Arable Farming articles from October 2005

Arable Farming archives from October 2005

New SOLA.
October 17, 2005... A new Specific Off-Label Approval (SOLA) means that growers can now use the herbicide linuron+ trifluralin herbicide Uranus to control annual meadow grass and other weeds in winter oats. The SOLA was applied for by southern distributor...

Set-aside rate set using last year's data.
October 17, 2005... Defra has announced that set-aside in England will remain at the current rate for the 2005/06 cropping year. The same area should be maintained, regardless of whether the amount of eligible land on your holding has changed, it advises. ...

Biomass 'not viable', says unpublished study.
October 17, 2005... Growing crops for biomass is not economically viable and would have to be heavily subsidised, says an unpublished study commissioned by Defra. The conclusions come just two weeks before the Government's Biomass Task Force, headed by Sir...

Free OSR disease testing with DuPont and AF.
October 17, 2005... Opinions are mixed on the state of this autumn's oilseed rape crop, with some struggling as a result of dry seedbeds or slugs and others getting off to a good start. In either case, the imminent danger is infection from phoma, with the...

ARABLE BRIEFS: FSS jeopardises seed businesses.
October 17, 2005... An unprecedented increase in the percentage of the oilseed rape crop sown from farm saved seed is putting an intolerable strain on the viability of plant breeding and certified seed multiplication businesses. Tim Hirst, seeds director at...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Hit black-grass at 1-leaf.
October 17, 2005... Spraying black-grass at its 1 leaf stage - compared with even just waiting until it has 2-3 leaves - can substantially boost control, independent trials by The Arable Group (TAG) have confirmed. Across winter wheat trials in Suffolk,...

Seed treatment anchors crops better.
October 17, 2005... Winter wheat crops treated with a fluqincon-azole+prochloraz seed treatment are better anchored and could be less prone to lodging, according to new research findings from ADAS. Work by researcher Dr Pete Berry has discovered that the point...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Glittering year for Oxford.
October 17, 2005... Oxford Farming Conference looks to a sparkling future on its Diamond Jubilee, with its theme for the January 2006, 60th Oxford Farming Conference of 'Towards a Sparkling Future'. A "glittering array" of speakers is promised, including the...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Camgrain goes for Grainfarmers.
October 17, 2005... Grainfarmers is to be the new marketing agent for 120,000 tonnes of member grain of Camgrain from harvest 2006. The move brings the total central store tonnage managed by Grainfarmers to almost 0.5 million tonnes. Under the new...

More selective trend in herbicide choice.
October 17, 2005... A 'mood swing', in terms of weed control, is happening, according to Bayer CropScience in its newly-published weed guide. Low dose, highly selective, products have changed the way growers and agronomists view herbicides, and weed management...

Smith's Soapbox: Out of the ether.
October 17, 2005... Farming opinion from Essex-based Guy Smith It is a curious thought that, in the harvest and drilling season, I spend far more time listening to the radio than I do conversing with people from the real world. I often wonder how our views of...

COMPETITION RESULTS: 2005 Milling Wheat Challenge.
October 17, 2005... Through this summer we have run a competition to find the grower who can achieve the best margin over nitrogen costs for a crop of standard specification milling wheat. Here we give the final result. By AF deputy editor Alison Lea and Paul...

OSR DISEASE CONTROL: New option for phoma control.
October 17, 2005... Fungicide options for phoma and light leaf spot control in oilseed rape have been extended this autumn following the approval of prothioconazole for use in the crop. Teresa Rush reports. Manufacturer Bayer CropScience is recommending a...

MARKET OUTLOOK: Upbeat outlook.(Industry Overview)
October 17, 2005... Grainfarmers gives an expert view on commodity markets. Alison Lea reports. "We are powerful in the export market. Malting barley in the UK is a good success story," Elved Phillips, grains group director. "If you take the price now,...

ESSENTIAL GUIDE: CROP STORAGE.
October 17, 2005... In the first of Arable Farming's new `Essential Guide' series we take a timely look at crop storage and provide a comprehensive list of companies offering products and services in this sector. ACP The Sadolins, Lichfield Road, Abbotts...

MARKETING: Brave new world?
October 17, 2005... Delegates at HGCA's Market Outlook conference in London were given plenty of food for thought. Alison Lea summarises. Intervention at breaking point HGCA's economist Julian Bell highlighted serious concerns regarding the potential...

Harvesters in action: Ploeger.
October 17, 2005... Visitors were able to get a close look at the first rubber tracked Ploeger four-row self-propelled potato harvester. Known as the AR-4B, and powered by a 450hp engine, although the wheeled version is still available, the company's Izak van...

