Arable Farming articles from July 2004

Arable Farming archives from July 2004

Crop Comment: Levies and restrictions to cut water pollution?
July 12, 2004... In a bid to reduce water pollution, levies on inputs and bans on cropping close to environmentally sensitive waterside could be imposed by Government. The proposed levies and restrictions, outlined in a recently-launched consultation...

HGCA changes price reporting.
July 12, 2004... HGCA is now reporting delivered prices for cereals in place of the daily ex-farm regional prices. The new delivered survey is carried out weekly and caters for different grades of wheat and barley quality. It covers approximately 30...

HGCA levy freeze.
July 12, 2004... Defra has confirmed that Home-Grown Cereals Authority levy rates payable by cereal and oilseed growers and cereal dealers and processors are to remain the same as last year. The rates that will apply from July 1 2004 to June 30 2005 are:...

Wage hike will hit farm businesses, says NFU.
July 12, 2004... The NFU has expressed its concern at wage increases for agricultural workers that are significantly above the rate of inflation. The decision, imposed on the farming industry by the Agricultural Wages Board, increases wages overall by 5.1%...

Roberta wins NIAB Variety cup.
July 12, 2004... The sugar beet variety, Roberta, from English Sugar Beet Seed Company (ESB) won the NIAB Variety cup at last month's Cereals event. The cup is awarded to a major crop variety that has given several years outstanding performance and made a major...

Cereals specialist taking retirement.
July 12, 2004... NIAB cereals specialist Richard Fenwick gave his last Members' Day plot tour at Huntingdon Road, Cambridge in June. He is taking retirement in September after 31 years with the organisation, seeing through the transition from government-owned...

Poultry contract.
July 12, 2004... Centaur Grain is looking for growers to supply naked oats to Bernard Matthews-owned Bawsey poultry feed mill near Kings Lynn in Norfolk for Centaur's exclusive contract with the company. The 3,000-tonne contract for the 2004 harvest is...

Slug pellets dose change.
July 12, 2004... New maximum dose recommendations for methiocarb slug pellets now allow growers to split the total dose over an unlimited number of applications of varying rates as best suits their situation of slug activity and damage risk to potato crops,...

Stop press.
July 12, 2004... As we went to press, the phone lines were closed and votes were counted to decide the winner of our competition to find The Arable Farmer of the Future 2004. Thank you to over 1,000 readers who sent in their vote. Our finalists were...

Three-year fix for farm-saved seed rates.
July 12, 2004... The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) and the farming unions have agreed payment rates on farm-saved seed for autumn 2004 and spring 2005 plantings. The revised payment rates are part of a three-year agreement between BSPB and the...

Allez PBI.
July 12, 2004... The sale of PBI Seeds' wheat and barley breeding programmes to French company RAGT by Monsanto has been confirmed. Cambridge-based PBI produced varieties such as Maris Otter, Hereward, Consort and newly- Recommended Gladiator. Based at...

Aphid abundance.
July 12, 2004... Aphids are outnumbering ladybirds 120 to one, with the most important virus-carrying Myzus persicae now at "record levels", according to latest aphid trapping and monitoring results. Over 1,200 aphids were caught in water traps at 38 sites...

Smith's Soapbox: D.E.A.D.
July 12, 2004... Judging by the 20,000-plus gate, the Cereals event seems to go from strength to strength. While the Royal and the county shows lose their relevance for the working farmer, Cereals seems to grow in importance. As the subject of soil...

Smith's Soapbox: Badge of honour.
July 12, 2004... Some might think the Victoria Cross is the highest honour. Others aspire to a knighthood or one of the lesser gongs. Me, I'm not brave enough for the VC or important enough for a gong but the other day I received the highest environmental...

Smith's Soapbox: Murky waters.
July 12, 2004... It was very encouraging to hear the Environment Agency announce in May that 98% of our rivers and lakes now teem with fish. Some had up to 14 species in them. It was the best count for a hundred years. Imagine, then, my disappointment when in...

GENETICS: Blue sky plant breeding.
July 12, 2004... What's happening at Rothamsted? Public funding to breed wheat with higher nitrogen uptake efficiency, and oilseed rape with super-robust disease resistance. Alison Lea attended a Science Day to learn about new Defra-funded plant breeding...

