Arable Farming articles from April 2002

Arable Farming archives from April 2002

NFU consults its members.(National Farmers' Union)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... The NFU is consulting members on British Potato Council (BPC) proposals to change the way the statutory levy is collected from growers and purchasers. Changes to the way the BPC collects the levy were suggested following the BPC Review in...

Three new sugar beet herbicides for spring 2002.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Thirty-three years on, the launch of three new Betanal beet herbicides this spring, offering new levels of post-emergence weed control and crop safety, marks another chapter in the continuous development of this range. Developed by Aventis...

Fusarium focus in new research.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... A research programme aimed at understanding the genetic factors involved in major cereal diseases has been launched at IACR-Rothamsted. The stem base disease complex and Fusarium ear blight in particular are receiving increased attention. ...

Du Pont hybrid wheat business to close in UK.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... In light of the current financial climate in agriculture, Du Pont has announced that it is to discontinue marketing its hybrid wheat seed in the UK and France. The company will either sell its wheat business, look for a joint venture partner,...

IACS appeals.(Integrated Administration and Control System)(Abstract)
April 13, 2002... An independent panel has been introduced by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to look into queries on reductions and disallowances of payments under IACS. It follows an NFU campaign for more flexibility for growers who are disputing IACS...

Challenger on track.(new distributors for tractors)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... AGCO has announced the development of new distribution arrangements for Challenger tracked tractors in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. This follows the company's acquisition of the manufacturing, development, sales and marketing rights for...

Is your sprayer ready?(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Data from the AEA's sprayer test shows that 36% of sprayers have worn nozzles, leading to an over-application of chemical. Even if your sprayer has its application rate computer-controlled the change in spray quality produced by worn nozzles...

Rhythm & blues.(Correction Notice)
April 13, 2002... An error in the latest edition of the UK Pesticide Guide 2002 has led to the potato fungicide Rhythm (cymoxanil and mancozeb) being not allocated to this crop in the text. In an attempt to clear up any grower confusion, David Stormonth,...

Game advice.(seed industry publishes new guide)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Advice on selecting and growing successful gamecover and conservation crops is freely available in a new guide jointly published by Germinal Group companies, British Seed Houses and David Bell Seeds. The GameMaster guide includes details of...

N-rates stay the same.(nitrate)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... It seems there is confusion about how the proposed extension of Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZs) regulations will affect fertiliser planning, says the Fertiliser Manufacturers Association (FMA). The new regulations do not come into force until 19...

Persistent pests named and shamed - on-line!(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Do you know your thrips from your aphids or your weevils from your beetles? Accurate insect pest identification is set to become more straightforward following the launch of PestSpotterTM - the new, free and easily accessible insect...

Click here for wireworm warning.(from British Potato Council)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Land destined for potato production next year should be monitored this spring to tackle the threat posed by wireworms, according to the British Potato Council (BPC). The soil-borne pest can reduce marketable yield by as much as 25 per cent...

Day-dream believer.(modern agriculture)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 13, 2002... Let's face it `modern agriculture' is fast becoming a dirty word. It chimes in with other negative phrases like factory farming or industrial agriculture. To borrow the parlance of Prince Charles, we have turned our backs on mother nature and...

Glorious mud.(farming difficulties)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Although the growing year started wet - three and a half inches in September, three in October - things seem to have settled down since then. Rainfall since November has been average - seven inches in five months. The problem is much of our low...

Solving the sampling bugbear.(HGCA project)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Inaccurate grain sampling and analysis cause rejections and claims, and costs the industry #2.5 million a year. Alison Lea reports on a major HGCA project that will tackle the problem. Rejected grain loads cause bad feeling, frustration,...

Planned management of top wheat provides best results.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... A quarter of the UK wheat acreage is down to Claire - mildew and adapted nitrogen application strategies will help growers achieve optimum yields according to breeder, Nickerson (UK) Ltd and Dow AgroSciences. Wheat crops exceeding 100...

A distillation of genes.(the perfect wheat)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 13, 2002... Riband remains unrivalled in Scotland, due to its desirable traits for the distilling industry. Alison Lea visits a wheat breeder in Suffolk with its sights set on Scotland. Riband all but monopolises the wheat hectarage in Scotland, even...

Letter: `Arable farmers must show interest not apathy'.
April 13, 2002... When people are drowning, they lash out in all directions, harming their potential rescuers and making their own survival less likely. The proposal to form an `arable farmers federation' is, I believe, just such a reaction to the problems which...

Managing marketing as much as the crop.(wheat industry)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... There is no blueprint for profitable wheat growing, but there are aspects, aside from good husbandry, that are within your control. But how do you make the most of them? Effective marketing has become as critical as first class agronomy in...

