Arable Farming articles from April 2005

Arable Farming archives from April 2005

GM winter rape 'likely to be detrimental' to biodiversity.
April 4, 2005... Results from the fourth and final crop tested on the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSE) of herbicide-tolerant GM crops - winter oilseed rape - have revealed that its cultivation is likely to be detrimental to wildlife. The study - the biggest...

Supply trade 'underestimates' scale of potential changes.
April 4, 2005... The 2005 Andersons Trade Survey has shown surprisingly little understanding of the impact that changes in farm support will bring. "In light of the most radical changes in agricultural policy since the 1947 Agriculture Act, we concluded...

Take note of temperature when applying PGRs.
April 4, 2005... Cereal growers looking to avoid a repeat of last summer's widespread losses from lodged or flat crops need to take particular note of temperatures when applying PGRs over coming months, a leading cereal specialist has warned. Research at...

Take cover.
April 4, 2005... British Seed Houses has published its new GameMaster cover and conservation crop seed catalogue. New additions to the extensive crop portfolio include a rape/kale hybrid and a spring triticale that can be planted later than winter varieties....

ARABLE BRIEFS: User friendly PSD web service.
April 4, 2005... The Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) has replaced its existing Specific Off Label Approval Database (SOLAWEB) with a new User friendly system designed around the needs of farmers and agronomists. PSD says that the key benefits of...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Who's in a name?
April 4, 2005... 'Natural England' is to be the name of the new agency that will bring together English Nature, the Rural Development Service and parts of the Countryside Agency. Its aim, according to Margaret Beckett, secretary of state for environment,...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Tracker coming soon.
April 4, 2005... New epoxiconazole+boscalid cereal fungicide,Tracker, will be launched this year with a wide range of tank mix recommendations for wheat and barley, says BASF. Unlike its stablemate Opus (epoxiconazole), Tracker can be mixed with several of...

Making use of the 'spy in the sky' to aid farming.
April 4, 2005... Satellite technology could become an important tool to help grow better crops. Speaking at the recent Precision Farming Event, Velcourt's Dr Rosie Bryson said that radar sensing by high-flying aircraft and satellites has the potential to...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Fungicide for spring beans.
April 4, 2005... Maxicrop UK has introduced a new nutrient and plant extract-based bio- stimulant for use on pulses, salads and vegetable crops. Kendal, a tailored mix of oligosaccharides, plant extracts including glutathione and potash is manufactured by...

Smith's Soapbox: In confidence.
April 4, 2005... I was dismayed to see the uproar from many parts of the industry when Defra announced our CAP payments for the last two years are to be placed on the public record. Through this show of outrage we have managed to get ourselves the worst of both...

Smith's Soapbox: Questions for Jim.
April 4, 2005... I have never been one for party politics. You won't find my road-side fields adorned with any political party posters over the next few weeks. I probably get this apolitical streak from father. Dad was a District councillor and Parish...

SINGLE PAYMENT: Creature considerations.
April 4, 2005... The Single Payment application is complicated enough on an all-arable holding, but what if there's livestock in the mix? Rob Hughes offers some pointers for mixed farms and arable farms with livestock in the rotation. May 16, 2005 will be...

ENTRY LEVEL: ELS can benefit EVERY farm.
April 4, 2005... Even the barest of arable farms can benefit from the Entry Level Stewardship scheme, and the points are there if you know where to look. Alison Lea gets expert advice. PLANS - SCORE POINTS 'WITHOUT LEAVING THE OFFICE' "You can tot up...

WATER: Trading places.
April 4, 2005... The Water Act 2003 will mean major changes to the water abstraction licencing system in England and Wales. Almost all current licences specify the land on which the water can be used but the Water Act will remove this requirement if the licence...

Talking Arable with our Shropshire-based farmer Arthur Hill.
April 4, 2005... March 21, 2005 What a difference a bit of bright, dry, warm weather can make. We had frost every night from the beginning of February until the 16th March. Since then the wind from the Azores has brightened everything up with the rape...