POTATOES: Better practice to beat bruising.
July 12, 2004... Bruising is costing growers an estimated #200/ha per year according to results of a survey of growers by the British Potato Council. In a bad year, such as 2003, this figure can rise alarmingly: Last year, a third of growers reported...

POTATOES: Quality is down to team effort.
July 12, 2004... Though 2003 was a memorably bad year for bruising, Russell Smith Farms in Cambridgeshire suffered "hardly any" rejection or deduction problems from its 14 varieties of salad or maincrop potatoes, supplied to retailers such as Waitrose,...

POTATOES: Variety choice and soil temperature are key factors.
July 12, 2004... For the majority of growers already convinced that the issue of bruising requires their attention, the BPC's Minimising Bruising kit pulls together all the very latest agronomic advice. In all, 13 advice guides cover the key factors that...

Keep slugs out of spuds.
July 12, 2004... Last summer's dry conditions gave most potato growers a respite from slug damage, and slug numbers should be lower this year. But don't drop your guard is one agronomist's advice. June rains will have given slugs just the right conditions...

Managing the rape harvest in a challenging year.
July 12, 2004... Expert advice on reducing harvest losses in uneven oilseed rape crops. Only a handful of the rape crops for which ProCam technical agronomist Nick Myers is responsible are uniform this season, with many fields having flowered over at least...

Harvest management: 6-rows must be fit to harvest.
July 12, 2004... Growers are returning gradually to 6-rows, having been put off for several years by unacceptable grain losses through the combine. Yield advances and improved specific weights are luring them back. 6-rows took 15% of the UK winter barley market...

Variety viewing: Wheat.
July 12, 2004... Untreated plots displayed plenty of disease, particularly Septoria, though fungicide programmes appeared to have done a thorough job at keeping treated plots clean. Of the current Recommended List varieties, NIAB's Richard Fenwick said...

Variety viewing: Winter barley.
July 12, 2004... A tour of the RL winter feed barleys was conducted at a canter. "There's a big range, but if you are looking for a 2-row feed, then it's Carat with highest yields and good agronomic package," said Mr Fenwick. If you are a 6-row grower,...

Variety viewing: Spring barley.
July 12, 2004... A fruitful year for spring barley breeding, with eleven Candidates, nine of which have malting potential. The greatest yield advance comes from Wicket (109) from NFC, and Power (Advanta) has impressive untreated yields (114), but Mr Fenwick...

Variety viewing: Oilseed rape.
July 12, 2004... The Cambridge plots towered relative to the two previous years when conditions have limited height. "But the feared lodging in tall Winner is reasonable, and feedback at the Cereals event from growers is that they are content with how it's...

Variety viewing: Real time disease information online.
July 12, 2004... Amongst the wheat variety trial plots is a distinctive group of mini plots of an apparently eccentric collection of varieties, including Brigadier and Longbow. "These plots enable us to track yellow rust incidence and races," explained NIAB...

Variety viewing: Keeping organic seed clean.
July 12, 2004... Organic farming versus cereal seed-borne diseases is a project that aims to tackle the problem of lack of fungal protection on cereal seed in organic farming, which could in turn increase risk of diseases such as bunt and ergot infecting...

Tillage survey: The cultivation culture.
July 12, 2004... A survey looking at the cultivation habits of farmers across the UK shows that there are still many growers out there sticking to traditional plough-based techniques. Dominic Kilburn reports. In total, 58% of arable land is ploughed plough...

Talking Arable with our Borders-based farmer Guy Lee.
July 12, 2004... June 28 It arrived last week, and I have to take my hat off to the Rural Affairs Department because at least I could understand it. `It', of course, is the Single Farm Payment and what arrived is the first estimate of the payment we are to...

Talking Arable with our South Devon-based farmer David Pearson.
July 12, 2004... June 28 June is always a hectic month with so much to be done and so much to go and see. But, with less labour available I now find I have to ration my time away from the farm. Our cereal crops started to be severely affected by the...

TYRES: Low pressure in the field and on the road removes the heat.
July 12, 2004... Michelin says that its new tyre technology could be as big a breathrough as when the radial tyre was first brought into agriculture. Dominic Kilburn finds out why. While Michelin claims that low ground pressure from its new tyre...

