Crops articles from November 2004

Crops archives from November 2004

Taking a break.(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... Taking a break. Sequel barley receives 250kg/ha of phosphate and potash, and an Encore and Halmark spray mix at Holmebrink Farm, Methwold, West Norfolk. "We're up to date with spraying on the cereals," says David Wortley (left). "Two inches of...

Making a start.(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... WHAT chance UK-produced biodiesel from UK rapeseed oil within 18 months? Judging by the activity on Humberside, Teesside and north Norfolk, the odds are improving daily. As our six-page biofuels special proves, the existing tax breaks...

Think long term.(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... CAN you grow 10t/ha of wheat? It's what many growers will need to do in order to break even on the crop without adding in the single farm payment, accountancy firm Deloitte predicts. If the arable area payment is removed wheat growers...

Water, water ...(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... ANYONE using irrigation to guarantee quality, consistency, yield, and harvest timeliness of crops understands the importance of water. But how many truly know its value or if they're using it efficiently? Soon they will. Future licence...

Thames Water Utilities.(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... Any thoughts that the water companies have been crying wolf over diffuse pollution of pesticides have been banished by Thames Water Utilities' decision to ask the Pesticides Safety Directorate to ban IPU. The problem of residues in groundwater...

Serenading crops like peas and sugar beet can add 10% to yields.(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... Serenading crops like peas and sugar beet can add 10% to yields, a German grower from Lower Saxony claims, after discovering the technique in the Far East. Bird-like tones emitted from loudspeakers are believed by the Indonesians to encourage...

HGCA.(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... The lowest hagbergs for 10 years in some areas, and a 30% drop against the three-year average for the UK, adds further weight to what most growers already know: there is a lot of poor quality wheat that needs shifting. The findings of the HGCA...

Crops.(VIEWPOINT)
November 13, 2004... A new face for a new season. Liz Robinson joins the Crops team as technical writer, bringing with her four years' experience in technical support and field trials at Banks Cargill. With a strong understanding of crop production and the...

Grassing down the marginal land: taking the environmental money makes good sense on low yielding land, Stephen Carr says. But he does have reservations.(FARMERFORUM)
November 13, 2004... I RECENTLY took a decision which I think will shock you. I have entered over half my existing arable acreage into my local Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme--to be reverted to grassland. The land has since been accepted by DEFRA and means...

Hauling the industry into line: tight margins for hauliers mean all involved in the food sector must strive for greater efficiencies, argues David Caffall.(FARMERFORUM)
November 13, 2004... TIMELY delivery of inputs such as seed or fertiliser, often within a short window, or the despatch of grain for sale, are operations which can be taken for granted. But perhaps they shouldn't be. Could we one day face the prospect of...

Harald Isermeyer: farming in Germany.(WORLDFARMING)
November 13, 2004... CONTINUOUS wet weather as we moved into October means our winter wheat is going into less than perfect seedbeds. Work was held back as we waited for fields to dry out--only to have the ground rained on once again just as we were thinking of...

Precious resource: make sure you demonstrate you are using water efficiently, growers are told at a UK Irrigation Association meeting. Julian Gairdner reports.(IRRIGATION)
November 13, 2004... WANT to be able to irrigate? Then you need to start thinking about proving water use efficiency on the farm. Why? Because growing pressure--legislative, environmental and increased demand--means the Environment Agency will be scrutinising...

Filled with ambition: biofuels talk is becoming action with confirmed plans to build biodiesel plants in the UK, and research to provide consumers with confidence in the environmental credentials of both biodiesel and bioethanol. Julian Gairdner kicks off this biofuels special.(BIOFUELS SPECIAL)(Cover Story)
November 13, 2004... A NEW market for 200,000t of contract-grown rapeseed for biodiesel will be created in time for plantings next autumn thanks to the construction of a new processing plant at Immingham, on the Humber. Although the project is still in its...

Proving the credentials: the bioethanol accreditation scheme was announced at Cereals 2004 by the HGCA. Julian Gairdner has the latest news.(BIOFUELS SPECIAL)
November 13, 2004... ONE hectare of wheat can provide enough bioethanol to drive your car once around the globe, and it could save up to 60% on carbon emissions compared to normal petrol. Those are the first of several findings to be announced in December from...

Primed to win its share: we will soon have a powerful tool to help support the increased use of homegrown cereals and oilseeds in domestic biofuel production. Sarah Henly explains.(BIOFUELS SPECIAL)
November 13, 2004... DAVID Turley knows a lot about energy usage, despite the fact that he and two colleagues at Central Science Laboratory have spent six months sitting at their desks burning very little. They've had their heads down gathering useful facts about...

Spray rate debate update: fine-tuning pesticide rates to cope with low crop prices was a key theme at last week's BCPC Seminars in Glasgow. Liz Robinson reports.(BCPC SEMINARS)
November 13, 2004... MANIPULATING manufacturer dose rates lower and lower--an irresponsible practice or sound economic sense? That was a key issue at last week's BCPC Seminars in Glasgow, where strong financial arguments for cutting rates were balanced by...

The Arable Group.(In brief)
November 13, 2004... PRECISION farming techniques are struggling to gain a foothold in weed control despite the potential cost benefits to farmers, noted The Arable Group's Jim Orson. Automatic detection systems are already helping mechanical weed control, and new...

The 2005 BCPC International Congress.(In brief)
November 13, 2004... The 2005 BCPC International Congress will be held in Glasgow from 31 October to 2 November. The event, to be held at the SECC in Glasgow, will change from the seminar format seen this year back to the traditional conference format.