DRIER MAINTENANCE: Keeping the drier on song.
April 4, 2005... Many grain drying and cleaning installations were pushed close to their limits last summer thanks to a five week period when rainfall was twice the average for the time of year. While it is impossible to say what 2005 has in store, one thing is...

DRIER MAINTENANCE: Maintaining the mobile.
April 4, 2005... Bill Ingram, Master Driers' managing director says that with in excess of 5,000 mobile driers in operation in the UK, it's vitally important that pre-harvest service and over-winter maintenance is carried out effectively on mobile driers. ...

DRIER MAINTENANCE: Drier range extended.
April 4, 2005... Drier range extended The 2005 range of Master Driers has now been extended to include larger models to a maximum capacity of 55 tonnes. This increase in size now incorporates additional automation, says Master Farm Services. It is...

CEREAL DISEASE: Triazoles/tribulations - planning disease control 2005.
April 4, 2005... Triazoles are the acknowledged building blocks of effective Septoria control programmes. Yet last season proved that there's more to good disease control than choosing the right product. Teresa Rush reports. For a start, there's all the...

CEREAL DISEASE: Get level with eyespot.
April 4, 2005... The rules on eyespot control have been redrafted this season. Teresa Rush reports. Crawling about on your hands and knees in a field of wheat may not be the most enticing of tasks but according to Hutchinson's technical manager Dick Neale...

SRING BARLEY: Tailor inputs to niche market requirements.
April 4, 2005... The route to profitable spring barley growing in Scotland is to choose varieties according to target markets, and focus on minimising production costs per tonne, say the experts. Joanna Baker reports. Scottish spring barley growers must aim...

Talking Arable.
April 4, 2005... From our North Norfolk-based farmer Kit Papworth of L. F. Papworth Ltd, Lower Farm, Tuttington, Norwich. I am writing this article whilst watching the Malaysian Grand Prix. Even the most passionate Formula 1 fan would agree that during last...

MACHINERY PLANNING: Capping the cost of machinery.
April 4, 2005... In our continuing series highlighting chapters from the Vaderstad- produced book `Target on Establishment', we take a detailed look at how machinery can play a vital role in reducing on-farm costs and making substantial savings. John Bailey,...

SPRAYERS: Hydraulic air system makes for an easy ride.
April 4, 2005... When south Hampshire-based contractor Andy Kirby took on an extra acreage of whole farm spraying in the early part of 2004, his decision to purchase a Househam Air Ride trailed sprayer (the company's first trailed machine) came about without...

SPRAYERS: High-spec trailed.
April 4, 2005... To meet the needs of farmers and contractors wanting a large high- specification sprayer, Knight Farm Machinery recently developed a new trailed machine with a 3800-litre GRP tank and booms up to 40 metres wide. The new EUA model has a...

SPRAYERS: Compact for Fastrac.
April 4, 2005... Following various changes carried out by JCB to the 3000-series Fastracs last year, Knight Farm Machinery has re-designed the sprayers it builds for these vehicles in order to maintain a compact design and low boom folding height, says the...

SPRAYERS: Small sprayer, big ideas.
April 4, 2005... The Midi-Spray compact sprayer range from Martin Lishman has been upgraded with the addition of new boom and pump sizes, optional additional front tanks, new design trailer units and hose reels. The Midi-Spray can be supplied as either a...

MACHINERY: Eyeing the number one spot.
April 4, 2005... Agco is looking to be number one in tractors and combines in Europe. As part of this process, it is investing a staggering US$120 million on research and development to accelerate new product initiatives. That was the main message to come out...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Let's talk till-seeding.
April 4, 2005... A Till-Seeding Conference, aimed at helping arable farmers reduce establishment costs without affecting yields will be held in the Peterborough Suite at the East of England Showground, Peterborough on Wednesday, May 4th. Opico, the...

ARABLE POST: Letter.
April 4, 2005... Your title of the article on the HGCA midge conference was "What next with WOBM?" (AF March 21, p15). As environmental issues become increasingly important "what next..?" must be an increase area sown with resistant varieties. Taking full...

