 300 litres/minute and offer faster filling, with the operator setting the chosen volume of water through the control box or through the tank-mounted flow meter.

“Once programmed, you can leave the sprayer to fill to the correct volume and automatically stop, making filling quick and accurate,” says Mr Shaw.

Both of the tank systems are offered with an optional camera system, for monitoring surroundings on road and in the field.

Although Mr Shaw opted to fit his own after-market camera system, he says this feature is particularly useful when emerging from road junctions and also manoeuvring into field corners.

Lighting on the front tank and rear-mounted unit gives good

all-around visibility, with separate LED nozzle lighting providing the ability to highlight each individual spray fan when working at night and allowing the operator to assess nozzle operation down the length of the boom.

Controls

Working in conjunction with the Fendt 516 Vario Terminal joystick, multiple boom controls alongside the master on-off switch and manual sectional control are operated from individually assigned switches. The remaining controls are run through the AmaTron 4 system linking the tractor’s GPS system and field mapping, with the sprayer’s automatic sectional control switching.

Mr Shaw says: “Having the option to control the sprayer functions, and forward speed through the one joystick really puts it on a par with a self-propelled machine.”

Amazone’s AmaTron 4 controller is a full IsoBus controller that can operate a range of

machines in addition to the sprayer.

Mr Shaw uses the controller to map fields, which can be saved for automatic field recognition. This can also be programmed with site-specific regulation of the application rate on certain crops and field areas.

Jobs can be logged and recorded for each field application and once completed the records can be exported to a PDF job summary ensuring record keeping is kept accurate and up to date.

The controller is also used to control the application rate, monitor forward speed and sectional control and provide a visual display of front and rear tank levels amid operation.

The contour following ability of the booms over undulating ground is effective and allows a maintained forward speed and height consistency above the crop.  Amazone Super-L booms offer fully automated height control which is operated through the AmaTron 4 box.

Using four sensors along the 24-metre width boom, this system is consistent in maintaining boom height, which prevents fluctuations in crop height or field features from generating false readings.

Fully automated boom guidance delivers height guidance, tilt adjustment and boom lifting on mapped field headlands.

Linked to Mr Shaw’s Fendt 516, IsoBus and GPS system, the Amazone sprayer is capable of individual nozzle shut-off.

Based on a conventional rotating nozzle body, the AmaSwitch uses

an electric valve which is fixed directly to each nozzle body to control individual spray tips.

Working in conjunction with the tractor’s GPS system, automatic shut off is possible on headlands or working in close tramlines.

Mr Shaw says: “I am really impressed with how accurate the auto shut-off is working with the tractor GPS. Having individual nozzle shut off gives an added accuracy to our applications which reduces inputs, and operator error.”

Nozzles

Mr Shaw uses two nozzle types through the spaying season; BFS air bubble jet nozzles and the Pentair Hypro GuardianAir nozzle.

Both tips have a LERAP 3 star rating and give good application coverage on a range of crops and growth stages.

Working across both cereals and root crops, Mr Shaw operates two sets of wheels, changing over mid-season.

“We start the growing season running on 540/650 tyres, giving greater stability and traction when applying pre-emergence sprays, then change over to 340 tyres front and rear in late spring ready for planting potatoes.”

Overall, he is impressed with the build quality and functionality of the machine; however, a cracking fitting has proved to be a repetitive issue,.

“The hoses at the boom folds have broken elbows off several times when folding the booms in and out, they seem too stiff and put too much load on the fittings.  Some more flexible hoses would probably be better at these pivot points,” Mr Shaw says.

I am really impressed with how accurate the auto shutoff is working with the tractor GPS

ANDREW SHAW

Operation controls are programmed into the Vario Terminal joystick.

The induction system has operator-focused features.

The 24m boom is fitted with individual nozzle control and LED lighting above each tip.

With the winner of this year’s Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year competition due to be crowned at Cereals, we caught up with last year’s winner Steve May, to find out what it takes to be one of the best. Geoff Ashcroft reports.

View from the top - award winning best practice tips

Northamptonshire-based sprayer operator Steve May lifted the agricultural industry’s coveted spraying trophy last year, to become the 2022 Farm Sprayer Operator of The Year (FSOOTY) champion.

