DART from DSV – Right on target DART – A significant step forward in DSV’s reliable, simple to grow, high output oilseed rape varieties. • New to the AHDB Recommended List with high yield and impressive oil content. • TuYV protection with good tolerance to Verticillium wilt. • HarvestMax technology to minimise pre harvest seed losses. • Low biomass variety for early maturity and easy harvest. Source: AHDB Recommended List 2022/23 Phone 01295 www.dsv-uk.co.uk757003 29460 SA DSV DART Arable Farming Front Page Ad (Sep 22).indd 1 24/08/2022 09:01Innovation in action for progressive arable farmers Pages 10-11 Talking Arable ‘This was the earliest finish to harvest I can remember’ September 2022 Volume 45 Issue 9 Pages 24-26 Pages AGRONOMYTECHNICAL34-36 Weed cutter has potential in conventional crops IWM approach essential for black-grass control Pages MACHINERY52-55 Horizon DSX a versatile option
Winter Oilseed Rape
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A proven increase in yields: Elsoms’ 2021 UK trials show a yield increase from primed seed in all three locations.
An OSR fungicide brings alternative chemistry to the disease control toolkit
Thoughts on fungicide timings and cercospora in beet
28 Black-grass control – as good as it gets?
A long-term Rothamsted Research survey shows black-grass control is improving Per plant robot service launches
44 Rapid test for light leaf spot in oilseed rape
Producing the varieties of the future
How an impact tracker is being used to safeguard the value of a range of produce
Visitors to Potatoes in Practice heard of progress in setting up a new seed sector body
Finding time to reflect on the harvest 2022 season
24 IWM approach essential to maintain black-grass control
In this issue of
14 Talking Agronomy
Talking Arable
42 Non-triazole LLS control option proving its worth
64 Talking Policy
Why integrated weed management should not be overlooked
A deep dive into the world of plant breeding and variety selection
24 4257
CONTENTS: REGULARS 3SEPTEMBER 2022
Machinery56
57 New mid-HP tractors from Valtra
A look at what’s on offer in the Knowledge Hubs at this year’s show
Technical20
BASIS news
50 Connect with confidence in the CropTec hubs
SPO sets out its aims for the seed potato sector
A new BASIS Classroom course is focused on the Recommended Lists
Recording the journey
After more than five years in development, Valtra has launched its mid-range Q Series
Podcast65
A simple, rapid test to identify the UK’s most damaging OSR disease is available this autumn
Early sown OSR crops are already reaching the 3-leaf stage Talking Roots
17
66 AHDB and BASIS team up to offer new course
Comment10
A call for the industry to work together as Defra publishes a report on diversification and underutilised crops
9ISSUE45VOLUME2022SEPTEMBER
38
How a new robot service aims to help growers cut costs
Arable Marketplace
CONTENTS: FEATURES 4 SEPTEMBER 2022 6 6034 6 Business Environment How environmental schemes are benefiting nature without compromising productivity 34 Technical Weed control Above-crop weed cutting shows promise on-farm in Suffolk 46 Sustainability Award success We meet the farmers celebrating success in the Rawcliffe Bridge Award for Sustainability 52 Machinery Drills for no-till How the Horizon DSX has helped one Lincolnshire grower progress his no-till ambitions 60 Precision farming Implement guidance We look into the future with one of the pioneers of vision guidance
Group Editor – Arable Teresa Rush 01787 282 teresa.rush@arablefarming.com822 Senior Arable Technical Specialist Alice Dyer 07966 445 alice.dyer@arablefarming.com458 Machinery Editor Toby Whatley 01772 799 toby.whatley@arablefarming.com496 Production Editor Rik Magliola 01772 799 rik.magliola@arablefarming.com456 Picture Editor Marcello Garbagnoli 01772 799 marcelllo.garbagnoli@arablefarming.com445 Account Manager Jane Newton 01948 780 jane.newton@arablefarming.com783 Account Manager Mark Jackson 01322 449 mark.jackson@arablefarming.com624 Account Manager Chris Knowles 01772 799 chris.knowles@arablefarming.com550 Head of Commercial Solutions Mike Hartley 01772 799 mike.hartley@arablefarming.com532 Advertising Production Justine Sumner 01772 799 emma.williamson@arablefarming.comEmmacopyForjustine.sumner@arablefarming.com437circulationqueries,torequestaorsubscribe,pleasecontactWilliamson01772799452 Subscriptions Contact: 03303 330 systems.informationarewrittensystemanycludingmeans,transmittedpublicationAll©help@subscribe.farmers-guardian.com056Agriconnect2022rightsreserved.Nopartofthismaybereproducedorinanyformorbyanyelectronicormechanicalin-photocopying,recording,orinformationstorageorretrievalwithouttheexpresspriorconsentofthepublisher.ThecontentsofArableFarmingsubjecttoreproductioninstorageandretrievalISSN0269-6797 Contacts 20 Novemberwww.croptecshow.com23-24,2022 5SEPTEMBER 2022
What a curious summer it has been. We’ve sweltered in temperatures of 40degC, the earth is scorched and yet a large proportion of the population is worrying about how it will pay its heating bills in the coming months. At farm level, soaring energy prices are reported to be forcing some farm businesses to consider ceasing production, with bills set to increase by 500%. Against a backdrop of high fuel and fertiliser prices and rising finance costs, the industry will need to pull together to find a way towards creating a sustainable farming sector.
a word from the editor
No responsibility can be accepted by Arable Farming for opinions expressed by contributors.
Increasing costs
at Rawcliffe Bridge Farm near Goole in Yorkshire in early August and meet the winner and runner-up –both inspirational farmers readying their businesses to meet the many challenges ahead (p46-48)
ignificant rain at last in the eastern counties. Locally, the downpours started at 4.45am today (August 25) and it wasn’t long before WhatsApp notifications were pinging on mobiles, with gleeful updates on rainfall totals. I can picture a stampede of west Suffolk farmers rushing to check their rain gauges or apps on their phones.
Elsewhere we’ve news from the Potatoes in Practice event, where plans for a new seed potato industry body took a step forward (p20-21). And it wouldn’t be a September issue without a look at autumn weed control; in this issue the focus is very much on making sure that integrated weed management principles remain front of mind (p24-26 and p28-30)
Last but by no means least, we kick off our build-up to the CropTec Show, with a look at what’s happening in the Knowledge Hubs at this year’s event. Find out more on p50-51 and in forthcoming issues.
Sustainability was the focus of a new award launched earlier this year by one of the major agchem manufacturers. I was lucky enough to attend the award ceremony hosted by the Hinchliffe family
All being well it means we can at last get some oilseed rape in the ground and start work on seedbed preparations for new season crops. While the early finish to harvest was a real treat after a run of wet Augusts, the last few weeks spent watching soils bake to concrete-like consistency have seen concerns mounting over prospects for harvest 2023 before crops are even drilled.
Origination by Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9NZ. Published by Agriconnect. Printed by Precision Colour Printing, Halesfield 1, Stirchley, Telford TF7 4QQ.
S
Of course, for those of you that have benefited from more rain, the new season is already underway, with oilseed rape crops in some regions already off to a good start (p14).
Arable Farming, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ
The UKCEH team analysed the abundance of 12 widespread bird and nine butterfly species for 10 years, comparing estimates of annual population growth rates with those in equivalent landscapes without such schemes.
“Linnets are partially migratory, moving around in large flocks throughout the year, potentially allowing them to benefit from scattered resources and increase local populations with less
Bird species doing significantly better under agri-environment schemes included chaffinch, blue tit and great tit.
yields at Hillesden were maintained – and enhanced for some crops –despite the loss of agricultural land for habitat Abundancecreation.ofthe common linnet more than doubled at Hillesden, while other seed-eating birds that fared better there compared to other sites included yellowhammer and chaffinch.
Dr John Redhead of UKCEH, lead author of the new research paper, says: “Although several species showed positive trends on the farms without agri-environmental interventions – including blackbird, linnet, robin, song thrush and wren – these also showed significant negative trends for chaffinch and yellowhammer. These negative trends were not observed at Hillesden. Species doing significantly better at Hillesden included chaffinch, blue tit, great tit and all granivorous bird species combined.
for two five-year phases 1-5% of land was taken out of production and replaced with habitats, or stewardship options, delivering resources including grass margins, perennial wildflowers, pollen- and nectar-producing flowers, and sown wild bird seed mixtures to support a range of birds, insects and small mammals.
changing farming practices to achieve environmental targets have been used for more than three decades, but there is still debate regarding their true potential to reverse population declines.
non-stewardship farms showed significant“National-leveldeclines.declines in chaffinches over the study period have been associated with an emerging infectious disease and it is possible that agri-environmental schemes’ food resources might reduce use of garden feeders, a key route of infection, or provide sufficient benefit to offset disease impacts and stabilise localTrendspopulations.”foryellowhammer were positive at Hillesden and significantly negative in 1km squares in equivalent farmland landscapes, monitored by national biodiversity recording schemes, which did not have agri-environmental measures.
Trends for linnet and reed bunting at Hillesden were more strongly positive than those in equivalent squares elsewhere, but not significantly so.
To further explore the impacts of environmental stewardship on biodiversity, a team of scientists from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) spent a decade intensively monitoring the impacts of a large-scale Defra-funded experiment on the Hillesden Estate, a 1,000-hectare commercial arable farm in Buckinghamshire situated on predominantly seasonally wet clay wereAgri-environmentalsoils.schemesfirstimplementedin2005and
A outtionfinancialschemesgri-environmentalthatoffercompensa-fortakinglandofproductionor
Birds and butterflies from agri-environment
“For chaffinch, the population trend at Hillesden was stable, but
BUSINESS 6 SEPTEMBER 2022
Results from a long-term study indicate that environmental schemes can provide a boost for nature on commercial arable farms. Alice Dyer reports.
DR JOHN REDHEAD
Positive trends
Meanwhile, birds that usually feed on insects benefited from the shelter provided by less frequently cut hedges and sown grass margins, including the great tit, which was up 88%, and blue tit, up 73%.
“The yellowhammer population showed higher growth rates in early years of the study, suggesting initial increases were associated with the introduction of agri-environmental schemes, followed by levelling off.”
brownandmarbledincreasessignificantsawHillesden,statisticallyforwhitemeadowbutterflies
This coincides with a previous UKCEH study which found overall
While success stories from the use of schemes on farms across the UK have been seen, populations of farmland birds and butterflies continue to decline.
In the longest-running monitoring study of its kind, the researchers found numbers of most species studied did better at Hillesden than in other comparable farmed landscapes without agri-environment measures over the same time frames. There were increases of a third across populations of all bird species between 2006 and 2016, compared to an average of just under 13% at other monitored sites.
Reed buntings were particularly variable in their between-year growth rates across all farmland,which may be because this species nests in taller crops, the amount of which in a given landscape varies year-to-year, says Dr Redhead.
The numbers of both species doubled over the period studied.
Dr Redhead says: “Hillesden is a typical large arable farm with conventional agricultural practices, in an ordinary landscape with no large patches of natural habitat. Therefore, it is likely that the results of our long-term study indicate what can be achieved on other commercial farms with good planning, implementation and management of agri-environment measures.
usage. of out
requirement for additional breeding habitat. Significant positive trends across all farmland may suggest this species has benefited from wider-scale agri-environmental schemes uptake.”
COLEMANADRIANPICTURE:
The areas of land taken out of food production for the experiment at Hillesden had been chosen because they were unprofitable or difficult to farm, and the new habitats increased pollination and natural pest control, thereby boosting crop yield in those parts of the farm.
tion of ronmentalagri-envi-schemes, even when this coincided with reduced pesticide usage.
Hillesden saw 40% increases among all butterflies from 2009-2017, compared to 21% elsewhere.Butterflies that did particularly well over the period studied included the gatekeeper, which feeds on grasses, and the green-veined white, which feeds on wildflowers in field margins.
7SEPTEMBER 2022
Hedgerows
schemes
Two species, the large white and small white, which are pests associated with brassica crops, decreased significantly at Hillesden and the small white butterfly was the only species that did significantly worse at Hillesden compared to other sites. However, significant decreases in these two species were also evident in the non-stewarded land, but the decrease of the small white at Hillesden was significantly stronger.National-scale declines in these species have previously been attributed to pesticide exposure from feeding on crop species, but agri-environmental scheme interventions at Hillesden did not alter the conventional pesticide regime and both species have been observed to decline after introduc-
Dr Redhead says: “The majority of butterfly species showed positive net change at Hillesden, with statistically significant increases for marbled white and meadow brown, and for species with grass-feeding larvae“Gatekeepercombined.and green-veined white both declined significantly on other sites but had positive trends at Hillesden.
benefitingschemes
including fodder radish.”
This could be down to increases in birds, invertebrate predators and parasitoids, he adds.
Blue tits and great tits showed significantly more positive trends at Hillesden than equivalent squares elsewhere.“Although not the most obvious beneficiaries of agri-environmental schemes, being insectivores associated with woodland, these species previously showed increased breeding success at Hillesden where agri-environmental schemes increased local foraging habitat.”
“Gatekeeper and rapidly habitats,mentalagri-environ-inschemesuchascharlock and those sown in bird food mixes
“Our results also suggest that previously observed inconsistencies in agri-environmental schemes’ benefits may, in part, reflect a lack of long-term studies with accurate data on scheme uptake and habitat quality,” says Dr Redhead.
“Green-veined whites are also likely to benefit from increased larval foodplants, including incidental species, which establish
“Gatekeepers have grass-feeding larvae, which are strongly associated with hedgerows and field margins and can respond rapidly to agrienvironmental schemes, showing continued increases even after several years of agri-environmental management.“Otherbutterflies with grassfeeding larvae, such as meadow brown, marbled white and ringlet, also showed significant positive trends at Hillesden, although not significantly more so than the other monitored farmland landscapes.
The move follows the closure of its Cheshire plant earlier this year.
We also need a plan for the fertiliser crisis which is far more comprehensive than saying the Sustainable Farming Incentive will encourage farmers to use less, and a roadmap to reduce reliance on red diesel.
We need to be investing in domestic storage, accelerating the diversification of our energy mix, decoupling home-grown technologies, such as wind and solar from the international gas price, and offering tax breaks – even direct support – to businesses at risk of folding.
POLITICS WATCH 8 SEPTEMBER 2022
Energy costs are also soaring, with one Nottinghamshire farmer telling Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak that his electric ity bills are expected to increase by 500%.
Cutting green levies on domestic bills, as she has previously promised, will not be enough to resolve the problem.
About the author
Butfuture’.fertiliser is just one battle in the input price war farmers are fighting.
The race to Number 10 is drawing to a close now, but whoever moves in behind the black door will need to ensure Environmen tal Land Management (ELM) is looked at again in light of the multiple crises facing agriculture.Itwasnot encouraging, then, to find out Mr Sunak had not even heard that payment rates were an issue when I asked him to revisit
And yet, Defra is continuing to push forward with payment rates for support schemes that were unattractive to farmers even in the pre-Ukraine war days.
The cost of running potato cold stores is set to rocket from £15 per tonne to £80/t too – with no sign that packers or customers will pick up the tab.
Eventhem.lessencouraging was the fact that his rival, Liz Truss, ignored all requests for comment on how she would support
rAbi Kay is head of news for Arable Farming’s sister publication Farmers Guardian.
The company intends to import ammonia to continue making ammonium nitrate (AN), but with supplies tightening across Europe, you have to ask the question ‘where from’?
AHDB has warned contract prices of £650-£850/t for AN could double if current gas prices were used to produce fertiliser, placing greater pressure on imported urea and liquid UAN products for ‘the foreseea ble
So far, all we have heard on the latter is Defra Minister Lord Benyon claiming it will not be used on-farm in 15 years’ time.
As I write, we have just heard the news that sky-high fertiliser prices are set to increase further, with CF Fertilisers temporarily halting production of ammonia at its Billingham plant.
And just this week, Yara International ASA said it was cutting ammonia capacity to about a third.
arvest might be wrapping up early this year, but there is little cause for celebration.
H
I do not envy the next Prime Minister. Getting a grip on these problems will not be easy. But if they do not have the stomach for the task, they may well find it grumbling in future.
Industry researcher CRU Group has already estimated that Europe has now lost about half its ammonia capacity and 33% of its nitrogen fertiliser operations.
Speaking at the NFU hustings held with Mr Sunak, Mr Cunningham said he would have to leave 50% of his land fallow in the coming season, as the cost of irrigation is increasing from £10 per acre-inch to £60 per acre-inch.
Fertiliser crisis
ABIKay
farmers with energy costs that are threaten ing food production across the land.
Fertiliser is just one battle in the input price war farmers are fighting
Another front has also opened up on diesel, with Saudi Arabia recently floating the idea of cutting OPEC output to support prices. Oil subsequently jumped 4%.
Oil prices
pH on
Source: CETIOM, France, 2005 Clubroot affects all brassicas
Reduce clubroot incidence by raising soil pH with Calciprill
Effect of soil clubroot
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1009080706050403020100 7.05.0 7.55.5 8.06.0 6.5 Soil pH (%)rateinfectionDisease
Yield losses from clubroot can be significant but careful management of soil pH ahead of spring drilling will help prevent the disease.
Calciprill can be applied throughout the season using standard spreader equipment. For more information about how soil conditioning with Calciprill can improve productivity on your farm, visit www.omya-agriculture.com
Clubroot affects oilseed rape and all vegetable brassicas and its spores can remain dormant in the soil for up to 20 years. Low soil pH increases infection levels, particularly where the soil is compacted or poorly draining.
Granulated Omya Calciprill is made from micronized calcium carbonate, so it breaks down quickly in the soil, correcting soil acidity more quickly than traditional liming to reduce the risk of clubroot. Raising soil pH above 7.0 four weeks before drilling will provide the best clubroot control as well as improving nutrient availability to the establishing crop.
MANAGING DISEASE FOR A MORE PRODUCTIVE WORLD
rLand is mainly organic fen soil with some wasted peats and clay soils
HANNAH DARBY
Springs crops yielded slightly below average.
Our average takes into account the yield drop we saw in 2016 and 2017 when we ploughed everything due to the black-grass pressure and the improvement in yield since, the great year of 2019 and the year of hardly any wheat in 2020.
rT.E. Darby & Sons is a family business based in Sawtry, Cambridgeshire, farming 360 hectares across three farms
impact of what we do to the soils. Yield data from the combine, albeit calibrated with a slightly inconsistent weigher, suggest yields are around our long-term average of 8.2 tonnes per hectare.
When I last wrote my column, I probably didn’t realise how close harvest was, but two days of near and over 40degC heat certainly did finish everything off.
Its height probably hid some of these facts in the spring but overall it yielded nearly 6t/ha with vast differences between the heavy land and fen land, where it pushed 8t/ha. It will be interesting to compare the margins versus a second wheat, but I am pleased to be growing it again on a larger area, with the seed already in the shed.
H
rThe main farm is around sea level and average rainfall for a harvest season is about 500mm
rNo-till and cover cropping are utilised where appropriate
October drilling – rather than November, which it usually is because this land should drill when other land won’t – and a dry winter must have given rise to deep roots and my theories about the impact of the subsoil pH being too low for rooting might not hold as much water as I once thought. Soil science is both mind boggling and amazing and I honestly don’t think I will ever truly understand the
I imagine we have all missed the couple of weeks of slight downtime before harvest, although I did manage to get a family holiday in before the madness unfolded. I enjoy looking back and trying to make some sense out of what has happened in the previous year but hate the thought of having to move on as soon as the combine stops and is put away in the shed. At least sitting down and writing my Talking Arable column for the final time has meant I have taken a few minutes to reflect on what was a surprising harvest.
10 SEPTEMBER 2022
arvest this year was finished on my birthday (August 22,) which is the earliest I can remember in a long time.
