Arable Farming articles from January 2003

Arable Farming archives from January 2003

Protocol workshops.(Home Grown Cereals Authority courses.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... The new on-farm sampling protocols drawn up by HGCA have been finalised now that testing and consultation has been completed. The project team has developed a workshop course around the farm intake and ex-drier protocols. The aim is to...

Oxford blues.(Common Agricultural Policy in European Union member states.)
January 20, 2003... The opposing stance of France and Britain over CAP reform came under the spotlight at the annual Oxford Farming Conference this month. Rural affairs secretary Margaret Beckett reiterated UK government support for Franz Fischler's mid-term...

Bleak realism.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... This year is unlikely to significantly relieve the current pressure on the agricultural industry, with sterling remaining strong, predicts Francis Mordaunt of Andersons Farm Business Consultants. Businesses must continue to reduce unit...

Nitrate Vulnerable Zone extension: timing and quantity crucial in nitrogen application.
January 20, 2003... An additional 47% of farmed land in England has now been designated a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone, bringing the total to 55% once the 8% designated in 1996 is included. The new designations, introduced on December 19, are designed to enable...

Strobs in potato furrow.(Seeking approval for the use of azoxystrobin (Amistar) to reduce soil-borne black dot and Rhizoctonia in potatoes. )(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Cambridge University Farms (CUF) has received verbal confirmation from PSD for specific off-label approval (SOLA) of azoxystrobin (Amistar) to reduce soil-borne black dot and Rhizoctonia in potatoes. The development follows encouraging...

#50m saved.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... The NFU estimates that its victory in preventing changes to farm fuel tax has saved the farming industry #50m/year. The EU Conciliation Committee agreed to maintain the parity between the sulphur levels for red diesel used for agricultural...

Chinese prospect.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... British Cereals Export mission to China has resulted in HGCA being asked to hold a marketing seminar to further explain the benefits of UK wheat. Wheat consumption in China currently outstrips supply by approximately 20m t/year. China is...

More potatoes.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... The British Potato Council's first estimate of total production for Britain is 6.772m tonnes compared with the 6.410m tonnes in 2001, an increase of 5.7%. The quality of the 2002 crop was affected by variable weather conditions during last...

Pesticide withdrawals.(search http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/ for a list of withdrawn pesticides.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... PSD has published a list of over 130 products, incorporating 45 active ingredients that will have their approval revoked next summer as part of the EU's ongoing review of pesticide safety. This is because these products were not supported...

Green or red?(Suffolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group's annual conference will be held at Ipswich Town FC's Galleria on Thursday March 6.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Suffolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group's annual conference will be held at Ipswich Town FC's Galleria on Thursday March 6. Entitled `Green Fields or Red Tape?' speakers include John Gummer MP, Dr Jules Pretty and John Cousins. ...

Set-aside lobby.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... As we go to press, the NFU is lobbying DEFRA for dispensation for land destined for set-aside which, due to wet weather, has still not been harvested. Under the AAPS, land required for set-aside must have in place a suitable cover crop by...

Agronomy grant.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Independent agronomy organisation Arable Research Centres (ARC) has won a substantial grant under the Vocational Training Scheme (VTS) to provide agronomy training courses for growers. ARC has run similar courses for the past eight years,...

The humble bean.(Column)
January 20, 2003... One of the most disappointing results of 2002 was the winter bean yields. In July all 145 acres flattered to deceive. They stood, they podded, they kept green and a month later they yielded a measly 4.0 tonne/hectare. They remain a very...

Inspissated weather.(Column)
January 20, 2003... So the rainfall charts are complete for another year and we come to calculate the final reckoning. My total rainfall for 2002 was 23 inches. Can any mean-minded person out there claim a lower annual reading or do I keep my claim to fame as the...

Recommended with market focus.(Home Grown Cereals Authority report.)
January 20, 2003... The first Recommended List under the management of HGCA's company Crop Evaluation Ltd introduces some great new varieties for growers to try as well as sharpening the market focus. Alison Lea summarises the newcomers. Gone was the familiar...

On the pulse.(Legumes.)
January 20, 2003... The 2003 Recommended List for pulses has been released by NIAB and PGRO Announcing the eight new additions to the List, NIAB's Simon Kightley remarked that he is satisfied that the varieties on the List deserve their place and are all good...

Changes to pulse trials.(Legumes.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... PGRO and NIAB have given details of changes to the Recommended List systems for pulses. The main change is an increase in trial sites for spring peas and beans. NIAB head of arable crops Simon Kerr says that the change will mean a greater...

Look beyond the conventional.(Spring barley.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Although spring barley had a lacklustre year for yield and quality on many farms in 2002, it is likely to remain the favoured spring cropping option as most advisers place it top of the gross margins against other spring crops. This is...

What variety to grow.
January 20, 2003... The north/south split of the list of varieties approved by the Institute of Brewing reflects not only growing conditions, but potential end markets, with the distillery industry as the main focus for the Scots. New varieties often take...

Feeling the pulse.(Peas and beans.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Peas and beans did not have a great year in 2002 with yields generally rather poor and widespread reports of harvesting difficulties through rain battered pea crops. While there are good export premiums for beans of suitable quality for...

Other cereals: Riviera, Kirsty, Spire.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... The increase in yield potential and agronomic ratings of new spring feed barley varieties make this crop a serious consideration for growers who struggle for malting quality, and those with a market for straw. Riviera continues to be...