Crop protection: Pests.(natural agricultural chemical industry research, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Attracting friends, repelling foes - developing the potential of natural crop protection Semiochemicals, or in layman's terms, chemicals that act as triggers of behavioural or developmental changes, could provide arable farmers with an...

Luring storage pests.(Central Science Laboratory research on crop harvest protection)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Scientists at the Central Science Laboratory, York, have made considerable process towards developing a single lure for detection and monitoring of a range of storage pests. Researchers have identified a mixture of materials that, in...

Anti-weed insurance from beet pre-emergence herbicide.
April 13, 2002... Pre-emergence herbicide application on sugar beet pays in many ways. Alison Lea reports. Beet growers are missing out by not treating crops earlier with herbicide. Less than 50% of the beet area is treated with a pre- emergence spray each...

Talking Arable with our Borders-based farmer Guy Lee.(grain farming in the United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... 28TH MARCH 2002 A week of dry weather, sun and blue sky is certainly a help in lifting the spirits. The prospects of wheat at less than #70/tonne for next harvest is a sobering thought and one that is constantly in the back of many growers...

Prioritise fungicide inputs according to yield potential.(winter wheat)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 13, 2002... Fungicide inputs need careful planning if best possible margins are to be achieved this season. Yield potential should be one of the key considerations in the decision making process. Teresa Rush reports. Plan winter wheat fungicide...

Making the most of fungicide spending.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Like the activity of the strobs but not the cost? Well there may be another option in some situations. Teresa Rush reports. With low grain prices putting ever-increasing pressure on growing costs, fungicide planning is very much about how...

Watch out for whiplash.(controlling zoospores for health potato crops)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Potato blight from early sources of infection is most likely to occur from zoospores that are highly motile in soil moisture, using powerful whiplash flagellum to propel themselves to unprotected emerging plants. At the relatively low early...

Don't let slugs eat away potato profits.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... It's well known that potatoes are susceptible to slug damage and that it's advisable to implement some form of control strategy if damage to the crop is to be avoided. Slug populations are threatening to be high once again this year and...

Early indications.(winter wheat crop in the United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... With more early drilled wheat in the ground than ever, what lessons have we learnt so far and what should we be doing to carry our crops through to harvest with greatest success? We sought the views of five independent agronomists from across...

Tackling T2: Protecting your profit potential.(managing flag leaf disease threats)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... The flag leaf or T2 timing is, quite simply, the cornerstone for fungicides - not least because there are several diseases that can strike. This month's feature explores tackling those classic flag leaf disease threats. VIRTUALLY all...

Aims of T2.(flag leaf protection)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Spraying at T2 is for flag leaf protection, says HGCA's head of research and development, Professor Graham Jellis. But it also has a curative effect on leaf two below. For that reason, he says the interval between T1 and T2 is critical....

Applied knowledge.(using strobilurin fungicides on grain)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... USING a systemic strobilurin at flag leaf (T2) could allow you to halve your spray volume from 200 to 100 l/ha, says Syngenta application specialist Tom Robinson, and double the number of hectares sprayed per tank. Strobilurins also work...

The other Septoria.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Septoria tritici might be top-of-mind to control at T2 in wheat, but don't overlook Septoria nodorum, warns ADAS pathologist, David Lockley. Attacking upper yield-building leaves and ears, it develops much quicker than tritici, and can...

Barley - ring the strob changes at T2.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Rhynchosporium may be your key problem at T1 in barley, but with the warmer conditions at T2, the disease spectrum widens. This needs reflecting in T2 fungicide choice. That's the message from Clare Bend, technical manager of Masstock...

Zetor poised to launch bigger tractors.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... There is a good chance that Zetor could soon launch a brand new range of tractors from 175 to 200hp, providing that negotiations with the potential new partner do not come unstuck. Currently, the largest tractor produced by Zetor has an output...

Sprayer licence expires for Dutch growers.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... A third of the 60,000 sprayer licences issued to Dutch farms and contractors five years ago were not renewed at the beginning of this year. The authorities are now trying to establish why so many businesses have decided not to renew their...

Brown rot on large scale in Hungary.(in potatoes)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... The Hungarian potato industry is still reeling from the news that many growers were supplied with seed infected with brown rot. This is despite the fact that it was approved by the country's National Agricultural Quality Institute. The...

Potato with resistance to phytopthera.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Phytopthera is one of the most serious problems facing potato growers everywhere, and it will come of no surprise to learn that researchers all over the globe are busy trying to find a variety that is resistant to the disease. In fact,...