Harvesters in action: Amac.
October 17, 2005... The launch of Amac's four-row trailed AXL4 harvester towards the end of last year created quite a stir. Described as a joining together of two of the company's two-row trailed Elite harvesters, the result is two lifting elevators and further...

Harvesters in action: Grimme.
October 17, 2005... Grimme's Tectron 415 continues to attract the crowds wherever it puts in an appearance. Although there are no major changes for next season, the company is currently evaluating a number of Daimler Chrysler Euro 3 engines for inclusion in...

Harvesters in action: AVR.
October 17, 2005... Self-propelled machines might be playing a bigger role, but there is still a market for a trailed two-row machine with 100ha growers. With this in mind, comes a new two-row trailed elevator machine from Belgian- firm AVR. Called the Esprit, it...

Harvesters in action: Dewulf.
October 17, 2005... Dewulf's Potato 4CE four-row self-propelled harvester was due to have put in an appearance at the event. However, it failed to turn up! Although there was no official explanation, it appears that the Dutch contractor owner was simply too busy...

Agritechnica: McCormick.
October 17, 2005... McCormick's three-model range of ZTX tractors will be on show in Landini livery for the first time in Hanover. Known as the Powerfull series, although the three tractors are technically identical to the McCormick ZTX models, the Landini...

Agritechnica: Deutz-Fahr.
October 17, 2005... New tractors from Deutz-Fahr include a new top model in the recently launched K series. Known as the K120, it is the first time that the company has offered a four-cylinder engine in excess of 100hp. Also new for the K series is the...

Agritechnica: Kleine.
October 17, 2005... Most of the recent developments surrounding the self-propelled harvester sector have focused on new 9 and even 12-row versions. However, German sugar beet harvester maker Kleine says not to expect anything but the current 6-row version on its...

Agritechnica: Claas.
October 17, 2005... Covering an area of 4,200sq m, Claas boasts the biggest stand at this year's Agritechnica. What's more, the company is in good spirits following the news that it has already captured a 7.5% share of the German tractor market. Claas hints that a...

Agritechnica: Grimme.
October 17, 2005... Grimme sold 35 of its self-propelled six-row Maxtron 620 sugar beet harvesters this season, bringing the total to 65 units so far. New features for 2006 machines include a new Euro 3 engine. The new 13- litre version (Daimler Chrysler)...

Agritechnica: John Deere.
October 17, 2005... John Deere combine news concerns its Brazilian-made 1450 and 1550 WTS combines, which are now available with the new SII package. The package includes a new 4.85m-wide cutter bar, and multi-coupler quick attachment of all hydraulic/electric...

Agritechnica: Case.
October 17, 2005... A Case IH AFX 8010 combine powered by a new 10.3-litre Euro 3 engine will be on display in Hanover. The rated output of 405hp at 2,100rpm increases to a maximum of 455hp at 1,950rpm - 28hp more than the current version. In addition to a...

Agritechnica briefs: Gallignani loaders.
October 17, 2005... Sigma 4, a Gallignani-owned company, has just signed an agreement to make tractor loaders for both McCormick and Landini. Available in a range of models to suit all tractors in each of the two brands, they will even be finished in McCormick and...

Agritechnica briefs: Self-propelled sprayer.
October 17, 2005... Amazone will reveal a new self-propelled sprayer at the show. Called the SX 4000, and replacing the SF 340, the new model is powered by a 190hp Deutz Euro 3 engine. Fitted with a 4,000-litre tank, all the spray components are from Amazone. The...

Agritechnica: Lemken.
October 17, 2005... Lemken will reveal what is billed as the first 14m-wide cultivator! Called the Gigant 12, the three section machine can be fitted with Smaragd, Compaktor or Rubin cultivation sections. A feature is the way the machine folds for transport. The...

Agritechnica briefs: Rabe cultivator.
October 17, 2005... Rabe will reveal its Combi-Digger cultivator at Agritechnica. Designed to operate directly onto stubbles, although the Field Bird part is not new, the concept of combining this with subsoiler tines is. Offering a working width of 3m, it has a...

Agritechnica: Rabe.
October 17, 2005... Rabe's Aquila drill is a brand new development at the show. Available in 4.5 and 6m versions, it is described as a compact version of the Mega Seed. However, although it uses the same front and rear cultivation sections as the Mega Seed, it...

