Crops articles from May 2006

Crops archives from May 2006

Flagging up the strob options: deciding whether to use strobilurin fungicides in wheat flag leaf sprays is a tricky decision for growers. Mike Abram asks two industry experts to review the pros and cons.(TECHNICAL)
May 6, 2006... THE CASE FOR... Targeted use of strobilurins Clare Bend Technical manager, Masstock Q Should growers forget about using strobilurins in flag leaf sprays? A I wouldn't be too keen to consign this remarkable chemistry to...

Be prepared to attack pea pests: pea growers hoping to get the most from their crops should be on their guard this season, Louise Impey discovers.(PEAS)
May 6, 2006... High over-winter insect survival rates mean pea growers must be ready to take action against pests if conditions develop in their favour. First reports of thrips have coincided with the emergence of much of this year's pea crop, which went...

ELS: the bright spot amidst reform gloom; Despite widespread mapping angst and frequent confusion over its myriad options, the Entry Level Stewardship Scheme and its organic version are turning out to be good opportunities for most arable farms. Andrew Blake reports.(ENTRY LEVEL STEWARDSHIP)
May 6, 2006... "It's generally a good news story," says Strutt and Parker's East Midlands-based adviser Matthew Ward. "And there aren't too many of those about in farming at the moment." One year on from their announcement and six months after the first...

No quick fix should pink rot strike: pink rot is a minor, localised problem. But for how long, asks Sarah Henly.(POTATO DISEASE)
May 6, 2006... YOU may know little about pink rot until it appears in your crop. That's not to say it will, but the soil-borne disease is showing up in new hot spots across the southern UK, warns British Potato Council plant pathologist, Jeff Peters. The...

Understanding diffuse pollution: tighter regulations mean managing diffuse pollution is increasingly important. Paul Spackman hears what speakers at this year's SAC and SEPA conference in Edinburgh reckon are the key issues growers need to be aware of.(POLLUTION)
May 6, 2006... The Water Framework Directive, tighter bathing water standards, amendments to the nitrate directive as well as CAP reform and cross-compliance, are all creating pressure for more to be done to manage diffuse pollution, says Campbell Gemmell,...

Agronomy support ensures quality: tighter supermarket quality requires even better agronomy support--exactly what Branston aims to offer its potato producers. Mike Abram reports.(POTATOES)
May 6, 2006... Every other Thursday during spring and summer you will find Branston senior field manager Martin Stothard checking crop progress in Lincolnshire grower Tim Ward's potato fields. Regular field walking is just one part of the service Mr Ward...

Triazole effectiveness on test.(AGRONOMY UPDATE)
May 6, 2006... In response to concerns over the declining effectiveness of triazole fungicides against Septoria tritici and other diseases such as Rhynchosporium, the Pesticides Safety Directorate is commissioning a series of trials to assess the performance...

Soft fruit gears up for fungicide.(AGRONOMY UPDATE)
May 6, 2006... A new fungicide could be available for use in a range of soft fruit and vegetable crops this season, says Syngenta. The product (code-named A9219B) is still in the registration process, but the firm hopes it will be available to growers of...

Take-all: assessing yield.(AGRONOMY UPDATE)
May 6, 2006... The Home Grown Cereals Authority has shown there is a clear correlation between take-all disease levels at Growth Stage 65 and treated grain yields. The study, carried out over 10 second cereal recommended list trial sites showed that...

Rhizomania watch.(AGRONOMY UPDATE)
May 6, 2006... Sugar beet growers not using rhizomania resistant varieties need to keep a close eye on crops throughout July and August, advises Elsom Seeds' Tony Guthrie. Delayed drilling in certain areas of the country combined with warm weather and...

Up-front tools are worth the weight: why carry a dead weight on the front of a tillage tractor when an implement could be there instead? Peter Hill considers the growing number of options available from manufacturers.(MACHINERY: CULTIVATIONS)
May 6, 2006... As tractors get bigger and more powerful, they are invariably given wider or longer implements to boost outputs. But why concentrate the weight on one end of the tractor when effective front linkages allow a more balanced approach? That is...

Titter ye not. My name's Beckett ... Welcome to the comedy club. Stephen Carr introduces a high-profile guest.(CARR'S CORNER)
May 6, 2006... "It's amateurs' night down at the comedy club. Lights dim. Spotlight picks up a woman from stage right, who walks up to the microphone. "Good evening, my name's Margaret Beckett and I run an important Government Ministry called DEFRA. I've...