Farm facts
Winter rye was certainly interesting – it stood and wasn’t difficult to combine. The dry year probably helped. Driving over it, the problems with establishment due to the delayed drilling date as the seed was late and then slugs as it didn’t get away were plain to see.
Margins
HANNAHDarby
I thewhattheunderstandwilldon’thonestlythinkIevertrulyimpactofwedotosoils
rCropping includes wheat (winter and spring), sugar beet, peas, oats, beans and spring barley. Land is let for potatoes
As a partner in her family’s farm, former physiotherapist Hannah Darby switched to farming after studying an MSc in crop management at Writtle College in 2015. She takes on all aspects of running the farm with her uncle and is a keen advocate of continual learning.
I certainly didn’t predict winter wheat yields to be as good as they were, especially not on our fen land, which I once thought was the most droughtprone and non-resilient land that we had.
Our spring crops did a little less than average, with late-drilled spring beans faring the worst, but we spent hardly anything growing them as they battled the drought and didn’t really succeed. On the other hand, the peas and oats intercrop was pleasing. They appear to be around 90% peas this
The pea and oat intercrop was 90% peas this year.
11 TALKING ARABLE SEPTEMBER 2022
Next season we may try intercropping beans and oats and see how far we can push reducing our nitrogen, as our zero N plot with 265kg of residual soil N yielded 8.75t/ha of winter wheat. I have concluded that in farming there will always be far more questions than answers.
at times in the year, but it is unlikely to fall perfectly when we want it and that is why for me direct drilling to retain soil moisture makes sense.
www.certiseurope.co.uk/slugs USE PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS SAFELY. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND PRODUCT INFORMATION BEFORE USE. For further information with regard to the warning phrases and symbols for this product please refer to the product label. Sluxx HP contains ferric phosphate Sluxx HP is a registered trademark of W. Neudorff Gmbh KG. Marketed by CertisBelchim, Suite 5, 3 Riverside, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, CB21 6AD. Tel: 0845 373 0305 email:infocertisUK@certiseurope.com www.certiseurope.co.uk © 2022 NUMBERTHE 1 SLUG THEWHATEVERTHEWHATEVERPELLETWEATHERCROP Grass 254x89mm Portrait Ad.indd 1 17/05/2022 13:26
year and they stood well, covering most of the ground, and while the weed burden through not using any herbicide in the growing season was present, it wasn’t huge. I haven’t seen any yields of peas alone this year to compare to, but given the growing conditions, I am happy. We won’t know the true yield until they are dressed.
Going forwards, we have to continue to do more with less and we will expect less useful water. We might have too much
12 SEPTEMBER 2022
OLLIEMartin
hat was easily the quickest and most intense harvest I have known. From starting the oilseed rape on July 14 to finishing the wheat on August 12, with winter beans cut in the first week of August. We stopped only for two days of 40degC temperatures and a Sunday off on July 31. With barely so much as a morning dew, I even stopped bothering to look at the weather forecast for a few days. The biggest worry was the unrelenting fire risk, as will be familiar to many across the South and East. Taking no chances, the discs and the water bowser, complete with fire hose, followed the combines everywhere. One upside of the complete lack of precipitation was that the combines were easier to blow down each morning.
The general consensus from those I have spoken to is that it is generally a low protein year, probably due to the irregular rainfall from late spring onwards hampering nitrogen uptake. It would appear that the market is reacting accordingly with milling premiums widening. That will go some way to cushion the broader bearish sentiment in the markets as grain starts to move more freely in the Black Sea region.
rThe business also provides grain testing in its on-site lab and has 27,000 tonnes of grain storage and processing capacity
He studied agribusiness management at Writtle University College and has had previous farm management roles in Norfolk, Hertfordshire and Fife.
Oilseed rape quality was very good, with a very clean sample and high oil levels realising a bonus. A worthy reward for 12 months of pampering the crop. The yield maps illustrate how, in many fields, the
rBedfordia Farms has more than 2,400 hectares of combinable crops including wheat, barley and beans
The beans yielded well enough, but most pleasing was the sample. Lovely, bright beans with very low levels of staining and minimal bruchid beetle damage. One waits in hopeful anticipation of
rThe farm utilises a number of precision technologies and has two pig units totalling 1,100 breeding sows
With barely so much as a morning dew, combines were rolling at 5am.
sentimentbearishcushiongopremiumsmillingWideningwheatwillsomewaytothemarket
Yields on the whole have been above budget, although a tad disappointing given the potential that was there in May – I often contemplate what proportion of successful farming is down to good management, and what proportion is down to luck.
Ollie Martin is responsible for the arable and grain business enterprise across Bedfordia Farms’ 2,450-hectare operation, with 27,000 tonnes of grain storage, near Bedford.
T
rThere are 27 soil types across the farms, but most of the land consists of Hanslope clay, Faulkbourne and Stretham, which are classified as chalky clay, becoming waterlogged in winter
Wheat quality has been somewhat inconsistent. While specific weights consistently above 80kg/hl undoubtedly helped yield, it appears to have done little for protein, with Skyfall and Zyatt struggling to hit the magic 13% with any regularity. Good old reliable Crusoe, on the other hand, delivered the goods, filling several stores with top quality breadmaking grain.
headlands dragged down the whole field average. A legacy I conclude of last year’s wet harvest. A lack of lorry drivers meant we hauled much of it off to central storage by tractor and trailer.
Farm facts
OLLIE MARTIN
I am left to question, could the whole system not be so much simpler? Simply compensate farmers for taking these areas out of production, allow nature to grow what it sees fit to put there, natural regeneration if you will, and top half of it every other year to control the woody growth. Simple to do in practice, easy to administer and straightforward to audit. I admit that such an uncomplicated system would not generate many jobs in high places.
My frustration is that we have as an industry been embracing Countryside Stewardship in its various guises for three decades now, following the guidance and generally doing as requested – at significant public expense it has to be said.
13 TALKING ARABLE SEPTEMBER 2022
a premium for human consumption. Despite all that, they will still, by comparison with other crops, realise a pretty disappointing gross margin. Considered in isolation, there is scant justification to grow them but that fails to quantify what they bring to the wider rotation.
Gusto® IRON is a registered trademark of the ADAMA group. Gusto® IRON Always read the label and product information before use. For further product information, including warning phrases and symbols, refer to www.adama.com/uk or call The Technical Helpline on 01635 876 622. • High quality, long lasting, palatable bait • Superior mould resistance • Optimum pellet size and baiting points • Made with Desidro technology • Excellent value ferric phosphate The obvious choice for cost-effective slug control Gusto® IRON ADAMA Agricultural Solutions UK Ltd. Third Floor East, 1410 Arlington Business Park, Theale, Reading RG7 4SA. Telephone 01635 860 555. UKenquiries@adama.com For more information www.adama.com/ukvisit: contains ferric phosphate. resistanceand 0516_ADAMA_Arable Farming_Gusto IRON Ad_170x121.indd 1 18/07/2022 14:49 The beans had very low levels of staining and minimal bruchid beetle damage.
Yet still barely a day goes by where we are not flogged in the press for the decline of one species or another. It is all a bit absurd that the policy seems to be to carry on regardless.
Biodiversity
Nature has done what nature does and filled the bare area with what it wants to be there – predominantly so-called pioneer species, such as sow thistle and docks, not what we were incentivised to put there.
Looking around our Higher Level Stewardship plots, there is an undeniable abundance of biodiversity. You’ll have to look very carefully, however, to spot anything that we went to the effort and expense of planting.
Harvest conditions have been near perfect with combines rolling from one crop to the next. The only issue that turned the odd smile upside down was the warm, dry conditions which led to several harvest fires in the Yorkshire region.
While sprayers can still travel without causing too much damage I will be going
14 SEPTEMBER 2022
Not only did machines fall foul to Mother Nature but the loss of crops in some situations was devastating. To see a year’s hard work go up in smoke is something that breaks your heart.
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.
First wheats have taken the trophy, with yields averaging more than 9.8 tonnes per hectare, with over 12t/ha also a common feature. Second wheats may have brought averages down slightly as these seemed to suffer worst from the June hangover, but saying that they were still above average.
The early sowing regime of 2021 seemed to allow crops to escape the wrath of flea beetle. Winter barleys continued to follow the high yield trend as well, which makes it a full house for the three major UK winter-sown crops.
With harvest almost ticked off for the year focus soon switches to harvest 2023 and with that in mind oilseed rape crops are already in the ground. Most of my crops are now in, with a few afterthoughts going in this week (August 22).
While beet crops spent the recent heatwave flat to the floor and looking sorry for themselves, they have had a sudden resurgence in life following the cooler temperatures and a hint of rain.
Early-sown oilseed rape crops are approachingalreadythe3-leafstage
The recent showers have encouraged a flush of cereal volunteers, so graminicide applications are planned to go on at the end of this week.
W
Winter oilseed rape crops comfortably achieved well over 4.3t/ha, with July-sown crops floating around the 4.9t/ha mark.
The dreaded flea beetle seems to be keeping away at the moment and with damage from this little critter on the lower scale I will not be recommending any insecticides just yet.
ho would have thought that in an article written in August I would be saying harvest is all but complete? The later-sown winter wheats were cut last week (August 14) and all which is keeping the combines from an early hibernation are the odd spring barley and bean crops.
through with some manganese and magnesium on the lighter, nutrient-deficient soils to help give them a further boost.
I am pleased to report early sown plants are nicely away from risk and will get away without any insecticide treatment.
There are plenty of smiles on faces in the farmyards as yields have been tremendous – far greater than I expected – especially following the desert-like June we experi enced just eight weeks ago.
Fires
Agronomist facts
TALKING AGRONOMY
However, yet again the camaraderie within the agricultural industry was first class, with neighbours helping each other out in their times of need and in some cases putting their own safety and machines at risk.
BENBoothman
With the increased focus on soil management, our soil sampling arm of the business has been extremely busy and all I can say is thank God for the automated machine we have mounted in a buggy. With the hard ground conditions a hydraulic system fairs better than human brute force.
I did put a ban on sowing during the second week of August due to the fact there was probably more moisture in the seed bag than there was out in the field. Early sown crops have made a brilliant start and are already approaching the 3-leaf stage.
Your sugar beet income safety net 0800 090 agriculture@britishsugar.com2376 britishsugar.com More info? Contact your British Sugar Account Manager If you suffer any yield loss in 2023/24, Yield Protection Cover will guarantee payment for 80% of your expected crop Available to purchase for £1.50/t Opt-in on My British Sugar between 1st December 2022 and 1st February 2023 Terms and conditions apply, including: * The 80% will be calculated based on the lower of either the grower’s contract tonnage, or their prior 5-year average adjusted yield multiplied by the crop area declared to British Sugar. For growers who have not grown for 5 consecutive years, the 5-year average adjusted yield for the contracted British Sugar factory shall be used in the absence of an actual Yield in any missing years. * The total amount British Sugar will pay out to growers collectively under this mechanism in any one year will be capped at £300 multiplied by the total sugar beet hectares declared to British Sugar that year. If the cap is reached in a year, all yield guarantee payments to growers that year will be reduced pro rata. * In order to be eligible for a yield guarantee payment, a grower will need to: 1) Drill at least 1.15 units of seed per hectare in the fields declared to British Sugar; 2) Have drilled their declared fields by 1st June 2023; and 3) Deliver their entire harvestable sugar beet crop from the declared fields to British Sugar unless British Sugar reject it or request it not to be delivered in accordance with the terms of the IPA.
Things continuing to stay dry well into the autumn will definitely try our wheat sowingDirectpatience.drilling will, however, give us the opportunity to get those on all but our highest grass-weed risk fields sown even if we do not get a decent weed flush to spray off ahead before mid-October. Then, with the right pre- and peri-em herbicide balance we should have competitive crops well able to deal with any later flushes that do come through.
GREGTaylor
To make the most of every bit of moisture, our autumn emphasis is firmly on minimum soilIndeed,movement.itlooks like being just the season for anyone with a decent direct drilling capability in their equipment to try it out; not least because anything more than minimal cultivation will be so hard and costly on fuel and metal as well as Verymoisture.lowCSFB levels so far have given us the confidence to hold off on most of our OSR drilling in the hope of some useful rain.
TALKING AGRONOMY 16 SEPTEMBER 2022
With extremes of weather invariably exposing weaknesses in systems and soils, we also take heart from improvements we have made in the resilience of both in recent years.
In their place we will be relying on a combination of uncultivated stubbles and weeds – which always seem to establish far better than sown crops – to protect our soils and hold theirWeedsstructure.are,after all, active roots in the ground, and a good dose of glyphosate gets rid of them as well as any sown cover ahead of the spring.
Having said that, very warm soils will support rapid growth once they get some moisture; flea beetle levels at harvest have been very low; most of our soils have come out of the past season reasonably well-structured and – provided they are in good condition – it will take a lot of rain to get in the way of drilling.
The performance advantage enjoyed by crops on our more biologically active soils last season was marked. And, we know they will give us much more leeway to achieve good establish ment with the least amount of moisture this autumn too.
The welcome rain we got in June was, almost certainly, the bare minimum needed for this sort of performance for which much of the credit has to go to the great start our winter crops had last autumn, and better soil health.
If we still do not get any by the end of the first week in September though, we will be holding off on the crop altogether.
Conditions that have been so good for harvesting do not bode nearly as well for sowing this time around, though. Certainly not for the early start we hoped to get for our oilseed rape (OSR) and cover crops.
t is hardly rocket science, but moisture preservation is everything for us this autumn, especially as there is nowhere near enough rain in prospect to change our ground conditions significantly over the next few weeks.
Where sheep fodder is not important, the dryness means we are definitely having to give winter cover crops a miss in most cases. If we do not get them away by the end of August here, they are a waste of effort and expense.
Considering how little rain they have had, most crops have yielded amazingly well
Instead, we will be looking to winter beans to give us much more autumn-sowing breathing space, or spring pulses or even linseed to get us back to wheat in the rotation.
Agronomist facts
I
To have finished our harvest by the end of the second week in August is incredible. What is more, our driers have had a good rest, easing the fuel bills. And, considering how little rain they have had, most spring as well as winter crops have yielded amazingly well.
Establishment
Even though 2022 linseed yields have suffered from the drought, we grow the crop because it gives us one of our best opportunities for good grass-weed control and a perfect trash-free entry for direct wheat drilling.
JGreg Taylor has been an Agrii agronomist for more than a decade, servicing around 6,000 hectares of mainly combinable cropping across a broad range of soil types in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire.AsaHarperAdams graduate, he has worked on farms in New Zealand and the USA, and is now responsible for the trials and demonstration work on the Brackley i-Farm. He is particularly engaged with direct drilling, soil improvement and regenerative agriculture and is an ardent rugby fan and marathon runner in his spare time.
The British Beet Research Organisation has just issued a cercospora warning and we must all be very vigilant to ensure the crop isn’t further hampered by disease. In 2020 we saw the first big national epidemic of cercospora in the UK and it hit many crops that were already damaged by virus veryThishard.season, by and large, virus has been
T
something to see and show, late September or even October. The site did get 50mm of rain last week and was late planted, so at least the crop will grow well now.
Huge amounts fell in a few hours in Lincolnshire - up to 185mm in some places washing out potato baulks - to nothing in other areas, and very little rain is on the horizon.Ihave still not seen or heard of any potato blight in East Anglia, although there were some blips last week on the various forecasting methods we use internally at Hutchinsons. Our trials site hasn’t shown any signs of blight yet, so we are still hoping for the weather to change so we might have
I looked at an excellent unirrigated crop last week in the Fens. The crop we looked at was very bold and a credit to the farmer. However, alternaria was showing up in fields of Markies. We had a long discussion about alternaria control and are sending some lesions away to determine what species it is, if indeed it is alternaria at all.
17 ROOTS TALKING AGRONOMY SEPTEMBER 2022
It is important to re-adjust fungicide timings while the weather is conducive to cercospora
Where lifting is going on growers are having to irrigate just to get potatoes out of the ground and to get some soil on the web to reduce the damage potential – another cost and logistical hassle.
Irrigation
In the rest of the world cercospora is the major disease and crops regularly get treated five to seven times to keep it at bay.
he garden is still suffering from the drought. We had some lovely rain last week but unfortunately it only lasted about 20 minutes, with only 4mm falling, and the vegetable beds were still bone dry 2cm down. The one upside of the weather is that the plums are ripening rapidly and we will have a bumper crop if we can get them before the wasps and hornets take too many.
DARRYLShailes
managed very well either with seed treatments, foliar insecticide or a combina tion of both.
The rain, or lack of it depending on where you are, is still dominating UK farming.
Sugar beet is variable as can be expected with some crops flat to the ground on hot days and others on better soils hanging on remarkably well.
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
We now have a better armoury with the introduction of a new product based on a mixture of prothioconazole and fluopyram from Bayer that will be available from September.Itisimportant to re-adjust our timing with cercospora. Back when the major issue in the beet crop in the UK was powdery mildew and rust, the timing and gaps between fungicide applications were not so vitally important. However, with cercospora, as it is so aggressive and we are mainly relying on the DMI (triazole) component of the fungicide, such as prothioconazole, difenoconazole and flutriafol, they must be applied as soon as disease is first seen and then at a maximum of three-week intervals while the weather is conducive to Itcercospora.isespecially important that any new leaf growth that is generated by rain is protected and the sugars allowed to stabilise before the crop is harvested. Getting in too early after significant regrowth of leaf will inevitably lead to a reduction in the sugar in the root as it is remobilised into the leaves.
#Farm24 reaches rec
Sponsored by Morrisons, farmers and ancillary organisations embraced the event to educate consumers about where their food comes from and what a typical day across the industry can look like.
Ask a
#Farm24
Visit FGinsight.com/Farm2418 SEPTEMBER 2022
Sophie Throup, head of agriculture, fisheries and sustainable sourcing at Morrisons, said: “What a fantastic 24 Hours in Farming it’s been. Such a range of stories and some really creative posts too bringing the story of farming to customers and citizensworldwide.”Alongside the promotion of farming and its associated organisations, there was a significant drive for consumers to watch, learn and share key information about how farming contributes to key pillar areas such
FG partners with 12 new ambassadors
British farming celebration
aboutour ambassadors byvisitingfarm24FGinsight.com/
FG teamed up with 12 new ambassadors in a new move for the initiative to share with consumers a snapshot into their everyday
postsTrended
NUMBERONE on
Kicking off at 5am on August 4, 2022, 24 Hours in Farming exploded across videos,proudlyandInstagram,Twitter,FacebookTikTokasfarmerssharedposts,pictures,vlogs and hosted a diverse mixture of events to mark the much-loved farming event.
#Farm24 took farming to the masses last week as the hugely popular insight into 24 Hours in Farming. Danusia Osiowy looks at some of the
as the economy, environment, science, technology, careers and mental health and well-being.
For more information on our ambassadors and to read more about the campaign, visit FGinsight.com/farm24
farming lives and how they each have entered and progressed their farming careers, dispelling many myths along the way. Taking to
Radio 1’s Greg James raised the awareness stakes when he dedicated a shout out to the campaign after being alerted by one of his contributors, Young Farmer Tom, about how and why the event was taking place.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was
joined by a string of celebrities and leading figures, including Miranda Hart, Dan Lydiate, Kelvin Fletcher, Phil Vickery and Alexander Armstrong to name but a few, who all wasted no time in dedicating their support and pride towards the role of British farmers and associated communities.
A host of industry organisations welcomed the opportunity to tell consumers more about what they do and why they do it, producing engaging video to share with the British public.
MORE INFORMATION
Instagram for a number of lives throughout the day, thousands of users joined to hear more from about their individual farming journeys.
NFU AHDB The DPJ Foundation British Sugar
F
This year’s messaging also highlighted the affordability of local produce as part of the solution to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis.
