Arable Farming articles from October 2002

Arable Farming archives from October 2002

OSR disease diagnosis for free - and a chance of a prize!(oilsee rape)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Early application is key to getting the best out of fungicide applications to oilseed rape and boosting margins, the experts agree. But disease symptoms can be difficult to identify in early autumn. Testing can provide an indication of the...

Cereal trials new venture.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Agrovista and NIAB have announced a new collaborative venture in cereal trials work. From autumn 2002, NIAB will be carrying out trials for Agrovista at four large experimental sites, looking at a range of fungicides, growth regulators and...

Black-grass control problems widen.
October 22, 2002... Tests by UAP suggest that black-grass resistance is becoming increasingly diverse and more difficult to control. Results from the company's grass weed testing service have recorded more black-grass with Target Site Resistance to fop & dim-based...

Hall Farm becomes LEAF demonstration farmer.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... A Lincolnshire Wolds estate is the latest farm to become a Demonstration Farm for LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming).Hall Farm, Sir Richard Sutton's Settled Estates in Stainton le Vale, near Market Rasen is a 98ha mixed arable and livestock...

The weed seeds lurk below!
October 22, 2002... Early herbicide strategies in oilseed rape are in need of urgent review, particularly if rainfall figures for last month fulfil the Met Office's expectation of the driest September since the 1930s. Alan Bide of agronomy group HAS reckons...

Tigress rate update.(herbicide Tigress Ultra)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Tank mix recommendations for herbicide Tigress Ultra have been updated by manufacturer Bayer CropScience to help farmers bolster performance and give clear guidance on how to operate within the IPU stewardship guidelines. Tank mix...

Arable horizon view.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Arable farmers are invited to attend the NFU's Combinable Crops Conference on October 30 when experts will look at issues likely to affect future production. Speakers have been drawn from Brussels, the grain trade and NFU. Issues to be...

Rivers improving.(in the UK)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Water quality in UK rivers has been improving since 1990, and last year was no exception, according to two sets of recently published figures. Between 1990 and 2001 there was a net improvement in 47% of rivers, so that 94% of rivers now...

Weed read.(The Weed Management Handbook )(Book Review)
October 22, 2002... The Weed Management Handbook is the new title for the totally updated ninth edition of the Weed Control Handbook (1990). This reference book on weed management has been fully rewritten by a team of crop protection specialists and takes account...

NFU harvest estimate.(2002 British wheat and barley harvest to be 21.4 million tonnes)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... The NFU estimates this year's British wheat and barley harvest to be 21.4 million tonnes, 17% above last year's level. With growing conditions more normal after last year's extraordinary weather conditions, the survey gives an average British...

NVZ update.(Nitrate Vulnerable Zones boundaries set out)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... The final field boundaries for the new Nitrate Vulnerable Zones have been designated by DEFRA. To see if your fields are affected, check new maps available on the DEFRA website. If land that you farm falls within an NVZ, you will be...

Shapers, not spectators.(British Potato Council's marketing strategy )
October 22, 2002... The BPC unveiled its marketing strategy for the coming season with a pledge to ensure that levy payers are shapers, not spectators, in the marketplace. Teresa Rush reports. Speaking at the strategy launch meeting in London to an audience...

Letter: Destiny decided in a supermarket trolley.(Letter to the Editor)
October 22, 2002... John Kerr is right (Fragmented we fall. Arable Farming Sept 7) when he says "don't let well meaning, single issue activists dictate policy to misguided politicians". But he fails to recognise the new political reality: politicians do not have...

EU expansion.(price supports in the expanded European Union)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... The crop currently going into the ground will be the last to be marketed in a European community of 15 member states, EC head of cereals, John Bensted-Smith, told delegates. After this, accession countries such as Hungary and Poland will be...

Global influences on the market.
October 22, 2002... Speakers at HGCA's Market Outlook conference at the Mermaid Theatre in London played to a packed house. Alison Lea reports. It will be increasingly important for you to differentiate your crop into quality attributes, HGCA senior economist...

US Farm Bill - Act 1.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... The US Farm Bill - a reaction to the events of September 11th - was passed in May, so its proposals are now beginning to take effect on farms in the US. Professor David Blandford of Penn State University gave conference delegates a valuable...

No compromise for robust grass weed control.
October 22, 2002... Maintaining a robust grassweed control strategy and, at the same time keeping an eye on input costs, has kept in check a growing black-grass problem without compromising yield, quality or budgets. Tom Finchett is estate manager at...

Sowing and just hoping.(malting barley prices a concern)
October 22, 2002... Malting barley growers must act together to fight for a fair price for their malting barley, says Norfolk farmer Teddy Maufe. "Barley is the main constituent in beer; what grapes are to wine, barley is to beer. The maritime climate in the...

Barley take-all seed treatment challenge.
October 22, 2002... There is increasing interest among growers and agronomists in using take-all seed treatments on winter barley as evidence builds of the disease's yield-robbing effect on the crop. ARC trials harvested this autumn, at the end of a season...

Organic sugar.(to be produced by Nordzucker)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Nordzucker, the German sugar processing concern, has just revealed that it has plans to start producing organic sugar during the 2003 campaign. At this stage, it is clear that this will not be major processing as only one production day is...