Drought threatens Spanish crops.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Spanish arable farms to the north of Madrid are anticipating a serious water shortage this season. The whole of northern Spain has experienced one of the driest winters for many years. For example, in Pamplona rainfall levels were the lowest...

Insect invasion.(pollen beetles)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... Pollen beetles can be found on many early flowering winter rape crops, but vigorous crops with plenty of flower buds can survive populations as high as 15 to 20 beetles per plant, advises Syngenta technical manager, Iain Hamilton. However,...

40m booms deliver crop and cost benefits.
April 13, 2002... Value for money. Two for the price of one. More bang for your bucks. Language high street shoppers are all too familiar with is now very much spoken in farm offices these days, writes John Blackbeard. Faced with taking tough financial...

Focus on sprayers.(Product Announcement)
April 13, 2002... Seasonal sprayer technology developments are compiled by Dominic Kilburn. Chafer Machinery has launched its C-series trailed sprayer range (PIC 1) with tank sizes from 2000-3000 litres and boom widths from 18-24m. Billed as a...

Talking Arable with our South Devon based farmer David Pearson.
April 13, 2002... 31ST March 2002 On the last day of March the cultivation equipment has only just made a move in to the driest fields for spring sowing. Having spent so many years without a plough it has been a strange experience to see neat pressed...

N-competence.
April 13, 2002... Down-to-earth views on making `more from less' from independent tillage and soil husbandry consultant, Steve Townsend. A 12 tonne-plus winter wheat crop with less than 100 kg N? Now that's an attractive thought isn't it? Especially to those...

The answer... it lies in the soil.(Statistical Data Included)
April 13, 2002... Get acquainted with your soils if you want to reduce inputs and boost yields, writes Michael Bird who reports exclusively from a minimum tillage conference near Banbury. Farmers and farm managers need to talk regularly to their crops if...

Report on Poland: All things being equal.
April 13, 2002... Our man in Poland, Richard Philips updates us on daily life that is farming in Eastern Europe. Droughts to drenchings and trial plots to political posturing seem to be the order of the day! I promised an update at the end of harvest but we...

Talking Arable with our Hampshire-based farmer Richard Mitham.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2002... 29TH March 2002 The recent warm weather has been an absolute boon enabling us to proceed with field work. The crops are beginning to romp through the growth stages, particularly rape, which is, in the main, at early green bud stage. It...

Promising progress in IACS court challenge.(European Court of Justice ruling)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... The NFU reports "important progress" in its legal battle to prevent government imposing penalties on arable farmers who have made genuine errors while claiming EU support payments. The Advocate General (AG) of the European Court of Justice...

36 of the best in variety trials.(Crop Evaluation Ltd. adds new varieties to the cereals and oilseeds recommended list)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Crop Evaluation Ltd, which runs the Cereals and oilseeds Recommended Lists, has announced that 36 new varieties are included in trials this year. RL manager Jim McVittie says the larger-than-normal number reflects the aim of giving more...

Making LEAF's marque.(England Rural Development Programme-Rural Enterprise Scheme)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... The LEAF logo will be appearing in supermarkets thanks to government backing to develop and push forward the LEAF Marque initiative. A grant of over #175,000, from the England Rural Development Programme -- Rural Enterprise Scheme - has been...

Aphid advice.(British Potato Council releases advisory leaflet)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Potato growers are warned to be vigilant for aphids in growing crops and follow guidelines set out in a new British Potato Council (BPC) advisory leaflet to prevent aphid resistance to insecticide sprays. The leaflet - one outcome of a...

Sclerotinia web advice.(web site offers sclerotinia control in oilseed rape)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... A new internet-based guide provides a basis for decision-making about sclerotinia control in oilseed rape. "Growers need to watch the weather closely to get an idea of how big a problem Sclerotinia might be. We've come through a dry spell...

Stem blight problem.(for potato growers)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Large increases in the incidence of potato stem blight means growers must start blight programmes earlier than normal, and use protectant and curative products with kick-back activity. Banks Cargill agronomist, Martin Beeton says start at...

Cool for cats.(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... As reported in the 13 April issue of AF, AGCO will be distributing the new Challenger MT700 and MT800 series tractors in Europe later this year. The picture below is a sneak preview of an MT800 - in its intended yellow livery - on show at...

Farm-built tillage train.(Raynham Farms builds seed drilling rig from John Deere and Amazone parts)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Softly, softly. Scout vining peas going in at East Barsham, Fakenham, Norfolk. Raynham Farms' seed drilling rig comprises a 330hp John Deere 8520T rubber-tracked crawler, 6m wide, farm-built tillage-train and a 6m Amazone Drill Star...