Four years after he first entered the competition, Mr May had continued to refine his knowledge and professionalism, comfortably impressing the judges enough to lift the coveted trophy.

But what does it take to become one of the select band of sprayer operators recognised for working to the competition’s high standards of professionalism and competence?

“Professionalism and pride are key drivers for me, and my attention is always drawn to doing the best job I can,” explains Mr May, who is sprayer operator at the family-run Fromant and Sanders’ Clarkes Lodge Farm based at

Kislingbury near Northampton. He divides his time between spraying, primary cultivations, and drilling for the 810-hectare operation, all carried out from the cab of a John Deere 6R215, clocking up around 1,700 hours/year. It is an office vista that affords a year-round view of soils and cropping, keeping Mr May in touch with every aspect of crop production.

“I do get a buzz out of growing good, clean crops, and that requires a constant focus on what we do here at Clarkes Lodge,” he says. His knowledge base is diverse, and much has changed at the farm since he first entered the competition in 2018, which has heightened his appetite for learning. The farm has changed sprayer to implement an increased tramline spacing from

24m to 36m; it has revised the sprayer filling area, and introduced an insulated shipping container for safe storage of chemicals.

The farm operates a trailed John Deere sprayer, and four years ago it upgraded to a 6,200-litre R962i with 36m boom and Twin Select nozzle control, replacing a 24m model. Advancing again, the R962i has just been replaced by an R975i, bringing a larger spray tank for further efficiency gains.

“Being efficient is all about making the most of logistics, and while our previous sprayer only spent 20% of its time fully laden, having an additional 1,300 litres capacity will help with part loads and blocks of land. The intention is to restore some lost productivity where changes in water volume are required,” says Mr May.

Realistic outputs are typically 140ha/day, he says, which sees him travelling to pockets of land dotted around the Northamptonshire

I do get a buzz out of growing good, clean crops, and that requires a constant focus on what we do here

STEVE MAY

The farm’s sprayer specification includes ActivePause, a 1,200-litre/min pump with hydraulic drive and 3in pipework.

MACHINERY SPRAY APPLICATION

countryside, negotiating fields from 1.5ha up to 30ha. And depending on what he has in the tank, that daily output can now be achieved with just two fills instead of three.

“Our average field size is just six hectares, so there’s a lot of folding and unfolding each day,” he says.

“Reducing the number of fill-ups required is a big help with maintaining productivity.”

Working from Clarkes Lodge Farm, he avoids the need for a bowser and additional labour. Having developed revised filling resources, along with improved clean water access thanks to a 30,000-litre water tank that supplements the farm’s original 10,000--litre tank, less time is now required to fill the sprayer.

With safety in mind, Mr May keeps a spray applications manual in the tractor cab, which he produced to meet the specific needs of his spraying operation. It details emergency procedures, action plans, key telephone numbers and essential spraying and nozzle data.

“It’s one of those documents I produced to make information readily available if there’s ever an emergency that needs dealing with,” he says.“It is also a useful reference document that would enable anyone else on the farm to pick up spraying duties, if I’m ever unavailable.”

In addition to better access to water, a new spray store brings a higher level of safety and security to the operation.

“We chose a 40ft refrigerated shipping container,” Mr May says. “The structure was already

insulated and included a raised and slatted aluminium floor. I boarded the floor and sealed the corners to create bunding, then we cut a raised door into one side of the container for access.”

The container’s two original full-height doors have simplified loading palletised deliveries, and the installation of a full-width metal plate behind the doors has completed the bunding capability.

“The standard capacity is 6,750 litres, but adding an additional bund across the side door can give up to 11,000 litres of capacity,” Mr May says. “It’s very safe and secure.”

In addition, he has installed fine mesh insect screens over the apertures that used to supply refrigerated air, and this has created generous store ventilation. During the winter, the vents can be sealed to maintain an ambient temperature above zero degrees centigrade.

When it comes to sprayer technology, Deere’s PowrSpray functionality gets a big thumbs-up.

“ActivePause helps to buy time when loading complex tank mixes,

while a 1,200-litres/minute pump and three-inch pipework does make short work of topping up the tank. For anyone considering hydraulic pump drive, just do it – getting rid of a pto shaft is the best safety-related decision anyone can make.”

