Crops articles from June 2008

Crops archives from June 2008

Kendall pledge on fertiliser prices: with nitrogen prices double what they were a year ago, making more of fertiliser was a key theme at Cereals 2008, as Crops discovered.(TECHNICAL)
June 21, 2008... Controversy came to the fore almost as soon as Cereals kicked off, following NFU president Peter Kendall's promise to throw "considerable resources" into ensuring UK fertiliser prices remain in line with mainland Europe. He was responding...

Opportunity to cut nitrogen rate.(TECHNICAL)
June 21, 2008... * High fertiliser prices could allow growers to cut N rates on feed wheat, latest figures released at the event suggest. A nitrogen price approaching [pounds sterling]1/kg and a grain price of [pounds sterling]130/t meant the grain: N price...

Enhancers raise availability.(TECHNICAL)
June 21, 2008... * Two fertiliser enhancers that decrease N losses and improve phosphorus availability could be available by next autumn. Melanie Acklin of US-based Speciality Fertilizer Products said Nutrisphere-N reduced volatilisation losses, caused by...

Input costs make pulses attractive.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... High nitrogen prices were encouraging more growers to look again at pulses, said Salvador Potter, chief executive of the Processors and Growers Research Organisation. As well as saving on N inputs, pulses also contributed N to the...

N Sensor module adds accuracy.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... A new calibration module for Yara's N Sensor will allow the machine to decide what level of fertiliser to apply, according to the firm's Stefan Reusch. A scan would calculate how much N was in the crop,, and work out how much N would be...

RB209 revision soon.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... The full proposed RB209 revision, to be known as the Fertiliser Manual, should be delivered to DEFRA by the end of the month, Keith Goulding [right] of Rothamsted Research confirmed at the show. There was a risk some N recommendations...

Alternative control options on the way for autumn and spring weeds: new herbicides and replacement solutions caught Mike Abrams' and Louise Impey's eye.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... Two new herbicides based on Dow AgroSciences' new graminicide active pyroxsulam could offer growers alternative grassweed killers to Atlantis and Axial in autumn and spring, if approved by the Pesticides Safety Directorate. GF 2070, which...

IPU and trifluralin replacements on show.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... The loss of IPU is likely to necessitate a switch in strategy for growers with problems with annual meadowgrass, Tim Holt of Bayer CropScience suggested. The alternatives to IPU, of which there was only 30-40% of the usual supply available...

Pre-em control post-trifluralin.(NEW DEFY BLACKGRASSES MIXES)
June 21, 2008... Syngenta has developed two new pre-emergence mixtures for use against blackgrass once trifluralin, its original recommendation, has been withdrawn. The core recommendation would now be 5 litres/ha of Defy plus 0.1 litres/ha Hurricane, the...

Chlormequat alternatives.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... Finding successful growth regulator alternatives for chlormequat might not be quite as straightforward as you would think, Velcourt's Keith Norman warned. Chlormequat was currently going through the European re-approvals procedure and...

Raisiing the level of selenium: from Selenium-rich bread to chlormequat replacements, there was plenty to see at Cereals 2008 last week.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... Selenium-enriched fertiliser specifically for bread-making wheat, could soon be available from Yara to boost consumers' intake of that essential element. UK selenium consumption had long been slipping, mainly because imports of US...

Watch out for turnip yellows virus.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... Troubled by static or falling oilseed rape yields? The problem could be turnip yellows virus, according to Mark Stevens of Broom's Barn. The virus, which was transmitted by Myzus persicae aphids in the autumn, didn't express itself until...

New fungicide a step forward.(CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... Velcourt demonstrated one of three new carboxamide fungicides in its "Farming Tomorrow" area at Cereals 2008. Bixafen, from Bayer CropScience, was formulated with the triazole fungicide, prothioconazole, Keith Norman, technical director for...

All systems go for cutting fuel costs: there were plenty of tips and technologies at Cereals 2008 to mitigate the rising price of diesel. From 'fuel-considerate'tractor driving to low-draft implements for cultivating and drilling, they could have a significant impact on fuel bills. Peter Hill reports.(MACHINERY: CEREALS 2008)
June 21, 2008... If ever the messages from equipment manufacturers at the Cereals event had a common thread, it was no more apparent than this year's dominating theme: How to cut fuel consumption. Tractor makers emphasised fuel-saving engine and...

Take your pick to suit your system: which varieties will fill your drills this autumn? Over the next nine pages Louise Impey details recommended varieties, candidates and others of interest.(VARIETY CHOICE)
June 21, 2008... WINTER WHEAT-TOP 11 Alchemy 17% Claire 4.7% Cordiale 4.4% Einstein 12% Gladiator 6.7% Humber 5.6% Oakley 6% Robigus 9.7% Solstice 10.2% Glasgow 2.5% Zebedee 2.4% Source:...