OUTFINDMORE
Search on social media
arming’s biggest digital campaign, #Farm24, has taken its profile to new heights this year following unprecedented activity across social media and beyond.
What’sfarmeritallabout?
It took less than two hours before the hashtag was trending at number one on social media, along with our umbrella campaign #FarmingCAN (see panel, right)
We asked a range of children aged between four and eight what question they would most like to ask a farmer, and worked with farmers to provide them with the answers in our Ask a farmer video series. at Twitter
our
a cook-along with group head chef. Darren on@farming_life_of_darrenBickmore,Instagram. FOR a behind the scenes look at the events of the day, you can listen to the latest episode
Farmers Guardian editor Ben Briggs said: “Once again, 24 Hours in Farming showcased the very best of British agriculture and allowed farmers to shout about why they love doing the job they do.
5
2
the
7 Exclusive cook-a-long of three of their signature dishes with group head chef at the Hawksmoor Restaurant in support of #Farm24 and buying British produce
“With huge engagement across multiple social media channels, it showed the wider appetite among the general public to interact with and understand more about what farmers do.
1 Ambassador Paul White joined forces with BBC Radio Lancashire for the duration of 24 hours 88-year-old Grandma Norma proudly backing #Farm24 at her grand-daughters dairy farm Clarkson’s Farm’s young contractor Kaleb Cooper called upon his followers to share their #Farm24 stories The Prince’s Countryside Fund ambassadors Alexander Armstrong, JB Gill, Jimmy Doherty, Phil Vickery and Sally Gunnell all showing their support Our Ambassador Maria Warne’s TikTok and her amazing ‘Granfer’. If you are not following her, you do not know what you are missing 15-year-old Max Robinson, aka the_farm_apprentice, Instagram reel and his poem British Farming A Sport of the Land
6
of Over Farm Gate
podcast available on all the main podcast platforms. Podcast Search #Farm24 on social media 19SEPTEMBER 2022
JLaunched by Arable Farming’s sister publication Farmers Guardian last year, #FarmingCAN aims to educate consumers about what farming offers the economy and how it contributes to our social and emotional well-being, all year round. With interest in food provenance and increased trust in British farmers, local produce, sustainability and the countryside at a record high, there has never been a more prominent time to continue engaging with the public.
ord heights annual event returned to social media for an highlights which soared to record heights.
A word from the editor
Hawksmoor hosted
Highlights of #Farm24 Visit FGinsight.com/Farm24 BRIGGSBEN FG editor Over 10,000 contributors million27.4 reach
“Buying local and shopping local remains key and is as relevant now as it was at the height of the pandemic and #Farm24 sought to highlight that fact.”
3
4
major advances being made in all the technologies involved in potato production and as a major provider of research in the UK, JHI is well placed to take the lead.”
This will likely be headquartered in the old Forfar Market building. Its potatorelated activities will, however, be centred round a Potato Quality Centre five miles away at Agrico UK’s premises at Castleton of Eassie.
24 IWM approach essential to hold black-grass control line
Visitors to Potatoes in Practice heard of plans for a new seed potato organisation and a potato innovation centre. Ewan Pate reports.
Also in this section
Value
42 Non-triazole option for LLS proves worth in trials
JPlans have been unveiled for a new International Potato Innovation Centre (IPIC). Costing an estimated £40 million, it will be constructed at the James Hutton Institute (JHI) Mylnefield Lipid Analysis laboratory and partner the International Barley Hub which is already under construction
service previously run by AHDB Potatoes and this year funded by Scottish Government.
funds to take the idea beyond the drawing board.
Genetic variation
We envision SPO as being run by growers for growers and providing value for money
28 Black-grass control – as good as it gets?
Dr Phil Burgess, of Scottish Potatoes.org – a liaison link between SAC Consulting and JHI, said: “We envision SPO as being run by growers for growers and providing value for money. It will represent growers’ views, fund research, support development and help secure long-term sustainability for the seedOnesector.”priority will be to take over the aphid monitoring
DR PHIL BURGESS
International Potato Innovation Centre planned
50 Connect with confidence in the CropTec hubs
20 TECHNICAL POTATOES SEPTEMBER 2022
At the event, held at the James Hutton Institute’s (JHI) Balruddery Farm near Dundee, working group chair Mike Wilson outlined a body which would have a GB remit on all matters relating to seed potato production and do it at cost of around £1 per tonne. Mr Wilson, who farms in Aberdeenshire, is also chair of NFU Scotland’s potato working group.
The IPIC is not the only major potato-related investment planned for the east of FundsScotland.havealready been sourced from UK and Scottish Government under the Angus Cities Deal which will allow for a £15m allocation towards a Centre of Agricultural Sustainable Innovation.
34 Weed cutter showing potential in conventional crops
SPO sets out aims for seed
P
As with other bodies being promoted in the wake of the demise of AHDB Potatoes and AHDB Horticulture, the organisers were keen to stress this would not be a levy body. Instead, the plan is to work with
38 Per plant robot service launches to farms
roposals for a new industry body, to be known as the Seed Potato (SPO),Organisationtookastep forward at Potatoes in Practice.
22 Optimising nutrition for milling wheat
and is likely to be completed in Prof2024.Lesley Torrance, director of science at the institute, said: “There is a definite need for such a facility. Potato is the third most important staple food in the world and we urgently need varieties that can cope with climate change. There are
It is intended that there will be an industry-led approach to the work at the IPIC and that partnerships will be formed globally. The immediate challenge, however, is to raise enough
subscription based on area. The suggestion is this might be £29 per“Therehectare.is a possibility that we might have regional groups, for example in Yorkshire and Wales, and to have associate member ship available for non-growers. The annual income we think will need to be around £400,000.”
Prof Gerry Saddler, chief executive of Science and advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), said he was ‘very enthusiastic’
46 Farming for profit, people and the planet
co-operative umbrella body the Scottish Agricultural Organisa tion Society to create a structure which would make sure the organisation was grower controlled.MrWilson said: “It will be a case of one member, one vote, irrespective of size. Members will purchase a £1,000 share holding and then pay an annual
New glasshouses will allow breeders to make the most of the genetic variation in the Commonwealth Potato Collection, which is already housed at JHI.
JPotato cyst nematode (PCN) is costing the seed potato sector £25 million per year, but unless the soil-borne pest is brought under control this figure could rise to £125m per year and ultimately cause the sector’s demise. The warning, issued at Potatoes in Practice, came from Prof Ian Toth, senior plant health scientist at the James Hutton Institute (JHI).
Importance
“I am aware that this is creating real hardship. The current situation is the UK Government is considering equivalence applications from several EU countries which would allow them to export seed potatoes to the UK. This is clearly unfair when trade in the other direction is not allowed to take place,” he said.
pallida resistance a lower priority over the years.
seed sector
about the prospect of SPO taking on many of the functions of AHDB and reminded growers that the Scottish Government commitment to fund aphid monitoring and the Fight Against Blight programme was for one year only.
PROVEN
n Cornerstone of grass-weed management n Rainfast from 1 hour n Excellent performance in challenging spring and summer conditions n Modern drift-minimising formulations
PCN threat
POTATOES TECHNICAL cropscience.bayer.co.uk/roundup Proven Effective Dependable For further information, visit www.cropscience.bayer.co.uk/roundup, or call 0808 1969522 for technical enquiries. Roundup is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. Roundup contains Glyphosate. USE HERBICIDES SAFELY. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND PRODUCT INFORMATION BEFORE USE. © 2022 Bayer Group. All rights reserved.
GB Potatoes, said he did not see the two bodies as being in competition and that there was plenty of room for them to work together on projects such as securing approval for registering chemicals.TheSPO working group has set an initial target of signing up at least 50% of GB seed growers.
“It is a grave threat. We are losing about 5% of clean land in Scotland every year to PCN infection. In Angus, the main potato growing county, the loss is nearer 11%. The persistent pallida species has overtaken the rostochiensis species as the problem. Growers must keep fields clean if that rate of loss is to be halted and that means controlling groundkeepers,” he said.
Prof Gerry Saddler, head of SASA, said Scottish Government was aware of the importance of the PCN Action Scotland programme. He had also been involved in discussions around lifting the ban on the export of seed potatoes from Scotland to the EU and Northern Ireland.
Eight work programmes are underway as part of the Scottish Government-funded PCN Action Scotland project, with trials taking place on a high PCN infestation site near Forfar. One of the mitigations involved incorporating compostcontaining chitins derived from seafood waste.
Dr Phil Burgess, head of Scottish Potatoes.org, believed pallida-resistant varieties would play a key role in controlling the pest. There were six such varieties in the JHI plots at the event, but most were processing varieties. Breeders of table potatoes had given
Mark Taylor, chair of the working group formed to set up
Plans for new potato organisations and research facilities were unveiled at Potatoes in Practice, held in August at Balruddery Farm, near Dundee.
“There has been a perception in the industry that foliar urea is not considered suitable for baking quality wheats. Yet this isn’t the case given the results from this project,” says Dr Morris.
“The holy grail in my book is how the industry may more consistently increase the odds of achieving adequate grain protein season in and season out,” says Miss Grundy, who runs Cheshire-based Compass Agronomy.
Contribution
the practical guidance on nitrogen and sulphur and it highlights the impact of management strategies on grain processing, such as dough rheology and baking performance.
The research was originally sought by nabim, now known as UK Flour Millers.
The work aimed to update guidance on using nitrogen and sulphur fertiliser on winter milling wheat to get optimum grain
milling
It evaluated the impact of N and S rates and timings on dough rheology and baking performance, including (for S) the production of asparagine.
Optimising nutrition for
Grain quality
Both investigated the impact of fertiliser on grain yield, with post-harvest grain analysis recording properties including protein, specific weight and Hagberg falling number to identify treatments that met milling specificationsSamplesspecification.meetingthosewerealsosent to
The first stage was consulting widely to home in on exactly where the knowledge gaps were regarding winter milling wheat management, he says.
22 RESEARCH IN ACTION SEPTEMBER 2022 JobsInAgricultureJobsinyourfield Let us keep you updated by email and never miss another great job JobsInAgriculture.com Find Jobs Faster Receive the latest jobs in your inbox with our free email alert service
That is one of several key points arising from research led by Dr Nathan Morris, NIAB senior specialist – farming systems and soils.
JWhen the project began, independent adviser Alli Grundy says she was excited at the prospect of it shedding light on how milling wheat nutrition might be improved.
Dr Morris says the project’s main messages are: Site and season have the greatest impact on grain quality, low spring rainfall having a substantial effect on nitrogen uptake and efficiency. August rainfall resulted in low Hagberg Falling Numbers or specific
the Allied Technical Centre to conduct pilot milling and test baking work.
These were conducted across
Four years of field trials in an AHDB-backed research project* to help growers better meet UK millers’ needs have just been completed. Andrew Blake reports.
“Overall, the project outcomes make a valuable contribution to
“This ultimately formed the basis of field trials.”
Project could be a ‘game changer’
hen it comes to mattersquality,bakingwheatitnot
six sites from southern and eastern England to Scotland.
There were two trial series, the first looking at nitrogen application rates and timings, the second examining sulphur responses.
W
weights at some sites that would result in poor rheology and baking nitratewhereGrainperformance.proteinincreasesnitrogen(asammoniumorurea)isappliedafter
quality and milling specifications for leading breadmaking varieties grown under a range of soil types and environments.
whether the nitrogen applied to the crop is urea or ammonium nitrate.
“Extreme weather can have a big effect on crop establishment and the crop’s ability to take up and use nitrogen.
“So, growers should be mindful of the weather around the time of fertiliser applications and be ready to adapt their strategies
Perspective
AHDB-fundedmade.”research
Not only does it make economic sense to apply it only if needed but, from an environmental perspective, we need to avoid loading the system with nitrogen that isn’t going to be used by the plant and is therefore at risk of being lost.
rTotal cost: £230,998 (AHDB investment £179,548)
growth stage 32-35. An extra 40kg N/ha is enough to raise grain protein for the desired specification for rheology andTherebaking.was no detrimental
Inoculate cover crops Improved growth and soil health Increased mycorrhizal levels for follow on crop Available for mixing with seeds on farm, or pre blended by your seed supplier SR2 for application on cover crops, herbal leys and forage grass at a nominal rate of 10Kg/Hectare. ✓ ✓ ✓
rJuly 2018 to July 2022
where only ammonium nitrate wasThereapplied.was little consistent evidence that sulphur doses above the currently recommended 50kg SO3/ha reduce grain asparagine levels.
r*AHDB project 21140040 Nitrogen and sulphur fertiliser management to achieve grain protein quality targets of high-yielding winter milling wheat
“Similarly,accordingly.attention at harvest to prioritise quality wheat crops if the forecast predicts rain to minimise the risk of reducing Hagberg Falling Numbers.
SR2
The research threw up few surprises, admits Dr Morris.
“The impact of high nitrogen fertiliser prices will clearly be at the forefront of growers’ minds and it’s important to consider the break-even ratio to ensure there’s an
PLANTING COVER CROPS THIS SEASON? with Mycorrhizal Fungi & Rhizobacteria
milling wheat
impact on baking quality when foliar urea was applied instead of ammonium nitrate.
Where foliar urea was applied at GS73 there was a trend for the gluten to be stronger than
rLed by NIAB and partnered by SRUC
Treat
rCollaborators (with in-kind contributions): Allied Technical Centre (£28,000); RAGT Seeds (£10,500); KWS UK (£4,200); Omex Agriculture (£3,750); Masstock Arable trading as Agrii (£3,500); AHDB (£1,500)
“Being confident that you’ve supplied enough nitrogen to the crop to satisfy both yield and grain quality is a major step“Inforward.theclimate of high input prices, the current status quo is to apply additional nitrogen because current guidance suggests you should, without having a mechanism to check if it’s“However,necessary.anew protein prediction analysis was examined in the project and seemed to pinpoint with reasonable certainty whether crops did or didn’t need the traditional final nitrogen application.“Thiscould be a game changer in managing nitrogen.
“Revisiting the benefits of applying sulphur is also useful from an advisory perspective – particularly any new advice around changes to rate and timing.
“These practical outcomes are easily adopted by growers and are where potential productivity and quality gains can readily be has examined the impact of nitrogen and sulphur rates and timings on dough rheology and baking performance of winter milling wheat varieties.
economic return from applications. “Achieving grain quality specification that meets UKFM needs will be essential to achieve premiums on crops for milling.”
Project details
RESEARCH IN ACTION SEPTEMBER 2022 & RHIZOBACTERIA For further smart.plantworksuk.co.uknatallia.gulbis@plantworksuk.co.ukM:+44(0)7990042473T:+44(0)1795information:411527
Applying at 200 litres/ hectare appears to be worth an additional 10% control but will cut your work rate. If this risks delaying your pre-emergence application, thereby reducing control, then using a lower water rate would be recommended.
“We are fundamentally still in the same place. It’s given us the opportunity to have 20% more performance - to step up. But if we go backwards on some of the integrated weed management approaches around drilling, crop rotations, cultivation timings, the outcome will be to step
Understanding the black-grass control hierarchy
Cussans, who warns the improve ment in weed control brought by the new chemistry is not as great as the improvement delivered by an integrated approach combining drilling date, rotation and cultivations.“Thefundamental reality of having to use soil-acting pre-emergence herbicide chemistry – having to do all your weed control in the first couple of weeks after drilling and having
rSummary
IWM controltheessentialapproachtoholdblack-grassline
Source: NIAB
24 TECHNICAL GRASS-WEEDS SEPTEMBER 2022
4 Application technique
for pre-emergence applications. It is vital your choices do not negatively affect the previous steps of the hierarchy.
Concentrate on the factors that make the greatest contribution to weed control. Subsequently, avoid practices that risk degradation of those key factors.
herbicide performance against black-grass, but sticking to tried and tested integrated weed management (IWM) principles remains essential if control levels are to be maintained. That is the unequivocal message from NIAB weed specialist John
T
Performance
Starting with a true preemergence application within 48 hours of crop establishment is vital, with a follow-up when weeds are at cotyledon stage the most potent combination.
Urging growers to keep the black-grass control hierarchy front of mind (see panel), Mr Cussans says the cultural practices which sit at the top of the hierarchy must be addressed before factors lower down, such as spray timing and technique, are considered.
NIAB’s recent work indicates the interaction of tank mix, nozzle type and water volume can be incredibly variable
backwards because that 20% difference is not as big as the differences from some of the other control options,” he says.
This includes setting better rotations, cultivation strategies and drilling dates, which is one of the most effective techniques. NIAB’s long-term data set shows a 50% reduction in weed density from delaying drilling.
SCRIVENERTIMPICTURE:
very little contact activity – cin methylin is not changing that.
Cultural measures must remain at the top of the black-grass control hierarchy, despite the introduction of new herbicide chemistry. Teresa Rush reports.
JPositive steps have been made in terms of controlling black-grass across the UK in the last 10 years, says JohnThisCussans.achievement has been built on strong footings of using knowledge of weed biology to inform the practices that will bring most reward.
he arrival of new herbicide chemistry such as an(Luximo)cinmethylinwillbringimprovementin
3 Application timing
1 Cultural practice
2 Herbicide programmes
Sequencing the residual components of a herbicide programme is effective as it captures the full germination period and reduces the pressure on the crop, which itself is a tool to weed control.
The adoption of routine, pre-ems at the expense of ALS and ACCase herbicides for black-grass control has been an obvious change in the last five years as a result of widespread resistance. However, it remains easy to become too dependent on a select few active ingredients.Itisimportant to utilise the full range of modes of action available within a herbicide programme to maximise efficacy and reduce the risk of resistance building. Using a more diverse programme will deliver better performance than increasing the dose of a single mode of action.
average, black-grass density in an autumn-drilled winter wheat crop is reduced by 50% where drilling is delayed by a month.
JOHN CUSSANS
X
Do not squander the improvement in black-grass control from new chemistry by moving away from cultural control techniques, advises John Cussans.
“You have to understand you’re reliant on this basket of pre-emergence herbicides to get good weed control; it all has to be achieved very early on and density is important.
“Because we’re not going to spend our way out of poor management of black-grass, we’re not going to optimise our way out with application technology. These are things we can do after we’ve got good rotations, drilling dates that are appropriate for the weed pressure and good conditions to apply pre-ems.”
“In a winter wheat crop, with one black-grass plant/sq.m, you might get 10, 12, 13 heads per seedandwithgrasscandensitieshighyouthinblack-downherbicidesgetmorereturn
With
black-grass plants out of the system you’re reducing the density you’re going to try and control in the crop.
25 TECHNICAL SEPTEMBER 2022 Wherefarmingstarts Learnmoreatvaderstad.com CarrierXThastheabilitytooptimise thediscanglestoitsworkingdepth. Thiscreatesafullcut-outata shallowerworkingdepthorreduced soilflowatadeeperworkingdepth. Bothofthesefactorscontributetoa lowerdieselconsumption. Thenew CarrierXT CarrierXTcaneitherbedelivered asatrailedormountedversion. Theworkingwidthis4.25,5.25or 6.25m.AllCarrierXTmodelscan beequippedwitharangeofboth singleanddoublepackeroptions.
NIAB drilling date trials carried out across 10 years show that, on
“The reality of that data is that every single week you are losing
The exception is with use of an increased water volume for applications of Defy (prosulfocarb).
“We can’t be drilling crops like that, not with any chemistry because it’s an expensive business. It’s not sustainable; we’re having to use so much
Water
“Anythingimportant.wecan do to reduce the starting point, to reduce the level of black-grass we’re trying to control, will help us get better outcomes. And that isn’t changed by cinmethylin. We’re still in that same scenario. You will be better off [using cinmethylin] than you would be if you use a flufenacet stack, but you still might be in a very difficult place in terms of seed return.
“If you’re drilling a winter wheat crop and you get 1,000 black-grass plants/sq.m, you will have to spend something in the order of £120/hectare before you start to have any effect on the number of heads.