Protection

The sprayer’s 36m tri-fold steel boom gets some criticism for its lack of nozzle protection when on the road.

“Narrow lanes and overhanging trees pose a constant threat with nozzle damage,” he says. “I do carry spares, but I’d like to see better protection on the more vulnerable parts of the boom.”

He adds that auto start/stop and auto section control of 12 x 3m boom sections has improved efficiency and reduced overlaps. He likes the TwinSelect dual nozzle control, which provides additional flexibility with spraying speeds and water volumes.

“My go-to nozzle is an 025 Guardian Air, which is supported by an 035 Guardian air to help drift management,” he says. “Depending on water volumes and conditions, the sprayer can automatically switch between either of those nozzles, or use both. It’s a great system that can easily accommodate water volumes from 100 to 400 litres/ha.”

With the sprayer only used for pesticide applications, Mr May’s remaining three nozzles comprise 03 Defy 3D, 05 Defy 3D for pre-emergence use and 05 ULD,

providing low drift characteristics for pre-emergence applications.

In-field, he makes the most of the tractor’s extended monitor by using it for the sprayer while keeping the tractor terminal solely for GPS.

“There’s everything in the cab that I could want,” he says.

“Though I do prefer a dedicated sprayer joystick for the trailed sprayer rather than integrate everything onto the tractor’s CommandPro joystick. I can then keep the tractor joystick purely for tractor functions.”

He says the latest sprayer control joystick is much better to use.

“It’s all about operator preferences and being able to make choices that suit the way I’d like to operate my kit.”

With so much automation available on the tractor and sprayer, there is more time to watch what’s going on.

“I have time to look for signs of crop stress, disease and weed competition,” he says. “Automation has helped me to become a much better operator and a more knowledgeable farmer.”

This pragmatic approach saw him step back from the FSOOTY competition after reaching the final in 2018. It was an opportunity to continue CPD in the search for greater confidence and professionalism. As a result, he gained BASIS and FACTS qualifications, along with support from Lincoln University and a diploma in agronomy.

“Without knowledge, you can’t get experience, and without experience, you can’t build on what you already know,” he says.

“Farming is very much a long-term process, and there’s little that changes in just 12 months.

“My initial goal when entering the competition was to test myself, to learn from others and to benchmark myself against other professional operators. FSOOTY is a great way to do that, and also learn from others. It’s also helpful to share your experiences with other like-minded operators,” says Mr May.

Auto start/stop and auto section control of 12, 3m boom sections has improved efficiency and reduced overlaps at Clarkes Lodge Farm.

A 36m tri-fold boom contributes to compact overall dimensions for transport.

Visitors to this year’s Cereals can expect to see more machinery than at events in recent years, including several new developments. Jane Carley reports.

Cereals: What to see in the machinery lines

Tractors and combines

Case IH

JCase IH returns to Cereals to give the first European public display of a new flagship model in its Optum range. The Optum 340 CVXDrive supplements the existing 300hp and 270hp

McCormick

JThe focus of the McCormick stand is mid-range models around the UK’s 170hp average power figure, including the 135-155 max hp X6.4 P6-Drive Series with features including McCormick’s front axle suspension, fourwheel braking and P6-Drive transmission with six powershift gears and four robotised ranges.

Also present will be the X7 short wheelbase tractors with six-step powershift P6-Drive and continuously variable

Optum CVXDrive models and extends the series’ power bracket.

The Optum 340 CVXDrive is the top model and most powerful in the Optum AFS Connect range, delivering

up to 340hp with an upgraded CVXDrive stepless transmission and the AFS Connect Advanced telematics portal for remote monitoring and management of farm, fleet.

John Deere

JJohn Deere will highlight its most recent major developments, including HarvestLab 3000, which is now available on S-Series and T-Series combines.

This precision farming tool has expanded the use of nearinfrared sensing to measure important quality parameters in wheat, barley and oilseed rape continuously and in real time.

The technology also gives farmers data on field performance to aid decisionmaking on inputs for the following season.

The flagship X9 combine, said to offer a throughput of more than 100 tonnes per hour, will also be on display.

