Arable Farming articles from December 2002

Arable Farming archives from December 2002

Spud fees we don't like.
December 17, 2002... Increases of up to 50% imposed by the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) on farm-saved potato seed royalties have been condemned as unjustifiable and failing to reflect the state of the potato industry. The new rates, effective from...

Farming `unsustainable'.
December 17, 2002... The 9% growth in farming income forecast by government is going in the right direction but is very far from achieving the sustainable industry the government says it wants, says the NFU. DEFRA estimates that the total income from farming in...

Purdey prestige.
December 17, 2002... The Purdey Game and Conservation Award, which rewards excellence in combining shoot and conservation management and includes AF journalist Alison Lea on the judging panel, has been won this year by the Berkshire sister estate of Lincolnshire...

Seven-point plan simplifies spraying advice.
December 17, 2002... The Voluntary Initiative, the industry's programme to minimise the environmental impact of pesticides while hopefully providing an alternative to a pesticide tax, has identified seven essential actions to help sprayer operators protect water...

Milling drilling increase.
December 17, 2002... UK milling wheat plantings have increased significantly this season to over 30% of the total winter wheat area, while the acreage of biscuit varieties has contracted to less than 50% and feed wheats take around 20%, according to the latest...

Dealing in Challengers.
December 17, 2002... AGCO has announced three new dealerships for its Challenger brand of tractors as part of its strategy of developing a network of Challenger Centres of Excellence across the UK. The new dealers are: Thurlow Nunn Standen, RW Crawford and Lister...

Bio-fuels "missed".
December 17, 2002... A "missed opportunity" is how NFU describes the failure of the Chancellor to provide sufficient incentive to kick-start bio-fuel production in his pre-Budget report. The report only mentions plans to reduce duty on bio-ethanol by 20p/l...

Your HGCA.
December 17, 2002... The HGCA has brought out a timely guide entitled: `Your HGCA'. The 16-page booklet provides a summary of services the HGCA provides for the benefit of the UK cereals and oilseeds industry. Levy payers should automatically receive a copy...

Water wisdom.
December 17, 2002... Although agriculture only uses around 1% of directly abstracted water in England and Wales, it constitutes a high percentage of water taken in some river catchments at certain times of year, such as in periods of exceptionally low rainfall....

Mad about hi-tech tractors!?
December 17, 2002... Following on from their success with the Tractor Spotting videos and books, the `Tractor Lads' - Jonathan Whitlam and Stephen Richmond - have a new video out entitled: Hi-Tech Tractors. Jonathan and Stephen, who have also appeared on the...

LAMMA dates.
December 17, 2002... The Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association is holding its 22nd annual exhibition - LAMMA '03 - on the 15th and 16th of January 2003. Held at the Newark Showground, LAMMA features a wide range of machinery, equipment...

Bully boys.
December 17, 2002... The refusal of the Blair government to give bio-fuels a decent tax break in the autumn budget statement is yet more evidence that no-one in Whitehall wants to help agriculture out of its recession. It almost feels as if the government is in...

Hard times - and on the home front, too.
December 17, 2002... I really do struggle to get my head round some of the market information I am getting at the moment. Apparently, wheat plantings in America and Australia are projected to be higher for next harvest. The reason US and Aussie farmers are keen...

Herding cats.
December 17, 2002... I seem to be hearing a lot of fighting talk about resignations from the NFU. It seems to be motivated by the squeeze on income and a disaffection with the Union. It is understandable. Union dues are not inconsiderable and at times the NFU...

Feed the world.
December 17, 2002... With 220,000 more mouths to feed every day, the number of people on the planet will be double the current 6 billion less than 50 years from now. Will agriculture be able to feed the world in a sustainable manner? This was the question debated...

A licence to protect?
December 17, 2002... Teresa Rush reports on the voluntary and mandatory measures that look set to affect food production in the UK. The BCPC assembled a panel of experts at the conference in a forum entitled 'Crop protection under licence'. Professor Barry...

New fungicides offer all round protection.
December 17, 2002... Bayer CropScience introduced new fungicide technology at the British Crop Protection Council conference, from where Dominic Kilburn reports. Bayer CropScience announced the launch of a range of fungicides based on two new molecules: HEC, a...

Marque our words.
December 17, 2002... LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) launched the LEAF Marque scheme - a verified production standard to promote integrated farming - at the Smithfield Show. "There is currently nothing to show that produce has been grown in an...