Russian roulette.(russian grain losses in recent floods)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Whilst we have heard much about the plight of those unfortunate enough to be caught up in the recent floods, little is known of the situation in Russia, where 72 lives were lost. For instance, did you know that something like 130,000...

German catastrophe.(flooding causes UKPd1 bil in crop damages)
October 22, 2002... The recent flooding in many areas of Germany is reported to have cost the arable sector around #1 billion, and is described by the DBY Farmers Union as catastrophic for many arable farmers. According to the Union, although there are no...

Fewer potatoes.(in Czech Republic)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Even though Czech potato growers harvested an average of 20.6t/ha this season, total production fell by 5.3% to around 177,000 tonnes. The main reason for the fall is reported to be a 25% drop in the area grown. For the record, it is not...

Swedish grain.(rose 2% in 2002)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... One of the warmest and driest summers in living memory helped Swedish growers increase total cereal production by 2% this year to 5.5 million tonnes. It is interesting that the total is made up of 1.88 million tonnes of winter wheat, which...

Talking Arable with our South Devon-based farmer David Pearson.
October 22, 2002... October 5th 2002 After a long and frustrating wait we completed harvest on September 28th with a field (4ha) of Bordako lupins. The crop of high protein feed yielded 9t/ha which was just about acceptable. No fertilisers or sprays were used...

LEAF raises its standard in Scotland.(Professor Anthony Trewavas of the Royal Society to speaks out against organic farming. )
October 22, 2002... Alison Lea travelled to Perth to hear what supporters of integrated farm management had to say. Scaremongering about conventional food will frighten people into eating pricier organic food. For those on moderate or low incomes, consumption...

Learning to work land less.(Allerton Trust project manager Alastair Leake)
October 22, 2002... Continuing our series of articles from Loddington estate in Leicestershire, Allerton Trust project manager Alastair Leake explains why, despite boggy autumn weather and increased black-grass headaches, he is sure it was the right decision to...

Talking Arable with our Borders-based farmer Guy Lee.
October 22, 2002... 7 OCTOBER 2002 I was reminded of the Monty Python `Four Miners' sketch recently: The four miners sat round a table drinking an expensive bottle of claret and complaining how tough life had been when they were young and working. "That's...

Cultivation technology in action.(at Tillage 2002)(Industry Overview)
October 22, 2002... Tillage 2002, at Harlton, Cambridgeshire, provided an opportunity to review the latest cultivators, drills and management techniques in operation. Geoff Ashcroft reports. Deere used Tillage to demonstrate its GPS-based AutoTrac assisted...

Buyer's Guide to sugar beet harvesters.(Buyers Guide)
October 22, 2002... With the lifting season well under way, Dominic Kilburn compiles a guide to sugar beet harvesters. Agrihold Farm Machinery UK, New Agricentre, Mill Lane, Great Massingham, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE32 2HT. Tel: 01485 520318 Agrifac WKM...

Time for T as mid-range tractors are unveiled.
October 22, 2002... Finnish tractor manufacturer Valtra has introduced its mid-range T Series tractors. Dominic Kilburn reports from the launch site in Hungary. You could be forgiven at first glance for thinking that Valtra's new T Series was actually its...

The clean and gentle approach.(Standen Engineering, potato harvesters)
October 22, 2002... Copyright: CMP Information Ltd. In what is turning out to be one of the driest potato harvests for years, Dominic Kilburn rounds up the latest in potato machinery developments. As AF goes to press we are experiencing one of the driest...

Amac on rubber tracks for the first time.(Dutch agricultural equipment manufacturer)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Grimme has had one for some time, but the use of rubber tracks on potato harvesters is a first for Dutch manufacturer Amac. In fact, the firm is currently in the process of shipping the first two machines to the UK. The two are based on...

Three-stage cleaning and separation.(potato harvesting equipment)
October 22, 2002... Richard Pearson is launching the Enterprise TRIPLE 3, two-row high capacity potato harvester featuring a new three-stage cleaning and separation system. The first stage, known as VertiCam star separation, removes the need for a haulm roller...

Toppers added to Baselier imported range.(potato cultivators)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Potato toppers have been added to the range of Baselier cultivators imported by Standen Reflex. Two models are offered; with an angled cross conveyor delivering tops to the side (SD), or an `Integrated Design' model (ID) with deflectors to...

Flexible machines.(harvesting and soil conditions)
October 22, 2002... Soil conditions very often vary within the same field. What's more, following a wet spell some areas dry out a lot quicker than others. With this in mind, there is currently a lot of interest in cleaning systems that provide the possibility to...

Stuck in the mud!(harvesting and soil conditions)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2002... Manufacturers of self-propelled potato harvesters often boast that they can keep going in even the worst conditions. Whilst they may be able to keep going that much longer than a trailed machine, as our picture on the right clearly shows there...

Double output at fraction of cost.(harvester/windrowers)
October 22, 2002... Converting an existing potato harvester into a windrower, rather than purchasing an additional harvester, has almost doubled output at a fraction of the cost for Scottish grower Graham McEwan, who lifts 540 acres of seed and ware potatoes at...