Crops articles from December 2004

Crops archives from December 2004

Your chance to enter our Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year Award 2005.(COMPETITION)
December 11, 2004... Calling all sprayer operators--show us how good you really are at spray application and win yourself the coveted title of Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year. Simply complete the form below SAFE, EFFICIENT spray application is the name of the...

Red tractor re-launch.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... Red tractor re-launch. The NFU added new weight to the Little Red Tractor scheme at Smithfield Show. Under the strap-line "Red Tractor Farmers deliver produce with a promise", ads will use some of the 3,600 farmer quotes received in the...

Bright idea?(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... TOO little too late. That's the assessment of the latest GM trials which show, after all, that there is no justification for environmental concerns about growing herbicide-tolerant oilseed rape and sugar beet over a four-year rotation. The...

Rounded argument.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... HOW sad it is when a national newspaper columnist peddles a wholly irresponsible spin against the benefits of biofuel crops. Guardian writer George Monbiot claims growing such crops will result in a humanitarian and environmental disaster....

No room for complacency.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... NEWS that the level of pesticides found in water in England and Wales in 2003 has fallen by 23% should be greeted with caution. Many growers are making significant improvements in their use of pesticides, but other factors, notably a dry...

Smithfield.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... Smithfield continues..... Uncertainty surrounding the future of London's biennial Smithfield machinery, business and livestock show ended at last week's event with an announcement that it will be staged by Haymarket Land Events at Earls Court...

Rising fuel prices over the past twelve months mean fuel consumption should now be a budgeting priority.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... Rising fuel prices over the past twelve months mean fuel consumption should now be a budgeting priority. More horse power for more output may help spread costs, but how many Smithfield punters asked manufacturers about fuel economy? Worth...

DEFRA.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... DEFRA's guide for the single payment scheme and cross-compliance handbook should already be with producers. But there's more frustration to come as it will be the end of the month before detailed guidance on set-aside and specific...

Congratulations to Franz Fischler.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... Congratulations to Franz Fischler. The former EU agriculture commissioner receives the 2004 Sicco Mansholt Prize--awarded bi-annually for innovation in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development--for his "strong personal...

Chrismas special.(VIEWPOINT)
December 11, 2004... Christmas special. Look out for our extra, Christmas Day issue of Crops. Carefully crafted to give you the essential reference guide to running the business in 2005, and filled with key information to help you tackle the New Year with...

For sale: income guaranteed; The single payment is likely to keep land prices high. But will that be a good or bad thing? That depends on which side of the fence you are, says Marie Skinner.(FARMERFORUM)
December 11, 2004... FARMERS are wealthy and sitting on a gold mine. At least that's what it seems like according to a recent advertisement put out by a land management company trying to encourage non-farming investors to buy land. The advertisement suggests...

United we stand, divided we fall: better promotion of British agriculture to increasingly cynical consumers is the clarion call from Essex farmer Guy Smith.(FARMERFORUM)
December 11, 2004... THE LATEST attack on conventional agriculture from the organic lobby comes in the form of a scary little booklet written by the Soil Association called What's your poison. In brief its argument goes like this: conventional farmers use poisonous...

Arnaud Vecten: farming in France.(WORLDFARMING)
December 11, 2004... "AT ANY meeting in the village bistro, we always hear complaints from others that farmers are eternally moaning about prices. Usually, I try to remain positive in response while enjoying the occasional vin rouge with the locals. But this...

Marketing is key to future success; "2005 and beyond: a formula for the future" was the theme of the annual Crops conferences in England and Scotland. Charles Abel, Julian Gairdner and Liz Robinson round up the action.(CROPS CONFERENCES)(Cover Story)
December 11, 2004... FARMERS MUST get to grips with change, break their dependency on government support and seize new opportunities, Crops Conference delegates in Cambridge and Perth were told. But above all the industry must improve its marketing. Former...

Solutions that offer potential.(CROPS CONFERENCES)
December 11, 2004... THINKING about biofuels as anything other than mainstream is a big mistake, British Biogen's Peter Billins told delegates. "We must dispel the myth that this is alternative fuel. The big mistake agriculture will make is to see biofuels as a...