Biofoam potential for wheat starch: there's no end of uses for wheat. Sarah Henly reports on novel bioproducts with the potential for numerous industrial applications.(RESEARCH IN FOCUS)
June 21, 2008... By the end of this year, wheat starch should be familiar to most companies in the packaging and consumer goods industries. And with any luck, it should be in even greater demand, suggests Bruce Yeo, director of Green Light Products. He is...

Know your costs and reduce bills.(ENERGY USE)
June 21, 2008... Understanding how much energy is being used, whether it is diesel for field work or electricity in potato stores, is a vital first step in being able to reduce energy bills, Andrew Kneeshaw of the Farm Energy Centre says. Tractor diesel...

US sugar beet enthusiasm on the up: while UK sugar beet growers ponder the future for the once lucrative crop, American farmers are embracing the latest technological developments making it easier to grow. Johann Tasker reports.(GM BEET)
June 21, 2008... Here in the UK, factory closures have pitched producer against processor and concentrated sugar beet production in the hands of fewer farmers. But across the Atlantic, the supply chain in the USA is working together to reap the benefits of...

Right nozzles can reduce blight risk.(AGRONOMY UPDATE)
June 21, 2008... Angled nozzles and possibly not using reduced water volumes, particularly when disease pressure is high, could help growers improve blight control, Simon Woods of Harper Adams University College told a recent West Midlands potato day near...

HGCA probes soil N results.(AGRONOMY UPDATE)
June 21, 2008... Concerns highlighted by Crops magazine over the reliability of soil nitrogen supply sampling and results have led to a new HGCA-funded project investigating the issue. "The aim is to make soil nitrogen supply testing more reliable, so you...

Powerful supply trade making hay: as costs rocket profits for the supply trade are recovering much faster than farmers'.(CARR'S CORNER)
June 21, 2008... "The talk in arable farming circles at the moment is, quite understandably, less and less about rising farm commodity prices and more and more about rising costs. Red diesel is now 65p/litre and it is nothing to hear [pounds sterling]500/t...

Set-aside has had its day: reintroduction would be a grave error, says Greg Bliss.(Podium)
June 21, 2008... "An interim report by the High Level Group on Set-aside recently concluded that removing set-aside has had an impact on biodiversity. The document suggested that mechanisms would be needed to capture the benefits that have now disappeared. ...

Peter Kendall attacks EU policy.(BRIEFING)
June 21, 2008... NFU president Peter Kendall was in fine form at Cereals 2008, speaking out on all things from fertiliser prices to set-aside, and the biofuels industry to retail food prices. But he saved his best for EU policy makers, describing the...

FWi hit parade.(INSIGHT)
June 21, 2008... News that DEFRA secretary Hilary Benn had been advised by a cross-party committee of MPs to implement a new Nitrates Action Programme, even though the EU Directive on which it is based is flawed, took top spot in FWi's arable news over the past...

No room for gloom at Cereals.(VIEWPOINT)
June 21, 2008... It was no surprise that the key topic at this year's Cereals event was the rising costs of inputs-and how to control them. In the 12 months since Cereals 2007, fertiliser prices have doubled to [pounds sterling]330/t, and red diesel at...

Soaring land prices make farming fashionable for the City whizz-kids.(DIARY)
June 21, 2008... MONDAY * Still baffled by the surge in farmland prices. Maggie spotted a "For Sale" sign on a block of 150 acres of good arable land about five miles down the road. I made a call to the agent and wasn't particularly surprised to hear him...

Food price security at risk from pesticide proposals: proposed EU pesticide legislation could have a profound effect on UK agriculture. Mike Abram looks at the implications.(PERSPECTIVE)
June 21, 2008... World food production, according to UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon at the UN summit in Rome earlier this month, will have to rise by 50% by 2030 to cope with demand. Food costs have already reached a 30-year high in real terms, causing...

Positive promotion pays dividends for processed spuds: the upturn in the processing sector was highlighted at a recent West Midlands potato day.(YOUR BUSINESS)
June 21, 2008... A positive advertising campaign has helped turn around the fortunes of the processing potato sector, Nick Vermont of McCain told growers at the Potato Council's West Midlands potato day. He said that "frankly hysterical media coverage"...

Economy poses next big challenge.(YOUR BUSINESS)
June 21, 2008... Global inflation and the UK's stalling economy will provide the next challenge for the sector, Mr Vermont predicted. "The deflationary cycle is well and truly over," he said. "But that is not to say we can just pass on all our extra costs...

Direct drilling brings down diesel cost: as fuel prices continue to rise, more growers will be tempted to reduce diesel-intensive cultivations. Paul Spackman visits one farm that has done just that, with some pretty impressive results.(FUEL SAVINGS)
June 21, 2008... Sentry's Whelan Farms in Surrey spent [pounds sterling]3.30/ha less on fuel for growing wheat last year than in 2002. That's not bad going considering red diesel prices over that period increased from 16p/litre to nearer 40p/litre in 2007. ...