CROP TALK: ELS fortune at #12/ac.
April 4, 2005... Last month, at time of writing, I was just off to the races at Fakenham and I thought you should know that we had a very good afternoon as "her indoors'" cousin's horse won at 6-1. Unfortunately my consultancy fees did not allow me to put...

CROP TALK: Tips for strips.
April 4, 2005... In discussions with local farmers, it appears that it will be sensible to make the 2m cross-compliance strips wider up to 3m wide. This will allow some leeway in terms of avoiding spray drift onto the 2m and will also mean that one has the...

CROP TALK: IPU up but not out - yet?
April 4, 2005... In last month's article I mentioned that a lot of IPU had been used in what seemed to be unsuitable conditions. This has now proved to be correct as high peaks of the chemical have been found in water in some catchment areas. The isoproturon...

CROP TALK: Weeding ban.
April 4, 2005... It is a very strange world. I see that in the USA, California State has imposed a ban on hand weeding because of aggravating back pain. All I can say is that I wish they had imposed it when I was working over there as a student! What is going...

CROP TALK: T1 fungicides.
April 4, 2005... There will be much talk again this year of waiting until you see final leaf 3 coming out before putting the T1 fungicides on winter wheat. My advice is, again, "forget it!" Once we are into the second half of April start spraying the earlier...

CROP TALK: Spring slugs.
April 4, 2005... The mild winter has been ideal for slug survival and breeding, and hence there are many small recently hatched juveniles. This follows on from some very high populations seen in some commercial fields and trials last autumn, up to 80/sq.m....

Chemical treatments comparison to combat PCN.
April 18, 2005... Potato cyst nematode is continuing to spread to previously unaffected soils, according to Dr Pat Haydock of Harper Adams University College. In the first national survey of PCN distribution in 1998 PCN presence was recorded on two thirds...

Another merger - the final Frontier?
April 18, 2005... A new agricultural merchanting business, Frontier, has begun trading this month, following approval from the Office of Fair Trading and completion of the deal. It combines the arable operations of Allied Grain and Banks Cargill...

Pollen beetle attack alert.
April 18, 2005... Pollen beetle attacks on oilseed rape crops are running well ahead of a normal season.Crops at green bud stage now will be dangerously exposed to pest attack for a prolonged time before the safety of coming into flower, and it would therefore...

Variable N.
April 18, 2005... The amount of nitrogen remaining in soils this spring is extremely variable, according to tests conducted by Kemira Growhow. The importance of the contribution of residual N has been brought into sharper focus this year with higher fertiliser...

ARABLE BRIEFS: New seed treatments to emerge.
April 18, 2005... New seed treatment products are likely to emerge from existing active ingredient portfolios, says BASF. Consequently the company is strengthening its seed treatment activities - a core component of its R&D. It also plans to extend more and...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Environment-driven inputs.
April 18, 2005... Scottish Natural Heritage has published a new edition of the TIBRE- Targeted Inputs for a Better Rural Environment - Arable Handbook. It includes up-to-date information on a range of technologies and techniques, and will be distributed to...

ARABLE BRIEFS: N-planner expansion.
April 18, 2005... UAP has revised and expanded its N-Planner. Most arable crops are now covered and the service also includes programmes for the application of potassium, phosphate and sulphur fertilisers. It is also helping growers meet ELS requirements by...

Arable Post.
April 18, 2005... Guy Smith takes me to task for the Conservative Party's policy on GM (AF April 4th 2005). I reciprocate his respect, Guy's efforts to explain the true role of farming to the public rank as one of the greatest contributions to farming for many...

SMITH'S SOAPBOX: An apple a day.
April 18, 2005... Farming opinion from Essex-based Guy Smith As an under-stated Essex boy myself I have always viewed the meteoric rise of Jamie Oliver with interest. The Naked Chef has never really struck me as particularly profound or sincere. A couple of...

OSR: Rethinking oilseed rape growing.
April 18, 2005... Manage rape with 'first wheat' attitude to unlock yield and quality potential. Alison Lea reports. Why have oilseed rape yields in Germany surged ahead of the UK by up to a tonne per hectare? Charlie Whitmarsh of Frontier (formerly...

