Arable Farming articles from December 2003

Arable Farming archives from December 2003

Royal assent for Water Act.
December 16, 2003... The Water Act 2003 has been granted Royal Assent. One its provisions is the linking of water abstraction licensing to local water resource availability. The abstraction licensing scheme shifts from one based on purpose of use to one based on...

Warning of price rises on agrochemicals.
December 16, 2003... Agchem prices are on the way up and growers of minor crops in particular should budget for significant increases. Dalgety Arable national agrochemicals manager Peter Corbett warns of price increases of 5% to 11% "across the range" depending...

Centre for non-food crops.
December 16, 2003... Launched by DEFRA Food and Farming Minister Lord Whitty, the National Centre for Non-Food Crops will be a centre of excellence that, for the first time, unites all the work on non-food crops taking place across the UK. The York-based...

Practical innovation.
December 16, 2003... LEAF's 16 Innovation Centres research or pioneer new approaches in sustainable land management. They are not typical working farms, but push forward the boundaries of Integrated Farm Management (IFM) through research and practical...

Rout out ragwort.
December 16, 2003... The new Ragwort Control Bill comes into force on February 20, 2004. This weed that causes suffering and death of livestock and an estimated 800 horses and ponies each year is also toxic to people who handle the plant without protective gloves,...

No levy rise but cutbacks necessary.
December 16, 2003... The levy won't go up this year but the severe cutbacks implemented last year will remain in place, with very limited new R&D projects, HGCA board recently decided. It was also decided that a full and strategic review of the cereals and...

Have your say on sugar.
December 16, 2003... Ministers are seeking views on options to change the way the European Union deals with sugar imports, exports, production and prices. The European Commission has outlined its thoughts on possible reform of its Sugar Regime, and has...

Prepare yourself for waste rules.
December 16, 2003... Start preparing now for new waste management controls for agriculture due in 2004, says DEFRA. Proposed changes will implement EU legislation applying to waste and will mean that uncontrolled burning of waste on farms and the use of 'farm...

GM crops in harmony.
December 16, 2003... A report that has looked at what measures might be taken to ensure conventional and GM crops could be grown in harmony if the commercial production of novel crops was approved in the UK, has been welcomed by NFU. Commenting on the report...

Dalgety bought.
December 16, 2003... Masstock Arable UK Ltd has acquired the assets and business of Dalgety Arable Ltd. The new company will be known as the Masstock Dalgety group and will continue to operate under the existing Masstock and Dalgety brands. As far as customers...

Lupin guide.
December 16, 2003... A book which provides a concise look at the different types of lupin available; how to grow, harvest and use them has been produced by Soya UK Ltd. "The Soya UK Guide to the Production and Utilisation of Lupins in the UK" explains the...

Smith's Soapbox: The Great Grain Robbery.
December 16, 2003... The most startling aspect of huge upsurges in grain prices in the last ten weeks is the fact so few of us will be able to take much advantage from it. Merchants tell me that 75% of the 2003 harvest was sold by the end of October. It was a very...

PESTS: Weed control is key to reducing virus.
December 16, 2003... Some of the challenges of spraing control were highlighted at a recent conference on free living nematodes. Teresa Rush reports. Weeds play a key role in the transmission of tobacco rattle virus, the virus responsible for spraing in...

PESTS: In-furrow recommendation.
December 16, 2003... DuPont has announced a new recommendation for in-furrow use of Vydate 10G (oxamyl) for control of free living nematodes in potatoes. Rate for use in furrow is 140g per 100m row (equivalent to 16kg/hectare). In furrow applications can reduce...

SPRING BEANS: Bean there, done that!
December 16, 2003... Spring beans open up opportunities at both ends of the food chain. Alison Lea talks to two men who have very different interests in the crop. Heavy land, black-grass resistance, big headache! Or at least it was at Chivers Farms Ltd,...

SPRING BEANS: Nothing new on the List.
December 16, 2003... No new spring bean varieties were added to the Recommended List at its announcement by NIAB/PGRO RL at the end of November. Whilst remaining on the Provisional List, Synchro has continued to deliver well in trials according to NIAB's Simon...

SPRING BEANS: British-grown beans are best in Egypt.
December 16, 2003... Recently returned from a fact-finding tour of Egypt, Andy Donald of Dalmark Grain is optimistic about increasing the tonnage of beans exported to the country from the UK. Beans are part of the diet in a number of north African and Middle...

Waste not want not.
December 16, 2003... With so much talk about the difficulties caused by NVZs, it is easy to loose sight of the fact that when it comes to organic manures - one farm's waste can be another's free resource. "It's not going to be the answer for everyone," says...

