Crops articles from February 2005

Crops archives from February 2005

Spring optimism.(VIEWPOINT)
February 12, 2005... Spring optimism. Optic barley seed goes into the drill to complete Sha of drilling at John Boon's Cottage Farm, Marham, West Norfolk. "We're about two-thirds through spring barley drilling," says contractor Cliff Armsby. "That's about where we...

US Farm Bill on common ground.(VIEWPOINT)
February 12, 2005... US FARMERS benefit from huge subsidies while their politicians fight tooth and nail in world trade talks to secure access to world markets. That's the popular view of farming across the pond. But the reality is rather different. ...

Go to the roadshows.(VIEWPOINT)
February 12, 2005... CONFIRMATION from the RPA last week that growers can enter eligible land on the Single Payment Scheme forms in May, even if it has not yet been lodged with the Rural Land Register, will come as a relief to those still trying to catch up with...

British Sugar.(VIEWPOINT)
February 12, 2005... Do you know what it costs to grow a tonne of beet? It's an exercise Crops diarist John Fenton has gone through (page 27) to evaluate whether British Sugar's recently closed permanent transfer scheme was worth considering. While it's too late...

German Agricultural Society (DLG) Working Group.(VIEWPOINT)
February 12, 2005... Congratulations to Crops World Farming writer Harald Isermeyer (left) who receives the Max Eyth Memorial Medallion in silver for his commitment to agriculture through his "exemplary work as a critical and perceptive chairman" of German...

DEFRA.(VIEWPOINT)
February 12, 2005... DEFRA will have a new director of communications from March, Yasmin Diamond. Ms Diamond has previously held posts with the Department for Education and Skills, the BBC and the NHS. At such a critical time of change for the industry hers will be...

Single Farm Payment.(VIEWPOINT)
February 12, 2005... Feel disadvantaged by the new Single Farm Payment scheme? Scottish growers can now apply to the National Reserve which opened on 31 January. The reserve is a key route for growers to address any imbalances the changeover to the new scheme has...

Don't wait until it's too late: there's much for growers to get their heads round with the new single payment scheme, argues Marie Skinner.(FARMERFORUM)
February 12, 2005... SPRING is approaching, the workload is building up and jobs must be done. But, unless you have already done the necessary paperwork for the Single Farm Payment, then forget the weather, ignore ideal working conditions, shut yourself in the...

Seeing the wood for the trees: new products for a new season can leave farmers guessing how best to use them. Not if you use IT, says ADAS' Bill Clark.(FARMERFORUM)
February 12, 2005... THIS spring sees the launch of several new fungicide products for cereals--and very good they are too. They offer high levels of septoria control, rust control, eyespot, sharp eyespot, takeall... and so it goes on. But these new products...

Arnaud Vecten: Farming in France.(WORLDFARMING)
February 12, 2005... AS JANUARY turns into February, I become more and more immersed in administering the first diversification project on the otherwise all-arable estate I help manage. This entails the conversion of old farm buildings into holiday homes or...

Exploiting its full potential: making more of oilseed rape is a key goal this spring, writes Liz Robinson.(OILSEED RAPE)
February 12, 2005... HOW can you boost oilseed rape output? Top agronomists reckon better use of green area index to guide nutrient and pgr fungicides, together with improved disease management could help. Average UK farm yields of 3.0t/ha have not increased in...

Get it right: T0.(Advertisement)
February 12, 2005... This is the first in a series of timely technical guides from BASF to help you maximise the effect--and therefore the value--of the inputs to be applied this season at T0, T1, T2 and T3. Whatever the product choice, correct application and...

Burdened by regulations: are US crop producers on a roll as their politicians seek to dominate world food markets? American growers and advisers don't think so, as Charles Abel discovered at the annual meeting of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants.(USA FOCUS)(Cover Story)
February 12, 2005... SUNSET BOULEVARD, Los Angeles. It's mid-January and the air rising from the hot tarmac is stifling as it wafts in through the yellow cab's open window. Temperatures here topped 29C earlier in the day. Thirty minutes up the freeway lies the...

The choice is yours: mild conditions and variable crops mean careful herbicide selection this spring. Liz Robinson presents your spring cereal herbicide options.(HERBICIDES)
February 12, 2005... Product Lerap Use it for Grassweed activity CHEETAH SUPER None Wild oats in wheat. Sensitive (Bayer CropScience) blackgrass also controlled. Also Contains 55g/litre ...

