Arable Farming articles from September 2006

Arable Farming archives from September 2006

Crop Comment: Biofuel number crunching.
September 4, 2006... Most of us share a fascination with numbers, especially very big ones. And we divide fairly neatly between a small group of nerdy types (like me) who are always quoting this or that statistic, and more normal people who will pause, say...

Crop Comment: GM potato trials in 2007.
September 4, 2006... BASF's recent application to the UK Government for permission to conduct field trials of genetically modified potatoes in the UK in 2007 - is the first application relating to potatoes since 2003. The company said late last month that it...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Low dormancy opportunity.
September 4, 2006... Black-grass seeds have a low dormancy this autumn, which will give growers the opportunity to decrease numbers in the crop by allowing maximum germination and spraying off prior to drilling. "This year looks like providing a good...

Crop Comment: New conference highlights potato storage issues.
September 4, 2006... The British Potato Council is hosting a new Potato Storage conference to help growers, agronomists and other industry representatives benefit from the latest research and keep abreast of developments. Potato Storage Conference 2007...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Kinto oat approval.
September 4, 2006... The approval of Kinto (triticonazole+prochloraz) seed treatment for use on winter oats will be a welcome addition to the fungicide armoury for a crop with a growing market demand in the UK, says BASF. Kinto is approved for use on winter oats...

ARABLE BRIEFS: Happy ELS Birthday?
September 4, 2006... Since the introduction of environmental stewardship schemes a year ago, almost 3.2 million hectares has now been signed up for, either Entry Level, Higher Level or Organic Entry Level Stewardship. Defra has a target uptake of 45% of available...

Crop Comment: Look to the positive changes for sugar.
September 4, 2006... The so called `positive' changes for sugar beet growers agreed in the IPA announced last month should not be forgotten amidst dismay over the compensation package for disenfranchised growers. That was the message from NFU chief sugar...

Smith's Soapbox: Murky waters.
September 4, 2006... Farming opinion from Essex-based Guy Smith I have long been of the view that farmers should get more involved in monitoring the ecology of their farms rather than accept the assumptions and generalisations of others. Debates about the state...

Smith's Soapbox: Fifty years of combines.
September 4, 2006... Just as I was feeling very smug about having finished combining the wheat by Friday August 11, someone went and spoilt it all by suggesting it proved I had excess combine capacity on my tiny farm which meant I had failed to optimise my fixed...

Potatoes: Two tank mixes, twice a season key to aphid control.
September 4, 2006... From practical agronomy issues through to applied research - there was plenty for potato growers to hear and see at Potatoes in Practice, held at Gourdie Farm, Invergowrie, Dundee. The event was organised by the Scottish Crop Research Institute...

Potatoes: Skin spot options.
September 4, 2006... With the possibility of the most effective fungicide for controlling potato skin spot being withdrawn next year, an SAC trial, part-funded by the BPC, is evaluating seed treatments for the control of the disease. "After the end of December...

Potatoes: Take care with glyphosate.
September 4, 2006... Care is required when spraying glyphosate near seed potato crops, growers attending PiP were told.Dr Ken Davies, SAC said that the SAC crop clinic received many cases each year of potatoes that either hadn't grown or grew in a distorted manner....

Potatoes: Seeking solutions to common scab.
September 4, 2006... With water becoming an increasingly scare resource, scientists at SAC are looking at a novel way of controlling common scab without irrigation but rather using products such as rapeseed meal. "Water is the way to control common scab, there is...

Continental column: Warnings over Italian drought.(Column)
September 4, 2006... This year's drought, the worst in 30 years, has already caused an estimated #300 million of losses to the Italian farm sector. That is the claim from Coldretti, the country's most important farm association, which adds that the arable...

Continental column: Polish harvest losses substantial.(Column)
September 4, 2006... Although the full results have yet to become apparent this season's drought is reducing arable incomes Europe-wide. Take Poland where harvest losses already top the #100 million. However, with grain output reported to be down by 10-20%, the...

Continental column: Belgium ponders farming future.(Column)
September 4, 2006... The continuing trend towards larger farming enterprises is not just limited to the UK. Belgium, for instance, where the total number of farms continues to drop at an alarming rate as provisional figures for this year show that the number is...

Continental column: Early French OSR figures.(Column)
September 4, 2006... The French OSR area might have been up by 8% this year but early figures suggest production will be similar at 4.5 million tonnes. The country's economic statistics bureau blames the combined effects of heat and drought, which in many cases has...

Continental column: Drop in Dutch sugar content.(Column)
September 4, 2006... Things could still change between now and lifting, but the combined effects of heat and drought look set to reduce the sugar content in the Dutch beet sector by an average of 5% on last year's record level. That is the message from the...