Generating the markets: crops for industrial products offer enormous potential to replace their synthetic equivalents, but kick-starting the marketplace is needed, as Julian Gairdner hears at the National Non-Food Crops Centre conference.(NON-FOOD CROPS)
December 11, 2004... THE future for non-food crops depends on the development of the market place, not the ability to grow or process the crops. That's the message from Jeremy Tomkinson, chief executive of the National Non-Food Crops Centre, formed last year....

Birds make a comeback.(FARMDIARY)
December 11, 2004... THE cold snap last weekend appears to have come and gone, when really should it have continued it may have rectified many of the current problems in both crops and livestock. Having reported previously that wheat drilling was all but...

Movers and shakers: varieties take centre stage with the launch of the 2005 Recommended Lists. Gilly Johnson and Liz Robinson reveal this year's winners.(NEW VARIETIES)
December 11, 2004... Winter wheat BANG. That's the sound of the yield barrier breaking. Newcomer Glasgow (Saaten Union) lived up to expectations in trials this summer, and now appears on the HGCA 2005 Recommended List with a top treated yield score of 108....

Cebeco Seeds.(The Breeder's Word)(Advertisement)
December 11, 2004... We are very excited at Barroway Drove to see three of our new varieties leading their respective markets and receiving the approval of HGCA and PGRO/NIAB. These are LIONESS Winter Oilseed Rape, COOPER Peas and FUEGO Spring Beans. Spring...

Advanta.(The Breeder's Word)(Advertisement)
December 11, 2004... Power Spring Barley Newly recommended for 2005, Power has a treated yield of 108% of controls* and a very high untreated yield, Power is a top all-rounder, combining yield with reasonable quantities of straw and good overall disease...

Saaten Union.(The Breeder's Word)(Advertisement)
December 11, 2004... Saaten Union continues to add varieties to its portfolio in the UK with a further three varieties added to the 2005 Recommended Lists. The following varieties add to the Oilseed Rapes Winner, Disco, Heros, Hunter and the Spring Barleys...

Low biomass breakthrough.(The Breeder's Word)(Advertisement)
December 11, 2004... Castille represents a major step forward in conventional oilseed rape breeding, combining the highest yield levels with all the benefits of low biomass. From the same uniquely productive breeding programme that produced Canberra and...

The word from NK.(The Breeder's Word)(Advertisement)
December 11, 2004... NK, the oilseeds brand for Syngenta Seeds retains a dominant share of varieties on the winter oilseed HGCA Recommended List 2005/06. NK has two of the five new recommendations--NKBravour and NKVictory, and its portfolio represents 30% of the...

Ambrosia--the stronger the better.(The Breeder's Word)(Advertisement)
December 11, 2004... Ambrosia joins the 2005 Recommended List as the only very high-yielding feed wheat with superior resistance to lodging. The latest product of our high reliability PBIC breeding programme, we see it as an extremely valuable addition to...

Bespoke store is a treat: harvest may have been interrupted by the weather more than usual this year. But in other respects it was an easier and more streamlined operation at Manor Farm in Oxfordshire thanks to a new 3,000t grain store. Peter Hill reports.(MACHINERY)
December 11, 2004... THERE is something special about commissioning a new grain store--for one thing, it is a once in a lifetime experience for most growers. There may be projects that extend or improve existing facilities but the opportunity to start with a blank...

Finding the right utility.(MACHINERY)
December 11, 2004... WHEN it comes to harrowing and rolling, moving a reel irrigator from one run to the next or carrying out delicate operations on vegetable beds, lots of power and weight in a tractor become a handicap rather than an advantage. Which is one...

Justin McDonald's diary.
December 11, 2004... Monday I see that the NFU has started to build its new headquarters at the Stoneleigh National Showground. The picture in the paper showed NFU president, Tim Bennett, cutting the first sod where the structure will be built. Apparently the...

A better platform to build upon.(FARMDIARY)
December 11, 2004... A YEAR on, our oilseed rape crops could not be looking more different. This time last year we took the decision to re-drill 30ha of oilseed rape with winter wheat and hoped that the remainder on the heavy land would make it through the...