“We do see this phenomenon Syngenta is talking about where higher water volumes help efficacy,” he says.
“But with none of the other measures we want to include –appropriate drilling date for the pressure in the field, rotational management and cultivations – we are left with a choice between something horrible and something terrible,” says Mr
Cinmethylin provides a useful new option for control of ryegrass.
Problematic
Where ryegrass is the target weed, control is more problematic because cultural control tools do not work as well and control of Plusgrass-weedsnoorcontrol,questionsparticularof]fantasticdifficult,populationsherbicide-resistantcanbeveryheadds.“Iseecinmethylinasareallyopportunityin[termsItalianryegrass[control],inalongsideblack-grass.”NIABisincreasinglyreceivingaboutwildandbromeparticularlyinlow-tillno-tillsituations,butthereisclaimforcontroloftheseontheLuxinumlabel,addsMrCussans. Anything we can do to reduce the level of outcomesuscontrolwe’reblack-grasstryingtowillhelpgetbetter
However,Cussans.inlater-drilled
plots, the density of black-grass in untreated plots was lower than in any of the treated plots. And in treated plots, delayed drilling enabled the best to be got out of chemistry, with very high levels of control achieved in some “We’vecases.gotto see this [Luximo] as an opportunity to step forward rather than compromising some of those good things that are going on and effectively stepping backwards,” says Mr Cussans.
26 TECHNICAL GRASS-WEEDS SEPTEMBER 2022
While there continues to be plenty of focus on pre-emergence application techniques, a key message is that while the differences in level of black-grass control that can be achieved with changing nozzle or water volume are real, they are still quite small when compared to the cultural control tools available, says Mr Cussans.
herbicide to get traction that it’s really not realistic.”
Black-grass Centre at Hardwick, Cambridge, this season with what will be the standard Luximo + pendimethalin product in the market this autumn demonstrated the higher level of black-grass control provided by Luxinum Plus over existing standards.
Trial plots at the NIAB
plant. In a black-grass population with 1,000 plants/sq.m you’ll get slightly less than one. With very high densities you can thin black-grass plants down with herbicides and get more seed return per plant; the outcome for black-grass herbicides when we’re using pre-ems is determined partly by density and that is really
JOHN CUSSANS
HerbicideUSEPLANTPROTECTION PRODUCTS SAFELY. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND PRODUCT INFORMATION BEFORE USE. UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, TRADEMARKS WITH ® OR ™ ARE TRADEMARKS OF FMC. • New herbicide coming soon • New mode of action in cereals • Control of grassweeds and broadleaf weed ISOFLEXTM active from FMC Isoflex™ active is not registered for sale or use. No offer for sale or use of this product is permitted prior to issuance of authorisation by HSE UNLOCKING THE FUTURE OF WEED CONTROL IsoflexTM active from FMC
fields for eight years to measure black-grass levels and record agronomic practice. Since the project began in 2014, there has been a gradual decline in black-grass levels.
itascontrolBlack-grass–goodasgets?
LAURA CROOK
Weed ecologist Laura Crook says: “Black-grass levels have definitely come down since the project began. We see far fewer fields with very high infestations and much more at the other end of the scale.
lot of it is due to farmers’ weed control
We see far fewer fields with very ofthemuchinfestationshighandmoreatotherendthescale
Black-grass levels declined over eight years of monitoring conducted by Rothamsted Research.
this third step is where the big improvement has come. Farmers have been able to understand why something has worked and take that into next season.”
Her colleague Richard Hull points out that farmers’ overall approach to weed management has gone up a gear.
team of scientists at thanmonitoredResearchRothamstedhasmore160arable
A
He says: “There are three stages to weed management: planning it, doing it and monitoring the results. I think
There is a lot of variability across 160 fields. Some of that is down to seasonal differences, particularly whether conditions favour high levels of control from residual herbicides. But a
“Somestrategies.fieldscontinue to have high levels of black-grass because, for one reason or another, the agronomy and rotation has not really changed.
RICHARD HULL
“Other farms have made sweeping changes to drastically reduce weed numbers. A third
“Over the same period, we have recorded more delayed drilling, stacking of residual herbicides and spring cropping. These are the main factors behind the change, with spring cropping making the biggest single difference.”
Management
28 TECHNICAL GRASS-WEEDS SEPTEMBER 2022
There are three stages to themonitoringdoingplanningmanagement:weedit,itandresults
For more than a decade, black-grass has been the foremost agronomic problem on many arable farms. But have most farmers now found a way to manage it? Arable Farming reports.
29 GRASS-WEEDS TECHNICAL SEPTEMBER 2022
“Each farmer has a level of black-grass they are willing to live with. For some it is zero tolerance but for others it is higher, but not significantly sapping yield. I think there has been a plateauing of control with the tools available for many farmers,” says Mr Hull.
“My guess is dormancy should be low. The four-week maturation period in June and July was fairly hot and dry. As soon as there is enough moisture, black-grass will germinate quickly and be controlled ahead of drilling.”
Change in
Looking ahead to this autumn, he expects dry conditions will work in farmers’ favour to allow good control of black-grass ahead of cereals.
Advising farmers in Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, Agrovista agronomist Peter Waltham advocates a field-by-field approach.
abundance over time abundanceBlack-grass VeryMediumHighhighLowAbsent 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Year SOURCE: Rothamsted Research
“Farmers are now very good at using cultural controls such as spring crops, minimal disturbance and delayed drilling. I think they are also more pragmatic; they X black-grass
Germinate
group sits between the two and has more mixed results, depending on the season.
“We are not using huge stacks, but they bring a huge amount of control, we can see that with the occasional spray miss.”
“In wheat crops, black-grass control is based on robust cultural
He thinks finding spring crops which suit the system is essential for durable blackgrass control. Spring oats have been the most important, however, Mr Lord thinks there is a slight uptick in the amount of black-grass he sees.
DAVID LORD
“At the pre-em timing there are now multiple modes of action available so it’s possible to vary modes of action in season and across the rotation to prevent resistance.”
“I first saw it at Agrovista’s Lamport site. You could see an improvement in control com pared to other products, so I was keen to use it. So far it is working well and farmers have generally been happy about the results.”
Results
“We drill in early- to mid-April, but some black-grass comes up even after this. I wonder
“But in winter wheat and to a lesser extent winter barley, effective herbicides have been essential in reducing black-grass numbers while producing profitable crops. We need to maintain efficacy and do our level best to prevent resistance.
“We use cover crops and reduced tillage to improve soils, they are healthy and resilient and able to cope well with a bit of adversity,” adds Mr Lord.
“It’s all about a tailored approach. The most important thing is to ask what you are trying to achieve and how are you going to do it.
Against that are the facts that earlier drilling and second wheats are both tempting options for farmers looking to maximise profitability but choosing low-risk, low weed population fields is essential.
competitive, so it seems to be a good additional spring crop option, he approachAdoptingsays.aregenerativeisanimportant part of staying in control.
Farmers are now very good at using cultural controls such as spring crops and drillingdelayed
But Mr Lord’s experience suggests black-grass will not ever be straightforward to control. The reasons it became such a problem have not changed: it is still competitive in winter wheat, produces lots of seed and is quite often resistant to post-emergence chemistry.
Stewardship
30 TECHNICAL GRASS-WEEDS SEPTEMBER 2022
However, Bayer’s Tom Chillcott offers a note of caution to anyone thinking the blackgrass challenge is solved.
Modes of action
Research and anecdotal evidence suggest farmers have found ways to manage black-grass, but the changes to rotation and agronomy required are here to stay.
If spring germination becomes more of a problem, he will consider stewardship options to take the worst land out of the rotation. He recently cut a crop of canary seed. It is drilled late and is quite
Winter wheat is typically grown one year in three in the rotation. Delayed drilling and pre-emergence herbicides are vital here, but the system overall does not put too much pressure on chemistry.
He identifies a greater willingness to manage fields and crops in more detail to solve a problem in a specific field rather than a farm-wide approach. This is particularly important when deciding how to manage land in those critical weeks between harvest and drilling.
“This will be different depending on the field, following crop and so on. I am expecting a higher number of second wheats this season, which isn’t a problem for weed control, but these fields are best drilled later.
“Bayer has seen first-hand how the market for herbicides and the discussions people have about black-grass have changed. Cultural controls are now the first line of defence and herbicides are what you use to finish the job.
PETER WALTHAM
Profitability
JEssex farmer David Lord agrees black-grass control has stabilised, but he is on guard against complacency.
if we are selecting for spring germination because blackgrass finds a way?”
In the field David Lord, Essex We use cover crops and improvetillagereducedtosoils
know it takes more than one season to sort it out. Plus, farmers can still get a good yielding crop with low levels of black-grass, I don’t think that’s a problem as long as they have a long-term plan to keep it under control,” he says.
controls and autumn chemistry. Last season, the standard pre-em was Liberator + Proclus.
“The changes we made quite a few years ago have reduced the peaks; we don’t get the build up of really high populations mainly because of spring cropping. We still have persistent populations across the farm, but it is manageable,” he says.
LUXIMO® AVAILABLE AS LUXINUM ® PLUS + STOMP ® AQUA Luxinum ® Plus + Stomp ® Aqua is a brand-new weed control solution for growers in Great Britain. Luxinum® Plus contains Luximo®, the first new mode of action for black-grass and ryegrass control in over 20 years, and one that is effective against resistant biotypes. To be used as part of an integrated weed management strategy, Luxinum ® Plus + Stomp ® Aqua delivers an impressive step change in performance versus all other soil residual chemistry, providing a powerful new cornerstone for weed control in winter wheat. To fi nd out more visit www.agricentre.basf.co.uk/luximo Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. For further product information including warning phrases and symbols refer to www.agricentre.basf.co.uk. Luxinum ® Plus contains cinmethylin (Luximo ®). Stomp ® Aqua contains pendimethalin. Luxinum ® Plus, Luximo ® and Stomp ® Aqua are registered Trademarks of BASF. ©BASF 2022. All rights reserved. A NEW DAWN FOR WEED CONTROL IS HERE
“Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for bromes, ryegrass and wild oats, though. In all three cases, the proportion of growers seeing increasing problems with these weeds over the past four seasons is going up and the proportion reporting decreases going down. The situation is particularly worrying with ryegrass and wild oats.
GOWAN’S 2022 study shows black-grass remains the most significant grass-weed issue for most growers, with nearly a quarter of respondents reporting problems across half or more of their winter cereals area, and more than half of growers seeing issues across more than 10% of theirWildarea.oats are the second most problematic grass-weed, seen across half or more of winter cereals area by more than one in 10 growers and across more than 10% of the growing area by almost half of respondents. Bromes and ryegrass are both
somewhat less significant in their scale,Black-grassnationally.with wild oats and black-grass with bromes are the most widely encountered grass-weed combinations.
Study highlights key successes and issues grass-weedswith
Key grass-weed challenges
findings of the latest national grass-weed management study undertaken by Gowan Crop Protection this summer.
Involving more than 260 growers across the main arable regions of the country managing a total of just under 90,000 hectares of cropping, it spans a range of enterprises, establishment regimes and weed management practices.
More growers are still reporting an increase than a decrease in problems in each case. However, the proportion seeing increasing black-grass problems is much lower than it was in the national survey conducted by Bayer in 2016. At the same time, the proportion seeing decreasing problems is noticeably higher (see graph).
Mr King says: “Black-grass continues to be much more problematic in the south and east of the country than in the west and north. If anything, though, the weed now appears to be more of an issue in the southern counties than in the historically worst-affected eastern regions. And it remains most concerning under reduced tillage regimes.
reporting increasing problems with black-grass, bromes, wild oats and mixed grass-weeds is noticeably higher than average in the Southern counties. With ryegrass, the main focus for increasing problems appears to be the West Midlands and Wales,” adds Mr King.
The study shows black-grass, ryegrass, brome and wild oat infestations continue to be widespread, with three-quarters
“Equally concerning is the fact problems with mixed grassweeds, rather than just single
have been taking to deal with black-grass in recent years are having the desired effect.
G
New study provides a valuable insight into how grass-weed challenges are evolving on-farm.
“As well as in reduced tillage systems, bromes are especially problematic in the southern and northern counties.
Study co-ordinator Hank King, of Gowan, says: “This clearly suggests the increasingly integrated approaches growers
Problems
“The proportion of growers
What is more, large numbers of farms appear to be missing a valuable trick by concentrating their wild oat control on spring rather than making the most of their autumn pre-emergence herbicides.Theseare among the key
32 SPONSORED CONTENT SEPTEMBER 2022
“Wild oat problems, however, are more evenly distributed across the country and, like the other grass-weeds, less under plough-based winter cereal establishment regimes.
rowers are having reasonable success managing black-grass but ryegrass, brome and wild oat problems are all getting noticeably worse, and wild oats mixed with other grass-weeds are proving especially problematic for many.
The study
or more of growers having at least some problem with each.
THE study, by Gowan Crop Protection this summer, saw more than 260 growers share their experiences in managing the main grass-weed threats.
“Regardless of region, higher proportions of growers than average with shallow min-till and no-till regimes are reporting increases in black-grass, brome and ryegrass issuesgrassHerbicide-resistantproblems.”black-iscontinuingtocauseformostgrowers,reveals
“While there are clear hotspots elsewhere, ryegrass problems are most widespread in the south and among those with shallow min-till regimes.
Regions
highly for their effectiveness on our 1-5 scale,” says Mr King.
“We must never be compla cent, but the increasing use of integrated weed management programmes utilising the best chemical and cultural controls seems to be paying dividends in allowing growers to combat even the most problematic black-grass.
Herbicide programmes
The highest winter wheat
“The data shows most Avadex users value the herbicide for adding extra grass-weed control beyond just black-grass to their pre-em programmes, while large
species, are reported by half of growers; especially so since control measures that work well with one species may not be the most appropriate for others.”
The winter wheat grass-weed herbicide bill averaged just under £80/ha last season, with almost a quarter of growers spending more than £100/ha.
numbers also appreciate it for the protection it gives other herbicides against resistance development.“Sadly,though, around two-thirds of growers are failing to appreciate tri-allate’s value in wild oat control. This is a great shame since employing Avadex in autumn for its additional black-grass, brome and ryegrass control will, in many cases, make spring wild oat treatment unnecessary.
Cultural controls
However, underlining the generally improving blackgrass control position, rather fewer growers than in 2016 say they are encountering resist ance problems. In contrast, greater proportions now are finding resistance problems with ryegrass and bromes.
“The key challenge is to maintain this progress while bearing down on the increas ing threat from wild oats, bromes and ryegrass – often in combination – which can be even more damaging to crop performance. And to do so while responding to growing economic and environmental pressures to reduce tillage as far as possible.”
Bromes and wild oats in wheat.
grass-weed herbicide bills are clearly associated with greater use of shallow or min-tilling; more widespread black-grass problems; resistant black-grass, ryegrass and bromes; and mixed grass-weed populations.
ALONGSIDE their herbicide programmes, growers are currently employing an average of 9.7 of 12 main cultural techniques to manage techniquesfivevarietiescropespeciallyotheryearsmoreanddrilling,seedbeds,bemore–culturalidentified6.3increasegrass-weeds.Thisisanencouragingontheaverageofofthesametechniquesinthe2016survey.Thefivemostwidelyusedgrass-weedcontrolseachemployedby85%orofgrowers–continuetospringcropping,staledelayedautumnrotationalploughingincreasedseedrates.Inallcasesthesearebeingwidelyusedthanfourago.Asaremostofthemainculturalcontrols–sprayingoffinfestedareas,usingcompetitiveandhandrogueing.“Underliningtheirvalue,allmostwidelyusedculturalscoredrelatively
“Of the 12 main techniques, only cover cropping and fallowing scored less than 3.0.
Progress
CHEMICAL black-grass, brome and ryegrass control efforts in winter cereals continue to be concentrated on pre-planting stubble and pre-emergence treatments, with noticeably greater reliance on pre-ems than in the past.
In all three cases, however, around a third of growers are using a spring herbicide as part of their treatment programme. This increases to more than 40% and two-thirds respectively where mixed grass-weeds and wild oats are the targets, with the emphasis on autumn control declining proportionately.
Changes in main grass-weed issues Black-grass 2022 Black-grass 2016 Bromes 2022 Bromes 2016 Ryegrass 2022 Ryegrass 2016 Wild oats 2022 Wild oats 2016Increase No change Decrease Percentage of growers seeing Source: National Grassweed Management Study 2022 – Gowan National Grassweed Study 2016 – Monsanto (Bayer) 31%24%23%22%7%14%19%13%35% 19% 55%43%45% 52%61%48% 43% 74% 16%32%38%41%26%17%
Availability
“What’s more, the wide availability of the liquid formula tion, Avadex Factor, which is compatible with most pre-em herbicides, eliminates the need for specialist applica tion equipment and/or an extra pass.”
Some 40% of growers are currently using Avadex (tri-allate) as part of their pre-em programmes. Usage is closely related to the scale and severity of most grass-weed problems, rising to more than 50% where black-grass, brome or ryegrass are most troublesome.
the study, with more than half reporting serious or very serious problems from resistance. Almost a quarter of growers are seeing similarly concerning resistance problems in ryegrass, with 16% finding issues that may be resistance-related in bromes.
Severity
33 SPONSORED CONTENT SEPTEMBER 2022
Overseeing more than 1,600ha of organic cropping, John Pawsey has long been keen to find non-chemical methods of grass-weed control.
s the pressure on chemical weed control continues to grow multiplefromsources
– whether from resistance development and active ingredient withdrawals to water company issues and consumer demands – mechanical methods of controlling weeds are attracting closer attention from growers of combinable crops.
The farm comprises 650 hectares of mostly Hanslope
Principle
on which we provided some development feedback.
A Suffolk organic farm has recently extended its use of mechanical weeding by investing in a further machine to enable late season grass-weed control. Martin Rickatson reports.
John Pawsey’s Shimpling Park Farm, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, began organic conversion in 1999 and completed the process in 2007.
Conversion
TECHNICAL GRASS-WEEDS 34 SEPTEMBER 2022
He says: “We’ve been gradually moving away from the plough to minimum tillage and one of our most successful weed management tools has been the CTM Weed Surfer, which is a great machine, one
however, has tackling grassweeds been successful to a significant extent late in the season, thanks to investment in a French-made machine first seen by Mr Pawsey at a farm show in France in 2015.
Only relatively recently,
JOHN PAWSEY
Over the past 20 years we’ve learned a lot ofvariousweedingaboutatstagesvariouscrops
The Bionalan Selac is relatively simple in design, with hydraulically-powered rotating blades working over steel guide fingers.
The experiences of one Suffolk large-scale organic farm, though, suggest above-crop grass-weed control shows promise.
A flock of 1,000 New Zealand Romney sheep grazes 500ha of two-year grass/ clover leys, while the 1,200ha of all-combinable cropping is grown for specific end-users, with wheat and beans going to animal feed mills.
“When in France in 2015, I saw the Bionalan Selac, which uses a slightly different but still very simple“Builtprinciple.aroundan intermediate chassis cushioned by a nitrogen ball cylinder and with a central pivot, the machine features pto- or machine,andresult,theseedfingersrotatinghydraulically-poweredbladesworkingagainsttodecapitategrass-weedheadsabovethecropbeforeseedsreachmaturity.Asatheydonotgerminatecreatenewplants.”Eachbladecoversametreofthewhichisavailablein
“The key issue though is with weed stage and size in that once its hood is over the top of the crop the blade downdraft can push the weeds around. As a result, we would sometimes have to make further passes to catch missed weeds.
But while inter-row weeding early in the season on wide-row, band-sown cereals is one thing, controlling grass-weeds later in the year is quite another.
Barley is normally sold as malting and exported to the continent; oats are grown for White Oats, spelt goes to Sharpham Park and the farm’s quinoa crop is bought by the British Quinoa Company. All grain marketing is done by Andrew Trump of Organic Arable.