Weed control: Less flexibility, more cost?
September 4, 2006... New restrictions on the use of certain groups of grass weed herbicides will not have a massive impact for most growers in terms of weed control but may limit the flexibility of herbicide programmes and increases costs, agronomists are...

Autumn weed control: DFF out on its own.
September 4, 2006... Diflufenican is probably best known as a mixer partner in co-formulated herbicides - with flufenacet in Liberator, flurtamone in Bacara and isoproturon in Javelin Gold, for example. But that's all set to change with the introduction this autumn...

Talking Arable with our North Lincolnshire farmer Ambrose Fowler.
September 4, 2006... August 17, 2006 Harvest was progressing at an uninterrupted rate but we have now ground to a rather wet standstill with a small area of wheat remaining to be cut. With no barley this year we plunged into rape which as usual had all been...

Soils - At the heart of arable profits.
September 4, 2006... Philip Wynn, head of Aubourn - the agribusiness division of Savills, says that the key to harvest success has become far more complicated and, with confusion between the Soil Protection Reviews and the Soil Management Plans, it is important to...

Cultivations: Re-establishing soil organic matter.
September 4, 2006... Halting the decline and attempting to re-build soil organic matter levels is an important task. Re-establishing them can mean improved soil quality and better crop performance. Jim Bullock sheds some light on how to assess soil organic matter...

Cultivations: National study underlines min-till benefits.
September 4, 2006... Minimum tillage definitely speeds-up cultivations while cutting establishment costs. It also improves both the timeliness of cultivations and soil structure. And it delivers these benefits with relatively few drawbacks. In addition, growers...

Talking Arable with our Cambridgeshire grower David Felce.
September 4, 2006... August 17, 2006 With the usual excellent help from `The Crockets', we finished harvest here at Midloe on August 9, with the winter beans. We actually finished wheat on July 25, the earliest since 1976. That year, we had added two more 40t...

Pests: `Think rat' to manage rodent control problem.
September 4, 2006... Growers need to adopt a fresh behaviour-led approach to controlling rats and mice if they are to achieve the levels of control and environmental security required today, warns aleading independent pest control expert. "Rodent control is...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Header offers flexible options.
September 4, 2006... Biso has extended its combine cutterbar range to give a closer shave. Joining the Crop Ranger Highline that has been marketed by Abrey and Son since 2002 is the Premium and Premium Plus versions. The latter has a flexible cutterbar that...

Combines: Combine tracks can reduce subsoiling cost.
September 4, 2006... Combine manufacturer Claas claims that tracks on their machines can reduce following cultivation costs considerably. Andy Collings reports on this latest research and, opposite, on the company's new line up of harvesters for 2007. Claas...

Combines: Greater capacity from new combine line-up.
September 4, 2006... For a major combine manufacturer it has become almost expected that each year brings forth a new model or a new development for the market to peruse and consider. And no exception to this rule is Claas which has managed this year to expand...

Machinery: Up front support.
September 4, 2006... The combination of a wide header and large grain tank might provide top end combine harvesters with a high capacity but the downside is the extra weight on the front axle and increased ground compaction. One possible solution is to fit support...

Global view: China grows more wheat for a shrinking market.
September 4, 2006... The world's grain traders have long hoped increased population and growing affluence would one day make China a major importer, but that very affluence is driving wheat consumption lower, just as China's farmers are increasing production. ...

A little tractor levy?
September 18, 2006... Farmers are being asked to consider a voluntary levy to promote the Little Red Tractor.The logo, run by Assured Food Standards (AFS), currently relies on support from major retailers and other brands to raise its public profile. But NFU...

New name in grain.
September 18, 2006... Grainfarmers Arable Ltd is the new name for the joint Grainfarmers and UAP nationwide seed, fertiliser and crop protection inputs distribution alliance. The change has been made to meet the terms of an agreement signed when UAP's...

Triazole efficacy under the spotlight.
September 18, 2006... The efficacy of triazoles against Septoria tritici has eroded to the point where much higher doses are now required to achieve adequate disease control, with some of the less effected triazoles even a full label dose does not give adequate...

Is your seed safe?
September 18, 2006... Growers looking to farm-save seed from crops that were late and may have been affected by the weather are being advised to make sure that they are of a good enough quality for the job. TAG consultant Peter Brumpton says that most samples...

Every sector to benefit from bioenergy.
September 18, 2006... Every farming sector stands to benefit from new opportunities in the bioenergy sector, said NFU president Peter Kendall, as he called on the Government to show more commitment to the burgeoning sector. In a series of speeches over the...

IN BRIEF: Summer tractor sales.
September 18, 2006... UK Agricultural Tractor Registrations for the month of August were 1187 units, a -2.9% change on the same period last year. The year to date figure stands at 10,132 units, a +2.2% change from 2005, reports the Agricultural Engineers'...