VT-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.

Topping the display will be the latest X7.6 six-cylinder long wheelbase range, spanning 190-225hp with P6-Drive six-step powershift or 210-240hp with VT-Drive. Features include a brakeboosting system to reduce braking effort while improving driving accuracy and safety.

It will be showcased alongside the new Puma 260 CVXDrive and new Quadtrac 620 AFS Connect.

Tractors on show will include the 8R 410 tractor with stepless eAutoPowr electric transmission – the first 400hp machine to use the new gearbox – and the ability to offboard power to trailed implements.

MACHINERY CEREALS PREVIEW

Tractors and combines cont.

Fendt

JFendt is offering visitors the opportunity to take a close look at the seventh generation 700 Vario tractor series (203 to 283hp).

The Concentric Air System (CAS) ventilation and cooling concept from the Fendt 1000 Vario is incorporated for improved cooling, and the 700 Vario gains the fully integrated Fendt VarioGrip tyre pressure control system for the first time.

The tractor and implements are operated via the multifunction joystick and the optional 3L joystick in the FendtONE console. The

700 Vario is equipped with a 10-inch digital dashboard and a 12-inch terminal on the armrest as standard. An additional 12-inch terminal in the headliner is available as an option.

Telehandler

Also at Cereals will be the Cargo T740 telehandler which has a lift height of 7.70m and lift capacity of four tonnes. It also features an innovative cab which can be raised to 4.1m to give a direct view into trailers when loading, and continuous curved front window to further enhance visibility.

Amazone

New Holland

JNew Holland will showcase the recently introduced 280hp T7.300 long wheelbase. Ride quality is improved by the new Comfort Ride suspension and this model also features the Horizon Ultra cab, said to be the quietest on the market at 66 dBA. The cab also offers PLM Intelligence precision farming capability via the IntelliView 12-inch monitor, and the SideWinder Ultra fully adjustable armrest.

Fuel capacity has been increased by 18% and service intervals extended. The new model also features an upgraded version of

New Holland’s popular Auto Command transmission.

The T6.180 Methane tractor, will also be on show, powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which allows users to make use of biomethane stations. Alternatively, refilling can be performed directly from the gas grid network with an installed compressor.

CNH Industrial strategic partner Bennamann, the UK-based expert in solutions to capture, repurpose and store fugitive methane emissions from manure slurry lagoons for energy use, will also be joining the team on the stand this year.

JAmazone is extending its range of pneumatic harrowmounted seed drills with the Centaya Special, replacing the AD-P Special. Offered in hopper sizes of 1,000 and 1,500 litres and in working widths of 3m, 3.5m and 4m, the pneumatic harrow-mounted seed drill can be equipped with the RoTeC

KRM

JKRM will show a new seed drill which uses the new Sola Aura front hopper and Seed Ramp rear mounted tine coulter frame. Splitting the drill between the front and rear of the tractor provides better weight distribution and with the Aura’s various metering options, growers can sow companion crops or grain and fertiliser simultaneously, says the firm.

The new Aura front hopper has a capacity of 2,000 litres and can be supplied for a

single disc coulter or with the TwinTeC Special double disc coulter.

Mounted

The segmented distributor head is mounted directly above the coulters, ensuring a short conveying time for the seed and the hopper is positioned well forward for an optimum

single product or with a split hopper.

The Seed Ramp uses the heavy-duty SM tine coulter which will work directly into unmoved soil, min-till seedbeds and ploughed land. The coulters are mounted in four

centre of gravity close to the tractor.

The Centaya Special harrowmounted seed drill is controlled either by the machine-specific AmaDrill 2 in-cab terminal or via IsoBus and can be connected without tools to the various Amazone soil tillage implements via the QuickLink quick coupling system.

Simtech

CEREALS PREVIEW MACHINERY

JSimtech UK is introducing a new model into its direct drill range to slot between the existing TSG 300 and TS 300. The 3m width TSG 300 S has an uprated frame, 900-litre hopper and a larger wheel/tyre combination to carry the additional weight.

Horsch

JHorsch will show a new third tank option for the latest versions of the Pronto drill. Updates to the design of the Pronto 3-6 DC line allows the MiniDrill G&F to be mounted as an additional third tank and, therefore, to extend the tank capacity by 400 litres.

