Arable Farming articles from November 2006

Arable Farming archives from November 2006

No payment guarantees for agri-environment schemes.
November 20, 2006... Farmers in England who sign up to agri-environment schemes at the start of next year will do so without any guarantee of receiving payments. Existing agreements will not be affected by the delay to England's next Rural Development...

Complying with conservation.
November 20, 2006... The concept of Conservation Agriculture was promoted at the recent BCPC conference at Glasgow as the best way to comply with the current Water Framework Directive and with the Soil Framework Directive that is due to follow. Conservation...

Keep an eye on phoma threat.
November 20, 2006... Oilseed rape growers are being alerted to the potential need for a two- spray approach to phoma control this autumn.Disease came into crops very early and was already present at the cotyledon stage, says Mike Ashworth of DuPont. He warns that...

A fresh start for the levy boards.
November 20, 2006... Consultants Accenture have been commissioned to gather preliminary views from levy payers and interested parties to feed into the process for the restructuring of the levy boards. Questionnaires for producer and processor levy payers to give...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Beet monster DVD.
November 20, 2006... Growers with a keen interest in beet harvesters old and new need look no further than a newly-released DVD entitled: `Monsters of the beet field - the story of the sugar beet harvester'. Using contemporary, archive and manufacturers' footage,...

Arable Post: Variety choice criticism is `unfair'.
November 20, 2006... I felt like replying to the comments of Mr Hirst, Grainfarmers Arable seeds director, in the article: Significant shift to Group 4s is 'a knee-jerk reaction' (Arable Farming, October 16, 2006). I fully understand that a shift out of the...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Fly-tipping guide.
November 20, 2006... A guide to help landowners and farmers prevent illegal fly-tipping on their land has been published by the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. More than one million fly-tipping incidents were recorded in the last year, costing an...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Pesticide manual.
November 20, 2006... The fourteenth edition of The Pesticide Manual, and the fully searchable CD version, The e-Pesticide Manual are now available from BCPC (British Crop Production Council). The Pesticide Manual book is available now priced at #220. The...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Counterfeit pesticides concern.
November 20, 2006... Up to a fifth of pesticides sold in the EU could be fake or not approved for sale in Europe, according to the European Crop Protection Authority. It claims counterfeit insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are being smuggled, mainly from...

Smith's Soapbox: Armageddon, or just a change in the weather?
November 20, 2006... Farming opinion from Essex-based Guy Smith I realise nowadays that being `in denial' about global warming is a form of mental incapacity (either that or being in the pay of the oil companies). Even so, my untamed cynicism gets the better of...

Talking Arable with our Cambridgeshire grower David Felce.
November 20, 2006... October 31, 2006 The exceptionally mild autumn along with some welcome rain has meant that crops of wheat and rape have established well and are looking very good at the moment, albeit at the expense of what is inevitably `soft' growth....

Policy: CAP: More bang for the buck?
November 20, 2006... The CAP is a complex affair at the best of times and as the European Community continues to grow there will be an increased focus on its simplification. Philip Wynn explains where we are with the CAP today and what key adjustments we can expect...

Pulses: More peas please!
November 20, 2006... John Parry meets a pulse processor who is urging growers not to abandon them in favour of wheat. The opportunity to supply the massive demand for quality UK peas and beans will be missed if growers continue to drop the crops in favour of...

Taking to the road.
November 20, 2006... PGRO is hitting the road in January with a series of meetings to promote the benefits of peas and beans to old and new growers in the face of increasingly stiff competition from oilseed rape and wheat. Among the growers being targeted are...

No more a `hit or miss' crop.
November 20, 2006... New varieties have moved pulses on from the `hit and miss' crops of 10- 20 years ago, claims Anthony Biddle. "They are yielding 20-25% more, with good disease resistance and as good a standing ability at harvest as it is possible to...

Beans take a battering from bruchid.
November 20, 2006... The unusually high levels of bruchid beetle that caused damage to many bean crops in 2006 resulted in high screening levels and the loss of quality premiums. "Bruchid has been bruising for growers and processors," says Anthony Biddle. ...

Spring cropping: Better returns from spring barley?
November 20, 2006... Think winter wheat is your most profitable cereal? Maybe it's time to think again? Recent price rises could see spring malting barley giving improved returns. O Be sure to assess your combinable crop options carefully for drilling between...

Talking Arable with our North Lincolnshire farmer Ambrose Fowler.
November 20, 2006... November 1, 2006 Imagine the scene in Lord Haskins' cosy office as he sits wondering what to do for an afternoon. Suddenly the idea comes to him to unite English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and parts of the Rural Development...

Potato storage: Sowing the seeds for successful storage.
November 20, 2006... In the second of our potato storage features as we look ahead to January's BPC Potato Storage 2007 event, John Parry talks to one expert who believes that key management decisions should be considered at every stage of the production, storage...

Biofuels: Supplying feedstock for the biofuels of the future.
November 20, 2006... The use of land for `food or fuel' debate is becoming more prominent by the day as the UK gears itself up for biofuel production from home- grown crops. Here, Dr Ian Shield from Rothamsted Research, looks at the efficiencies of fuel crops and...

Farming in Poland: Efficiency drive key to beating subsidy cuts.
November 20, 2006... Since joining the EU Poland has embarked on a modernisation programme to shake off its stuffy state-owned farm image and renew its machine park. In this, the first of a two-part series, Steven Vale outlines the Polish arable scene and visits a...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Three-row potato harvester breaks with convention.
November 20, 2006... Standen's new three row potato harvester - the T3 - has been put through its paces this season and is reported to have fulfilled all expectations. Andy Collings reports. According to Standen Engineering's marketing director, Alex Mathias,...

Standen's new bed cultivator.
November 20, 2006... Standen Engineering has designed and developed a new bed cultivator which, it claims, is able to work at higher rates than other machines and require less power to operate. For those who run bed-tillers which seem to need all the power a...

Machinery: Five-model line-up for expanding market.
November 20, 2006... Claas is planning to update its entire tractor line up in the next three years and the starting point is the additional Axion 800 range. A lightweight tractor with a long wheelbase, which Claas says is what farmers want in a 200hp tractor....

Global view: Reduction in exports as Romania joins the EU.
November 20, 2006... Romania is set to join the European Union on January 1, but grain prices which are already well above the EU's intervention levels mean Romanian farmers aren't likely to make much use of the intervention system, according to US officials in...