Dual cropping is risking the whole industry's reputation.
December 17, 2002... Even though it flies in the face of high quality seed production, dual cropping - the practice of getting both ware and seed from one crop - does have a following which is growing. The reason is for this is simple: more profit. But...

Searching the supermarket shelves for inspiration.
December 17, 2002... The seed industry must leapfrog the potato supply-chain to analyse and understand consumers' needs if it wants to give its immediate customers - ware producers - a fighting chance of being ahead of the game, said Helen Priestley, chief...

Dutch co-ops keep prices up.
December 17, 2002... Dutch farmer Maginus Sol gave an insight into seed production in the Netherlands, where the entire supply chain for potato seed rests in the hands of two co-operatives: HZPC and Agrico. Farmers pay a lump sum to become a member - only half is...

Seed research breakthrough.
December 17, 2002... British Potato Council-funded research at Cambridge University Farms has discovered a way of achieving more even-sized ware crops. Size and uniformity can be manipulated by changing the planting date of the seed crop used to grow the ware crop....

CONTRACTOR: Precision farming pays.
December 17, 2002... Fundamental questions about the viability of precision farming are answered by the results of a five-year HGCA-funded project. The report shows that investment in precision agriculture equipment is not only justified, but also provides a huge...

CONTRACTOR: The price of precision.
December 17, 2002... Total machinery costs for precision farming vary between #2/ha to #18/ha depending on farm size and the sophistication of the system.The two biggest influences on economic viability of the technique are the equipment cost and farm size, so it...

CONTRACTOR: Code of Conduct for contractors.
December 17, 2002... To give its members a leading edge, as well as providing farmers with confidence in their contractors' work, the NAAC has delivered its first contractor Code of Conduct, writes Dominic Kilburn. Launched officially at this year's Smithfield...

CONTRACTOR SMITHFIELD SHOWCASE: COUSINS.
December 17, 2002... An X-formation disc harrow from Cousins is described by the company as offering `compaction neutral' capabilities. Available in 3m, the XT3000 features a set of scalloped discs at the front and plain at the rear - all fitted with scrapers. In...

CONTRACTOR SMITHFIELD SHOWCASE: DOWDESWELL ENGINEERING.
December 17, 2002... It is positive to see that a British plough manufacturer has launched a new range of ploughs at the Royal Smithfield Show. Dowdeswell Engineering's range of semi-mounted reversible ploughs is available with 6 furrows and one, or two single...

CONTRACTOR SMITHFIELD SHOWCASE: HARDI.
December 17, 2002... Built on the success of its Master range of mounted sprayers, Hardi launched its Master Pro version incorporating the same tank as its predecessor but with additional features. Boom options are many and include an adjustable trapeze...

CONTRACTOR SMITHFIELD SHOWCASE: GALUCHO.
December 17, 2002... Portuguese equipment manufacturer, Galucho, said it was on the verge of announcing a new UK importer for its products. On the stand, it featured the EcoSub 4/75 - a fertiliser/subs-soiling implement for sugar beet field preparation. For...

CONTRACTOR SMITHFIELD SHOWCASE: MCCORMICK.
December 17, 2002... McCormick's new M306, 6-straw-walker combine made a surprise appearance at the show and is an upgrade on the previous 2760LX machine. The M306 comes with a 6.6m cutterbar and a re-angled elevator to provide a more aggressive action. A...

CONTRACTOR SMITHFIELD SHOWCASE: KRM.
December 17, 2002... New colour, new capacity - the overriding difference with KRM's latest M3 Plus fertiliser spreader. The blue and yellow colours are those of Danish manufacturer, Bogballe, however it is the four tonne capacity that should interest growers. It...

CONTRACTOR SMITHFIELD SHOWCASE: TITLE.
December 17, 2002... Quivogne UK's Pass-Master disc harrow and press comes in 4m working widths with 5m and 6m versions planned for the future. Two rows of scalloped discs at the front are followed by two pairs of transport wheels ahead of a hydraulic-folding...

CONTRACTOR: Flail & spray.
December 17, 2002... A year on from the launch of its prototype potato topper and sprayer combined, Grimme exhibited its 6m (3 bed) KS 6000 version with 400 litre spray tank. This one-pass topping and spraying system removes the need of two passes to desiccate...