POTATOES: Belgian experience of ring rot.
December 16, 2003... With the confirmation of ring rot on a Welsh farm only the day before the event, its inclusion in conference topics - decided weeks in advance of the event - seemed extraordinarily prophetic. The invited speaker, Pierre Lebrun is an...

POTATOES: Supplying service with seed.
December 16, 2003... Norfolk seed grower Tony Bambridge offered his thoughts, to a predominantly Scottish audience, on raising standards of service to customers. Mr Bambridge produces seed potatoes from 300 ha, having started the enterprise from scratch...

POTATOES: Farming beyond Fischler's reforms.
December 16, 2003... Looming CAP reforms will have the biggest impact on farm structure seen for over 70 years, and it is easy to underestimate the effect it will have. This was the opinion of HSBC's head of agriculture Steve Ellwood. Delivery of the majority of...

GLOBAL REPORT: Drought, frost - and insanity!
December 16, 2003... From our Australian farmer columnist Neil Unger How much insanity and financial illiteracy does it take to farm in Australia? The more the better, apparently, by the way I'm going. More on that later. The canola has all been windrowed...

Recommended List: A look at the new List.
December 16, 2003... The 2004 Recommended List brings no startling breakthroughs, but some interesting new blood nonetheless. Alison Lea reports. With seven new winter wheats bringing the Recommended List total to 27, choosing what to drill in autumn 2004 may...

RECOMMENDED LIST: Spring barley.
December 16, 2003... New Farm Crops' breeding programme continues to dominate the List with the addition of two new varieties this year. Carafe and Doyen have different markets though: Carafe is a malting hopeful and tests indicate that it improves on Cellar....

RECOMMENDED LIST: Winter barley.
December 16, 2003... Winter barley growing may be in the doldrums, but breeding efforts continue to bring good new varieties to the List. This year there are three, and they include the first hybrid barley to be Listed: 6-row Colossus (New Farm Crops) has...

RECOMMENDED LIST: HGCA RECOMMENDED LISTS.
December 16, 2003... The HGCA Recommended Lists are independently managed by Crop Evaluation Ltd, owned by HGCA. Funding for trials and tests is provided by the HGCA levy, but the production of the Lists would be impossible without the contribution and support...

RECOMMENDED LIST: Winter oats.
December 16, 2003... Three new varieties: two conventional husked and one naked oat, all introduced by Semundo, which will in future be called SW Seeds. SW Kinross comes from the company's own breeding programme under Svalof Weibull in Sweden. It improves 3% on...

RECOMMENDED LIST: Oilseed rape.
December 16, 2003... The challenge for rape breeders is to top Winner's remarkable yield advance, but the three additions to the List this year have had to settle for agronomic improvements, with their yields falling slightly short. Two conventionally-bred...

CONTRACTOR: Tractor launches lifted by Tier ll timing.
December 16, 2003... Agritechnica, one of Europe's largest machinery shows, opened its doors to 227,000 visitors. A large number of tractor launches were spurred by the need to include new emission-compliant engines, writes Steven Vale. Highlights included the new...

CONTRACTOR: Insatiable appetite for big machines.
December 16, 2003... The need to cover more ground and lift more crop during a single pass has led to increased interest in self-propelled machines, and the launch of some of the biggest machines in the business. Steven Vale details four of the biggest new machines...

New directory.
December 16, 2003... The NAAC has launched its third annual Directory of Contractors, providing a comprehensive listing of skilled land-based operators. The publication allows farmers, land managers and all those in need of a land-based contractor to access the...

Contractors say no to pesticides notification.
December 16, 2003... The blanket notification of all residents bordering agricultural land before spraying will cost the contracting industry tens of thousands of pounds, potentially forcing legitimate operators out of business, says the National Association of...

Pesticides disposal.
December 16, 2003... The Obsolete Pesticide Disposal Campaign gives contractors, growers and other professional pesticide users the chance to dispose of unwanted or out of date pesticides, as part of the Voluntary Initiative (VI). Products withdrawn under the EU...

Grain/iT event: At the HGCA stand - Wheat e-club.
December 16, 2003... Driven by the success of the malting barley e-club which provides barley growers with regular briefings by e-mail, HGCA is extending the service to wheat growers. "The malting barley e-club now has a thousand members and is still growing....

Grain/iT event: Storage software.
December 16, 2003... To help manage grain in storage, HGCA has devised new software called Grainplan. It builds on extensive research on storage issues funded by HGCA, including the Grain Sampling and Analysis Project. "The Grainplan software enables you to...