The third tank could be used for undersowing, application of microgranular compounds or for slug pellets to increase the efficiency of the machine even further and to reduce passes.

The MiniDrill, which comes with separate fan, its own distributor tower and specific

BDC

rows at 16cm row spacing (25cm option) with a stagger of 40cm to ensure free movement of trash or large stones.

Sowing widths of 4-7m are available to match tractor and tramline width requirements.

JWith an eye on the financial pressures farmers are facing, and to ensure grain is stored at the right temperature to keep it in tip-top condition and achieve the best possible price, BDC Systems has developed its Ventilation Pyramid, described as a lowcost solution for low volume ventilation of floor stored grain.

The model is targeted at contractors and customers looking for a grass drill that can also establish cereals and other bulkier seed. The prototype will be in production in the next few months with a view to orders being taken in the summer.

placement horizon, has also been updated, giving the choice of application via spreader plates between or behind the seed coulters or on the optional Crossbar which is mounted between

Grain storage and handling

the disc system and the tyre packer. This allows undersown crops or grass to be placed deeper and pressed by the tyre packer to achieve optimum seed-soil contact.

Depending on grain depth and spacing, a Ventilation Pyramid, designed to blow air up through grain via a fan located outside of the building, delivers maximum cooling and optimum air

distribution, providing ventilation for up to 400 tonnes per unit, says BDC.

With an open lateral design resulting in low air resistance leading to greater efficiency, the Ventilation Pyramid also has excellent stability due it its low-profile outline.

The Ventilation Pyramid uses a standard drainage pipe under concrete to connect to the fan and has an optional galvanised sump chamber with various spigot sizes. Its manhole assembly gives a level finish when not in use.

MACHINERY CEREALS PREVIEW

Cultivators

Agriweld

JAgriweld will be demonstrating the new MinDisc, redesigned to feature a front row of Aggressor discs that clears a path for the following legs, reducing trash interference. A second set of Aggressor discs are mounted behind the leg row to further work the till.

The Agripacker at the rear now features hydraulic folding to help with weight transport

and lessens overhang during transportation as well as offering hydraulic depth control.

Angled edge discs are used instead of side plates to channel workings leaving no overspill.

A variety of leg protection options with the Auto-Reset version allowing the lifting of legs out of work giving the ability to run disc-only.

Grange Machinery

JGrange Machinery is introducing the StripTill Preparator, designed for establishing maize, sugar beet and brassicas.

Three independent rows of cultivation discs can be hydraulically adjusted while working in harmony with a low disturbance tine and point.

A zonal Guttler prism roller ring performs the final part of the cultivation pass to break down any clods that have flowed through the system as well as consolidating the

row in readiness for a planter. Granular or liquid fertiliser can be applied behind the loosening tine.

Leg spacings can be specified at different row centres to suit a range of sowing systems and crops. Hydraulic front cutting discs are fitted for trash management and to provide minimal disturbance. Available in 3m, 4m and 6m working widths; horsepower requirement is from 210hp.

Opico

JOpico will launch the ‘Stealth’ version of its HE-VA CombiDisc, which gains ultra low disturbance legs and a choice of different points.

Now available in working widths from 2.45m to 5.25m in both mounted and trailed formats, the Combi-Disc employs two leading rows of soilloosening legs followed by two rows of serrated Sabre discs to provide a surface chopping and mixing effect. This is followed up with a V-profile roller to produce a corrugated, weather-proof finish, says the company.

When conditions require it, the discs can be lifted completely out of work, enabling the unit to be used as a subsoil loosener. With the legs lifted out, the machine can be put to work as a shallow disc cultivator.

Made from Hardox steel, the narrower legs can be interchanged with standard 25mm wide subsoiler legs. The Stealth 120mm low disturbance point has a shallower wing angle and shorter nose that has been designed to open the soil to create drainage fissuring without mixing the whole soil profile.

Schmotzer

JCereals will mark the UK launch of the Schmotzer brand, recently acquired by Amazone, with the new Venterra 2K series hoes on display.