Beet weeds but avoid damage.(weed control for sugar beets)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Sugar beet growers should adjust broad-leaved weed control tactics to avoid damaging the emerging crop, advises Dow AgroSciences' agronomist Rene Pollak. "Despite some redrilling, most beet is coming through," he says. "However a month of low...

Locally-sourced barley loaded onto ship bound for Russia.(and Poland)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... UK Optic, blended and malted with locally-sourced barley in Gdansk, Poland, is loaded from the port onto a ship bound for Russia with which Poland has traditional trading links. The photo was taken by Andrew Flux of British Cereal Exports...

May frolics.(IACS regulations)
April 27, 2002... Farming opinion from Essex-based Guy Smith May is always my favourite month of the year. It is full of notable dates. For starters, what could be more encouraging than May the first. Some might associate the day with workers' rights but...

PGR trials prompt management rethink.(Xi19 to better feed wheat yields)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... The combination of high yield potential and milling quality in one variety is widening market options and giving management flexibility - after the seed has gone in the ground. Farm manager, James Foad, of Hungerford-based Littlecote Farm...

Levy payback.(grain industry survey and research)
April 27, 2002... Alison Lea summarises an evaluation of value to levy payers from HGCA- commissioned R&D. Independent analysis shows that, by the late 1990's growers benefited from R&D spending by HGCA to the tune of #4.44 extra profit on a tonne of wheat...

Greater efficiency and no glugging!(a new version of Roundup)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... A new formulation of Roundup claims greatly improved efficacy, and comes in a clever new container, finds Alison Lea. A new glyphosate formulation can cut crop management costs by up to 18%, claims its manufacturer. Monsanto has...

Talking Arable with our Shropshire-based farmer Arthur Hill.(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... 11TH APRIL 2002 The weather does help to lift your spirits when there is bright sunshine, and the cold east or north east wind doesn't stop you getting on with jobs. It is the anniversary of FMD striking one of our associate farms and...

Talking Arable with our Suffolk-based farmer John Kerr.(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... 10TH APRIL 2002 I could hardly believe my own ears last week when I actually heard a Suffolk farmer say "we are just about ready for a nice rain", going on to suggest that things were drying out. Soft April showers to soften the top...

A testing time for blight fungicides.(potato production in Jersey)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Where better to put the latest potato blight fungicides to the test than Jersey, with its mild climate and intensive potato production. Teresa Rush reports. In Jersey potato blight is an almost constant threat. The potato season starts in...

New seed potato approval.(Ranman Twinpack)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Ranman Twinpack has been approved for use on seed potatoes. This latest approval follows the product's launch last year for use on ware potatoes. Ranman Twinpack contains the active ingredient cyazofamid, which is claimed by manufacturer...

Better blight control aim.(British Potato Council convenes Blight Advisor Panel)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... The British Potato Council has convened a panel of blight control experts this season in a bid to increase awareness amongst growers of the importance of controlling the disease. The Blight Advisor Panel, comprising independent agronomist...

Keep blight out from the onset.(Jersey potato grower James Perchard)(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... Jersey grower James Perchard commenced planting his 2002 Jersey Royal crop, including the BASF and Department of Agriculture trials, on 12 January into 'perfect' soil conditions. Planting of the 1120-vergee crop, much of it destined for Tesco,...

Unger: Searching for the opportunity in the difficulty.(Australian farmer columnist Neil Unger)
April 27, 2002... Global Report from our Australian farmer columnist Neil Unger Already cropping 4300 acres, Neil Unger reckons he's got the kit to handle 7000 acres in total. With the help of the bank and a helicopter - he might just do it! March...

SIZE MATTERS, BUT SO DOES STAYING POWER.(baling equipment)
April 27, 2002... It's all about density and durability in the world of baling these days, and fewer manufacturers competing in an ever-competitive market place. Here, we get a contractor's view on his baling operation followed by a round up of what's new for...

Colin Myram's CROP TALK.(Brief Article)
April 27, 2002... 15th April 2002 This year marks the golden jubilee of our sovereign. It is also significant to crop husbandry that, in the year of her silver jubilee, the first triazole cereal fungicide, Bayleton, was introduced. This helped to bring...

Arable Post: Smug, self-satisfied and out of touch?(National Farmers Union)(Brief Article)(Column)
April 27, 2002... Mr John Jolly is clearly a very important member of the NFU. As the former chairman of three local branches, as well as the Essex County Branch, he speaks with great authority. Here, I felt, would be a reasoned and intelligent assessment of the...