Arable Farming articles from November 2003

Arable Farming archives from November 2003

Atlantis - at last.
November 18, 2003... Those of you battling with grass weeds can heave a collective sigh of relief. The Advisory Committee on Pesticides has finally said "yes" and supplies of Bayer CropScience's much-vaunted sulfonylurea graminicide Atlantis are winging their way...

Bleak picture after decoupling.
November 18, 2003... One-third of arable farmers could quit production as a result of forthcoming changes to the Common Agricultural Policy, according to a new study. The study by the National Farm Research Unit and farm business consultants Andersons paints a...

NFU takes `difficult decision' to support historic option.
November 18, 2003... The NFU has told the government that it supports the historic option for making support payments to farmers under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy. In a response to DEFRA's consultation on how to implement the recently- agreed...

More global view for malting.
November 18, 2003... It's not enough to understand the domestic markets. Britain's malting barley growers are increasingly looking at the global market to help them get a better understanding of how the market could affect their own crops. This was one of the...

Set-aside to shrink.
November 18, 2003... EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler is proposing to reduce set- aside by half to help offset the effects of this summer's poor harvest. Commissioner Fischler says he will be proposing a reduction in next year's set-aside area from...

Dried out.
November 18, 2003... As much as one third of the winter-sown oilseed rape crop has been affected in what the Met Office has said is the driest year on record. The survey, taken at the NFU's Combinable Crops Conference in Peterborough on October 29, found that...

Apply for stewardship.
November 18, 2003... The Countryside Stewardship scheme has opened for the last time. The earlier closing date of 31 March 2004 is to allow DEFRA time to prepare for the introduction of the new Environmental Stewardship scheme with an 'entry level' and a 'higher...

Winning customer confidence.
November 18, 2003... The 58th Oxford Farming Conference entitled `Winning customer confidence' and scheduled for the 5-7th January 2004, promises to be a hotbed of debate. Under the spotlight at the Oxford Union is the role of retailers. The debate will address the...

An all-time high.
November 18, 2003... HGCA's Quality Survey has confirmed that this year's harvest was the best on record. Specific weight, Hagbergs and proteins all showed results above 3-year averages and, in many instances, the highest ever recorded. "A very large...

Establishing wheat after a potato crop.
November 18, 2003... Winter wheat coming up after potatoes at Lower Farm, Tuttington, near Norwich in Norfolk. Grower and Talking Arable columnist Kit Papworth of LF Papworth Ltd., says they have developed a system dubbed `max-till' (since there is nothing `min'...

Book offer.
November 18, 2003... Kemira GrowHow has produced a major new reference book for arable growers. The Arable Handbook 2003/2004 has been prepared by the company's technical team drawing on independent and in-house trials data to provide up to the minute reference to...

Machinery shows.
November 18, 2003... Two forthcoming opportunities to get a close look at farm machinery: The first is Agco's event at Bingley Hall, Stafford showground when 100 different machines, representing at least one model from every range in AGCO's farm equipment goes...

Correct date.
November 18, 2003... The correct date for the start of the closed period for the application of bagged fertiliser in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones is September 1, not August 1 as published in the NVZ Advice column (p13 of the October 21 issue of Arable Farming). ...

Smith's Soapbox: Freak weather again.
November 18, 2003... I am always loathe to moan about the weather as I am very conscious of the fact that I do it so often. This constant blaming of the weather for the poor state of my farm reminds me of the proverb "If you don't like the heat get out of the...

Smith's Soapbox: Barn half empty.
November 18, 2003... Selling crops into a permanently rising market brings out one's personality. We have now sold about 50% of the harvest and of course I wish I still had it all in the barn. Merchants are now cursed for ringing me up in recent months and talking...

Smith's Soapbox: Welcome to the funny farm.
November 18, 2003... Having done a bit of travelling abroad and seen for myself how GM herbicide tolerant crops make weed control much easier I have always thought the sooner we have this technology on our farms the better. I can only shake my head in disbelief...

Talking Arable with our Cambridgeshire grower David Felce.
November 18, 2003... 24 October 2003 As the `new kid on the block', I thought my first article ought to provide some background information, so here goes: I have lived at Midloe Grange Farm all my life, my father and uncle having bought the farm in 1954....

FUNGICIDES: Strob resistance marches on.
November 18, 2003... Results from 2003 monitoring programmes reveal that resistance to strobilurins has spread rapidly. Teresa Rush reports. Strobilurin resistance in UK Septoria tritici populations has spread quickly this season. Furthermore, concerns are...

FRAC guidelines for use of QoI fungicides on cereals.
November 18, 2003... 1. Apply QoI fungicides always in mixtures with non-cross resistant fungicides to control cereal pathogens. At the rate chosen the respective partner(s) on its/their own has/have to provide effective disease control. Refer to manufacturers'...

FUNGICIDES: Spray shed clear out.
November 18, 2003... A Voluntary Initiative campaign aims to help farmers dispose of old and unapproved crop protection products. Teresa Rush reports. What's on the 'to do' list for November. Spraying - probably, lifting sugar beet - possibly. Here's a...