XeoBib option available in two sizes.
July 12, 2004... The XeoBib is available now in two sizes as an option when purchasing a new tractor or as a replacement set: VF 520/60 R28 (front) and VF 650/60 R38 (rear). The remainder of the initial range will be rolled out in January 2005 (see table). ...

Bigger ploughs for a smaller market.
July 12, 2004... Agricultural Engineers Association figures suggest that during the past 3-4 years British farms buy around 1,000 new ploughs a year. As average tractor size continues to increase, it stands to reason that the five- furrow and above plough...

Buyer's guide to ploughs.
July 12, 2004... Dowdeswell (01926 812335) Mounted Conventional: DP5 2-5 furrows. Up to 150hp. Prices from #2,229. Mounted Reversible: DP7 fixed furrow width. 4-7 furrows. Up to 260hp. Prices from #9,000. 100 series (both fixed/variable furrow widths). 3-5...

CEREALS 2004: Increasing array of stubble cultivators.
July 12, 2004... Following on from our initial report from Cereals 2004 in the June 28 edition of Arable Farming, here we provide highlights of what visitors to the event found on the machinery lines. There is an ever increasing array of stubble cultivation...

CEREALS 2004: Thought-provoking solutions to grain carting problems.
July 12, 2004... For growers looking for a solution to grain carting this season there were plenty of thought-provoking products on display. Richard Western had a tri-axle chaser bin on display with a capacity of 24t that can be emptied in under three...

CEREALS 2004: Min-till drills for smaller acreages.
July 12, 2004... Farmers who have had to look in awe at large, power-hungry min-till equipment can now jump on the non inversion tillage band wagon with a range of compact drills suitable for tractors around 100hp. Using two rows of serrated disc coulters,...

CEREALS 2004: First trailed sprayer for Househam.
July 12, 2004... Lincolnshire-based Househam marked this year's Cereals event with the launch of the company's first trailed sprayer range, the 3000L AR. Synonymous with self-propelled units, the company says that, with an expanding trailed sprayer market and...

CEREALS 2004: Baler expansion in Farm Force range.
July 12, 2004... Farm Force is expanding its machinery line-up with the Feraboli range of balers. Farm Force will be testing the fixed and variable chamber balers from Feraboli with the aim to distributing these machines as well. There are three versions of the...

CEREALS 2004: All-in-one control box.
July 12, 2004... John Deere had a pre-production version of its ISO Bus terminal on display at the event. Available on the 6020 series tractors from August and later on the 7020 models, the terminal does away with the need for several control boxes for...

CEREALS 2004: Chemical spillage returned to spray tank.
July 12, 2004... The Spillsave portable bund from Yorkshire-based F.J. Banks and Son offers growers an answer to potential chemical spillage when filling the sprayer. Launched at a time when grower, industry and government interest in water pollution from...

Colin Myram's Crop Talk: Septoria problems in wheat.
July 12, 2004... This year looked like being the worst for Septoria for a long time, but the dry second half of May and first half of June has probably saved many advisers much embarrassment and many farmers a lot of money! In some crops there will be...

Slight increase in cereal areas.
July 26, 2004... The total area sown to cereals over the last season shows a slight increase according to the 2004 HGCA Planting Survey. "The results indicate an expansion of wheat and rapeseed area, being partially offset by a reduction in barley...

Arable Farmer of the Future.
July 26, 2004... Congratulations go to North Norfolk grower Kit Papworth pictured having been presented with the Arable Farmer of the Future trophy at this year's Royal Show. Kit, who farms out of L.F. Papworth Ltd., near Aylsham, is featured on page 6 of this...

Bitter taste of sugar reform.
July 26, 2004... Cuts in prices and quotas, offset by partial compensation to growers, are proposed in planned reform of the sugar beet sector. Under the proposal unveiled by Agricultural Commissioner Franz Fischler, the sugar support price will be cut by a...

Birds put at risk by night combining.
July 26, 2004... At the start of harvest, the Game Conservancy Trust asks farmers to watch out for ground-nesting birds. "This is a particularly dangerous time of year for birds that roost in crops at night to protect their chicks from predators," says...