The key feature of the Venterra is its ability to be used over an extended window due to its high underframe clearance and increased lift out height, enabling continuing use in crops of up to 50cm high, even when coming out of short work into the headland and using GPS SectionControl to lift out each tine element individually.

Working widths are 4.5m to 6.75m and the hoe can work in row widths from 45-75cm. The

Venterra is suitable for use in maize, sugar beet or any other row crop.

The Venterra 2K is guided between the rows using the Horus Pro camera set-up and downtime is minimised by the Rapido quick-change blade system.

Additional tools, such as row protectors and following harrows can be added.

The interchangeable tool system means that the hoe can be set up for several different functions with trailing tools such as ridging discs or finger wheels being mounted on a separate parallelogram for improved contour following.

CEREALS PREVIEW MACHINERY

Sprayers

Knight Farm Machinery

JKnight Farm Machinery’s ‘Vario Select’ system uses a combination of four different nozzles at each spray point to offer up to 16 application rates up to 800 litres/minute.

When turning, the gyroscope measures the severity of the turn and adjusts

spray levels across the boom.

On the inside of the machine, where the boom is travelling slower, application rates get progressively lower while on the outer side, which is going faster, they are progressively raised. It also uses a simple computerised nozzle selector so operators can

dial in the target rate, droplet size, minimum and maximum pressures and working speeds. The system enables the machine to ‘spot spray’, with the volume of spray applied being changed according to the severity of the weed, pest or disease problem.

Horsch

JHorsch has introduced the new Leeb FT front tank, available in 1,200-litre and 1,800-litre capacities.

JKuhn will show the new Lexis 3000, an entry level trailed sprayer designed as a lower cost, simpler machine.

It features a 3,000-litre polyethylene tank and a 320-litre rinsing tank, and is available with folding steel or aluminium booms from 18-24m. Trapezia or Equilbra suspension systems maintain a stable spraying height on rough terrain while an

Fendt

JFendt will show the latest updates to the Rogator 600 self-propelled sprayer including improvements to the boom height guide - for greater stability the boom mounting has been revised and the position of the sensor has been adjusted. Boom height control is now based on position data from up to six different sensors which improves automatic adjustment to crop height.

All Fendt Rogator models get new nozzle bodies as standard. The valves are

independent anti-whiplash system protects the boom from damage during sudden braking and acceleration.

Kuhn’s Diluset+ valve system uses a ‘steering wheel’ type valve to control the machine’s main spraying and flushing circuits. A centralised maintenance area provides easy access to key filling, suction and bowl filters as well as the spraying pump for easier maintenance.

The Leeb FT design features compact dimensions and an optimised centre of gravity. When combined with the Leeb CS, it offers up to 4000 litres of spraying capacity and uses a standard coupling triangle to ensure short set up times and easy handling without the need to manually couple hydraulic lines.

The Leeb FT Basic can be used as an additional water tank with a two-inch suction line towards the rear, without agitator and cleaning. It can be combined with all trailed

Leeb models. The higher specification Leeb FT Pro is completely integrated into the software and the water circuit of the Leeb CS and features its own agitator and cleaning. Using IsoBus control with an intuitive interface, the Leeb FT has lighting integrated within the front tank and an optional camera system for a better overview of the space in front of the machine.

Vehicles

Electric wheels

controlled electro-pneumatically and thus have a lower power requirement, greater longevity and are easier to clean

New nozzle options include Lechler models which meet all requirements for drift reduction and are compatible with the Fendt OptiNozzle automatic nozzle control.

JEV specialist Electric Wheels will demonstrate its range of electric UTVs. Experts will be on hand to answer any questions from farmers about how they can transition to a cheaper and greener form of farm transport.

On the stand, visitors can view the firm’s full range of all-terrain vehicles available for sale and hire. The Nipper is designed for versatility with an electric rear tipper and range of

up to 75 miles on one charge. Also on display will be the HiSun Worker, offering similar capabilities to The Nipper, and the HiSun Beast.

Visitors will also have the opportunity for an exclusive first look at a prototype that Electric Wheels’ engineering team has customised. A flatbed has been fitted to a long wheelbase model of the Beast, said to give it the largest load capacity of any electric UTV on the market.