Don't let profits take a tumble: lodging slashed yields and quality last year, sending already dismal crop profits lower still. Liz Robinson finds out how growers can avoid a repeat.(LODGING)
February 12, 2005... LODGING occurs about one in four years, and as growers will remember, last year was one of those. Whereas the west and north are more prone to lodging conditions, last year the east also had its fair share. High seed rates led to high...

Piecing together the SFP puzzle.(FARMDIARY)
February 12, 2005... THE new era has arrived. 2005 commenced with a thud--some horrendous weather but it would appear we have had the best of it. Incredibly, late-drilled wheat has almost totally recovered and I would venture as far as to say grass is still...

Beet still sweet ... for now.(FARMDIARY)
February 12, 2005... IN NOVEMBER last year I attended a sugar beet meeting at Askham Bryan College near York, at which we were given an excellent update on the current state of the sugar beet industry in the UK. Inevitably there was some crystal ball gazing...

Power to the four: as ATVs continue to climb the power and performance ladder, they continue to become more sophisticated. Peter Hill reports.(MACHINERY)
February 12, 2005... LOOKING for power? Then the latest from Kawasaki and Suzuki could be for you. Both manufacturers offer two of the most powerful quads available. Suzuki is coy about the power and torque output of the new engine in its KingQuad 700 but...

Two-seater utilities prove useful.(MACHINERY)
February 12, 2005... QUAD users looking to carry more than a compact load weighing just a few kilos on front and rear racks can choose from a growing range of two-seat utility ATVs. John Deere's new Gator HPX has an all-steel frame and cargo box and a 20hp...

Yamaha re-aligns.(MACHINERY)
February 12, 2005... QUAD users reluctant to upgrade from a tired Yamaha 350 Big Bear to one of the bigger Kodiak 400 models no longer have to now that there is a direct replacement in the form of the Bruin. It has also replaced the Kodiak 400s--leaving the 400...

Light on their feet.(MACHINERY)
February 12, 2005... NIPPY mobility and a lack of surface damage are the main attributes of the ATVs used by Chris Allen and his team at Farleigh Wallop near Basingstoke, Hampshire "One is used almost permanently by our gamekeeper, the other is used mostly for...

Vaderstad 12m Carrier cultivator.(MACHINERY)
February 12, 2005... WANT to double output? Then the new Vaderstad 12m Carrier cultivator could be the answer. It's enabled Velcourt's Ted Vipond to increase cultivations coverage from around 50ha a day with a 280hp tractor to more than 100ha per day with a...

Giving the landlord the right carrot: growers of so-called negative list crops are navigating an entitlement minefield. But the problems can be resolved, as one East Yorks carrot grower tells Wendy Short.(BUSINESS)
February 12, 2005... WITH the growing season fast approaching, Guy Poskitt has already had a meeting with a land agent and his landlords to suggest they might consider a "land swap" to enable Single Payment Scheme entitlements to be established this May along with...

Poor outlook for OSR.(BUSINESS)
February 12, 2005... MANY oilseed rape budgets will have to be revised as prices of [pounds sterling]140-150/t used just a few months ago now look over-optimistic. Other than a crop problem here or elsewhere, there is little prospect for much improvement in...

Justin McDonald's diary.
February 12, 2005... Monday 'CAN it be done at sixty quid a tonne?' is currently the only topic of conversation when two arable farmers get together. We are talking, of course, about the challenge of growing wheat at current prices without IACS support. ...

Fight resistance in barley too.(LASTWORD)
February 12, 2005... GROWERS must learn lessons from the winter wheat fungicide resistance situation so the same mistakes are not made in barley, says Syngenta's Chris Rowsell. "There is not a lot of new chemistry coming through, and existing chemistry will be...

Amistar for OSR.(LASTWORD)
February 12, 2005... OILSEED rape growers can now reap the benefits of strobilurin chemistry as Amistar gains approval for use against sclerotinia and alternaria. Syngenta trials across Northern Europe have shown average yield increases of 0.4t/ha, not just...

Don't be in a hurry with nitrogen.(LASTWORD)
February 12, 2005... SOIL nitrogen supply levels could be above average this year unless there is a markedly wet period in the next two months. Apart from western areas, rainfall up to mid-January has been below average and similar to 2004 for the same period,...

Alchemy gets ahead.(LASTWORD)
February 12, 2005... PLANT breeding company Nickersons is to launch its new winter wheat, Alchemy, a year early in response to the need for good Septoria tritici resistant varieties. Alchemy has outstanding disease resistance, nine for yellow and brown rust,...