Since the beginning of conversion to organic production, routine mechanical removal has been central to weed management, with several different machines used in sequence, depending on crop and growth stage.
A
clays, with a further 980ha of contract organic farming.
Weed cutter showing conventional potential
“It’s not an exact science, but once the plant is flowering halfway up the panicle you have about a week to 10 days to cut before the seeds at the top become viable.
Liberator contains flufenacet and diflufenican. Proclus contains aclonifen. Liberator and Proclus are registered Trade Marks of Bayer. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. © Bayer CropScience Limited 2022.
seed samples at different stages and sending them to NIAB to determine viability.
Impressed by the machine, Mr Pawsey found there was no UK importer and, after considering bringing one in himself, finally did so in time for spring 2022. Since then, an agent has been appointed (see panel, on page 36).
1+1= 3
Get best-in-class grass-weed control with three modes of action.
Discover the Aclonifen Effect
“One of the first fields we converted to organic production was a sea of wild oats and through use of the CTM machine and agronomic advice we have pretty much now got X
The French-designed Bionalan Selac weed cutter is designed to remove the heads of weeds growing above a crop, being particularly effective on grass-weeds in cereals.
4m/6m/9m/12m models.
Working height of 0.15-1.8m according to crop is set via a mast and angle can be altered hydraulically, while front or rear mounting is possible. Dividers are height-adjustable to adapt to crop and weed height and, with its open structure, there is no wind from blade rotation to affect the weed stand.
Flowering
“Our main grass-weed issue is wild oats and I’ve done lots of research over the years collecting
“Oats are very pernicious and it takes relatively little seed return to quickly result in an infestation that smothers crops.
“It fits into a weed control system that also includes the Cameleon drills and a Weedcut ter Combcut, also made by Lyckegard and also imported by Primewest. The latter is an even more recent arrival, and is
“However,surface.we found that height precision is really important, as this skimming is just enough to cause light damage that can subsequently allow development of ear disease and we were seeing low levels of bunt. Uneven fields can also cause uneven work, but we’re doing very little ploughing now and our fields are more level as a Forwardresult.”speed depends on the infestation, but is usually 8-10kph with his front-mounted machine, adds Mr Pawsey.
“The natural next step was to find a tool that could give us similar results in fewer passes and that led me to the Bionalan Selac.”
Winter crop establishment now relies largely upon a Farmet Fantom deep tine unit followed by one of a pair of Farmet Verso 8 spring tine cultivators or a Vaderstad Carrier 925 short disc, depending on conditions.
Today, manufacturing is licensed to Swedish firm Lyckegard, and machines are imported into the UK by Primewest, the Oxon-based machinery import offshoot of a family farming concern that also 12-metreinNewlicenceCross-SlotmanufacturesdrillsunderfromtheoriginalZealandmakers.TheSelacisavailablefour-,six-,nine-andmodels,witha 6m unit costing about £26,000.
JOHN PAWSEY
The Selac can be either front- or rear-mounted and is powered by the tractor’s pto, its hydraulic system or an independent hydraulic pack.
The Cameleon drills then look after sowing and early inter-row weeding. Spring crop land is ploughed or increasingly, min-tilled where possible, with a target to minimise fuel use.
“We didn’t have it early enough to use the Selac for black-grass control, but it’s something we will try next year, although it’s not such a key weed for us as our broad rotation helps suppress it. But where it does occur it’s a challenge for mechanical control as it’s such a spindly, light plant.”
With units shifted over and coulters changed, the machine can also be used post-drilling for initial weed control via inter-row hoeing, as well as undersowing where required. Wheats are sown at around 350 seeds/sq.m, depend ing on thousand grain weight, to aid early weed suppression.
“The first spring with the Selac appears to be helping us in getting towards the levels of weed control I’ve been seeking since we moved to organic production,” says Mr Pawsey.
The Bionalan Selac weed cutter
“To tackle that we used the machine earlier, pre-flag leaf of the crop. It’s helped get charlock
it to a rogueable state.
“Over the past 20 years we’ve learned a lot about weeding at various stages of various combinable crops and, coupled with our drill hoes and tined
“With an experienced operator it’s possible to do quite a lot in a day, but they need to be focused on machine height, especially where land is uneven, so it can be demanding to operate.”
reckoned effective in destroying thistles, nettles, charlock, docks and black-grass. I purchased one after seeing what it could do and am looking forward to working it alongside the Bionalan machine this coming season.”
weeders, I think we’ve now honed the machinery fleet to what we need. The next thing we may look at is the value of variable rate seeding to up rates and outcompete weeds where there are known patches.”
Mr Pawsey’s crop establishment is based around a pair of System Cameleon low disturbance drills imported from Swedish maker Gothia Redskap.
Low disturbance
JBased in Euilly-et-Lombut, France, Bionalan specialises in manufacturing cover crop destruction rollers, comb harrows, inter-row cultivators and combine chaff-baling
The Selac proved effective on wild oats during its first season and in addition worked well in tackling charlock, another of the farm’s key weeds, says Mr Pawsey.
36 TECHNICAL GRASS-WEEDS SEPTEMBER 2022
When first using the Selac, Mr Pawsey found it relatively easy to set the machine to just skim the crop
attachments.Foundedin 2012 by farmer/engineer Alain Bon, the company moved into a 2,700sq.m factory two years later, before launching the Selac weed cutter in 2015.
The next thing we may look at is the value variableof rate seeding where there patchesknownareweed
in hand on our handful of problem fields.
While growers in the west and more northerly counties have generally seen quick green up of lightly cultivated stubbles, slower weed seed germination in the dry conditions may be exacerbated by higher than usual dormancy in black-grass seed that was set when conditions were cool and wet in early June.
Years of Syngenta grass weed research has repeatedly shown the importance of stale seedbeds to reduce autumn weed pressure. However, that has been seriously challenged by the dry soil conditions in southern and eastern England this season.
DRILLING DELAY CUTS
Furthermore, new Syngenta research, in partnership with NIAB, is showing that later emerging grass weeds are far less competitive for the crop and likely to have lower impact on yields, as well as returning fewer seeds.
This season operators can optimise performance of pre-em applications with the new 90% drift reduction Syngenta 3D ninety nozzle.
Each nozzle features a snap-lock cap, with a 55-degree angled body engineered to produce the perfect angled spray pattern for deposition and coverage on soil seedbeds. Fit the nozzles alternating forwards and backwards along the spray boom to optimise the spray pattern, operating at 50 cm above the soil target.Usethe
Spray Assist App and always follow the mantra: ‘Go Low; Go Slow; Get Covered’ to achieve more consistent coverage of seedbed surfaces and get the best results with every pre-em application.
Later drilling and pre-em application does increase the chance of there being soil moisture to optimise results. But it could also reduce the chance of any follow up sequenced applications. Getting the best possible results from a strong pre-em stack, including using DEFY at higher rates, would further reduce grass weed pressure going into the Awinter.series
Together, that may push drilling dates later in the season to allow flushes of grass weeds to occur before the crop is established, and time for some soil moisture to be replenished.
Where drilling has been delayed, herbicide residual activity will also remain more effective in cooler weather conditions and shorter sunlight hours with later season applications.
DELAYED DRILLING GIVES THE CHANCE TO REDUCE GRASS WEED PRESSURE AND TAILOR HERBICIDE STRATEGIES THIS SEASON, SUGGESTS SYNGENTA TECHNICAL MANAGER AND GRASS WEED SPECIALIST, PETE HAWKINS
Cultural practices are recognised as an essential element of integrated weed control strategies and getting the best results from this season’s autumn herbicides.
STRONG STACK
GRASS WEED PRESSURE Syngenta UK Ltd. Registered in England No. 849037. CPC4 Capital Park, Fulbourn, Cambridge CB21 5XE. Tel: +44 (0) 1223 883400 Technical Enquiries: +44 (0) 800 1696058 Email: customer.services@syngenta.com. DEFY® is a Registered Trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. DEFY (MAPP 16202) contains prosulfocarb. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. For further product information, warning phrases and symbols refer to www. syngenta.co.uk. ©Syngenta UK Ltd. August 2022. 12249.
ADVERTORIAL
Results from new high-pressure black-grass trials in Yorkshire last season confirmed that DEFY boosted levels of control in every treatment in which it was applied.
SEEDBED APPLICATION
WEED FLUSH
of trials in 2020-21 showed adding DEFY at 3.0 l/ha into preemergence mixtures gave up to 23% increase in black-grass control, including in combination with newer chemistry actives.
Utilising stale seedbeds and adapting drill timings this autumn will enable the best performance of more cost-effective DEFY® based pre and peri-em programmes.
The LERAP 4* rated, PWM compatible 3D ninety nozzles are now available in 05 and 06 sizes that are best suited to pre-em herbicides, applied at 200 l/ha – which has proven optimum for herbicide performance.
Trials last season at the Syngenta ryegrass site, in Staffordshire, demonstrated the huge advantage in reducing grass weed pressure in later drilled crops. And that really stood out in the results from the pre-emergence herbicides – where mid-October treatments significantly outperformed mid-September applications.
Sam Watson Jones
Tom Jewers
The launch follows on-farm trials on three farms during the 20212022 growing season to develop the service, including the Waitrose Leckford Estate and the Lockerley Estate, owned by the Sainsbury family. The trials covered 118 hectares, locating 446 million wheat plants in which 4.6m weeds were identified. Tom’s six on-board cameras, mounted on a boom, deliver a ground sample distance of 0.39mm per pixel. This gives Tom the capability to see individual water droplets on leaves and early signs of disease outbreak, says SRC.
“By helping us be more precise
On-farm trials
out from this autumn to about 50 farms over the 2022-2023 growing season. Pilot trials during the harvest 2022 season are said to have demonstrated that herbicide applications can be cut by around 77% and fertiliser by 15%, according to the Small Robot Company (SRC).
Craig Livingstone says he wants the per plant robotics service to give him the confidence that not taking action is an informed decision.
The service will optimise existing sprayer equipment to reduce costs and inputs using Per Plant Intelligence from SRC’s Tom monitoring robot to assess weed density information and treat problem areas only.
Farm manager and SRC farmer advisory board member Craig Livingstone says: “Above all, I want the Small Robot Company to give me the confidence not to take action. Robotics offer us a real chance to answer the many questions of modern agriculture in responding to climate change, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and, of course, soil and food security.”
Small Robot Company claims herbicide applications can be cut dramatically with its Per Plant Farming robot services, launched commercially for the 2022-23 season. Arable Farming finds out more.
Per plant robot service launches
laimed to be Britain’s first fully robotthecrop-scanningautonomousservice,PerPlantFarmingserviceswillroll
alone is a major contributor to agricultural“Roboticsemissions.giveshuge scope to close the gap: delivering applications by exception. Precision monitoring alone can provide immediate value, optimising existing sprayers for herbicide and fertiliser applications.
“But we believe that’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential for what Per Plant Farming can deliver, both in input cost savings and yield enhancement.”
the first three farms to trial the technology in the 2021-2022 season and is now signed up to services for the 2022-2023 season.
38 TECHNICAL GRASS-WEEDS SEPTEMBER 2022
Tom scans the field, building an understanding of where every plant is and what each one needs to achieve optimal performance.
Sam Watson Jones, president and co-founder, Small Robot Company, says: “With input costs on the rise, farmers are increasingly under pressure. Up to 90% of inputs are wasted. This is not economically or environmentally viable. Fertiliser
C
Tom scans the field, building an understanding of where every plant is and what each one needs to achieve optimal performance. Wilma, SRC’s AI Advice Engine, then creates treatment maps to advise farmers on the best action to
Andrew Hoad, partner and head of Leckford Estate, believes the technology has the potential to shape how we farm in the future.
take. This information is used to inform variable rate fertiliser applications and to spot-apply herbicides through nozzle control and sectional control sprays.
Weed surveys conducted during the 2022 harvest season revealed surprisingly few areas of the field where the density was more than one weed/sq.m. With this information, SRC can create heat maps so farmers can only treat problem areas, rather than blanket treat the whole field.
Waitrose’s Leckford Estate was also among the first UK farms to sign up for SRC’s robotic services.
A service offered first on an exclusive basis to SRC’s farmer advisers was fully subscribed forThe2022.Lockerley Estate was one of
rWeed plantgeolocationdetection,andperimagery
He says: “We desperately need to develop ways to reduce the need for expensive plant protection products and artificial fertilisers. The ability to treat only the plants that actually need it is game-changing.”
Development
Future SRC services currently in development or trials include robotic non-chemical weeding; disease identification and fungicide treatment sprayer export; soil sampling and insights; and grass-weed classification, including black-grass.
What is on offer?
local farmers sharing the use of a Tom robot to create treatment maps, using these with existing sprayer equipment to reduce costs and inputs. Farmers can try out the service on as little as 20ha.
Belkar® allows you to invest in weed control once your crop has established and weeds are present, so you can manage those upfront costs better.
Belkar®HERBICIDE Arylex™ active
@CortevaUK
rGlyphosate treatment sprayer export
Technical Hotline: 0800
Belkar is a broad-spectrum herbicide that is highly effective on key weeds such as cleavers, cranesbill, fumitory and shepherd’s purse.
Tom will accurately geolocate and analyse data on every plant in the field and can identify all the wheat plants, determining precise plant counts, as well as broad-leaved weeds, says SRC. With a survey speed of 2.2 hectares/hour, Tom gathers 15,000 images from its cameras, or 40GB of per plant intelligence, for every hectare.Thenew service offering will target:
8899 E-mail: ukhotline@corteva.com
So, this season include Belkar as part of your OSR weed control strategy. Talk to your advisor or find out more at corteva.co.uk/belkar
rFertiliser treatment sprayer export
and targeted in controlling weeds and managing pests, this next generation of farming robots could in turn help us protect biodiversity on our land and preserve the natural environment for future generations,” he says.
Suffolk farmer and contractor Tom Jewers is signed up for the coming season.
SRC will take plant density information, augmenting this with other metrics, such as biomass assessment, soil insights, physiology, tiller count, growth stage and weather, to support decisions on when and how much fertiliser to apply, and exactly where it’s needed, optimising plant nutrition.
SRC’s commercial Per Plant Farming service will be rolled out in ‘Service Pods’ made up of up to six
Keep in the know corteva.co.uk/signup
Powerful weed control in OSR. more at corteva.co.uk 689
rWinter wheat crop count and per plant visualisation
Containing Arylex™ active, it has a wide window of application from September through to the end of December, with flexible timing and rate options.
USE PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS SAFELY Always read the label and product information before use. For further information including warning phrases and symbols refer to label. Corteva Agriscience UK Limited, CPC2 Capital Park, Fulbourn, Cambridge CB21 5XE. Tel: 01462 457272. ®, ™ Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. © 2022 Corteva. Belkar ® contains halauxifen-methyl (ArylexTM active) and picloram. Discover
rHerbicide treatment sprayer export
39 GRASS-WEEDS TECHNICAL SEPTEMBER 2022
JSRC’s Tom monitoring robot scans the crop to identify individual plants, gathering data on plant and weed distribution to determine the optimum treatment path.
Being part of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme has enabled Jonathan to provide more habitats and wildlife
Looking ahead, Edward and his family are looking at succession planning and actively seeking ways to work collaboratively with farming neighbours to spread work and costs.
Jonathan Hodgson, Great Newsome Farm, East Yorkshire
XSelling carbon offsets
XPig manure used as fertiliser
“We looked at reducing machinery needs while producing a system that encouraged soil health,” says Edward.
40 SEPTEMBER 2022 Venue: The Vox Venue, Birmingham | Date: Thursday, October 20, 2022
XInsect production facility in a farm building
One of the farm buildings is now home to an insect production facility and Edward is one of only a handful of farmers to actually sell carbon offsets.
To compare and evaluate his approach, Edward has been using AHDB Farmbench, which has sparked confidence in the direction he has taken, with data comparing well.
“I want to use my experience to help support others to implement a sustainable system that works for all.”
As well as making soil more biologically active, the strip till drill helps with water holding capacity, reducing run off of water. Since 2020 Jonathan has introduced cover crops, using a diverse mix including linseed, buckwheat, vetch, clovers, phacelia, dikon radish, mustard and forage rape. These are grazed by sheep belonging to neighbouring farmers.
XOilseed rape planted with a companion crop between rows, preventing weed growth and reducing herbicide use by 50 per cent
“We started to direct drill more and more crops, applying manures and investing in field drainage. We reduced our machinery use taking more than 600hp out of the business.
With the war in Ukraine, record-breaking temperatures and a lack of rain all impacting on the grain market, it has been a year of challenges for arable farmers. Our finalists demonstrate adaptability, regenerative innovation and ambition, yet operate from very different farms.
XReducing machinery use, taking more than 600hp out of the business
FOR the last 14 years, Edward Gent has been on a journey of implementing regenerative farming principles on the family’s 900-hectare arable farm and now he is helping other farmers follow in hisInnovationsfootsteps.
Use of cover crops has increased wildlife and skylarks, snipe, owls and lapwings are regular visitors.
THE Hodgson family farms 280 hectares, mostly arable, growing a variety of crops including wheat, oilseed rape, vining peas, spring beans, spring oats, spring barely, flax and herbal ley. Pigs are kept on a bed and breakfast arrangement, producing around 1,200 tonnes of manure a year and 1,200sq.m of slurry.
on the farm include developing a direct drill coulter to minimise soil disturbance as well as partnering with local dairy farms to establish grass and herbal leys.
Sustainable practices
“After a few difficult years getting us and the soil used to the new approach, we saw that our crops were looking better with less investment cost.”
Since the switch to a more
Edward is still inspired by the challenge of meeting the demands to produce healthy food while not damaging the environment.
Arable Farmer of the Year
All arable combinable crops are regenatively farmed, using a wide rotation working with local livestock farmers and anaerobic digester plants to produce a diverse system with less reliance on manufactured inputs.
One of the farm’s key achievements has been the introduction of a no-till system of crop establishment with a diverse rotation including grass and herbal leys to build soil health and fertility. Soil nutrition has been built through various manures, sourced locally, and growing cover crops.
sustainable system in 2008, there has been a very significant reduction in input, machinery and labour costs, while still getting a respectable output.
XDeveloping a direct drill coulter to minimise soil disturbance
Lookingcorridors.tothe future Jonathan would like to offer a regenerative service to other growers, helping with the transition or possibly offering specialist services like direct drilling and cover crop planting.
XStrip tilling all crops apart from peas
XCatch crops, planted after the vining peas and oilseed rape to trap the summer’s solar energy and nutrients
XImproved soil means less fuel per hectare to plant a crop
More crops have been added to the rotation including oats, quinoa, grass and herbal leys, creating different income streams and spreading risk.
Better work life balance has been a benefit of strip tilling, with working hours reduced. Soils have improved and it takes less fuel per hectare to plant a crop.
XPartnering with local dairy farms to bring grass and herbal leys
Edward Gent, C.S Gent and Sons, Lincolnshire
Sustainable practices
The only ploughing done on-farm is for vining peas - the rest of the crops are strip tilled. Extra value is added with wheat grown for seed, biscuit flour, fuel and bread crumbs. Barley is grown for malting; the oats go into porridge, the beans for human consumption and the flax for mattresses.
The farm has introduced catch crops, planted after the vining peas and oilseed rape to trap the summer’s solar energy and nutrients. Oilseed rape has a companion crop of buckwheat, clover and vetch between the rows. This prevents weed growth (reducing the farm’s herbicide use by 50%) and secondly fixing nitrogen which then becomes available to the oilseed rape in the spring. Buckwheat scavenges for phosphate, benefitting the oilseed rape.