IN BRIEF: Biomass contract.
September 18, 2006... NIAB has been contracted by Defra to carry out a research project looking at variety evaluation with biomass crops. The research will review currently available data on the performance of varieties of crops grown for biomass and will examine...

IN BRIEF: Waste website.
September 18, 2006... A website has been launched to disseminate information from the Agricultural Waste Plastics Collection and Recovery Programme. The Defra funded project aims to research the economics and practicalities of collecting and recycling all farm...

Safe haven for sewage sludge.
September 18, 2006... Food poisoning bugs in sewage sludge spread on fields are destroyed so quickly that they pose practically no risk, said researchers presenting at the Society for General Microbiology's 159th meeting, in York last week. Applying treated...

IN BRIEF: Swedish grain down.
September 18, 2006... A sizeable drop in the area and a cold and dry start to the year are blamed for a 13% drop in Swedish grain output this year. This year's production of 4.4 million tonnes is not only well down on last year's five million tonnes, but is the...

IN BRIEF: Winter wheat guide.
September 18, 2006... With the company's wheat varieties now accounting for about 50% of the UK crop, seed breeder Nickerson has released a `sowing guide to winter wheat' showing the best time to sow each variety in their wheat portfolio. The guide gives advice on...

Smith's Soapbox: In praise of the indolence.
September 18, 2006... Farming opinion from Essex-based Guy Smith I have always been an expert at justifying indolence on the grounds that there is a creative master-plan behind my desire to loaf. For instance I have always brought my children up with what I call...

Smith's Soapbox: Sampling.
September 18, 2006... We have rather a mix of moistures in the store ranging from 13-17%. With a determination not to dry anything this harvest the challenge is to blend wet and dry to achieve a 15% mean. The first loads to go out have had varying success. One load...

Harvest review: Below average performance from six-row candidates.
September 18, 2006... Although there were generally no disappointing performances among the winter wheat varieties, six row barleys and oilseed rape candidates failed to provide any exciting results in the HGCA Recommended List variety trials. Joanna Baker takes a...

Organic: Call for tougher testing of organic seed.
September 18, 2006... More than 50 growers of organic vegetables attended an Open Day at Pembridge, close to Herefordshire's border with Wales, earlier this month commencing with specialist workshops hosted by experts in weed, pest and disease control. The event was...

Organic: Focus on bird and rabbit damage.
September 18, 2006... Although many growers focus on the damage done to crops by insect pests, large pests such as birds and rabbits can often inflict the most economic damage. The point was made by HDRA's Anton Rosenfeld, who added: "However, cabbage aphids were...

Organic: Zero tolerance not always needed.
September 18, 2006... Weeds in organic vegetable systems need to be managed because they compete with crops, often impede harvest operations and can reduce crop quality through contamination. However, weeds may also have beneficial roles to play, HDRA's Gavin Davies...

Organic: Open Day host farm.
September 18, 2006... The Leen is a fertile 240ha farm in the Arrow Valley, between Leominster and the Welsh border, devoted to dairying and organic vegetable production. Arrow Organic Vegetables is run by Matthew Murton, said that the system he has developed...

Sugar beet: A sweet challenge ahead?
September 18, 2006... Philip Wynn of Aubourn, concedes that trying to understand future returns for sugar beet growers is a complex subject but one that has to be clarified before individual decisions on the crop can be made. Emotions have run high these last...

Oilseed rape: Reducing OSR disease threat.
September 18, 2006... With high disease pressure in 2005/06 and oilseed rape plantings predicted to increase this autumn, what are the implications for the health of the new season's crop? Teresa Rush put the question to oilseed rape disease expert Dr Peter...

Continental column: German potato slump.(Column)
September 18, 2006... Provided the experts are correct then German potato production is forecast to slump to less than 10 million tonnes this season, the lowest level in recent times. That is the message from the country's ZMP marketing bureau, which predicts a...

Continental column: Drought impact on Spain.(Column)
September 18, 2006... Whilst many North European arable farms have suffered a period of extreme hot and dry conditions followed by the wettest August on record, in Spain the relentless drought continues and the country's farming community is suffering the full...

Continental column: European sugar beet area down.(Column)
September 18, 2006... The European sugar beet area is down by 399,000 hectares (18.7%) to 1.7 million hectares this season. That is the message from the Dutch Institute for Rational Sugar Production (IRS), which adds that there are wide differences across Europe....

Continental column: Poor chemical control in Greece.(Column)
September 18, 2006... In an attempt to lower costs a number of Greek arable farms are reportedly buying crop chemicals that are banned for use in the EU from countries such as Turkey and Bulgaria. Available at prices up to 30% cheaper than their legal alternatives,...