Stop the combine for SFP forms.
July 26, 2004... The barley may be fit, but immediate attention must be given to correspondence from the Rural Payment Agency (RPA), says Paul White of farm property and business consultants Brown & Co. Before the end of July, farmers should receive...

Voluntary Initiative on target.
July 26, 2004... The Voluntary Initiative Steering Group has published its annual report for 2003-2004. The report reveals that the backing of assurance groups was crucial to the success of the VI in meeting key targets. It also provides details of the...

Green light for green schemes.
July 26, 2004... The Chancellor has given Defra the green light to proceed with initiatives like the Entry Level Scheme and the Haskins review of rural policy delivery by increasing its annual budget by #300m. In the Comprehensive Spending Review, he...

BPC monitoring programme to continue.
July 26, 2004... The British Potato Council's aphid monitoring programme, run by the Central Science Laboratory, has been extended for 2004 so that more seed potato growing regions are covered and more traps are included within each region. CSL has...

HGCA website upgrade.
July 26, 2004... Access for growers to HGCA research and market information has been improved by a re-design of its website. The search facility has been improved to allow searches on a keyword for a specific topic or subject area. Other new features...

Oil from soil website.
July 26, 2004... The Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP) at the University of York has developed a new website - www.oilcrop.com - to demonstrate the commercial benefits of non-food applications of oil crops. The project was funded by Defra and is...

Bad year for blossom midge.
July 26, 2004... Financial losses from wheat orange blossom midge (WOBM), could amount to more than #60 million this year - and that is a conservative estimate only of lost yield of approximately one million tonnes, according to the LINK project on the pest....

Organic sugar production ends.
July 26, 2004... British Sugar has announced that it will cease to produce organic sugar. Growers producing for this year will still be paid according to the contract terms, but their beet will be processed with the conventional crop in their nearest...

Smith's Soapbox: Construction of the countryside.
July 26, 2004... My little patch of north-east Essex is known as the Tendring Hundred. Basically it is a peninsula that lies to the east of Colchester bounded by the sea on three sides. The farmers of the Tendring Hundred are not as numerous as they used to be...

Farmer of Future: Face of future farming.
July 26, 2004... What makes the Arable Farmer of the Future? Alison Lea visits the 2004 winner, Kit Papworth who farms in Norfolk, to find out what formed the judges' opinion. Attention to detail, a clear focus on market opportunities, and an ability to...

PROGRESS: The margin squeeze challenge.
July 26, 2004... Against the background of revolutionary changes in farming over the last 30 years, Edward Long looks at a vegetable-growing enterprise which has undergone large-scale transformations. In the mid-1970s, the Emmett family was growing cereals...

SUGAR REFORM: Proposed EU sugar reforms on the table.
July 26, 2004... Details of the proposed changes in the sugar regime have been published giving a clear insight into EU plans. The extent of the proposals is a sudden and shocking alarm call for growers, processors and exporters into the EU. If they are...

SWEET TALK: To spray, or not to spray?
July 26, 2004... I have been considering whether it is worthwhile spraying a fungicide on sugar beet crops this summer or not. Last year so much low value C beet was produced that it actually negated the value of the fungicide control. However, with some...

Full yield potential from fungicide timings.
July 26, 2004... A sugar beet fungicide comparative field scale trial on a Cambridgeshire farm to assess the length of time needed to gain full yield potential from triazoles, shows that at least a seven week harvest interval is needed to utilise the full...

SUGAR BEET: Rhizo resisters - good news for growers.
July 26, 2004... Of the latest crop of sugar beet varieties to be added to the BBRO/NIAB Recommended List, three are rhizomania resistant. Teresa Rush reports. The aerial component of the joint British Sugar/NFU rhizomania survey will take place in August....

Support for a Group 2 seed treatment.
July 26, 2004... The use of a broad spectrum seed treatment for the new Group 2 milling wheat Cordiale is to be fully supported by the variety's breeder CPB Twyford when it is sown this autumn. "A seed treatment offering a combination of Take-all and...