This year a trial crop of boats - spring beans and oats grown together - has been“Wesown.arelooking to see if growing different species together can help with soil biology,” says Jonathan. “The beans feed the oats with nitrogen and hopefully the overall margin per hectare will be greater than a standard bean crop. We now add molasses, which is a carbon
source, to all our applications.”
Category sponsored
XSmall flock of sheep grazing herbal leys and cover crops, then slaughtered close to the farm and lamb sold locally
REGENERATIVE agriculture is at the heart of this farm, with the family owning 160 hectares and the remaining land formed from six contract/share farming agreements.JamesLoder-Symonds is a qualified agronomist and his wife Emma is both a qualified chartered surveyor and qualified teacher, heading up the farm’s education programme, offering farm visits to thousands of people each year.
Sustainable practices
Ian says: “I was asked to take on the position of manager/share farmer in the spring of 2017; a collaboration between myself and the owners to bring more livestock to the farm to integrate with the arable and benefit both.
XInstalling solar panels on grain store
XNo-till to reduce the amount of cultivations
Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) areas have been increased to 10-30 per cent of total land area and the biodiversity benefits have been huge.
been a six-metre Opico Sky drill to embark on no-till farming; the whole farming policy centres around reducing reliance on artificial fertilisers and chemicals. About 90 per cent of the farm’s straw is turned into farmyard manure, spread back on the land.
“Once a universal standard has been agreed, we will sign up for selling our carbonNitrogencredits.”testing and only applying when there is a crop need has played an important part, as has adding pulses and legume options into the rotation.
By renewing CSS agreements in 2021, the family has guaranteed income which will last until 2026. Signing up for the Sustainable Farming Incentive has given another guaranteed income over the next three years - giving a buffer time to minimise reliance on subsidies.
41SEPTEMBER 2022
“It was hoped the livestock would help us head down a more positive route in regards to soil health and regenerative/ sustainable food production.”
Currently, the business sells 20 per cent of its wheat with a Leaf Marque premium, a figure they aim to grow to 100 per cent over the next five years. Nonington has been a Leaf demonstration farm since 2020.
Livestock consists of 200 Shorthorn and Hereford cows, 50 per cent owned by Iain and 50 per cent owned by the farm owners with all the costs shared. Iain also runs 500 ewes. Once weaned, lambs are finished on silage aftermaths, red clover and herbal leys. Ian buys a further 600 lambs each autumn to graze and finish on the winter crops.
Iain Wilkinson, Balgay Farm, Perthshire
“I was excited to see what sheep could do for the arable,” says Iain. “So far we are seeing increased yields at harvest. The sheep also allows me to regulate winter growth of the crops and establish a really strong root system.”
James and Emma Loder-Symonds, Nonington Farms, Kent
The couple believe their lives are made much easier by a strong and motivated team of staff and value a close working relationship with their local Natural England adviser, as well as volunteers who help record plants, insects and birds.
One of Iain’s major purchases has
SponsoredCelebrateby with the shortlist at the British Farming Awards 2022 – go to BRITISHFARMINGAWARDS.CO.UK or scan the QR code to buy your ticket!
XInsulating grain tunnels has reduced gas usage by 20 per cent
Many neighbours initially looked on in disbelief as he grazed cereals and oilseed rape crops with sheep during winter, but the bold decision has paid off because not only have the sheep benefited from excellent winter nutrition, the system has also incorporated organic matter into the soil and has shown a significant yield increase recorded in all crops grazed.
The farm currently grows winter crops of oilseed rape, wheat, barley and oats. The soil type dictates that winter crops do best and avoids having land ploughed over winter.
James says: “By working with nature, rather than against it, we can still produce good quality food, while providing significant biodiversity gains.”
“By stacking a mixture of enterprises we will be able to make the farm truly sustainable,” says James.
Looking ahead, he will continue experimenting with crops and plant some more trees and hedgerows around the farm to help improve the biodiversity and provide shelter for livestock and wildlife.
XGPS on tractors reducing diesel consumption
XNitrogen testing
XIdentifying and reducing diesel usage
XGrazing sheep on the arable crops to control growth and disease while also improving soil health
Sustainable practices
XReducing wormer use, as sheep grazing on clean crops
by
X90 per cent of the farm’s straw is turned into farmyard manure to spread back on the land
Soil health is a strong focus, with direct drilling, cover crops, manures and herbal leys used to improve organic matter and soil fertility. Crop health has improved noticeably as a result, dramatically reducing the spend per hectare on growing the crops. For example, winter wheat variable costs have dropped from £750/ha to £450/ha.
AFTER years of working as a livestock manager, Iain Wilkinson now manages/ share farms a mixed arable and livestock unit.
The couple is keen to grow more crops for local markets and a good example is milling wheat, sold locally to bakers, as well as donating to a local charity which helps vulnerable groups learn how to bake bread.
Iain takes great pleasure in encouraging the next generation on the regenerative path. He lists challenges for the business as finding good staff and to this end he hopes to take on a placement student each year.
“Kestrel is still a strong product delivering good disease control, but on balance Architect plus a water conditioner pips it.
Crop physiology
“It also needs a water conditioner, preferably in the form of a true collating agent, to support the PGR,” he Applicationsadds.can be split between the autumn and spring or two sprays in spring. The maximum label rate for each
Will Foss, Agrii technical manager for combinable crops, says: “The situation was undeniably high
in Agrii trials since 2019, during which time it has delivered better light leaf spot control than the company’s standard-setter, Kestrel (prothioconazole + tebuconazole).
New
combines good light leaf spot activity and PGR to promote better crop physiology and increased yields
“The amount of light leaf spot in the canopy post-application was roughly half that of the Kestrel. The inclusion of a PGR is a bonus. We have seen good crop physiology from its use and this has come through in the yields,” adds Mr Foss.
Non-triazole LLS control option proving its worth
It should not, therefore, come as a surprise that a strobilurin-based fungicide containing two forms of plant growth regulator has been welcomed by Containingadvisers.mepiquat + prohexadione calcium + pyraclostrobin, Architect is principally aimed at light leaf spot, though manufacturer BASF also claims activity against phoma. Perhaps just as importantly, it offers an alternative mode of action to triazoles, thereby helping growers observe resistance management guidelines.
from the product’s combination of “Applicationproperties. timing is important; the plant needs to be actively growing to maximise PGR activity. The typical Kerb Flo [propyzamide] timing of late October/early November would be too late to achieve this, although disease control would still be very effective,” says Mr Foss.
Key points
ears that growers could lose control of light leaf spot (LLS) because of a reliance on triazole fungicides have for a long time concerned agronomists.
“With oilseed rape at £600/ tonne, Architect produced an additional £65.64/ha in margin over Kestrel. This is principally a result of the yield advantage and value of oilseed rape,” says MrForFoss.Oliver
42 TECHNICAL OSR DISEASE SEPTEMBER 2022
F
Effect of fungicides on light leaf spot infection Effect of fungicides on yields and MOIC Untreated Architect (one litre/ha) + water conditioner) Kestrel (0.5 litres/ha) Untreated Architect (one litre/ha) + water conditioner) Kestrel (0.5 litres/ha) infectionspotleafLight affected)arealeaf(% Yield (tonnes/hectare)0.51.52.53.54.5543210 4.04.14.24.34.44.54.64.74.8SOURCE: Agrii, average of 13 trials 2019-22 SOURCE: Average of 13 trials 2019-22. Assumes oilseed rape at £600/tonne. £234.89/haMOIC £169.25/haMOIC4.28 4.71 4.59
There is no suggestion that triazoles – principally tebuconazole and prothioconazole – are declining in efficacy but being reliant on a single mode of action for control of a major disease is less than desirable.
As well as establishing its disease control credentials, Agrii trials investigated application rates and spray timing to get the most
A much-needed alternative to triazole
“Lightrisk.leaf spot is arguably the biggest disease threat facing oilseed rape crops and we are worryingly reliant on triazoles for control. For what is the most widely grown break crop in Great Britain, this is a precarious situation to be in,” he says.
r fungicide
Phoma control is on a par with that of other products
r
Phoma control has been broadly similar, while yields and margin over input costs (MOIC) have, on average, been higher.
application is two litres per hectare. In Agrii trials, a half rate application in autumn with a follow-up in spring, also at half rate, has delivered the biggest margin over input costs.
Granted regulatory approval in August last year, Architect has been
A new fungicide for oilseed rape brings alternative chemistry to the disease control toolkit. Arable Farming reports.
r fungicides
Fairweather, Agrii agronomist covering the south of England, Architect offers a strategic means of managing canopy development ahead of winter.
JFor Cotswolds grower Mark Atkin, of ECB Farming, Architect served to reduce the number of spray passes.
provides the tools, expertise and solutions to help accelerate agriculture’s journey to net zero, and further enhance sustainable farming practices.
Making Connections
with its performance. The disease control has been excellent and none of my customers’ crops have lodged.
“My crops tend to be hybrids and are often early sown. I advised it on all my forward crops and I have been impressed
Transforming Innovation
•
“For me it has replaced Toprex [difenconazole + paclobutrazol] + prothioconazole at the spring timing.
The crop was drilled early, in the first week of August, partly as there was moisture at the time and experience has taught him that Cotswold brash soils quickly lose moisture. Early sowing is part of a plan to see the crop established before cabbage stem flea beetle has the chance to inflict its damage.
“It amalgamated several passes as well as doing the job we expected it to do. The crops have been clean of light leaf spot and it showed at harvest. The crop has already left the farm and while all our crops have done well, I am especially happy with the 4.2 tonnes per hectare the Rocca HEAR OSR has delivered,” says Mr Atkin.
Establish networks to promote opportunities in sustainable agriculture • Make connections needed to help demonstrate on‑farm value of regenerative agriculture • Address environmental concerns through applied agri tech innovation • Support growers in accessing R&D funding chap-solutions.co.uk | @CHAPAgriTech
CHAP
Sprayer operators too appreciate it as it is only one can of product to add to the spray tank,” Mr Fairweather adds.
“We recognise that sowing early increases the risk the crop will be forward of where we would otherwise like it to be going into winter, but we work on the basis that we can handle that later. We decided to give Architect a go and it has proven worthwhile,” says Mr Atkin.
43SEPTEMBER 2022
29463 CHAP 'Making Connections' Arable Farming Half Page Advert (Sep 22).indd 2 05/08/2022 10:56
In the field Mark Atkin, ECB Farming, Bourton-on-the-Water
Cotswolds farmer Mark Atkin in a crop of Rocca HEAR oilseed rape which averaged 4.2 tonnes/hectare this harvest.
“For a crop sown on 75cm rows at a seed rate of 2-2.5kg/ ha and 125kg/ha DAP at drilling, this is more than respectable.”
most accurate test on the market for light leaf spot, a disease which can cause losses in yield of up to 30% in oilseed rape. This translates to a huge £80 million loss for the UK economy every year, says the firm.
“One day, it’s very likely that
“Despiteaccurately.theresistance score of Crossfit and Duplo both being 5, a significant difference in pathogen load was evident between the two,” he says.
“I think farmers will have to justify why they’ve sprayed something in the future and what they’ve sprayed for,” he says.
Mr Hartley believes that going forward, farmers could need to provide justification for applying fungicides, with Government invested in a more environmental approach to farming.
iagnostic technologies createdclaimsMicrogeneticsbusinesstohavethefastest,
conducting these tests will become part of general farming practice.”
Mr Steele adds that SwiftDetect could also help farmers and agronomists select varieties more
“This suggests that SwiftDetect could be used to assess variety resistance more accurately, helping agronomists and farmers make informed and up-to-dateSwiftDetectdecisions.”isbeing adapted to test for other diseases. Trials are already underway for phoma, which will be the second test for oilseed rape.
PRODUCTnews
“Many farmers, myself included, have been guilty of spraying crops on a predetermined particular calendar date, with sometimes little knowledge of whether or not disease is in the plant.
44 SEPTEMBER 2022
“The hardest decision in agriculture is always not to do something,” Mr Hartley says.
in Nottinghamshire monitored several oilseed rape varieties with different resistance scores, with some surprising results.
Andrew Hartley, arable technical manager for DSV UK, was involved with the trials and says that using SwiftDetect to identify when disease is not present is as valuable as detecting when it is.
A simple, rapid test to identify the most economically damaging UK oilseed rape disease will be available from September.
Mr Steele says: “The trials revealed a positive link between rainfall and light leaf spot detection. However, none was found in one variety, Dart, despite high levels of invaluableSwiftDetectdiseaseconditions“Favourablerain.environmentaldonotguaranteepresence,whichiswhywillproveantool.”
D
The SwiftDetect test has been extensively trialled and will be available from September 12, with a turnaround of one business day. Crop diagnostics product manager Chris Steele says: “Before SwiftDetect, it was impossible to identify the best time to apply fungicide as once signs of light leaf spot are visible, they aren’t as Scotlandcropreducedetection.fieldsandapplicationsefficacy,visible,leafmostwhenthefarmers“SwiftDetecteffective.willprovidewiththemeanstoidentifygoldenwindowofopportunityfungicideswillbeattheireffective.“AsSwiftDetectcandetectlightspotbeforesymptomsareitwilloptimisefungicidedelaycostlyfungicideinlowdetectionfieldstargetapplicationstospecificwithhighandearlypathogenThiscanpotentiallyoverallcostandminimiseprotectionuse.”TrialsconductedwithSRUCinandtheAD4PTGroup
“If you have information that definitely tells you there’s no disease, then the likelihood is you wouldn’t spray for that disease, which would save you time and money and would be better for the environment.”
Rapid test for light leaf spot in oilseed rape
Rainfall is currently used by many as a way of predicting the likelihood of light leaf spot occurring. However, according to Microgenetics, data from the trials revealed that this is not a reliable means of forecasting.
A diagnostic test for light leaf spot in oilseed rape is available for use this autumn.
Justification
The only complete OSR system Clearfield® Some things are meant to be together. Clearfi eld® hybrid seed and Cleravo® herbicide work in unison to give you: Reduced risk Clearfi eld ® varieties have great autumn vigour and allow you to control the widest range of weed surprises with Cleravo ® Flexible timing Cleravo® can be applied any time from expanded cotyledon up to eight true leaves of the crop, giving you greater fl exibility at a busy time of year. Comprehensive weed control Cleravo® offers the most broad-spectrum weed control on the market, including problem brassica weeds which can negatively impact yields. To fi nd out how you can reap the rewards of the Clearfi eld ® system, visit agricentre.basf.co.uk/Clearfi eld Cleravo ® contains imazamox and quinmerac. Cleravo ® and Clearfi eld ® are registered Trademarks of BASF. Use plant protection safely. Always read the label and product information before use. For further product information including warning phrases and symbols refer to www.agricentre.basf.co.uk. © BASF 2022. All rights reserved.
He continuously monitors his soil and carbon and reviews each field on an individual basis.
Mr Chappell impressed judges with his engagement with carbon and soil implementationmonitoring,ofmultiple
GUY PRUDOM
RICHARD HINCHLIFFE
COLIN CHAPPELL
It has shown the whole team that we are on the right track to a systemsustainable You could really see the passion agriculturechildrenforChappellMrhadeducatingabout
For Mr Chappell, ‘sustainability’ means farming within his own means so he can make a living for his family, while also looking after the environment and the water that surrounds them.
We need to have a conversation about sustainably producing food, while also caring for the environment
Community
His focus for the last two years has been on reducing nitrogen inputs, using pulses and oilseed rape in the rotation to help maintain natural levels in the soil.
Farming for profit,
Advocate
He is also a keen advocate of the Bentazone Stewardship campaign and works with the local water company to monitor levels and ensure he is not applying the herbicide in a high-risk zone.
A new award has been launched to celebrate farmers who strike a
incolnshire farmer Colin Chappell is the recipient of the RawcliffeinauguralBridge Award for sustainability.
L
46 TECHNICAL SUSTAINABILITY SEPTEMBER 2022
The judges from BASF, Farm 491 and the Institute of Agricultural Management, together with grower Richard Hinchliffe, of Rawcliffe Bridge Farm, had a difficult job choosing between the two finalists, with Mr Chappell just edging ahead of Guy Prudom, of Northfields Farm, North Yorkshire. MrChappell, of Gander Farm near Brigg in north Lincolnshire, says: “I am unusually lost for words. I know some of the people who applied for this award and to have pipped them all is incredible.
The award was launched to coincide with a celebration of 20 years of ongoing biodiversity and advocacy work at Rawcliffe Bridge, Yorkshire, in partnership with BASF and host farmers, the Hinchliffe family.
“It was an honour to have been in the final with Mr Prudom and as soon as harvest is over, I want to go and see his farm and see what I can learn fromMrhim.” Chappell and his family farm on the banks of the River Ancholme, where they own 400 hectares of predominantly arable clay land, with some permanent pasture. They contract farm a further 160ha of sandy soil, 120ha on a tenancy agreement,
“We need to have a conversation about sustainably producing food, while also caring for the environment, the water and the people around us – that is what it is all about. That is true sustainability,” he says.
plus 80ha for a neighbour and have recently taken on a further 60ha of arable land.
WINTER BEAN
Mike Green highlights both finalists’ long-term commitment to sustainability and a whole-farm approach.
reviewing their practices and invest time in trials and data, so they have a clear understanding of what works best for their landscape.“Allthejudges were impressed by their passion for the environment, while also demonstrating a focus on financial stability and the willingness to adapt their operations to meet the changing needs of the industry.”
With a celebration of 20 years of work
Mr Hinchliffe says: “The thing that really impressed me about Mr Chappell’s set-up is what he did with some economically deprived children from the local area, bringing them on-farm and engaging with them about agriculture and where their food comes from, and you could really see the passion he had for this. We had two fantastic finalists but a really special winner.”
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Runner-up Mr Prudom farms in partnership with his parents on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, Whitby, renting just over 400ha, predominantly from the Mulgrave Estate. The main enterprise is a lowland arable unit where the family also finish suckler cattle. In their arable rotation, they grow 90ha of oilseed rape and winter wheat as cash crops, with the remaining 70ha consisting of spring oats, winter and spring barley, and spring beans which are fed to the finishing cattle.
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Other trials include five years of precision soil testing. Their additional two units, High Burrows and Davison Farm, are both upland permanent pasture where they run a paddock grazing system, to help maximise grass use and minimise fertiliser requirements.Askedwhyhe entered the award, Mr Prudom says: “It adds justification and gives us confidence that what we are doing here is right. We got through to the final and that has shown the whole team – from my parents to the contractors, agronomist, vets and consultants – that we are on the right track to a sustainable system. It’s not just
“Mr Chappell and Mr Prudom demonstrate a long-term commitment to sustainability, looking at a whole-farm approach. They are continuously assessing and
people and the planet
balance between the three pillars of sustainability. Teresa Rush finds out more. X
Winter beans – the perfect fit
All crops are established by strip-till and autumn-sown cover crops are established in front of spring-sown crops with a strong focus on mustards.
47 SUSTAINABILITY TECHNICAL SEPTEMBER 2022
Yield benefit for the following wheat crop
wildlife schemes and his approach to reducing nitrogen, but, above all, his dedication to community.
for my personal gain, it is for everyone involved.”BASFagricultural sustainability manager
Ready markets for feed and export use
The Prudom family believes in on-farm trials and regularly experiments with different crops and varieties to ensure they are growing the best option for the soil and their profit margin. This year they grew a field of spring beans and peas in a mix, as well as a mixture of spring barley and oats.
JThe Rawcliffe Bridge Project was developed by BASF and the Hinchliffe family to understand how to balance intensive farming and wildlife management.Overthelast 20 years it has captured extensive data and welcomed thousands of visitors to learn how a productive arable farm can improve the natural environment, without sacrificing yield and profit.
