Arable Farming articles from October 2006

Arable Farming archives from October 2006

EU pesticide legislation set to `reduce the risks'.
October 16, 2006... Two new pieces of legislation proposed by the EU will affect the way pesticides are used and soils are managed on UK farms. Defra has published a consultation document on the EU's Thematic Strategy for Pesticides, which will introduce...

Significant shift to Group 4s is `a knee-jerk reaction'.
October 16, 2006... Sales of certified seed this autumn indicate a significant shift into Group 4 feed wheats at the expense of varieties from nabim Groups 1, 2 and 3 - a move that is causing some consternation within the trade. According to Grainfarmers...

Potato supply company Greenvale.
October 16, 2006... Potato supply company Greenvale is introducing what is claimed to be a new potato species to the UK market. Mayan Gold "looks, cooks and tastes like no other potato ever seen on the shelves," claims the company - "and that's because it's the...

Conference call for eastern growers.
October 16, 2006... Key challenges facing farming in 2007 and beyond will be under the spotlight at a major regional conference taking place in November. Biofuels, environmental issues, CAP reform and the single farm payment will be among the topics tackled at...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Sense over energy crop decision.
October 16, 2006... The NFU has said that it is optimistic that the EU will not change its attitude to funding the planting of the energy crop miscanthus. The NFU's team in Brussels met with the Commission after initial proposals ruled out future support...

Arable Post: Keeping water clean.
October 16, 2006... In response to your columnist Guy Smith's comments regarding Anglian Water's contribution to a cleaner environment (AF Sept 4), we would like to point out that it is not our practice to put untreated wastewater into water courses. Mr Smith...

ARABLE BRIEFS: More opt for the SP euro.
October 16, 2006... Many more farmers appear to have opted to receive their second Single Payment in euros than was the case for last year's first payment according to the Clydesdale Bank. The euro/sterling exchange value of the 2006 SP was fixed according to...

Total area of organic land down.
October 16, 2006... The total area of organic and in-conversion land in the UK fell by 8% last year to 619,852 hectares, according to the latest organic statistics from Defra. Of this figure 85, 951 hectares (14%) was in-conversion and 533,902ha (86%) was...

ARABLE BRIEFS: The new `Nix' is out.
October 16, 2006... There are signs at forty years old, of middle age spread in John Nix's The Farm Management Pocketbook. The original 90 pages of data has now swelled to 250 and full of updated budgeting information for the coming year plus gross margin...

Smith's Soapbox: Seeing is believing.
October 16, 2006... Farming opinion from Essex-based Guy Smith I have always been one of those nerdy, doubting types. As a six-year- old I can distinctly remember being taken to one side by my teacher, Miss Moy, and being told to put an end to my campaign to...

Marketing: Positive marketing equals great results.
October 16, 2006... With world wheat prices at their highest for ten years, Philip Wynn suggests that growers need to make better use of `options and futures' if they are to successfully market their crops. Having put my neck on the line this time last year...

Continental column: Poor conditions hamper cereals.(Column)
October 16, 2006... The German ministry of agriculture blames a 1.6% drop in area and poor growing conditions for the 5.1% fall in cereal production to 40.1million tonnes. Winter wheat accounts for 45% of the arable area, and average yields for 2005 are 7.23t/ha....

Continental column: Competition for potato growers.(Column)
October 16, 2006... The Finnish potato sector needs to get its act together if it wants to survive. The warning comes from a work group set up by the country's agricultural ministry, which concludes that average production needs to be increased by at least one...

Continental column: Organic land is up 5% on 2005.(Column)
October 16, 2006... Although there is no information as to the crops grown, we can confirm that the French organic land area currently stands at 513,365 hectares. When you consider that a further 47,473 hectares is in the change-over period, then the total area...

Continental column: 12-year low for cereals predicted.(Column)
October 16, 2006... Early reports from Denmark suggest that this year's cereal production is one of the lowest in the past 12 years. The 8.5 million tonne forecast is 600,000 tonnes lower than last season. Accounting for 675,000 hectares, winter wheat is the most...

Continental column: Green light for GMO barley trial.(Column)
October 16, 2006... The German ministry of agriculture has given the green light for the University of Giessen to start a field trial with GMO summer barley. While the trial concerns an area of just 10sq m, this is the first time permission has been granted for an...

Continental column: Biofuel processing expansion.(Column)
October 16, 2006... The growing demand for alternative fuels in Austria has led to a further five biofuel facilities being built. Bringing the total to 11, they process seed from 1,600 Austrian farms totalling 4,500 hectares of OSR and sunflowers. This produces...

Oilseed rape: Nitrogen use is fuelling OSR biodiesel debate.
October 16, 2006... Question marks have been raised over the viability of growing oilseed rape as a source of biodiesel mainly due to the cost of growing it in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. John Parry looks at work going on to find ways of reducing the crop's...

Conference: High energy prices in store for British potato growers.
October 16, 2006... The British Potato Council is hosting a potato storage conference - PS2007 - for growers to hear the latest in research and keep abreast of developments. Here, in the first of three articles prior to the event, John Parry looks at how...

Talking Arable with our Shropshire-based farmer Arthur Hill.
October 16, 2006... September 29, 2006. Harvest this year seemed to have a long tail to it with almost three weeks in the middle when we did very little combining. However we did manage to bale some useful straw for the stock right behind the combine and the...

Talking Arable From our North Norfolk-based farmer Kit Papworth.
October 16, 2006... October 2, 2006 Harvest finished on the same day as in 2005, despite starting a fortnight earlier. With moistures under 12% in July it was depressing to end up drying over half the crop into store; I am relieved that we pushed hard when it...

Competition: Top Dog double!
October 16, 2006... Our Top Dog Challenge - to find the grower who got the most out of a crop of Robigus this year - produced a deluge of great entries from all over the UK. Two entries, however, were outstanding and their gross margins were so close that we...

Global report: Blue-sky thinking.
October 16, 2006... September 30, 2006 The equinox has come and gone and with it any prospect of a crop this year. The 4000 acres out west is stone motherless dead while the crop here at Parkes is bonzai'd with the lack of rain. Lupin crops are four inches...

New developments: Time to talk (and drill).
October 16, 2006... Drill operators working a tractor without a headland management system will need no reminder that an extra pair of hands is really needed to make the job easier. Rabe is looking to improve the driver's lot with a system where the drill reacts...

Combines: The growing issue of safe combine header transport.
October 16, 2006... As combine outputs have grown so too have cutterbar widths, making combine header transport that bit trickier to achieve. And with header developments heading for 10.5 and even 12m, the issue of safer transport could soon fall under the...

Combines: Rotary range expands further at 30 year mark.
October 16, 2006... Mervyn Bailey reports on the latest Case IH combine developments for next season. Next season Case IH will celebrate 30 years of its Axial Flow rotary combines and will offer its largest harvesting selection for many years in the UK....

Machinery: Power boost addition to six-cylinder tractors.
October 16, 2006... Meeting the latest engine developments has allowed John Deere to update its six-cylinder 100hp to 200hp 6030 and 7030 line up. Mervyn Bailey reports. President and CEO for John Deere Europe, Markwart Von Petz wants 30% market share within...

Machinery: New range of front-end loaders for latest tractor line-up.
October 16, 2006... With these latest generation of tractors there is a new range of loaders.The firm reports that in the last six years their front-end loader business has grown 240% in the UK and Ireland. To improve visibility the valve block has been...

Global view: Farm work is not child's play.
October 16, 2006... Around 70% of the child labour in the world is in agriculture, with children often forced into dangerous work that is beyond their physical capabilities, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. But for some children...