Letter to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
February 12, 2005... Sir, What a pity I didn't have your "How much tractor power have you got?" (Jan 29) article to hand a year ago. Having switched to min-till on my arable farm in the Weald of Kent, I have experimented with tractors and machines to do...

Out on ear.(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... Out on ear. Nickerson breeders at work on wheat crosses which should provide varieties for commercial release in eight to 10 years' time. "We're still looking for yield, disease resistance and straw strength," breeder Ian Foot says. "We're...

Top quartile.(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... WANT to be a top 25% producer? According to ProCam's 4cast figures (see page 8), the best growers are spending less on variable inputs than the average. The cost of producing one tonne of wheat last year in terms of variable costs for...

Pressure's on ...(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... NEWS that British Sugar has successfully achieved its target to buy back 160,000t of sugar beet quota from growers is a signal of the decreasing confidence many have in the crop, and doubtless a reaction to what's anticipated from reform when...

Trying to comply.(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... ARE you up to speed with cross-compliance? According to Farmers Weekly, only 10% of farmers at a recent Soil Management Initiative open day had read the DEFRA cross-compliance booklet on Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition. ...

Rural Land Register.(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... Don't forget your woodland. It's important to include it on the Rural Land Register to claim payment under the new English Woodland Grant Scheme. With significant sums of cash being redirected to rural development via modulation, it's essential...

Agricultural.(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... Agricultural borrowing has increased to a twenty-year high, according to Bank of England figures. Much of the increase has gone on overdrafts to cover cash-flow shortages, a sign that the downward pressure on prices is undermining incomes...

Love chips?(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... Love chips? It seems they're as popular as ever with one in three people confirming they eat them on a weekly basis according to a BPC survey. But the study also finds that around the country, people's reasons for eating chips vary. Food...

National Strategy for Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products.(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... With the publication of the draft National Strategy for Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products last week, growers have a significant opportunity to influence the long-term future for pesticides. No-one can be oblivious to the pressure...

H.M. treasury.(VIEWPOINT)
February 26, 2005... "Looks like this red diesel clampdown is working better than we thought"

The stewardship clipboards: Environmental Stewardship has its appeal, but it comes with strings attached, much to Stephen Carr's annoyance.(FARMERFORUM)
February 26, 2005... AS AN old hand at earning a living from agri-environment land management, I view the latest initiative, Environmental Stewardship, with mixed feelings. Way back in 1987 I entered 45ha of arable land into 'grassland reversion' under the...

Don't waste the opportunity: government proposals to regulate agricultural waste may mean added cost, but it could fuel innovation, argues Robert Caudwell.(FARMERFORUM)
February 26, 2005... ALL businesses are regulated by waste management controls... except agriculture. But that's about to change. Following pressure from the EU to bring the UK into line, the Government launched a consultation paper outlining how it intends to...

Harald Isermeyer: farming in Germany.(WORLDFARMING)
February 26, 2005... THE oilseed rape has come through the wet and cold winter so far in these parts extremely well without being too forward. As usual, most of our set-aside land is growing industrial rape and the majority of this is already sold for the rapidly...

Aiming high: despite a reduction in overall gross margins last year, top producers still achieved [pounds sterling]150/ha more than average. Liz Robinson finds out how.(CROP MARGINS)
February 26, 2005... IF FARM size isn't important and soil type doesn't matter either, what sets the top 25% of arable producers apart from the rest, and how can the rest strive to be the best? Data from ProCam's 4cast agronomy system, a database of one...

Mapping the worm: do you understand the population dynamics of PCN and know the best strategy for control over a series of rotations? Liz Robinson reports on a computer model that offers help.(POTATOES)
February 26, 2005... A CONTINUING shift in potato cyst nematode populations has led to the white species, Globodera pallida, reaching epidemic proportions. With 60% of the potato land infested and an estimated annual cost to the industry of [pounds sterling]50m,...

Last of the profitable crops.(FARMDIARY)
February 26, 2005... IN 30 years of farming I have grown 16 different types of crop. And I have enjoyed the challenge of trying to grow all of these crops well. Head and shoulders above all of them stands sugar beet for consistent profitability, and...