Grain/iT event: Making a stir.
December 16, 2003... A spear-shaped 'stirring auger', a 1.5kw geared motor drive plugged into the mains, and an armadillo-shaped piece of aluminium provides a low-cost, low tech solution to solving hot spot problems. UK storage construction company Flach and...

Grain/iT event: Weather on record.
December 16, 2003... Agricultural Supply Services launched a new weather station imported from America. The Vantage Pro Weatherstation is designed to provide growers with essential weather information for decision-making on crop management. Linked with...

CROP PROTECTION: Making the most of weeds.
December 16, 2003... Weed management strategies that minimise the threat from competitive weeds while retaining the diversity value of less damaging ones must be developed, according to a leading weed scientist. Dr Peter Lutman of Rothamsted Research said the...

CROP PROTECTION: 'Hazardous substances' come under pressure.
December 16, 2003... A number of widely-used agrochemicals face bans on use in the future as the Environment Agency seeks to achieve its remit, under the terms of the EU's Water Framework Directive, of reducing or eliminating hazardous pesticides in water. The...

CROP PROTECTION: Pesticides strategy is taking shape.
December 16, 2003... Further pressure on pesticide use is on the horizon in the form of a national pesticides strategy. Both the EU and national government are driving its development. The EU is to set out its own strategy for the sustainable use of...

Post CAP reform: Higher yields and lower costs vital for survival.
December 16, 2003... Arable farmers in northern Europe will need to take radical measures to produce higher average yields and reduce fixed costs in order to provide additional income over decoupled payments. That's one of the conclusions drawn by TAG technical...

New compounds - Broad-leaved weeds.
December 16, 2003... Flucetosulfuron, a new post-emergence sulfonylurea herbicide, is said to provide good control of broad-leaved weeds, including excellent activity against cleavers, in cereals. Efficacy is claimed to be equivalent or better than commercial...

New compounds - New strobilurin.
December 16, 2003... SYP-Z071, a new strobilurin fungicide from Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry, China and Dow AgroSciences, USA is said to have displayed good activity against wheat powdery mildew. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

New compounds - Rusts and rhizoctonia.
December 16, 2003... MTF-753, a novel carboxamide fungicide, has activity against grey mould, powdery mildew and apple scab, as well as rust and rhizoctonia diseases, claims manufacturer Mitsui Chemicals of Japan. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

POTATOES: Unsustainable residue reductions?
December 16, 2003... Potato production: Living with pesticide changes was the focus of a conference jointly organised by the SCI Pest Management Group and the British Potato Council at the Central Science Laboratory, York. Joanna Baker reports. Government...

POTATOES: Weed control options are declining.
December 16, 2003... Recent losses of the residual herbicides terbutryn, terbuthylazine and trietazine represent a trend that has seen the approval of many herbicides for weed control in potato crops revoked. "Next year will see ware growers left with three...

CONSERVATION: Take a LEAF out of this bestseller.
December 16, 2003... LEAF's conference 'Profitable Farming, Practical Conservation' sold out. Alison Lea reports some of the key points made by speakers. Skylark landing pads, giant bird tables and dial-a-habitat... All novel ideas with the same aim: To...

THE BUSINESS QUARTER: Use long-term supply contracts to minimise risk.
December 16, 2003... With grain markets showing every sign of becoming more volatile, producers and consumers have much to gain from working together more closely, says Graham Lacey, Director of Trading for Centaur Grain Ltd. Eleven years ago, McSharry began...

THE BUSINESS QUARTER: Which way forward? Plan ahead for price security.
December 16, 2003... So what of the future? In the past, EU market volatility has been dampened by political intervention. With no intervention stocks currently available, politicians and consumers have largely lost the power to manage supply. In addition, the EU...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Cleaning beet to the Max.
December 16, 2003... Root crop specialist manufacturer Grimme unveils its first harvester dedicated to sugar beet lifting. Dominic Kilburn reports. Hot on the heels of its recently-launched 4-row Tectron bunker potato harvester, Grimme's first foray into the...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Grimme takes European view.
December 16, 2003... Uncertainty surrounding sugar regime reform in 2006 has done nothing to dampen Grimme's `new kid in town' enthusiasm and commitment towards the European sugar beet industry and, if anything, has helped the company focus on what the real needs...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: SUGAR BEET FACTFILE.
December 16, 2003... * UK crop area covers 150,000 hectares * 7,000 growers contracted to grow sugar beet in the UK * 50,000 growers in 1940/50s * 9m tonnes delivered annually * 3,500 lorries/day * 70% of crop lifted by contractors or groups...