Crops articles from November 2005

Crops archives from November 2005

Real reach.(VIEWPOINT)
November 12, 2005... Real reach. Colin Bell gets hedge trimming under way for agricultural contractor Neil Fuller at Greenings Farm near Horley, Sussex. "We do about 750 hours of hedge cutting a year," Mr Fuller says. "We're just entering the peak period which runs...

Momentum or dust?(VIEWPOINT)
November 12, 2005... THE RECENT release of the Biomass Task Force Report to Government may not immediately strike farmers as particularly good news for the industry. Many would have hoped for a resounding thumbs-up for energy crops. Instead, the report puts...

Partnerships needed.(VIEWPOINT)
November 12, 2005... IF YOU think diffuse pollution is nothing to do with you, think again. No-one should escape responsibility when it comes to ensuring the country's water supplies are clean. Agriculture is not unique in being hit by the EU Water Framework...

Fighting gloom.(VIEWPOINT)
November 12, 2005... GROWERS MUST know their cost of production per tonne. That's the conclusion of this year's Deloitte Farm Income Survey. The message is not new. It reinforces what many experts have been saying for a while. And if the portents are to be...

Scotland and England Crops Conferences.(VIEWPOINT)
November 12, 2005... Time is running out to secure your place at this year's Scotland and England Crops Conferences near Perth (16 Nov) and Cambridge (23 Nov). With a programme tailored to focus on improved collaboration and marketing in the arable sector and a...

Manifesto for Education Outside the Classroom.(VIEWPOINT)
November 12, 2005... The government has launched a public consultation on a Manifesto for Education Outside the Classroom. The manifesto aims to promote the benefits of "out-of-classroom" learning through activities such as day visits to commercial and city farms,...

Farmed Environment Company.(VIEWPOINT)
November 12, 2005... Wildlife is the business of farming now that subsidy has moved from production to the environment. So Crops is teaming up with the Farmed Environment Company to stage the conference on agricultural sustainability. The date is 7 February 2006....

Dear Pope Benedict.(VIEWPOINT)(Cartoon)
November 12, 2005... "No, I said ruddy right to roam."

Having the energy for amalgamation: rising fuel costs mean a new approach to input use and purchasing is needed, argues Marie Skinner.(FARMERFORUM)
November 12, 2005... MAKING money out of arable production is a struggle. The efficient uptake of R & D in the past 20 years has led to a highly cost conscious industry where inputs are used to maximum effect. Gone are the days when fertiliser was applied...

Better off if we stick together: this month could see a major turning point for the reform of the sugar regime. So what does the NFU want? Asks Mike Blacker.(FARMERFORUM)
November 12, 2005... WHILE standing on the headland of another beet field watching my six-row tanker at work my customer said: "It seems like this sugar reform has been going on forever". I knew what was coming next: "What are you doing for me and will I still be...

Arnaud Vecten: farming in France.(WORLDFARMING)
November 12, 2005... ALONG rainless spell at harvest meant the drying bill for grain maize wasn't as high as it might have been. I cut the final few hectares in the last week of October with the grain delivered to the coop at 27% moisture content instead of the...

Lure of the pest treat trap: luring storage beetle pests into traps allows more reliable monitoring and prompter preventative action. Sarah Henly reports.(STORAGE PESTS)
November 12, 2005... Ever had grain rejected due to insect pest contamination when you believed it to be clean? Then you'll be attracted by a new development in grain monitoring. A blend of extracts taken from peanuts and the chocolate substitute, carob, has...

Peace of mind set-up gives good insurance: stopping pesticides straying into watercourses when filling and washing down sprayers needn't cost a fortune. Andrew Blake reports.(PESTICIDES)
November 12, 2005... WITH post-CAP reform pressure on farmers to act even more responsibly on environmental matters, creating a biobed is a sensible move, says a Notts pioneer of the technique. Until recently Tim Kirk and his sprayer operator Ian Smith at Glebe...

Legal playing field's shifting all the time.(PESTICIDES)
November 12, 2005... THE Glebe Farm biobed is fully legal, stresses VI manager Patrick Goldsworthy. But under impending new waste legislation biobeds will need an exemption to avoid them being licensed as a waste treatment plant--something the NFU is pressing...