New data confirms early season disease control benefits.
July 26, 2004... According to NIAB cereal pathologist Bruce Napier, this season the seed treatment Baytan significantly reduced levels of yellow rust through March and into April. "On farm, this could widen the spray window and ease pressure on fungicide...

Take-all seed treatment - living up to its promise?
July 26, 2004... A specialist take-all seed treatment was hailed as a major breakthrough at its 2001 launch - but how has it actually performed in practice? We ask a leading seed industry expert. The all-new chemistry of Latitude (silthiofam) came to the UK...

Next generation show their worth.
July 26, 2004... Allied Grain, Masstock Arable and UAP are all trialling the next generation of seed treatments from Bayer CropScience based on new active ingredients JAU, HEC and Ti435 this season. Arable Farming caught up with results to date. BYDV...

Talking Arable with our North Lincolnshire farmer Ambrose Fowler.
July 26, 2004... 11th July 2004 About a month ago we had our annual ACCS inspection. Before the inspector came, we scurried about sweeping out and disinfecting grain bins, making sure everything was bird and rodent proof, and checking all the various...

Talking Arable with our Bedfordshire grower David Felce.
July 26, 2004... 10th July 2004 I think I have now completed the annual `trial season'. It has become a vital part of the farming calendar, in order to gain the necessary information to help us make informed (if not always correct) decisions in an...

ROYAL SHOW: Crop research call for public funding.
July 26, 2004... A need to channel a larger share of public money for plant breeding into crop science. This is one of the main recommendations of a review of investment into plant science, currently being conducted by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences...

EA gives its backing to `well designed' pesticide tax for growers.
July 26, 2004... The Environment Agency supports a pesticide tax provided that it is well designed and the money is recycled back into the farming industry to support more environmental initiatives. This statement was made by EA chief executive Baroness Barbara...

ROYAL SHOW: Lapwing gains two new champions.
July 26, 2004... An East Sussex organic farmer who has reverted arable land to grazing marshes was the winner of RSPB's Lapwing Champion competition 2004. Martin Hole's farm is on the Pevensey Levels, and the meadows were reverted from arable five years...

ROYAL SHOW: Composting clever.
July 26, 2004... Growers interested in on-farm DIY composting can now look at K & K Whistance's Orgamix trailed machine as a mobile option on the UK market. The Orgamix provides the complete composting cycle from crushing and mixing product for the...

ROYAL SHOW: Bomford has cutting edge in Show awards.
July 26, 2004... Bomford was the overall winner of the new implement awards at the Royal Show with the Buzzard hedge cutter. The verge mower with operating widths of 6.5m, 7.25m and 8.0m was also the winner of the general class. Overall weight is just...

ROYAL SHOW: More power available for replacement cutter.
July 26, 2004... Ludlow-based McConnel launched the Power Arm 6500T series bracket- mounted hedge and verge mower as a replacement for its PA5000T machine. The PA6500T is suitable for tractors of 70hp with a minimum tractor weight of 4500kg, and, using the...

ROYAL SHOW: Round baler introduction.
July 26, 2004... The Master series round baler is the latest Italian machinery import from K & K Whistance following on from its previously-launched large square baler. Featuring a 2.2m pick-up, the Master comes in two formats: the SP1200 - 1.2m bale...

New trends appear in sales of power harrows.
July 26, 2004... Steven Vale provides this comprehensive Buyers' Guide to power harrows detailing what is available in the 2.5m-8m sector from the major suppliers. Sales of new power harrows continue to fall as an increasing number of arable units convert...

TRACTORS: Style draws attention to functionality.
July 26, 2004... Czechoslovakian-made Zetor tractors are now adding another attribute to their reputation for basic functionality and reliability - modern styling. Graeme Kirk looks at the company's latest offering, the Proxima range. Zetor tractors have...

TRAILERS: Tow the legal line on weight limits.
July 26, 2004... The busy harvesting season is under way, and whilst combine harvesters are given a final check over, it is also worth sparing a thought for your grain trailers. For example, are you aware of the permissible weights on public roads and of the...

Farm vehicles on the road: The details.
July 26, 2004... If you would like more information, not just on grain trailers, but a whole range of farm traffic vehicles, then you might like to know that Mr Braithwaite has written a 250-page illustrated book. First published in 1985 and updated again this...