MARKETING: Meeting the market.
April 18, 2005... Market volatility, low base prices, SPS and falling intervention are forcing change in the way farmers sell grain. Fewer growers are relying on the fortunes of spot selling and open contracts. Giselle Jones explores market opportunities and...

POTATO BLIGHT: Check potato dumps now - BPC.
April 18, 2005... Potato dumps that have not received a residual herbicide or have not been sheeted to prevent foliage growing pose a severe blight risk, warns the British Potato Council. As daytime temperatures increase, accelerated growth should be...

POTATO BLIGHT: Planning 2005 blight programmes.
April 18, 2005... The fight to keep blight out of potato crops during last August's dreadful conditions is something most growers would prefer to forget. But some reflection is essential to build our understanding of how defence strategies can be bolstered in...

WATER: Running dry down under.
April 18, 2005... Continuing on her Nuffield scholarship travels looking at water policy issues, Alison Lea visits farms in Australia suffering the double whammy of drought and irrigation allocation cuts for `environmental flows'. And there's no end in sight to...

SUGAR BEET: Rhizomania-resistant variety tops the Recommended List.
April 18, 2005... What's listed and what's not? The 2005 Recommended List for sugar beet has been published. For the first time, the variety with the highest sugar yield potential on the sugar beet Recommended List is rhizomania-resistant. The top- yield...

HERBICIDES: `Safety and efficacy'.
April 18, 2005... Syngenta hopes to make its mark in the pre-emergence/early post- emergence cereals herbicide sector later this year with the launch of prosulfocarb in the UK. Teresa Rush reports. Prosulfocarb is a member of the thiocarbamate herbicide...

Opening up new options.
April 18, 2005... The introduction of Atlantis (mesosulfuron+iodosulfuron) has opened up a new range of options for grass weed control, following a period of increasing use of pre-emergence herbicide treatments, acknowledges Syngenta. Preliminary trade...

POLLUTION: Ammonia in the air.
April 18, 2005... Ammonia is increasingly under the spotlight as an air pollutant. At a recent conference, the contribution made by arable farming was explained, and mitigation possibilities were explored. Ammonia, a pollutant that affects scarce and fragile...

Talking Arable with our South Devon-based organic farmer David Pearson.
April 18, 2005... April 3, 2005 My expectations of filthy March weather never materialised and the month turned into a decent spell. The recently ploughed ground broke down rather more easily than I dared hope and Compass beans were sown into excellent...

TILLAGE PLANNING: Tillage decision making.
April 18, 2005... Following on from the April 4 edition of Arable Farming where we focused on machinery planning extracts from Vaderstad's `Target on Establishment' book, here, from the same book, Steve Townsend looks at tillage decision making. There is a...

TRAILERS: Tailor the trailer.
April 18, 2005... Ag-Chem Europe is looking to give used Terra-gators a new lease of life as a self-propelled sugar beet trailer. The result is said to reduce in- field compaction, extend the harvesting window, and could give contractors the edge over their...

BALERS: Making a package that really suits.
April 18, 2005... Variable chamber balers offer the versatility of producing a smaller diameter bale when required or increasing the size to reduce the amount of stopping and twine used when baling straw. The following guide (in hard copy) lists the models from...

Talking Arable with our Borders-based farmer Guy Lee.
April 18, 2005... April 4, 2005 Land use decisions are becoming more complex as the options become increasingly varied. For the past twelve years set aside has been compulsory - the amount of land required variable, though with a minimum and a maximum...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Triple `combi' cultivators.
April 18, 2005... Rabe has produced a new series of linkage mounted, hydraulic-folding seedbed cultivators called Stormbird. They are available in 4.5 and 6m working widths in either "L" or "Quattro" versions. Transport width is 3m and the hydraulic-folding...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Protimeter move.
April 18, 2005... Crop quality specialists Martin Lishman Ltd have taken over the distribution of the Protimeter range of moisture meters and probes in the UK agricultural market. Organisation changes at Protimeter mean that the company will cease to operate...