Why strobilurins can still hit septoria: why do strobilurin fungicides still have some efficacy against septoria tritici? Mike Abram heard Bill Clark give five possible explanations at the recent BCPC Congress in Glasgow.(BCPC CONFERENCE)
November 12, 2005... A STRANGE phenomenon has been happening in wheat fungicide trials over the past two seasons--supposedly 100% resistant septoria tritici is still being controlled by strobilurin fungicides. And not just when mixed with triazoles as...

Frost may be threat to forward OSR.(AGRONOMYUPDATE)
November 12, 2005... ADVANCED oilseed rape crops could be at greater risk from frost damage this winter, experts have warned. With meteorologists predicting a 65% chance of a harsh winter, forward crops with relatively soft foliage and stems may be more prone...

Targeted beet fertiliser.(AGRONOMYUPDATE)
November 12, 2005... OMEX Agriculture has launched a new range of sugar beet suspension fertilisers aimed specifically at soil types around the Allscott factory in Shropshire. The Beetex range consists of four products containing essential trace elements...

Blackgrass nozzle revamped.(AGRONOMYUPDATE)
November 12, 2005... SYNGENTA has launched a new version of its Hawk blackgrass nozzle. The company claims that reducing the fan angle from 130[degrees] to 118[degrees] will reduce drift, and the re-engineered nozzle will allow smoother liquid flow to give more...

Rotary combine satisfies big need: growing demand for the biggest capacity combines--especially in Britain--has encouraged the introduction of a European-built rotary to the New Holland stable. Peter Hill reports.(MACHINERY)
November 12, 2005... The New Holland CR combine is no stranger to big British farms. Introduced for the 2003 harvest, the North American-built machine replaced the TF series combines with the promise of at least 20% more output. In practice, growers have...

Massey Ferguson production boost.(MACHINERY)
November 12, 2005... Agco has increased production of Massey Ferguson Cerea straw walker combines by 40% this year to meet keen demand. Production at the Randers factory in Denmark has been reorganised into cells rather than as a moving line, with teams...

Disc broadcaster offers accuracy at speed.(MACHINERY)
November 12, 2005... Close scrutiny of high-speed video showing the way fertiliser prills and granules react when collected by a spreader vane travelling at 112mph has helped refine the way material is released to the spinning disc on the latest Kuhn twin-disc...

Focused on a brighter future: the prospects for arable farming in the UK look bright for those businesses that prepare themselves for the challenges that lie ahead.(News from the Masstock Group)
November 12, 2005... Times may be tough, but there are real signs that we can be optimistic about the future. Subsidy reform, the introduction of the Single Payment and continuing pressure on grain markets mean that many of our customers are finding the current...

Putting sense into soils: every UK farm has to complete a soil management plan in 2006. But it doesn't cost the earth and can save you washing or blowing away your profits. Here we guide you through the process and highlight the benefits.(Soil management)
November 12, 2005... Soil care is rising up the political agenda as DEFRA focuses ever tighter on natural resources, sustainability and cross-compliance. And as the DEFRA soil focus tightens, so it's smart for farmers and land managers to apply new thinking to the...

Agronomy is the key ally in blackgrass battle: results from Masstock's blackgrass platform site in Cambridgeshire are showing cereal growers how they can improve levels of blackgrass control, without necessarily having to spend more on herbicides.(Agronomy)
November 12, 2005... While sensible Atlantis programmes are still working well on blackgrass, there's little incentive for growers to do anything different, accepts Masstock's technical manager Clare Bend. "But the problem will come in a few years' time," she...

Innovation delivers a bright future.(New markets)
November 12, 2005... From the field to the forecourt, Masstock is working hard to ensure profitable returns for the UK's arable farmers. As this special feature shows, a strong R & D base and its work with key industry partners put the Group at the forefront of new...

Oilseed rape comes of age.(Research)
November 12, 2005... Oilseed rape is fast becoming a mainstay crop, yet agronomy research is thin on the ground, compared to wheat. Work across the country within Masstock's R & D programme and on its SMART farms is set to right this arable imbalance and inject new...

Leading lights from Recommended List: the 2006 Recommended List is due to be unveiled next month. How do the contenders shape up?(New varieties)
November 12, 2005... There are twelve winter wheats lining up for recommendation next month, but less than half of them have something to offer over the existing choices, believes Masstock's Barry Barker, head of the Master Seeds range. "You have to consider...

Finding a route to SFP confidence: to make the most of the new subsidy structure, contract farming agreements may need a review. An MFC consultant and a Cleanacres agronomist helped one Oxon farmer put his contract into shape.(Business consultancy)
November 12, 2005... The policy-makers have ended their rhetoric on the Single Farm Payment, and left it up to every farm business in the UK to turn it into profitable reality. But with such a radical change of farming policy, the best route to fit a farm's...