CONTRACTOR: Bigger Fastracs satisfy extra power demand.
December 17, 2002... Steven Vale attended the official launch of the 3190 at JCB's Cheadle facility, to get a closer look at the newcomer. JCB unveiled its biggest and first ever 200hp+ Fastrac tractor at the Royal Smithfield Show. Called the 3220, and...

CONTRACTOR: First user of 9-row sugar beet harvester.
December 17, 2002... Contractors involved in the sugar beet harvesting business will need no reminding that prices are low and margins are tight. One way to make a bit of money is to take in more rows at a time and increase outputs. Towards the end of last season...

HGCA levy Q&A: Levy questioning.
December 17, 2002... HGCA chief executive Dr Paul Biscoe fields some blunt questions from Alison Lea about the proposed levy increase. Q: Why does the HGCA need more money? A: Following a #2.5 million drop in levy income last year, our reserves are now at...

Second wheat catch-up.
December 17, 2002... We've had a good autumn this year. Potatoes came out on time. All first wheats went into good seedbeds and have had their herbicides. And oilseed rape is sprayed up. The only blot is second wheat. Like a lot of crops round here, it's yet...

Frustrating delays.
December 17, 2002... Anything that is weather-controlled I've got to live with. That's the way I look at it as I watch persistent (rather than resistant) black- grass get bigger each day! Winter cereals went in as planned in good seedbeds. And we got a good...

A third left to spray.
December 17, 2002... Despite getting all land drilled by 10 October this year, ever since it's been too wet to travel. Whereas normally we'd have finished spraying, we've still got a third of our herbicides left to apply. And we haven't applied autumn fertiliser....

Making the most.
December 17, 2002... Iain Hamilton, Syngenta technical manager Where rain delays spraying and black-grass becomes large there really is no other option than a contact-based herbicide. Even then, you need to spray as soon as possible. Beyond 2-3 leaves, control...

North of the border.
December 17, 2002... It's been wet, here, since about mid-October. Forty hectares of winter oats we drilled to replace winter barley are looking well. But we've only got 80 out of 120ha of winter wheat in. If we don't get the rest in by Christmas we may need to...

Maximising spray windows.
December 17, 2002... Tom Robinson, application specialist, Syngenta Latest spraying guidelines can be a real boon when left with large areas of black-grass - by both increasing available spray windows during `marginal' conditions, and raising the number of...

Store seed well to maintain quality.
December 17, 2002... You've done a fine job of growing and harvesting them. So don't let poor storage ruin the quality of seed potatoes. Alison Lea picks up some expert advice. The key word is control. You can't do much about the environment while the crop is...

Grain drying solutions: Faster loading.
December 17, 2002... It stands to reason that if you reduce the amount of time spent loading and unloading a batch drier, then you can increase the amount of time drying. This is what Opico has in mind with the launch of its top-of- the-range, 1500 tonnes per week...

Grain drying solutions: Remote operation.
December 17, 2002... Remote operation and monitoring of drying systems is becoming increasingly important these days as growers struggle to complete more on-farm tasks themselves. Grain drying, cleaning and handling specialist, Law-Denis has introduced a diagnostic...

Grain drying solutions: Hopper extension.
December 17, 2002... To enable faster and more accurate loading of all Master drier models, Master Farm has introduced a new hopper extension moulded from toughened GRP. With a 1 tonne capacity the company says it is ideal for when a bucket loader is used. ...

Grain drying solutions: Dust-free air.
December 17, 2002... BDC system's galvanised dust extraction fan unit (below) expels virtually dust-free air from a drier unit. The unit costs #8000 as a retro-fit option but is cheaper if incorporated into one of the company's drying systems. It has a capacity to...

How you can minimise levels of mycotoxin.
December 17, 2002... HGCA-funded research into the growth of fungi on stored grain and mycotoxin development has culminated in the provision of practical advice on minimising mycotoxin problems. The aim of the research was to examine whether different levels of...

No mycotoxin threat from home-grown wheat.
December 17, 2002... Current evidence suggests that mycotoxins in UK cereals do not pose a threat to the pig industry. That was one of the key messages at a `Challenges Facing the Pig Industry' conference, organised by HGCA, MLC and the Society of Feed...

More ways of managing pesky mites?
December 17, 2002... The withdrawal of dust formulations of organophosphorus compounds for mite control in stored grain has spurred the need for research to find alternatives, says HGCA. Mites have been common in grain stores in recent years, causing damage by...