How confident are you of the dosage? Achieving good disease control at least cost is challenging enough, without fungicide resistance hassles. Sarah Henly finds help is on its way.(WHEAT)
February 26, 2005... YOU'RE right to use less fungicide in Septoria tritici resistant varieties such as Robigus than susceptible ones like Consort. But how close are you to being right with the dose? A typical recommendation for epoxiconazole (Opus), for...

Managing luxury growth.(FARMDIARY)
February 26, 2005... ALL NITROGEN for 2005 is now in store. It looks like a comparatively small stockpile compared to normal. Just 103t meets our full requirements for this year, since none of the large percentage of spring crops that we are sowing this year...

Critical targets: the Voluntary Initiative's targets are increasingly important, believes a leading crop consultant. Andrew Blake reports.(VOLUNTARY INITIATIVE)
February 26, 2005... THE VOLUNTARY Initiative is not only the best option for avoiding a pesticides tax. It is an excellent tool for extracting environmental payments and benchmarking business performance under the all-important single farm payment system. ...

Your spring armoury: get clued up on the latest fungicide options. Liz Robinson presents your choices for this spring.(FUNGICIDES)
February 26, 2005... Product Lerap Wheat Strobilurin-type fungicides ACANTO None Has wheat recommendations but (Syngenta) fargely igonored by market Contains 250g/litre ...

Group therapy: no matter what the end deal, sugar reform makes change in the industry imperative, as Julian Gairdner discovers on a Norfolk farm.(SUGAR BEET)
February 26, 2005... I WANT growers to start thinking about how to be positive going forward," says farm manager and NFU sugar beet board member Ross Haddow. With responsibility for 14,000t of sugar beet quota on the Stody Estate (and land it contract farms)...

Stepless comes of age: are stepless-drive tractors growing up? Peter Hill takes a closer look at the technology and the experiences of three users across a range of farm applications.(MACHINERY)
February 26, 2005... STEPLESS drive tractors are moving more firmly into the mainstream, having proven their abilities for specialist applications like stone and clod separation and potato harvesting. Not only do they offer operators easy driving...

Making sure you comply: there's much for producers in England to get their heads around in this, the first year of the Single Payment Scheme. But cross-compliance needn't be the headache growers, as Julian Gairdner discovers.(CROSS-COMPLIANCE)(Cover Story)
February 26, 2005... "LOOK out for what's critical this year," independent crop consultant Simon Draper says of the cross-compliance regulations. "As of 1 January 2005, there are the various Statutory Management Requirements, but that's all legally required of...

Joining forces: further co-operation in the grain buying sector is evident with a new deal between two of the country's biggest farmer-controlled players. Julian Gairdner reports.(BUSINESS)
February 26, 2005... INDUSTRY collaboration is essential to take cost out of farmer-controlled businesses. But increased business size needn't be an obstacle to retaining the key focus of delivering farmer benefits. So says Sion Roberts, chief executive of...

Connecting with the consumer: the Cereals Industry Forum was launched at the HGCA's annual processor's conference last week. Julian Gairdner was there.(BUSINESS)
February 26, 2005... FARMERS and processors will be able to access free consultancy thanks to the launch last week of the Cereals Industry Forum. The initiative, co-founded by the HGCA and the Food Chain Centre, is being funded for three years by the Department...

Chemical attraction.(LASTWORD)
February 26, 2005... A UNIQUE pheromone trap for monitoring click beetles (the adult stage of wireworm) is being launched this year by Syngenta Potato. The trap will help growers identify wireworm risk by trapping the males through the spring and summer...

Rhizoctonia reduction.(LASTWORD)
February 26, 2005... POTATO growers will soon be able to reduce rhizoctonia and other related tuber diseases substantially through sequential use of Monceren DS seed treatment and Amistar in-furrow sprays. SAC research shows synergy between the products when used...

Recommendations relaxed.(LASTWORD)
February 26, 2005... FAVOURABLE trials results and on-farm experience last spring has led to a change for Atlantis recommendations this season. Atlantis plus Biopower can now be used without a residual partner, with certain provisos, explains Bayer's Barrie...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 26, 2005... PERMITTED crops listed for Moddus should read WW, WB, SB, oats, rye and triticale in the PGR Buyers' Guide (Crops, 12 February).

Holistic approach.(LASTWORD)
February 26, 2005... DO NOT isolate disease control from good agronomy. Strobilurins are only part of a package. That's the message from Banks Cargill's Bob Mills. "Just because you give the crop two strobilurins you cannot assume that you have given the crop...