More options for spring crops.
January 20, 2003... There is a growing choice of alternative spring crops and, this year, the hectarage of land devoted to growing them is likely to be the highest ever as demand increases for the various products derived from them. These range from...

Gross margin opinion.(Malting barley.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Farm management consultant Matthew Ward, who is based out of Strutt and Parker's north Lincolnshire offices, reckons that the current run of good prices for malting barley will maintain its favour this year, but many were within a whisker of...

Sulphur: Don't be caught out.
January 20, 2003... Some experts believe that the threat to crop yields and quality posed by sulphur deficiency is developing more quickly than growers and advisors might appreciate. Teresa Rush reports. In the last ten years sulphur deposition from the...

Diagnosis or routine application?(Sulphur fertilizers.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... An argument used in favour of overall application of S fertiliser is that it is not expensive and so may as well be applied "just in case", said Dr Mechteld Blake-Kalff of Rothamsted Research. But there are several reasons why, for the time...

Advising the advisor.(Sulphur deficiency.)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... In an advisory context, the pattern of appearance and spread of sulphur deficiency presents several problems, said Dr Kerr Walker of SAC. Firstly, none of the sulphur response trials conducted hitherto can be regarded as definitive as...

Oil Seed Rape shows a significant yield response.(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Oilseed rape is among the most responsive crops to sulphur. Between 1987 and 2002, 29 out of 78 field trials on winter and spring oilseed rape in the UK, conducted by Rothamsted, ADAS, SAC and Hydro Agri, showed a significant yield response to...

Malting: The quest for grain quality.(barley crops)
January 20, 2003... Shrivelled grains are unsaleable for malting purposes - and the market trend, particularly for export, is toward larger size grain. To obtain a good malting sample it is imperative to produce a bold, uniform size grain in order to optimise...

A better spread.(Sulky twin-disc DR fertiliser spreaders)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Sulky twin-disc DR fertiliser spreaders from RECO have been uprated to give improved performance and bigger capacities. The replacement DRC series provides spread widths up to 18m - an increase of 3m on previous models - and capacities from...

Simple set-up.(KRM F2 spreader)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... KRM's F2 spreader meters fertiliser by an individual feed belt from the hopper to each disc. This positive feed eliminates the need for agitation, which may cause damage to `softer' prilled material. This means only one chart is needed for...

Broad-band application.(Amazone ZA-M Ultra iS)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... The ZA-M Ultra iS twin disc fertiliser broadcaster from Amazone has been developed with accuracy and reliability in mind, says the company. This latest machine offers a variable working width from 18 to 48m with one pair of spreading discs....

A steely number.(Teagle Topline S60)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Launched a year ago, and fully available to growers is Teagle's Top- line S60 broadcaster. It has capacity ranging from1300-1900 litres although hopper extensions raise this to 2500 litres. Virtually all the spreader's metering system is...

Rape responds to reduced inputs.(rapeseed growers reduce nitrogen)
January 20, 2003... Nitrogen Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) were introduced last month leaving growers in designated areas with no option but to reduce nitrogen input levels. Organic manure applications have been capped at 210kg N/ha per year, and by 2006, that limit...

Don't let sprouting get the better of you.(potato sprout control)
January 20, 2003... CIPC treatments can be an influential factor in making a crop marketable and need to be considered as part of a sprout control programme if profits are to be achieved. That's the view of CIPC manufacturer Luxan, who is urging store...

Six-row planting boosts output.(potato planting)
January 20, 2003... Replacing a two-row planter with a six-row trailed machine has more than doubled planting output on an expanding Scottish salad potato enterprise at negligible cost, and has increased flexibility while reducing workload pressure. Planting...

BPC picks a fight with blight.(British Potato Council)
January 20, 2003... The British Potato Council is urging the potato industry to wage war on blight with a 'Fight Against Blight' awareness and advisory campaign. Teresa Rush reports. Speaking at the campaign's launch, BPC chairman David Walker described...

New wireworm recommendation.(Nemathorin)
January 20, 2003... PCN nematicide Nemathorin now has a label recommendation for wireworm in potatoes. Nemathorin can reduce the level of tuber damage, cosmetic skin defects and yield penalty effects caused by wireworms, says manufacturer Syngenta. The...

Workshops focus on spray drift.
January 20, 2003... Last season's roadshow theme was avoiding water pollution, this season it's LERAPS and drift control. The second round of sprayer operator workshops is under way. Teresa Rush reports. Distributor members of the Crop Protection Association...

Talking Arable with our North Lincolnshire farmer Amrose Fowler.
January 20, 2003... My last article was back in early September when we were enjoying near- perfect early autumn weather conditions. Since then quite a bit of water has passed under the bridge, both metaphorically and literally. The transformation over a...

Letter: Potatoes: Another cause of spraing symptoms.(Letter to the Editor)
January 20, 2003... Re your article "Staying Ahead of Spraing" in the November 19th edition of Arable Farming: The article contained some food for thought but, as an organisation that has had more experience of commercial free-living nematode (FLN) testing...

Talking Arable with our Shropshire-based farmer Arthur Hill.
January 20, 2003... Another year has ended. Another year when the challenge has been nigh- on impossible. But we are still here and, in a funny sort of way, looking forward to 2003. Perhaps it is the latent Christmas spirit enjoyed with family and...

A beacon of hope amid regulations and jargon.(Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
January 20, 2003... If I were granted one farming related wish for 2003 it would be to have the confusion of regulations and statutory meddling removed at a stroke. A plethora of new jargon has taken over. Words and expressions that we had never considered or...