Valuing spray membership: membership of the NRoSO is paramount, argues Helen Moore.(Podium)
May 6, 2006... "News earlier this year that "the Government is not introducing a Pesticide Tax" was a ringing endorsement for the progress made by the Voluntary Initiative over the past five years. It also confirms the great value of the National Register of...

Sweet success for Red Tractor logo.(BRIEFING)
May 6, 2006... British Sugar's icing sugar is the latest food brand to receive Red Tractor approval. The news comes as the [pounds sterling]5bn/year marker is passed for total sales of UK produce carrying the Assured Food Standards logo. Joint...

Waste woes.(BRIEFING)
May 6, 2006... I agree with your Viewpoint (Crops, 22 Apr) about new waste legislation coming at a difficult time, with scant support for the farmers who have to put it into practice. I tried to get ahead of the game by attending an Environment Agency...

Energy enthusiasm required.(VIEWPOINT)
May 6, 2006... Energy crops are a bright prospect for UK farming. But unless producers back efforts to move the sector forward this golden opportunity could be squandered. So far farming has made much of the need for government to do the pump-priming. It...

Moving mountains to comply with Directive.(JUSTIN MCDONALD'S DIARY)
May 6, 2006... MONDAY The digger arrived to start creating a hole large enough to bury our farm tip. I have decided to do this to conform to the letter of the Agricultural Waste Directive which comes into effect on 15 May. Just how big a hole we will...

Watch out with your waste: are you ready for the new Agricultural Waste Regulations? Consultant Bob Watson answers some concerns farmers are raising at the ADAS-run Environment Sensitive Farming Waste Workshops.(PERSPECTIVE)
May 6, 2006... New regulations governing the management of waste on UK farms come into effect on 15 May. To help farmers prepare ADAS has been running a series of Environment Sensitive Farming Waste Workshops. One aspect that seems to be causing great...

Taking care with water abstraction: balancing demands on water for irrigation against the need to protect natural environments is an increasingly hot topic. Paul Spackman looks at what's driving this pressure and finds out what can be done about it.(YOUR BUSINESS)
May 6, 2006... New environmental regulations mean restrictions on water abstraction are set to get even tighter, so growers must ensure they are managing their irrigation licences professionally. So says Andrew Alston, who farms 160ha of specialist crops...

DEFRA to help with plastics recycling: come 15 May it will be illegal to bury or burn plastic on farms. Andrew Blake looks at what the government is doing to help gather and recycle it.(RECYCLING)
May 6, 2006... Impending legislation banning the burning or burying plastic materials on farms has seen a flurry of firms setting up to collect and dispose of it (see Crops, 11 February). Against that background DEFRA initiated a project last September to...

Demand for land outweighs supply: the market for arable land remains largely buoyant, despite poor commodity prices and the uncertainty of CAP reform. Andrew Shirley finds out why.(LAND MARKET)
May 6, 2006... Ask most land agents across Britain what is happening to the price of arable soil and the answer is surprising. They claim prices are holding firm or even increasing. Given that wheat prices make all but the most efficient businesses on...

Information sharing proves beneficial: benchmarking has helped an East Anglian farm cut establishment costs without hitting yield. Ian Ashbridge reports.(BENCHMARKING)(Cover story)
May 6, 2006... Comparing costs on different farms is one thing. Turning those data into crop management techniques is another. But farm management company Sentry believes benchmarking can be the key to more efficient operations and better margins. A...

[pounds sterling]66.95/t wheat strategy wins the grain challenge: look ahead, know your minimum acceptable price and be aware of the impact of storage costs--three lessons to be learned from crops' grain marketing challenge, sponsored by Syngenta, as Suzie Horne wraps up the results.(GRAIN MARKETING CHALLENGE)
May 6, 2006... "The best time to have sold for harvest 2005 was in March to May 2004, when values were [pounds sterling]10 above today's. This shows the importance of being aware of the markets as far ahead as possible, and selling at a price, not a date,"...

Find a minimum acceptable price to be in business ...(GRAIN MARKETING CHALLENGE)
May 6, 2006... To be in business next year, what is my minimum acceptable price? That is the question growers must have in mind when planning grain sales, says HGCA economist Mike Mendelsohn. "Anything above that minimum is a bonus. The message is that...