CONSERVATION: Harnessing conservation schemes to run in harmony.
November 18, 2003... The Countryside Stewardship scheme will be overlaid in 2005 by the Entry Level Scheme. Alison Lea finds out how to prepare to run the two in tandem on your farm. This year, the art of preparing a Countryside Stewardship application will be...

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT: Egypt.
November 18, 2003... HGCA's British Cereal Exports is currently working with Egypt as part of a drive to establish markets outside the European Union and increase the marketability of UK grain in areas such as North Africa and Asia. "North Africa is one of our...

Egypt's wheat market.
November 18, 2003... With its production limited and one of the highest per capita consumption figures, Egypt is one of the world's major importers of wheat. In 2002/03 Egypt imported an IGC estimated 6.4 million tonnes with only Brazil importing more. The...

EGYPT: Country profile.
November 18, 2003... Egypt has a population of over 69 million and although only two per cent of land is used for agriculture, employment in this sector accounts for nearly 30 per cent. With the population growth rate increasing and limited agricultural area, the...

2nd Wheat: All Barr this one.
November 18, 2003... Agronomy company Farmacy teamed up with several companies to conduct 2nd wheat trials on a Lincolnshire farm. Alison Lea attended a presentation of results. The cautionary phrase "don't jump to conclusions" applies in spades for trials...

SOIL CONFERENCE: Min-till Uber alles.
November 18, 2003... Such is the belief in the benefits of min-till in Germany that, in 50% of federal states, farmers can now receive E80-150/ha for conservation tillage or no-till crop establishment. Professor Friedrich Tebrugge said that 24 years of data from...

SOIL CONFERENCE: Government soil protection incentives.
November 18, 2003... Some new carrots and sticks for improving soil management will come into play over the next few years. These were set out by DEFRA policy adviser Roger Unwin: * Entry Level Scheme. Scheduled for roll out nationally in 2005, the scheme will...

Soil conference: It's soil said Jim, but not as we knew it.
November 18, 2003... SMI farmer member and Arable Farming columnist, Jim Bullock, who farms 300ha of clay loam in Worcestershire, provided an insight into the triumphs and trials of putting theory into practice. Though a desire to improve soils helped to nudge...

Voluntary Initiative: Assuring the VI.
November 18, 2003... Key assurance scheme administrators for the arable sector have included the Voluntary Initiative's National Register of Sprayer Operators (NRoSO) scheme as part of their annual farm audits. Dominic Kilburn explains what this means to growers...

NRoSO reminder!
November 18, 2003... Members are required to collect a minimum of 30 continuing professional development (CPD) points from activities registered with NPTC (National Proficiency Tests Council) over the three years of membership to meet the following requirements:...

GM crops: Conventional beet and spring OSR is rated better for wildlife.
November 18, 2003... Results from the government's Farm Scale Evaluation of genetically modified herbicide tolerant crops have been published. Teresa Rush reports. It may have been "essentially, a herbicide trial", as one scientist put it but it was a ground...

Talking Arable.
November 18, 2003... From our North Norfolk-based farmer Kit Papworth of L. F. Papworth Ltd, Lower Farm, Tuttington, Norwich. We will clearly have to pay for this. On April 24 I wrote that our spring work had been completed without a rain delay. In August I...

TRACTORS: Powerful presence in 7000 Series.
November 18, 2003... Howard Walsh reports on John Deere's new 7020 Series tractors featuring its most powerful 7000 Series machine ever built. John Deere's new 7020 Series tractors feature new engines, sloping bonnets, a new modular frame design, a larger cab...

Tractor lines above 160hp.
November 18, 2003... Visitors to this month's German Agritechnica machinery show were rewarded with an abundance of new tractor launches. As promised, McCormick unveiled commercial versions of its first 200hp tractors (ZTX). The show also provided the first...

SAFETY: Time to take stock of farm safety.
November 18, 2003... The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises farmers in the arable sector of the dangers of vehicle movements, machinery blockages and overhead power lines. The single biggest cause of fatal accidents on farms over the last 10 years has...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Min-till sweetener.
November 18, 2003... A pneumatic 12-row Herriau precision drill is now available from Standen Reflex as a special, purpose-built model for minimal-tillage sugar beet drilling applications. The Herriau Turbosem TS12-VS features a heavy-duty mainframe and a...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Standard and premium telehandlers from Deere.
November 18, 2003... John Deere is looking at the potential market for a three point linkage on its telescopic handlers although at this stage there are no firm plans to emulate the Merlo concept. For the time being, Deere's target of 20 per cent-plus of the...

BACK CHAT: Biofuels booted out by hot air?
November 18, 2003... Just when we see a glimmer of hope for the future of British agriculture as producer of biofuels, it seems the world is already looking beyond: Author of e=mc2 David Bodanis champions hydrogen as the fuel of the future. "It causes the least...

BACK CHAT: Fenland vision.
November 18, 2003... Those of us in the east love to go on about just how dry our region is and with near desert-like conditions some of us have experienced this year, perhaps we have a point. Strange, then, that our part of the country is also particularly rich in...