Neil Paveley.(In brief)
November 13, 2004... Further cuts to field doses of strobilurin fungicides are likely next season, according to ADAS fungicide specialist Neil Paveley. Efficacy has dropped considerably over the past two years, as a result of increasing Septoria resistance. "Yield...

New fungicide tool.(AGRONOMYUPDATE)
November 13, 2004... NEW BASF fungicide, BAS549, will add another fungicide option at T1 for wheat and barley. A combination of the market-leading triazole, epoxiconazole, and boscalid--a new active ingredient for cereals--the product offers broad-spectrum...

Investing in wheat future.(AGRONOMYUPDATE)
November 13, 2004... A NEW [pounds sterling]0.25m wheat breeding facility at Syngenta's Whittlesford site in Cambridgeshire is utilising expertise in high-tech breeding technologies including gene marker assistance and double-haploid techniques in a drive towards...

Wet autumn woes.(FARMDIARY)
November 13, 2004... A WET August left a legacy that we are still trying to shake off at the beginning of November. About 110 mm of rain in September and October has fallen in evenly spaced showers, and our fields have never really dried out. Cereal seedbeds...

Guiding hand of progress: combine innovation continues apace, with auto-steering, new MF models and a high capacity weather beater all to the fore in our harvesting round-up. Peter Hill reports.(MACHINERY)
November 13, 2004... ADOPTING a 'hands-off' management style normally means being less involved. But when it comes to the modern combine it can mean just the opposite. Steering to maximise cutting width, without leaving uncut strips of crop, consumes...

Added choice from Massey.(MACHINERY)
November 13, 2004... A REVAMPED range of Massey Ferguson combines for the 2005 harvest sees all but the top two models in the existing range ousted in favour of models sourced from the Laverda works in Italy. Apart from giving the combines an MF look, through...

Lexion rides out the storms.(MACHINERY)
November 13, 2004... DESPITE conditions that proved more than a little trying this summer. Nottinghamshire contractor Malcolm Yates used just one combine to harvest 1,370ha of wheat, rape, peas and linseed--all grown on heavy land that often lay wet. Until...

Pride of the show: the serried ranks of polished tractors, harvesters and implements will undoubtedly be a big draw for many visitors to the Royal Smithfield Show. Peter Hill previews the likely highlights.(MACHINERY)
November 13, 2004... SMITHFIELD '04 promises plenty of new equipment launches among the exhibits of specialist implement manufacturers and importers. From new cultivators and seed drills, to crop sprayers and fertiliser broadcasters, there will be new ideas and...

Undoing the wet harvest damage.(FARMDIARY)
November 13, 2004... THE AUTUMN drilling campaign came to an abrupt, weather-imposed halt here on 12 October after a fairly good run which has seen us able to drill 70% of the intended area for autumn 2004. I doubt whether we will be able to snatch the final few...

Get the start date right: growers need to take care when deciding what date to use for the 10-month occupation rule. Julian Gairdner takes a closer look.(BUSINESS)
November 13, 2004... A SINGLE date from which to start the 10-month occupation period to qualify for receipt of the single farm payment applies to the whole holding--different dates cannot be chosen for different parcels of land on the same IACS claim. That's...

DEFRA issues FVP guidance.(BUSINESS)
November 13, 2004... DECIDING who can claim fruit, vegetable and potato authorisations which attach to single farm payment entitlements will depend on who was responsible for the crop, Ms Robinson says. "Where more than one party may reasonably claim to have...

Alun Michael.(In brief)
November 13, 2004... Land used for grazing horses will be included for the purposes of the single farm payment, rural affairs minister Alun Michael has confirmed

DEFRA.(In brief)
November 13, 2004... The on-going siphon on traded entitlements will not be used, DEFRA says, although this will be kept under review

Hedges.(In brief)
November 13, 2004... Hedges planted after 1 January 2005 will be exempt from the need to have a 2m buffer strip for the first five years of their existence.

Pushing 13% plus.(LASTWORD)
November 13, 2004... KEEN TO hit that holy grail of high yielding wheat with 13%-plus protein? Grainfarmers UAP and Terra Nitrogen reckon they have the job cracked with a new programme of field specific recommendations. More nitrogen, more management...

Soggy spuds demand urgent attention.(LASTWORD)
November 13, 2004... SOGGY potato harvesting weather has left a legacy for storage and late lifting, warns the BPC. Crops still in the ground are giving particular cause for concern, with quality becoming questionable as temperatures tumble, says BPC...

Exposing the facts.(BRIEFLY)
November 13, 2004... The Soil Association is canvassing support from members and supporters to fund new research into pesticide usage and residue effects. Its aim is to expose the "cocktail effect" of pesticides, risks to children and a case for the pesticide tax....

Assurance simplified.(BRIEFLY)
November 13, 2004... In a bid to minimise the burden on farmers, no new standards will be added to the Scottish Quality Cereals scheme this coming year. The SQC has vowed only to introduce a new standard if there is a real need or benefit to its customers.

On-line guide to chems.(BRIEFLY)
November 13, 2004... Look out for the updated e-Pesticide Manual from the BCPC. Containing over 8,200 product names including 1,600 discontinued products, the new edition boasts a new screen layout and more user-friendly operation. Copies of the manual on CD are...

So you think you are good at marketing?(BRIEFLY)
November 13, 2004... HGCA and Gleadall Agriculture figures presented by Gleadall's Jon Duffy at the NFU Combinable Crops Conference in Peterborough suggest not all farmers are marketing experts. "Farmers are not very good at selling their grain. In 2000-01 the...