Agritechnica: Krone.
October 17, 2005... A new Big Pack baler is likely to be a main feature on the Krone stand. Known as the Big Pack 1290 HDP (Heavy Duty Press), it produces bale dimensions of 1.2m wide x 90cm high x 1 to 3.2m long. It is capable of producing bale weights of 500kg,...

Agritechnica brief: Combine header.
October 17, 2005... Varifeed is the name of a new header for CX and CR combines from New Holland. On display for the first time at Agritechnica, the extendable header can be hydraulically extended from 510mm to 1.01m! The result is improved operation in both short...

Agritechnica brief: Glimmer debut.
October 17, 2005... Lemken will reveal the commercial version of its long-awaited Glimmer shallow plough at the show. Available in both 2.8 and 3.85m versions, whilst the 2.8m model is fitted with a single integrated packer, the 3.85m version gets a double packer...

Agritechnica: Grimme.
October 17, 2005... Grimme will launch a universal roller separator for potato harvesters at Agritechnica. Called Vario RS, the patented system allows the operator to hydraulically adjust the space between the rollers as required. Copyright: CMP Information...

Agritechnica: Kverneland.
October 17, 2005... Visitors looking to catch up on all the latest sprayer developments may benefit from a visit to Kverneland's stand in Hall 14, where details of a new weed detection system will be on display. Called Turbo, the technique uses sensor...

Agritechnica: Amazone.
October 17, 2005... Citan is the name of a new trailed grain-only drill from Amazone. Available in 8, 9 and 12m versions, the drill marks a new direction for the German manufacturer. Aimed primarily at east European markets, the company says that even when...

TILLAGE: AMAZONE C-DRILL.
October 17, 2005... Using its experience of mechanical seed drills, Amazone has introduced the C-Drill 300 for its Catros disc and Cenius tine cultivators. This is primarily for rape and grass seed using a land wheel to turn the peg metering wheels that are used...

TILLAGE: VADERSTAD CARRIER DRILL.
October 17, 2005... Vaderstad believes it's 3m mounted Carrier Drill 300 is the way forward for farmers with a smaller arable acreage, not just for cultivating and sowing oilseed rape, but also cereal crops. The mechanical metering unit comes from the Rapid Super...

TILLAGE: SIMBA TINE TOOLBAR ATTACHMENT.
October 17, 2005... Simba has added a tine toolbar attachment to the front of its mounted X- Press shallow disc cultivator. The five ST TerraGrip tines are taken from the Horsch cultivator range with coil spring stone protection. The tines can be fitted with...

TILLAGE: AGRISEM PNEUMATIC SEEDING UNIT.
October 17, 2005... French manufacturer Agrisem had a pneumatic seeding unit attached to its Disc-O-Mulch shallow disc cultivator. This is something they have been offering on their home market for sometime, along with a mechanical seeding unit.The scalloped...

TILLAGE: GREGOIRE BESSON HELIPLOW SUBSOILER.
October 17, 2005... The Heliplow from Gregoire Besson is a subsoiler using a similar principal to the Paraplow with the six bent legs across 3m. The model on show was fitted with hydraulic auto-reset which adds about 15 percent to the price. "This is a...

TILLAGE: PARALLEL LINKAGE FROM SUMO.
October 17, 2005... Sumo demonstrated its `parallel draw-bar linkage' system. Demonstrated on the company's Quatro trailed cultivator it has been designed to remove the `pinching', stress and wear from a cultivator's draw-bar ring. Underneath the conventional...

TILLAGE: SSD SOIL LOOSENER.
October 17, 2005... Quivogne was using the Sous Soleur SSD soil loosener to show what it could do with the heavily stone-infested soils of Bowldown Farms. The six curved subsoiling legs are fitted with reversible points and are shear bolt protected but there is...

STEWARDSHIP: MAKING THE MOST OF ELS.
October 17, 2005... Headland Options In the fourth in our series of monthly ELS management guides, experienced Rural Development Service (RDS) adviser, Geoff Howe and East Midlands-based Masstock Arable Group agronomist, Jim Ferguson of AgSouth look into...

Talking Arable with our Bedfordshire grower David Felce.
October 17, 2005... 30 September 2005 Although it seems a long time ago, we finished harvest here on 11th August, with the Oban spring rape coming off at 8% moisture and a little over a tonne an acre. A reasonable yield equalled by the weight of flea beetle,...

Talking Arable with our North Lincolnshire farmer Ambrose Fowler.
October 17, 2005... 2nd October, 2005 I'm not one for bragging, but I can confidently state, in print, that our harvest results this year were a great improvement on last year's efforts. But then I suspect I am not alone in that claim. We had a tonne bag...