PROF JENNI DUNGAIT
48 TECHNICAL SUSTAINABILITY SEPTEMBER 2022
at Rawcliffe Bridge planned, BASF wanted to find a way of recording the value that farmers put on sustainability in their businesses and to find a way of
In the field The Rawcliffe Bridge Project, Yorkshire
Mr Hinchliffe says: “We’ve diversified our rotations to fit our no-till system. Everything
“This is a resource that can be used. You can manipulate things; you can use the climate and flooding to bring nature-rich soil onto your farm and use it to grow great wheat.”
The warp soils at Rawcliffe Bridge are an example of how engineering had provided a way
and are supporting biodiversity on-farm, but maybe aren’t interacting with the social side. We wanted to have a competition which recognises that there are
At Rawcliffe Bridge, no-till is helping the family build resilience into their farming system by slowly building soil organic matter.
At an open day held as part of its 20-year celebrations, contributors to the project reflected on the past two decades and looked to the challenges ahead.
Agronomist and ecologist Marek Nowakowski has been recording insects and plants at Rawcliffe Bridge and sister project farm The Grange in Northamptonshire since 2018. The two farms are very different.
for smaller, solitary mining and cavity bees, so few are recorded, adds Mr Nowakowski.
“We’re capable of growing big crops here; it’s grade 1 and 2 land and we grow big crops, but our aspiration is to grow as big a crop as possible using as few resources as possible and that is sustainability in my book.
“The topsoil on the farm is warp, which has come from the River Ouse rising, being allowed to flood onto the land, cover the soil and then drain off, leaving a nutrient-rich layer, which is absolutely fantastic for growing crops. And that’s a human engineering technology that we seem to have forgotten about.
“It’s good habitat we’re short of. Flowering plants need to deliver pollen and nectar from March to the end of August. These recordings demonstrate that profitable, working farms can, with the right habitats, deliver a variety of wildlife.
“There are a lot of people who claim to be sustainable, are incredibly technically competent
that we do we are trying to build resilience into.
of improving soil quality and productivity, says Prof Dungait.
“On the other hand, butterflies and bumblebees do well as they are stronger flyers.
“To be able to put a crop in now with the price of tractor diesel at £1.20/litre and establish a winter wheat crop for seven litres a hectare is quite a nice thing to do.
“Grange Farm is a more protected, heavy land farm, so the smaller bees are more numerous. Solitary bees can dig nest shafts into the heavy soils that do not collapse as they do in lighter soil.”
deliveryarepaymentsrealisticneedFarmersmorethatlinkedto
celebrating them for the work they do, adds Mr Green.
“As a business, we’ve got to become more resilient to these changes,” he says.
three legs to the stool of sustaina bility: economic, environment and societal, and you have to be supporting all three of them to keep it steady.,” says Mr Green.
Management
Soil expert Prof Jenni Dungait shared news of a new project just getting underway at the farm to look at how soil can be better managed to grow food and retain carbon. The project will see the same crop grown under the same management regime but on two soil types.
You can use the climate and flooding to bring naturerich soil onto your farm and use it to grow great wheat
More recording is needed to strengthen the data, but the work so far underlines the importance of landscape, location and quality flower habitats that provide good opportunities for bees and butterflies, he says.
Host farmer Richard Hinchliffe reflected that the big thing he had noticed over his 20 years of farming was climate change.
“Farmers need better environmental training, together with more realistic payments that are linked to delivery.”
Rawcliffe’s light soil and exposed site make life difficult
NOWAKOWSKIMAREK
“I’m using technology to look at the weather patterns, weather stations and modelling to look at septoria and yellow rust cycles and also when picking varieties.”
“Rawcliffe has no hedges, is an open exposed site with a wind farm nearby. There are plenty of ditches with grass sides, but no flower areas have been sown. The Grange has smaller fields bounded by tall hedges. It has a wealth of different sown habitats.”
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rWhen: NovemberNovemberWednesday,23,andThursday,24 rWhere:
Digital farming hub –Bayer FieldView rWater – quality, quantity and the next five years –Anglian Water
Leveraging natural capital East
In association with
2022 hubs at
The CropTec Show a glance
JThe water hub will look ahead to some of the questions facing agriculture around water quality and availability issues in the next five years.
Hubs are designed to provide visitors with an opportunity to explore and share ideas and experience on focused topics, face to face with the experts.
Land acquisition for high generation poultry farm on behalf of Aviagen.
Connect CropTec’sconfidencewithathubs
Bringing Showhow,insightscience,togetherinnovation,andknow-theCropTecKnowledge
At this year’s CropTec the hubs will address natural capital; integrated crop management; digital farming; and water – all front-ofmind issues as arable businesses
The Water Hub
50 TECHNICAL CROPTEC SHOW SEPTEMBER 2022
The potential of natural capital to improve farm incomes and resilience is large, however, the sector is rife with noise and confusion. Choosing the right technology to navigate these opportunities will be essential.
T:www.dmhall.co.uk01786833800
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JCarbon is on everyone’s minds. Some farmers are looking to carbon trading to mitigate the loss of BPS. Others see carbon audits becoming necessary to fulfilling supply chain obligations, assurance schemes, or accessing finance.TheLeveraging Natural Capital knowledge hub will answer common questions around carbon audits and trading, such as the role of additionality and the difference between carbon brokers and carbon market places.Itwill also chart the evolution of carbon audit technology to explain why calculators provide different answers and how these should be interpreted.
of England Showground, Peterborough PE2 6HE Essential info For more information and to register, visit croptecshow.com ONLINEMORE rLeveraging natural capital –Trinity Agtech rProducing food while enhancing the environment through IPM – AHDB
r
adapt to a period of far-reaching change in terms of climate, markets, Government policy and input costs.
However, carbon is just one piece of the natural capital puzzle. Soil, biodiversity, and water quality all offer opportunities to increase farm incomes and business resilience.Biodiversity net gain is one opportunity that is increasingly discussed, though many express concerns about its impact on production.
In association with
Detailed specification on request from T:Jennifer.Campbell@dmhall.co.uk01786833800
But what should the first stepsIntegratedbe? pest management, makes sense however you look at it and AHDB has various
Charity partner
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In association with
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The CropTec 2022 Knowledge Hubs are gearing up for two days of conversation, questions, fresh ideas and debate.
JModern farming is generating huge amounts of data and farmers are told this data has value – but how many are actually realising this value by utilising the data they have to inform management decisions and implement change?
YANA offers specific help for those in agriculture and rural communities in East Anglia, raising mental health awareness to reduce the stigma associated with stress and depression. Contact YANA through its website, yanahelp.org
ScrivenerTimPICTURE:
JSetting the balance between profitable food production, responsible input use, enhancing soils and the wider environment will differ on every farm.
The Digital Farming Hub will be looking at how new technology, such as the digital farming platform FieldView, is changing the way farmers collect, share and interact with their data, sharing on-farm examples from this harvest.
Producing food and enhancing the environment through IPM
tools, independent researchbased information and services to guide arable growers to the best decisions for their farm and their crops.
In association with
Horizon data
rModel: DSX 60-16
I’m seeking to reconnect all our plants to our soil
Horizon DSX a versatile option
“For billions of years, nature had the perfect system that kept livestock on the ground to help the cycle of plant growth.
the ground at all times to feed soil“Anybiology.root is better than no root, though weeds tend to grow when there’s an imbalance or a problem with soil. Dandelions,
Having used a six-metre Weaving GD for five years, Mr Walgate is now in his second season with a 6m Horizon Agriculture DSX disc drill.
The North Lincolnshire grower is now six years into a no-till farming journey that has reignited his interest in farming. In that time, his land has been undergoing a steady transformation to increase soil bacteria and fungi levels, creating a more efficient and extended root system that will enhance plant growth.Hesays:
52 MACHINERY DRILLS SEPTEMBER 2022 56 Using impact trackers to record a crop’s journey 57 Valtra launches Q series tractor 60 Looking into the future with vision guidance systems
JAMES WALGATE
P
Also
The last time we met North Lincolnshire grower James Walgate he had switched to no-till farming with the help of a Weaving GD drill. Having since progressed to a multi-hopper Horizon DSX drill, the farm is on the next stage of its journey into regenerative farming. Geoff Ashcroft finds out more.
rHoppers: Three
rWorking width: 6m
rCoulters: Angled, single disc with 167mm row spacing
assion and enthusiasm for farming are as abundant in James Walgate’s demeanour as are biology and organic matter in his soils
in this section
“Intensive farming changed all that as demand for food increased across the globe, along with a dependency on synthetic inputs. I’m seeking to reconnect all our plants to our soil, using regenerative farming techniques to steer our land back to being as close to a natural ecosystem as possible.”The670-hectare light land family-run farm at Cuxwold, on the Lincolnshire Wolds, has adopted an eight-year rotation with winter wheat grown as the main source of income, plus
Essential
“There are three key aspects to conservation tillage,” he says. “The first is to eliminate soil disturbance; the second is to use wide and diverse rotations; and the third is the use of cover crops so that roots are kept in
Central tyre inflation is viewed as an essential part of compaction management.
spring beans, millet, spring oats, poppies, quinoa and ahiflower in the mix.
This replacement drill came with three seed hoppers and second generation coulters that provide depth control through
Oilseed rape is being phased out as it does not support mycorrhizal fungi activity, which he views as essential for plants to draw more nutrients and water from soil.
for example, will appear when there’s a calcium deficiency as the plant’s deep roots serve to draw calcium back to the surface. When the balance is restored, the weed will naturally disappear. Weeds are good indicators of soil problems.”
In addition, each gang of discs can be supplied with seed from different hoppers, increasing operational flexibility. While row spacings include 187mm, 200mm and 250mm options, Mr Walgate settled for a 167mm row width.
contact.The
Horizon DSX 60-16 provides multihopper capability and a greater range of adjustment to suit varied field conditions.
“The Horizon is the drill I’d always wanted, but when we first tried it we thought it needed more development for
53 DRILLS MACHINERY SEPTEMBER 2022
Flexibility
the 750A and Cross Slot were the only major players and both carried heavy price tags.
slot.The single disc design is the drill’s defining feature. Its two rows of discs are angled at 20 degrees to slice open the soil and both disc gangs are separated by a distance of about 1m. This creates a 330mm gap
“To continue moving forward, we needed greater capability with additional seed hoppers to suit seed blends, companion and inter-cropping options,” he adds.
A steel-toothed press wheel improves seed to soil
Supplied initially with a rubber closing wheel, this has now been replaced by a steel-toothed wheel providing positive rotation and a soil crumbling effect that firms ground directly over the seed
UK use. The GD proved a really good entrylevel drill to start our no-till journey at a time when
To hoppersadditionalcapability,greaterwemovingcontineforward,neededwithseed
“The build quality of the X
the disc and press wheel assembly, rather than using the closing wheel that follows.
between adjacent discs to accommodate over-wintered cover crops, which are often sprayed off after drilling.
JAMES WALGATE
“Where possible, we specify Michelin tyres on everything – and as wide as is practically possible. Having a central tyre
“It’s a much heavier drill. Our Fliegl ejector trailer with its interchangeable rear muck spreader door is also heavy, so having a bit more power is useful for both bits of kit,” he says.
He says the Fendt 828’s EvoBib tyres can be used as low as 8psi in-field.
Used in conjunction with a front tank to carry what Mr Walgate describes as ‘liquid amendments’, the drill is no easier to pull than the GD despite its single disc format. It is one of the reasons tractor power has increased slightly, with two identical 280hp Fendt 828 tractors replacing smaller 724 models.
“We now have the resources to limit and manage compaction. This is essential on the drill, because all its weight is carried on just two rear tyres when making headland turns.
For more severe remediation, a Dale Drills Meir subsoiler can be used, particularly where wheelings and tramlines dictate that action is necessary – important following muck applications by the Fliegl spreader, which achieves a 12m spread.
The Horizon DSX disc drill has
Horizon should also provide extended longevity and lower running costs over a longer period of Currently,ownership.”theHorizon is not used for cover crops. That task falls at the feet of his existing 8m Sabre Tine toolbar, making the most of the narrow point to break through any harvest compaction.Thefarm’s Sabre Tine uses four rows of generously staggered tines to deal with surface trash and residues. It lets the farm break the dry surface in summer to alleviate any damage from harvest traffic, and running at no more than 100mm deep, it is an effective means of dealing with any surface compaction.
inflation system lets us quickly swap between road and field pressures.“Wecan inflate trailer tyre pressures from 26psi for field use, to 58psi for road work in under two minutes. I believe this is a better route for us than opting for controlled traffic which is difficult to manage without more unnecessary costs.”
54 MACHINERY DRILLS SEPTEMBER 2022
“We sow a minimum five-crop multi-species mix immediately after the combine – some as short-term cover, others to run through until spring planting. As each field is completed, we’ll run over with our 12m straw rake, which is an important process,” he says.
With tractor, combine and implement weights in mind, the farm has continued its investment in treading lightly, with wide, low ground pressure premium brand tyres linked to central tyre inflation systems on tractors and selected trailed equipment, which can then be managed from the cab.
Rake
Compaction
picked up the mantle for autumn- and spring-sown combinable crops where its greater range of adjustment and fine-tuning affords more accurate depth control when drilling.
“Tine movement from the straw rake helps to cover, level and stimulate germination of cover crops. And with a seeding capability too, we can use the straw rake to establish clover from spread plates at the front of the rake or apply Avadex or slug pellets at the rear, behind the rubber press roll.
“The Sabre Tine may become redundant over time or it may be part of our machinery requirement for a long time. It depends on how our soils improve.”
can place seed in the shallow, crumbled area adjacent to the tine’s path, rather than directly behind the tine where cover crop mix can easily drop in too deep.
A modified seed delivery tube on the Sabre Tine allows adjustment of seeding depth relative to the tine and with an offset capability, the implement
The drill is used along with a front tank delivering liquid amendments.
“Making the change to a no-till system is not a five minute process, nor is it cheap. Our yields are no worse than those of our neighbours, who are still establishing crops conventionally, though we’re getting yield despite a significant reduction in the amount of nitrogen we use.
“We unload on the headland rather than in the field, keeping trailers off the land as much as possible, though we bale and remove straw for the pig unit, which provides a valuable source of manure,” he says.
Mounted onto a tractor’s three-point linkage, the Sabre Tine is used in combination with a front tank.
Mr Walgate says the resulting mineralisation from this gentle soil disturbance then encourages faster cover crop establishment and root activity.
“The changes we’re seeing are impressive. Worm activity continues to multiply, water infiltration has improved dramatically and our fields will
The single disc Horizon DSX provides 167mm row widths.
NEW rapid test for OILSEED RAPE
Functional “Ideally, we need a cover crop mix that can be terminated without glyphosate,” he says.
Mr Walgate also warns that those taking a similar path will have to overlook the fact fields which were once clean and tidy will instead look scruffy, knowing they will be much more functional instead.
55 DRILLS MACHINERY SEPTEMBER 2022
“It’s very much dirty farming. But residues and surface trash also help to feed worms and a longer stubble has a useful role to play in pursuit of keeping soil biology alive. Even volunteer cereals add to the diversity of a cover crop,” he says.
Making the change to a no-till system is not a process,minutefivenor is it cheap
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JAMES WALGATE
“Healthy plants can combat stress and diseases, which reduces the reliance on
let us travel when we previously would have been forced to stay off. So our timeliness is improving too, particularly with spring planting.”
maintain balance and produce healthy plants. This requirement has put a Johnson SU bioreactor on the plan to eventually add compost tea into the mix of liquid amendments required for that all-important soil bacteria and fungi to develop.
chemicals too,” he says. “We’ve not used insecticides for four years and our wheat has only had one fungicide this season.”
He acknowledges the entire process is entirely dependent on glyphosate, more so for grassweed control.
Soil microbial activity continues to develop and Mr Walgate recognises the farm needs much more than fertilisers to feed the soil, to
TuberLog records impacts while moving with real potatoes during harvesting and processing and locates damage and bruise-causing parts of machinery.
“It can also be set to send data every hour for a longer recording period.“Itis extremely useful to monitor any potential damage or deterioration which can then be discussed with our growers.”
The original TuberLog, designed to identify damage and bruise causes.
Data is transmitted instantly by Bluetooth to a tablet or smartphone for monitoring and is also recorded and stored for analysis on a PC, using the software supplied.
ImpacTrack connects to the iOS and Android ML Sensing app via Bluetooth can be used to view the logger in real time, or to set the logger to record internally for extended shipments.
This cube is placed inside a specially-designed cover produced by a 3D printer, designed to match the shape of fruit, vegetables or even cut flowers and shellfish.
Martin Lishman has worked with specialists to develop an ImpacTrack version for cut flowers.
amage to crops such as roots, fruit and vegetables costs the industry millions of pounds each year and contributes to food waste.
The data gathered can be downloaded at the end of the journey into the app or exported for further data analysis.
One of the more unusual
56 MACHINERY DATA MANAGEMENT SEPTEMBER 2022
The final weight of the ImpacTrack is then matched to this so that it behaves and reacts (including floating in water) in the same way as the real produce. Most shapes are waterproof and can have the same buoyancy as the produce being processed.
theRecordingjourney
“I tested a data logger in root crops when doing my PhD and could see its value for the cut flower market, so I worked with Martin Lishman to design the MagicDesignedFlower.”tobe the same size and shape as a premium rose and complete with interchangeable stem length, the Magic Flower is placed in a bouquet for shipping and records temperature – a key criteria in the
Crop technology specialist Martin Lishman developed the TuberLog electronic potato almost 30 years ago, designed to identify damage and bruise causes in all types of potato handling machinery and inform changes to machinery settings or logistics operations.
applications is the cut flower market. Cambridgeshire-based MM Flowers, founded in 2007, grows and sources cut flowers globally and serves leading UK and European retailers.
From this, the company has developed ImpacTrack, based on a 3cm data logger cube that houses a three-axis shock sensor, temperature sensor, bluetooth transmitter, data memory and battery.
An app displays where impacts occur in real time.
D
When choosing a shape, it is important to know the average weight of the produce with the same average dimensions.
“Data comes in via the app, showing 32,000 data points at chosen intervals, which can be as frequent as every five to 10 seconds.
management of cut flowers in transit – as well as impacts.
“Access to the data is straightforward either via smartphone or via download for analysis.”
However, it can often be reduced or even avoided with small changes to the way produce is handled, from harvesting and field transport machinery through processing and packing equipment and ultimately, the supply chain.
“It has been sent out some 40 times and has proved to be extremely robust; we have not even needed to change the battery yet.
Technical and quality developer Dr David Booth says: “We receive circa 10 million stems a week [over 600m a year], supplying multiple retail and online customers with high quality cut flowers across various species and hundreds of varieties, for both traditional stores and online purchases.
It consists of an acceleration measurement logger embedded in a synthetic shape that mimics the size, shape, density and movement characteristics of a ‘ware’ potato.
Dr Booth adds that his work on root crops highlighted the durability of the ImpacTrack, with an ‘electronic parsnip’ dug into the ground to go through a full process from harvesting to the retailer and he has found this to be the case with the Magic Flower.
Data
An impact tracker originally developed for root crops is now being used to safeguard the value of a range of produce – even cut flowers. Jane Carley finds out more.
T
57 MID-HP TRACTORS MACHINERY After more than five years in development, Valtra has launched its high performance Q Series tractors equipped with an AGCO-sourced continuously variable transmission. Simon Henley reports. QlaunchesValtraSeries SPECIAL OFFER SAVE £40 ON RED TRACTOR FRESH PRODUCE & CROPS MEMBERSHIPS When you transfer or join as a new member with SAI Global between 15/08/22 31/12/22 Call: 01908 249950 Email: agrifood@saiglobal com T's & C's Apply. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount. X
he unveiling of the all-new Q Series completes the Finnish manufacturers fifth generation portfolio, with a line-up that has been developed to slot between the current S Series and T Series models.Designed and built at Valtra’s The Valtra Q Series is designed to fit in between the T and S ranges.
signed operator station provides identical specification levels with the same updates to the internal layout, including the A-pillar display introduced in the T Series last year.