MATTCulley

Understanding the food versus fuel debate

This year seems to be flying by, and that’s probably exacerbated by the weather, which has continued to frustrate most of us over the last month. At home, it’s been a race to get liquid fertiliser on before flag leaf, which hasn’t been helped by a series of wiring issues on my sprayer, resulting in considerable downtime and showing that although technology can make us more efficient, it can also be problematic and difficult to fix.

I’d like to concentrate on a key topical debate about biofuels, and one which shows the dangers that sometimes lurk in well intentioned discussions about ‘food v fuel’. Despite all of the other issues around at the moment, I’ve chosen this because a couple of weeks ago I was asked to speak at a Centre for Policy Studies event following the

About the author

rThe 720-hectare enterprise produces wheat, barley, oilseed rape, forage maize and rye for anaerobic digestion across varying soil types, from chalk and chalk loam to clay cap. This includes 170ha of owned and rented land and 540ha of contract farming agreements

rThe family also runs a pick-your-own soft fruit and summer vegetables business

publication of its report titled

Although the report was long and detailed, the main premise was quite simple: it was a bad thing to have crops being used to make biofuels, and this is made worse because effectively it is mandated as part of the Government’s Road Transport Fuel Obligation. The latter point is probably not too surprising for a report from an influential, free market focused think-tank, but I concentrated on challenging some of the arguments made about UK crop-based biofuels.

Misunderstandings

In the report, which was clearly based on some misunderstandings about the UK’s cereal markets, the main reason given for ‘dropping the crops’ is because instead of being used to make fuel, those crops could be used to make food to feed 3.5 million people. Now, I doubt anyone reading this needs me to point out some of the flaws in this assumption, and the fallacy of a ‘food v fuel’ trade off, but it is important policymakers hear it.

Firstly, very little of the grain going to make biofuels in the UK would go to make bread, cakes, or to directly feed people in any other way because it’s not the right quality or spec of grain to do so. It was clear to me that the report and its authors wanted to frame their argument clearly from a food security direction, which currently would play into the hands of Government, NGOs and media alike. This needed robust challenging.

Secondly, it’s unlikely that most of the land

would suddenly be used to grow grain for millers or bakers if crop-based biofuels ceased. The land or location might not be suitable, and we are already largely self-sufficient in cereal crops in most years anyway, so there is no market demand for this. Some of the grain for biofuels might be suitable for animal feed, but as we know, largely as a result of the terrible time pig and poultry farmers have had, demand for animal feed has reduced recently anyway. They had also failed to take the important animal feed value of around 800,000 tonnes of brewers’ grains into account and the possible imports of feedstocks to replace it.

The third point I stressed at the event was that the biofuel market actually supports food production because it provides an outlet, or a safety net, for grain that doesn’t hit the quality or spec for other markets.

I have to say, this had not been taken into consideration by some of the others present, and it is this which prompted me to write this column - the reality of growing crops, and the crop markets needed to be at the heart of policy-making.

While I’ve not touched on the wider debates around the role of biofuels, I’m passionate about the crops sector being part of the solution to the challenges the country faces, whether that’s food, fuel, energy, or fibre and that we can improve farm resilience in doing so. To do this, we need policy-makers and those seeking to influence them to understand the agronomic and market reality and complexity of the topic.

rNFU crops board chairman Matt Culley is a fourth-generation farmer from Hampshire working in partnership with his parents and brother

Grant and funding opportunities for arable farmers

As the agricultural industry navigates the loss of the Basic Payment Scheme, in this episode of Crop it Like it’s Hot the Arable Farming team takes a look at future funding options available to arable farmers. From Environmental Land Management to productivity grants, there are plenty of options out there, but do they fit the bill and are they worth taking up?

In this episode, head of farming at Strutt & Parker, Jonathan Armitage discusses where he sees key investment opportunities for Defra going forward, what funding we can expect coming later down the line, and why uptake of ELMs is struggling.

We also speak with associate partner and rural chartered surveyor at Barbers Rural, Harriet Jones about the Countryside Stewardship Scheme as it enters its final application window. Ms Jones considers the options that are most suited to arable farmers and how to make the most out of the capital grants.