Gearing up for the new season: gain knowledge and CPD points at one of the technical meetings and workshops that Masstock will be running in 2006.(Technical workshops)
November 12, 2005... Results from Masstock's extensive R & D programme will be shared with growers at a series of meetings planned for early 2006, reveals Dalgety's Peter Corbett. "Its information which can't be gleaned from anywhere else," he emphasises. "Our...

SUPERstock your grass.(Technical workshops)
November 12, 2005... Masstock's business team at Medicrop have achieved a major breakthrough, helping farmers on the Welsh Borders overcome mineral deficiencies in sheep and cattle. Using a combination of SUPERstock custom mix minerals and its new SUPERthrive...

Capitalising on the open autumn.(FARMDIARY)
November 12, 2005... REFLECTING on the 2005 harvest, we made a conscious decision to delay wheat drilling by 10 days, with the aim of completing the operation by 10 October. With the weather providing us with what must have been the most open autumn I can remember,...

Planned approach tackles black-grass.(Advertisement)
November 12, 2005... Bedfordshire-based Vass agronomist Andy Scott reckons this growing season has yet again proved that black-grass control in winter wheat and barley crop must be tackled with a planned approach. Cultural techniques such as the preparation of...

Spot-on spread and kind to soil: spreading accuracy in terms of rate and distribution, together with the ability to drop tyre pressures to minimise his machine's impact on the soil, are features of the fertiliser application service provided by a Norfolk contractor. Peter Hill reports.(MACHINERY)
November 12, 2005... Peter Dennis is a firm believer in the benefits of low ground pressure spreading equipment. Instead of tractor-based spreaders, he runs three specialist machines that provide high outputs, but with minimum impact on his customers' fields. ...

Big ideas and local solutions: a more business-like approach is essential in agriculture, predicts distributor Agrovista. But it's the people that count and how they can find solutions which will underpin success, as Julian Gairdner discovers in this second sponsored 'visions of the future' article.(VISIONS OF THE FUTURE)
November 12, 2005... THINK local and think people. It's a simple message but one that has stood one of the UK's best-known agrochemical distributors in good stead since its formation in 2000. Five years on, Agrovista has developed into a market-leading...

Your chance to enter our ... Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year award 2006: 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.(COMPETITION)
November 12, 2005... SAFE, efficient spray application is the name of the game, with public awareness at an all-time high and officials watching to see whether the Voluntary Initiative can deliver on its ambitious targets. For many sprayer operators, correct...

It's the same old weather--just 'better'.(JUSTINMCDONALD'SDIARY)
November 12, 2005... MON The weather definitely seems to have improved this autumn. Like many farmers I had naively put it down to global warming or good luck, so imagine my surprise when I learnt it's the Met Office who is responsible for all this "better"...

Matching storage to grain output: build a new grain store or resource off-farm? Many face this conundrum, with ever-increasing combine output and assurance demands. Julian Gairdner looks at issues for a Bedfordshire farm.(BUSINESS)(Cover Story)
November 12, 2005... WITH FACILITIES half a century old, the time has come for James Carlisle to upgrade the grain storage capability at Oldfield Farm, Henlow. With capacity of 1300t in a mixture of flat-floored silos, holding bins and poor-access on-floor...

Product review leaves blemish on minor crops.(LASTWORD)
November 12, 2005... MINOR horticultural crops are likely to be the main loser in the ongoing EU review of existing plant protection products, according to the Pesticides Safety Directorate's David Richardson. He believes the cost of residue trials and...

Traps highlight winter oilseed rape beetle threat.(LASTWORD)
November 12, 2005... Winter oilseed rape crops could be at greater risk of cabbage stem flea beetle attack this season, after higher numbers of adults were caught in traps this autumn, says ADAS's David Green. Mild weather has lead to earlier activity and egg...

Farm incomes expected to fall further.(LASTWORD)
November 12, 2005... Net farm incomes declined last year and the trend is expected to continue, according to Deloitte's latest Farm Income Survey. With little sign of commodity prices improving in the short term and farm costs, particularly fuel and fertiliser,...

Want help to build gadget?(LASTWORD)
November 12, 2005... WANT free help with an engineering problem that's been getting you down? Channel 4 is making a new series where experts solve problems using science or engineering to make gadgets and machines to make life easier. Programme maker Tiger...