Selling the case abroad: success with finding new export markets for British cereals will help growers' returns, British Cereal Exports argues. But just what are they up to? Suzie Horne finds out.(BUSINESS)
December 11, 2004... WITH 10.5p to spend for every tonne of grain exported from the UK, British Cereal Exports is boldly going where it hasn't gone before in the hunt for new premium markets for British wheat and barley. With cereal prices near rock bottom, any...

UK malt exports set to increase.(LASTWORD)
December 11, 2004... PROVIDED world beer consumption continues to increase at its present 2.4% per annum, malt demand will increase by 300,000 tonnes a year, says Mark Isaacson, purchasing manager of Greencore Malting Group. That offers the UK, with its good...

RhiNo delivers confidence and control.(LASTWORD)
December 11, 2004... POTATO growers looking to control rhizoctonia stem and tuber infection can now tackle the problem pre-planting with confidence, says supplier Certis. Launched last year, RhiNo (flutolanil) is the only systemic potato seed treatment...

Time for refocus on BYDV.(LASTWORD)
December 11, 2004... MILDER winters and the trend to more early drilling are changing the barley yellow dwarf virus threat to cereals, ADAS entomologist Jon Oakley explained at the first of the HGCA's 'sow2succeed' roadshows in Peterborough this week. He rates...

Dual action protection.(LASTWORD)
December 11, 2004... IMPROVED spring barley seed protection is on offer from Syngenta through its new Aurigen Gold co-application of fludioxonil (Beret Gold) and tebuconazole. The combination provides broad spectrum control of fusarium, microdochium and loose smut...

All change.(LASTWORD)
December 11, 2004... THE current system by which the Maltsters' Association of Great Britain gives recommendations on barley varieties has changed. Instead of the northern and southern recommendations, the list now indicates a brewing and/or distilling...

Poised to meet the challenges of 2005 ...(WELCOME)
December 25, 2004... I HOPE this Christmas Crops Special, sponsored by Proline[R], brings you plenty of cheer. 2005 is the biggest year of change in farming for 50 years. That change brings opportunities. In decoupling subsidies away from production, the CAP...

On track for 2005: the new CAP reforms kick in next week. Julian Gairdner unravels the detail and seeks advice for 2005.(CAP REFORM)(Cover Story)
December 25, 2004... THE first of January heralds the start of the new CAP reforms, but it is just the beginning. Between now and 16 May, growers will have to complete applications for entitlements, the single (farm) payment, the National Reserve and, for the real...

SPS: single minded agronomy; How will growing without a production subsidy alter your agronomy decisions on wheat, oilseed rape and barley, asks Mike Abram?(AGRONOMY)
December 25, 2004... THE first major decision is whether to plant anything at all now that subsidies are no longer linked to production. "It is a fundamental change in mindset. Whatever you grow has to stand on its own account," says Velcourt's. East Anglian farms...

Proving their way to profit: how does farming get a share of the [pounds sterling]60bn food chain? One answer is a bakery business, reports Gilly Johnson.(FOOD CHAIN)
December 25, 2004... HOW can arable growers add value to commodity crops? Moving up the food chain isn't that easy, if your farm income is powered by wheat, rape and beans. No one wants to buy a tonne or so of these at the local farmers' market. Some lateral...

Plan now to make sure price is right: from January, UK growers will be increasingly at the mercy of a volatile grain market. Suzie Horne finds out how to minimise this risk.(THE MARKET)
December 25, 2004... WHY wait for harvest to price your grain? The commitment to buy seed is in itself a speculative act, says Alastair Dickie, HGCA's director of crop marketing. The main thing is to have a plan and a target price, but you can arrive at...

Plan to climb the pyramid: wise up to what's required on soil management by cross compliance regulations--it'll be worthwhile, as Gilly Johnson finds out.(CROSS COMPLIANCE)
December 25, 2004... DON'T panic. There's only one potentially unfamiliar issue within the cross compliance pyramid of options, and that's the Soil Management Plan, says Dr Alastair Leake, head of the Allerton Project at Loddington, Leics. But farmers are going to...