Innovation

Will Huck, farm adviser for North West Auctions, speaks about funding innovation in agriculture. Defra’s investment provides funding for both the introduction of robots on farm and the development of future robotics, but how can farmers access it? We also look at resource management; with

grant funding options for water management and irrigation.

Speakers:

rHead of farming at Strutt & Parker, Jonathan Armitage

rAssociate partner and rural chartered surveyor at Barbers

Rural, Harriet Jones

rFarm adviser at NWA professional and property, Will Huck

Get CPD points

Farm adviser at NWA professional and property, Will Huck.

Listen in

More information

JThe Crop it Like it’s Hot podcast is produced by Arable Farming and CropTec Show. Released monthly, the show sees the Arable

Farming team talk to a range of arable experts to provide an alternative way of keeping up with agronomy and the latest arable developments.

JThe show can be downloaded via croptecshow.com/crop-it-likeits-hot-podcast, or you can listen through Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. For more about our podcasts, email podcasts@agriconnect.com

JMembers of the BASIS register can receive one CPD point for tuning into the podcast. Listen in to the podcast to find out how.

BROUGHT

Head of farming at Strutt and Parker, Jonathan Armitage.

Associate partner and rural chartered surveyor at Barbers Rural, Harriet Jones.

Next steps for NRoSO

BASIS says members can expect significant improvements to the National Register of Sprayer Operators (NRoSO) as BASIS Registration’s Andy Lister gets to grips with his new role as NRoSO membership manager.

BASIS Registration commenced its contract to administer the register on behalf of the Voluntary Initiative (VI) in late January of this year (Arable Farming, February 2023)

Mr Lister, who previously worked in the frozen food sector, took on his role of leading a team of five staff dedicated to NRoSO in March. Although relatively new to the post, he is setting out his ambition to ensure members of the register have a first class service and will see a range of new benefits emerging.

He accepts there have been some teething troubles as the register was transferred to BASIS, mainly around ensuring members had the correct number of CPD points allocated. Four members of staff manning the NRoSO helpline from 8.30am to 5pm each weekday has helped resolve many of the issues.

One change already underway is to standardise the annual period to commence on September 1 each year, which will make it easier for members to know where they stand.

In the past, continued NRoSO membership has required 30 CPD points to be achieved over a three-year period. This has been revised to ask members to achieve 10 CPD points each year.

“This should ensure members

get regular updates to achieve their points at minimum cost. It also avoids last minute scrambles – often involving paying to go on training courses – to achieve their requisite points,” says Mr Lister.

“It will also ensure continuing training, which should help the whole industry be able to demonstrate to the general public the ongoing professionalism of sprayer operators.”

Training day

An annual training day, based on a syllabus devised by the VI with BASIS, and delivered by independent trainers and plant protection product distributors and agronomists, is being relaunched for autumn 2023.

“Held across the country, these will be one-day events which will achieve 10 CPD points in a day,” says Mr Lister.

“The events were very popular and attended by thousands of

operators each year, but fell into abeyance as a result of Covid-19.”

The points are awarded after participants take an online test, which will be hosted on the tried and tested technology devised by BASIS for other registers which the company has operated for several years. There will be no charge for the test.

Regular communications will alert members to training opportunities and will aim to ensure training can be done at ‘quiet’ times rather than make

demands during the busy harvest and autumn peak workload.

Many opportunities to gather points will be delivered by the established BASIS Classroom platform which allows members to train at a date and time that suits them.

“By the Cereals event, we will be launching further benefits which BASIS, with its long-established reputation for operating reliable registers and delivering CPD programmes, will now bring to benefit NRoSO,” says Mr Lister.

By the Cereals event,

LISTER

Changes have been made to NRoSO points collection, to make it easier for members to know where they stand.

we will be launching further benefits

BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE FUTURE

Want to speak to farmers and business owners who are serious about addressing the challenges facing the sector and driving their businesses forward?

If you are, you’ll find those farmers at the Future Farming Expo Scotland this October. It’s a new, forward-looking event designed to help the agricultural industry, and others, have a sustainable, profitable and positive future.

If you’d like to be part of this exciting event, designed by farmers, for farmers, we’d love to hear from you.

your stand or sponsorship options.