Valtra Q Series
Suolahti factory in Finland, the new range introduces five models with power outputs extending from 230hp up to 305hp.
Series has adopted the Fendt-designed AGCO ML270 Vario transmission, instead of using its own built in-house Direct CVT unit.
Like the MF models, the
ConnectValtrawithavailable
As the demand for medium-weight powerful tractors with a high specification of equipment and a continuously variable bringwhatfromisEuropeantoValtracostrange,easy-to-usehascontinuestransmission (CVT)togrow,theQSeriesbeenlaunchedasanintelligenttractorwithafavourablylowofownership.Youcannotignorethefactisarelativelatecomerthispopularsectorofthemarket,wheretherealreadyplentyofcompetitionothermanufacturers.SodoesthenewQSeriestothetable?
The Q Series cab is shared with well-de-ThisSeries.ValtratheT
Stability
Underneath its distinctive sheet metal, the new Q Series shares its powertrain with the Massey Ferguson 8S range.
In terms of tech, the Q Series is
the scales with an unladen weight of 9.2 tonnes, the range-topping Q305 boasts an impressive 30.1kg/hp. Which is more power per kilo than a John Deere 6250R, which previously topped the charts with a score of 31kg/hp.
MACHINERY MID-HP TRACTORS 58 SEPTEMBER 2022
The reason cited for adopting the AGCO Vario transmission is its ability to reliably handle the high torque loads of up to 1,280Nm produced by the Q Series engine.
Maximum speed
Unlike Fendt Vario models, which offer a maximum speed of 60kph, AGCO has mandated the Valtra Q Series models will only be available in 40kph or 50kph specification.
Telematics, Auto U-Pilot and the SmartTurn headland system. You can also spec the cab with the TwinTrac reverse-drive set-up.The base price for the new flagship model is listed at £197,350 (mrp). Production is scheduled to start this autumn, with the first examples arriving in October.
Under the hood, you will find the well-proven AGCO Power 7.4-litre engine, which boasts the largest capacity in this market sector. Maximum power occurs at 1,850rpm, with peak torque arriving from 1,000rpm upwards.Tipping
Starting with the basics, the new models feature a low working height and a long wheelbase, to reduce the centre of gravity and improve operational stability.
Model Horsepower Torque Q225 230 (250 max) 1,000Nm Q245 245 (265 max) 1,100Nm Q265 265 (290 max) 1,200Nm Q285 285 (305 max) 1,280Nm Q305 305 (N/A) 1,280Nm The five-model range offers a maximum power output of 305hp.
Valtra Q
in the eld and on the road. And with 3 simple drive modes the operator’s day is a more comfortable and controlled experience.
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MACHINERY PRECISION FARMING 60 SEPTEMBER 2022
“There were fewer barriers to
V
pioneers Tillett and Hague were part of an autonomous vehicle project which began at Silsoe Research Institute in 1993.
However, transplanted crops such as brassicas or salads have distinct heads, so weeds can grow between the plants, potentially outcompeting them and reducing yields. In 2005, the company developed rotary
“Mechanical weeding was an established technique for crops such as sugar beet and there was sufficient interest to build a number of commercially available models,” he says.
Nick Tillett, director at the company, says: “We were studying the possibilities for selective spraying in vegetables and by 1996 were using camera guidance on an autonomous vehicle to spray cauliflowers.”
Looking into the future
commercial uptake when working with a mechanical weeder, mainly due to the regulatory issues involved with chemical application. We could simply implement the technology on tractor-mounted hoes and manufacturer Garford Farm Machinery was one of the first to adopt it.”
While still working as researchers for Silsoe’s main sponsors, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Mr Tillett and Tony Hague also gained commercial partners and when SRI closed in 2005 they established a business to continue their work.
isual assessment of crops and their weed competitors has always been key to achieving maximum yield potential, but with increased mechanisation, farmers are increasingly reliant on their equipment to provide information on crop status.
It is fitting then that the first forays into vision guidance for machines by camera system
Weeding
Range of applications
Transplanted crops, such as brassicas and salads have distinct heads, so require in-row weeders to tackle weeds that grow between the plants.
JAt its basic level, mechanical weeding presents quite a simple task for camera guidance, says Nick“CultivatingTillett. tools are required to work between the crop rows, pulling out or cutting weeds, so the camera identifies the rows and, working in real-time, activates a side shift or steering mechanism to align them.”
Use of autonomous machines will take this further, using cameras linked to artificial intelligence algorithms to identify threats such as weeds and treat them without the intervention of the operator.
The use of technology to help manage crops is set to gain further importance as we seek to use resources more economically and responsibly. Jane Carley talks to one of the pioneers of implement guidance systems.
The market has since expanded significantly. Still based at Wrest Park, Silsoe, Tillett and Hague operates as a hardware manufacturer mainly
However, developments soon turned towards more immediately available tractor-drawn implements and to mechanical weeding rather than chemical application, he says.
Compared to the early designs, modern vision guidance systems have the benefit of increasingly powerful computing platforms.
“Using hardware of roughly the same size and cost, processing of camera data in the cab is
Software has also moved on, although Mr Tillett says it has been possible to build on some of the original 1990s code, layer on“Equipmentlayer. is certainly more robust and user friendly, which is important because we were initially working with technology
mechanisms for in-row weeding, which worked around the crop heads, requiring their individual position to be identified, rather than just the rows.
now possible, while the camera technology has also improved,” he says.
Most machines in use are single bout, but Garford has a number of 18-metre weeders working, he says, and 12m versions are increasingly popular.
inter-row and in-row weeders, using Tillett and Hague camera technology.“Wehave also worked with Opico on the Hatzenbichler range and with German company Kult Kress, providing vision guidance for all sorts of mechanical weeders, including a reciprocating blade.
Tillett and Hague works almost exclusively with OEMs, so its role is ‘training the trainers’ but luckily, the company had begun to develop a library of video tutorials for manufacturers and end users just before the pandemic.
NICK TILLETT
Garford Farm Machinery has developed a wide range of
“The challenge remains in mechanical design and also in machinerytransportinginEurope.”Awayfromweedcontrol, the Tillett and Hague system has been trialled with other inputs, including a BASF project on spot drenching with biological controls.
Continues over the page.
enthusiasts who are more tolerant of the inevitable issues that occur. As products head to the mass market, training of operators and serviceability of equipment become part of the task.”
Cameras
As for spot spraying, Mr Tillett says the same technology can
Nick Tillett
61 PRECISION FARMING MACHINERY SEPTEMBER 2022
Former Silsoe Research scientists Tillett and Hague have developed camera vision systems widely used on inter-row cultivators such as this Hatzenbichler hoe supplied by Opico.
“Systems developed in 1993 used monochrome analogue video cameras moving to colour USB II cameras for the first commercial machines, which then transferred data through
Flexible
supplying original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and in industry-funded research.
Apple’s standard FireWire and now Gigabit ethernet.”
Training
Processing of camera data in the cab is now alsotechnologycamerawhilepossible,thehasimproved
for vision guidance
“The technology is really quite flexible but there is still considerably more interest for in-rowVegetablecultivation.”andother high value crops have proved the main
market to date, but he suggests mechanical weeders can operate at higher work rates in cereals, potentially getting closer to competing with spraying.
“Some OEMs are specialists, but their dealers will have more general skills so it’s important to present the information in a way that can be easily understood.”
“It’s possible to use wider machines and, as long as the mechanical parts of the implement can cope, go faster – up to 8kph, certainly and rarely to 12kph. Unlike manual guidance, which can only watch one bout with accuracy, vision guidance can use multiple cameras and control systems spanning multiple passes.”
to guide selective spraying. It was governed by the resolution of GPS systems that were available at the time, so as the technology developed the ‘patches’ that could be targeted decreased in size.”
be applied when the market is ready, using data captured by the cameras to switch nozzles on and However,off.
“True spot spraying targets large individual plants, such as volunteer potatoes. When looking to control black-grass in cereals, for example, it is impossible to target individual plants, so patch spraying is the only technique available. For cereal crops it is certainly more relevant.”Applying the technology to autonomous machines presents different challenges, he says.
In-cab image processing is now possible, thanks to significant developments in technology, says Mr Tillett.
Implements are getting wider – this 18m unit from Garford is for the export market, but 12m hoes are increasingly common.
developers still face challenges over safety in Europe due to the size of land areas and public access. Smaller machines are perceived as safer, but still cost as much to develop and are less productive. Several manufacturers are sticking with tractor-driven machines as well as developing autonomous systems and fortunately our technology can work with both.”
Tillett and Hague operates increasingly in Europe and has ridden out the difficulties of Brexit largely due to its high value product and good margins. Appointing an operations manager to look after the commercial side allows the two partners to focus on further research.
Looking to the future, Mr Tillett suggests restrictions on active ingredients are driving interest in non-chemical weed control more widely.
“Largersays.frames are generally easier to work on and to place cameras so they can easily see the crop. On smaller rear-mounted implements, for example, the tractor frame can block out the cameras.”
“In France, there is already increasing demand as the choice of chemical products becomes limited for important crops such as maize and sunflowers, so we need to be ready to take the opportunity.”
MACHINERY
Working over a 1.8-2m track width, the battery-powered straddle robot has a run time of eight to 12 hours and is fitted with central and rear hitches and the option for a pto. Tillett and Hague has provided Orio’s camera guidance for electricallyoperated inter-row hoeing tools and rear tool carrier.
he reports no real commercial interest.
62 SEPTEMBER 2022
This approach has been developed further by application equipment manufacturers, large and small, as nozzle control technology evolved. However, historical data can’t be used to target crop threats at plant level, he says.
“Work rates are less of an issue for autonomous machines, but implement control becomes more important because a machine can’t automatically recognise a functional problem in the way a human operator can. We have to build in controls that detect when a system isn’t working, stop the operation and request help.”
“We were introduced by Kult Kress which produces implements for Naio,” Mr Tillett
Mr Tillett suggests demand will continue to grow for camera guidance on tractordriven machines as well as autonomous“Autonomoussystems.machine
Interest
“Even theofResearchprecisionofhebeofpesticidelegislation,favouroperatormoreplusratechallengescrop.tensTillettinsuchishighbeingonetwogroundselectiveseemacquiredorganisationsmultinationalwhohavetechnologyproviderstobestrugglingtogetsprayingoffthecommercially.Wehavemachinesindevelopment,withTechneat,whichistrialledthissummerinvaluedrilledcrops.”Onepromisingapplicationforcontroloflargeweeds,asvolunteerpotatoescarrotsandonions,Mrsays.“We’vecompletedafewofhectaresofcommercialTherearesimilarintermsofworktomechanicalweeding,thereisaddedcostandsophistication,sogreaterskillisrequired.”Headdsfuturedriversinofspotsprayingwillbeconcernsaboutresistanceandlacklabour.Differentiationshouldmadefrompatchspraying,adds,whichwasthesubjectmuchresearchatSilsoe.“Intheearlydaysofagriculture,Silsoepioneeredtheusehistoricaldatatomapfieldandusethedata PRECISION FARMING
Tillett and Hague has recently collaborated with French autonomous machine specialist Naio, which has developed Orio, a multi-purpose robot aimed at broadacre crops.
Away from crop protection, machine vision may have a role to play in planting and harvesting, tackling the labour shortages which, for many countries, are as big an issue as crop safety and environmental concerns.
Technology
Range of applications for vision guidance (continued)
The CropTec Show is back to help farmers in a challenging climate This year, The CropTec show is celebrating 10 years of delivering innovative arable farming practises to the Thisindustry!year’s key themes are wider than ever before, with topics surrounding crop nutrition, digital farming, alternative methods, disease control and so much more. Grab your free ticket and network with the finestexhibitorsNovember 23 -24, 2022 East of England Showground croptecshow.com REGISTER NOW FOR YOUR FREE TICKET • Refreshed seminar theatre programme • New Knowledge Hubs featuring IPM, Water, Natural Capital and Digital Farming. • Training INNOVATIONZone • KNOWLEDGE • PROFIT This year’s NEW for 2022 • Sprayer demonstration area • Opportunity to collect BASiS and NRoSO points • 4 Exhibition halls Returning for 2022 Sponsored by Meet a quality audience of arable decision makers and make valuable business connections by booking your stand today. Exhibition stands and sponsorship opportunities available. Find out more at www.croptecshow.com/exhibit Why exhibit at thisCropTecyear?
We have managed to stay safe and accident free and having seen many reports of the horrendous fires across the country, I feel very fortunate.
NFU survey
Last week, Defra released the first of its long-awaited reviews looking at opportuni ties for diversifying UK agriculture through investment in underutilised crops.
The process will ultimately result in recommendations which help shape future Government research work and investment.
Breaking down these barriers would help put growers in the best position to feel able to begin to explore these opportunities.
MATTCulley
Yields have been varied. We started with an above average crop of Mascani oats,
This is especially true when looking to develop opportunities for more niche arable crops, such as poppies and hemp.
yielding 8.25 tonnes per hectare, then into spring barley with yields ranging from 5.75-7t/ha with soil type, establishment methods and use of biosolids accounting for the Wintervariations.wheatranged from 7.5-11.5t/ha, again soil type and establishment method were a key factor in yield range.
We finished with an extremely disappoint ing crop of spring beans at 2.5t/ha, due to poor growth in April and subsequent poor pod set. In general, crops had above average specific weights and I now await sample results for Variationsquality.across my own farms are more than likely to be reflected across the various regions of England and Wales.
This particular report looked at poppies, but the series looks at a range of key novel crops to identify opportunities for their use as forage/feed, for human consumption, or to produce pharmaceuticals.
These reports hope to look at the feasibility and practicalities of growing niche crops more widely and their potential contribution to helping diversify UK systems in terms of productivity, sustainabil ity, and climate change resilience.
With the present dry ground conditions presenting a major challenge for many growers across the UK hoping to drill oilseed rape over August, it highlights the importance of having reliable break crops across our arable rotations.
This report is a great step forwards, but this is just part of the journey. Farmers and industry also need to work together to ensure these crops are fit for purpose and accessible to growers, alongside highlighting to Government the importance of commer cially-viable, wider rotations.
rThe family also runs a pick-your-own soft fruit and summer vegetables business
Apart from trying to cool high grain temperatures, it has been a very low cost harvest, especially in terms of diesel and electricity usage, thanks to our harvest team who took on the late night and early morning harvesting with relish.
These reports need to make the case to Government on the importance of support to help the industry capitalise on these new emerging market opportunities, the need to remove legislative barriers where possible, to fill growing knowledge gaps, and upscale knowledge exchange.
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
About the author
With this growing season being like no other, I know I will be completing the NFU survey once back in my farm office. By entering data around our harvest, the NFU can work to assess the impact of key issues this year like the fertiliser crisis, escalating input costs, market volatility and difficult weather.
riting this at the end of one of the earliest, quickest and driest harvests we have ever had, I am relatively pleased with what we have achieved.
64 SEPTEMBER 2022 TALKING POLICY
rNFU crops board chairman Matt Culley is a fourth-generation farmer from Hampshire working in partnership with his parents and brother
Apart from trying to cool high grain temperatures, it has been a very low cost harvest
W
Podcast host Alice Dyer finds out more about the challenges plant breeders face in develop ing the varieties of the future from one of the country’s most disruptive wheat breeders, Dr Matt Kerton of DSV. The AHDB Recommended Lists,
ith manyendacomingharvesttoveryearlyforand
to resistance ratings for this season.AndRothamsted’s Sarah Raffan explains how the latest regula tions for new plant breeding technologies such as gene editing hope to introduce new traits to crops in less time.
W
Speakers:
rSarah Raffan, molecular biologist at Rothamsted Research.
thoughts turning to next season and which varieties to grow, this month’s podcast delves into the world of plant breeding and selection.
rDr Matt Kerton, wheat breeder at DSV UK.
rDr Paul Gosling, AHDB Recommended Lists manager.
which underpin many of our variety decisions, are also moving with the times and adapting to new agronomic, economic and environmental challenges, as explained by RL manager Dr Paul Gosling, who also gives an update on changes
65 PODCAST SEPTEMBER 2022 JMembers of the BASIS register can now receive one CPD point for tuning into the podcast. Listen in to the podcast to find out how. Get CPD points JFor the latest news and updates, follow us on social media: LinkedIn: rThe CropTec Show Twitter: r@ArableFarming r@CropTecShow r@AliceInWellies Facebook: rCropTec Show rArable Farming Social media JThe Crop it Like it’s Hot podcast is produced by Arable Farming and CropTec developments.theupalternativeexpertstheReleasedShow.monthly,showtalkstoarabletoprovideanwayofkeepingwithagronomyandlatestarable More information JThe show can be downloaded via podcasts@agriconnect.comaboutorlistenits-hot-podcast,croptecshow.com/crop-it-like-oryoucanthroughApplePodcastsGooglePodcasts.Formoreourpodcasts,email Listen in BROUGHT TO YOU BY... thevarietiesProducingoffuture Dr Paul Gosling, AHDB Recommended Lists manager. Sarah Raffan, molecular biologist at Rothamsted Research. Dr Matt Kerton, wheat breeder at DSV UK.
L
farmers to develop their knowledge and accrue continu ing professional development (CPD) points to maintain their status on the BASIS Profession al Register.Thelatest course, launched in July, deals with the AHDB Recommended Lists (RL). AHDB chose to join forces with BASIS in order to increase awareness of the increasingly varied ways in which RL data can be accessed and used thanks to constant innovation over recent years.
The latest news for BASIS and farmersFACTS-qualifiedandadvisers.
“The aim has been to help users make the most of the vast amount of data generated by RL trials and to apply it on a specific farm by farm basis,” says DrInformationHales. in the RLs also provides assistance in IPM planning, an increasingly important aspect of agronomy.
There is also a variety selection tool to aid decision making when making cropping plans, while the harvest results service gives the latest harvest information to help finalise variety
Developing
DR KATHRYN HALES
Tanya Kesterton, BASIS head
BASISnews
of digital learning, says: “The BASIS Classroom has quickly established itself as a new way to gain knowledge on a wide range of matters dealing with crop protection, crop nutrition, application practice, environ mental matters and IPM.
“Togetherchoice.these various
66 SEPTEMBER 2022
And there is more to come. At present, courses are being developed to deal with soil health and cultivations, crop spraying and buffer zones and drilling and establishment.
Access is open to all members of the BASIS Professional Register as well as trainees who are starting out in a career in agronomy and related topics.
Dr Kathryn Hales, senior field trials data analyst for the cereals and oilseeds RLs at AHDB, explains how the well-known RL booklet, produced annually, has now been supplemented by online web tables, as well as an app.
The varied ways in which RL data can be accessed are examined in the course.
RL and BASIS team up for latest course
aunched in September 2021, the agronomistsaClassroomBASIShasprovedpopularmeansforand
“By the end of July some 9,400 courses have been completed with two particular peaks – first the quieter winter months, second in the run up to the end of the CPD year as professional register members seek the final CPD points they need to maintain their status.”
The aim has been to help users make the most of the vast amount of data generated by RL trials
BASIS is also developing its own paid for courses. The Principles of Sustainable Land Manage ment looks at an integrated approach to farm and environ mental land management.
The RL course is the latest of 14 online courses now available in the BASIS Classroom. Many are free to access and use, thanks to sponsorship.
Once downloaded this can be used anywhere, including while field walking, to provide interactive access to RL data.
initiatives make the RLs a serious management tool to use through the year.
There is also the FACTS nutrient use efficiency refresher developed to support FACTS Qualified Advisers in the 22/23 online assessment to maintain their status on the professional register.TheBASIS Classroom also hosts 11 webinars dealing with subjects as diverse as regenerative agriculture, produced in conjunc tion with Groundswell and the Sustainable Farming Incentive in collaboration with Defra.
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