Talking Arable with our Borders-based farmer Guy Lee.
September 18, 2006... September 5, 2006 Harvest was completed on August 30, the first time for the sixteen years we have lived north of the Border that there was nothing to combine or bale in September. As I read tales of woe further south I have to admit to a...

GM potatoes: Beating blight with biotechnology?
September 18, 2006... An application has been made to test genetically-modified blight- resistant potatoes in the UK. But is GM the only way forward? Teresa Rush reports. BASF's announcement that is has applied to Defra to trial genetically- modified blight...

Potato event:Two-row harvesters on show.
September 18, 2006... As average potato grower size continues to increase then so to does the need for even faster and more sophisticated harvesting systems, and although sales of self-propelled machines still account for just a small portion of the market, interest...

Potato event:Four-row prototype.
September 18, 2006... German-firm Harain stunned the potato sector with the world premiere of a brand new self-propelled four row harvester. Known as the Quadro 6000, and revealed in prototype form, this gentle giant is powered by a massive 600hp Deutz engine. ...

Potato event:Mega 3000 successor.
September 18, 2006... With some 25 machines at work in the UK, Belgian-firm Dewulf confirms that the British market, which at one time was reluctant to consider tanker-type machines, is gaining in importance as growers warm to the technique. Currently...

Potato event:GPS plans.
September 18, 2006... Grimme news concerns the fact that it is looking to see whether there is a market for GPS on potato kit, and has already confirmed that it will develop a GPS planter for next season. Using the AutoFarm system, which is already used by Grimme...

Potato event:Affordable four-row harvester.
September 18, 2006... AVR news includes the trailed Esprit harvester and the fact that it is now supplied as standard with CANbus. Furthermore, by the end of this year the company plans to develop a bridge between this and an ISObus tractor. It will be operated...

Potato event:All-In-One planter.
September 18, 2006... Professional potato growers should be looking to keep the number of field passes to a minimum and combine as many tasks as possible.That is the message from Fischer Landtechnik which used the event to demonstrate its All-In-One planter. Based...

Potato event:German made planter.
September 18, 2006... Major show news might have been dominated by the big names in the business there one or two exceptions, one of which concerned this German-made planter. Made by Schmidbauer, the 6m-wide machine is designed to operate on eight 75cm rows. A...

Talking Arable with our South Devon-based organic farmer David Pearson.
September 18, 2006... September 4, 2006 Harvest was completed after a relatively hassle free operation on August 15, the earliest finish since I came to this farm in 1984. The last crop to be combined was Fuego spring beans producing a really attractive sample...

Cultivations: Patience required for min-till slug control.
September 18, 2006... In a recent survey of agronomists min-till use was found to have risen by over 60% in the last three years, showing that it has fast become the preferred method for preparing seedbeds. But how much has it altered the approach of agronomists and...

Fuel costings: Fuel saving cultivators.
September 18, 2006... With diesel costs at an all time high, arable farmers looking for ways to reduce fuel consumption might like to know that cultivation depth and even the choice of cultivator has a big impact on fuel costs. The message is not to cultivate any...

Fuel costings: New plough easier to pull.
September 18, 2006... It is not only fuel-saving cultivators that have come under the spotlight as visitors to last year's Agritechnica might have seen a new hybrid reversible plough on the Lemken stand. Known as the Tansanit, a major feature is the adjustable top...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: A star performer.
September 18, 2006... At the heart of the latest soil separator from Standen-Pearson is a new star design. The Unistar's stars are larger in diameter at 230mm, and considerably more aggressive than previous designs, says the company. Manufactured from a hard wearing...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Light land plough.
September 18, 2006... Pottinger has extended its plough range with a new mounted plough - the Servo 35S which is available in four to six furrows. A medium weight plough for tractors up to 170hp, it is suitable for light land. Hydraulic vari-width and auto...

WHAT'S NEW IN ARABLE: Comfortable trailed sprayer.
September 18, 2006... French manufacturer Tecnoma has extended its existing range of Galaxy trailed sprayers for the UK market.The Galaxy `Comfort' retains the company's Albatross suspension unit - the booms are linked to the sprayer using a parallelogram boom lift...

Machinery: Powering up at the top end.
September 18, 2006... With new models at the top of each range, Fendt is piling on the power with their latest developments. Mervyn Bailey reports from the tractor cab. The largest changes in the Fendt stable have been made to the 900 series, which get the look...

Machinery: New additions.
September 18, 2006... Fendt is adding power at the top of each of its tractor ranges. All of the firm's tractors above 100hp now get new engines to comply with Stage IIIa emissions and it was also an opportunity to do some house keeping to the 400, 700, 800 and 900...

GM: A decade of GM possibilities?
September 18, 2006... While genetically modified crops struggle against opposition in Europe, a group of US experts has looked at the potential for the next ten years. There are some exciting possibilities, but the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st...