Tracker approval.(LASTWORD)
February 26, 2005... RECENTLY approved cereal fungicide Tracker (epoxiconazole + boscalid) brings a new chemical group to the cereal market and the first new chemistry for septoria control since the introduction of strobilurins. "Tracker will be primarily...

Letter to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
February 26, 2005... Dear Sir, Stephen Carr (Watch out for the pickpockets, 29 Jan) asserts that the single payment is to "compensate those farmers who have been successfully milking the system for years". This is a rather insulting way of expressing the...

Tank Mix Guide.
February 26, 2005... THIS Tank Mix Guide has long recognised the importance of the sprayer operator's role on the farm. Applying the wrong mix of products and active ingredients has enormous repercussions on the economic bottom line of farm businesses as well as...

A profitable Liaison: unlike this tank mix guide you can't take it in the tractor cab, but you can use it to free up more time on the farm. Debbie Beaton reports on Liaison, the web-based product approvals database from the CSL.(TANK MIX GUIDE)
February 26, 2005... WITH spray programmes on wheat typically costing about [pounds sterling]50 to [pounds sterling]60/ha it doesn't take much to save [pounds sterling]150. That's the cost of Liaison, a web-based site that can help you find a product to control a...

Cereal fungicides.
February 26, 2005... ACANTO (SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION UK LTD) PICOXYSTROBIN LERAP--NONE MAFF 10978 * Incompatible with: Carfentrazone-ethyl Cinidon-ethyl Tigress Ultra # Compatible with: Adjust Ally Ally +...

Get it right.(Advertisement)
February 26, 2005... This is the first in a series of timely technical guides from BASF to help you maximise the effect--and therefore the value--of the inputs to be applied this season at T0, T1, T2 and T3. Whatever the product choice, correct application and...

Cereal herbicides.
February 26, 2005... ALLY SX (DUPONT (UK) LTD) METSULFURON-METHYL LERAP--B MAFF 12059 DuPont have revised compatibility information formats from spring 2005 for Ally SX. Please consult their literature or their Technical Helpline (01438...

Insecticides.
February 26, 2005... APHOX (SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION UK LTD) PIRIMICARB LERAP--NONE MAFF 10515 * Incompatible with: Magnesium sulphate # Compatible with: Acanto Alto Elite Amistar Amistar Pro Bravo 500 ...

Cereal growth regulators.
February 26, 2005... ADJUST (MANDOPS (UK) LTD) CHLORMEQUAT LERAP--NONE MAFF 05589 * Incompatible with: Liquid Nitrogen Fertilisers Trace Elements # Compatible with: 2,4-D 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid ...

Oilseed rape.
February 26, 2005... ALPHA TRIFLURALIN 48 EC (MAKHTESHIM-AGAN (UK) LTD) TRIFLURALIN LERAP--NONE MAFF 07406 # Compatible with: Alpha Metazachlor 50 SC Butisan Katamaran BARCLAY REBEL (BARCLAY CHEMICALS LIMITED) ...

Sugar beet.
February 26, 2005... APHOX (SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION UK LTD) PIRIMICARB LERAP--NONE MAFF 10515 * Incompatible with: Magnesium sulphate # Compatible with: Cyperkill 10 Cypermethrin Decis Fusilade 250 EW + Partna...

Potatoes.
February 26, 2005... AFALON (MAKHTESHIM-AGAN (UK) LTD) LINURON LERAP--B MAFF 11665 # Compatible with: Gramoxone 100 PDQ APHOX (SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION UK LTD) PIRIMICARB LERAP--NONE MAFF 10515 *...

Peas.
February 26, 2005... ALTO ELITE (SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION) CHLOROTHALONIL/CYPROCONAZOLE LERAP--B MAFF 08467 * Incompatible with: Unix + Terpal # Compatible with: Amistar Aphox Capture Caramba Decis ...

Beans.
February 26, 2005... ALPHA SIMAZINE 50 SC (MAKHTESHIM-AGAN (UK) LTD) SIMAZINE LERAP--B MAFF 04801 * Incompatible with: Glyphosate # Compatible with: Alpha Trifluralin 48 EC Axiom Carbetamex Centium 360 CS ...

Company contacts.(Tank Mix Guide)
February 26, 2005... A H Marks & Co Ltd Wyke Lane Wyke Bradford West Yorkshire BD12 9EJ Tel: 01274 691234 Fax: 01274 691176 www.ahmarks.com AgriGuard Ltd Unit 3 Tally House, Broomfield Business Park Malahide ...