Author name: Direct Driller

Unlocking the power of genomics: What it means for farmers

Products in Focus, Soils Farmer / By

Biostimulants are becoming a staple in agriculture, enabling growers to boost crop health, resilience, and yields in a cost-effective way. Until now, farmers and agronomists have assessed the efficacy of these products through phenotypic observations – measuring visible changes such as larger root systems, greener leaves, or improved overall plant vigour. While this approach has …

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UK National Action Plan Overlooks Biologicals – WBF Urges Regulatory Reform

Research, Soils Farmer / By

The UK Government’s revised National Action Plan (NAP) for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (2025) was published to reduce pesticide risk and promote more sustainable crop protection practices. However, for the World BioProtection Forum (WBF)—the voice of the biologicals industry—this plan represents a critical missed opportunity. While the NAP recognises Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as …

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New living mulches guide to help boost soil health and farm resilience

Farm Trial Results, Research, Soils Farmer / By

Farmers looking to enhance soil health, increase resilience, and improve sustainability now have a powerful resource at their fingertips. The newly released Agricology Living Mulches Technical Guide provides clear, practical advice on implementing living mulch strategies that deliver tangible benefits across farms of all sizes. Living mulches are semi-permanent legume understories sown beneath cereal crops …

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Pasture for life growing on many fronts

Farm Trial Results, Livestock on Farm, Soils Farmer / By

Pasture for Life, which champions the restorative power of grazing animals, continues to go from strength to strength with ambitious targets of hitting 5,000 members farming one million hectares by 2029. Last year saw 208 events delivered and 93 farmers trained as grazing mentors helping 166 mentees. There was activity across England, Scotland and Wales, …

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Parsnip Pioneers: the world’s first autonomously grown parsnip crop

Farm Trial Results, Machinery, Research, Robotics, Tech Farmer / By

Huntapac’s parsnip crop, grown without human machinery operation, used Skippy Scout drone monitoring operated by Agrii’s technical experts in the world’s first instance of entirely autonomous vegetable agronomy and production. Huntapac, in collaboration with Autonomous Agri Solutions, AutoSpray Systems and Agrii, funded by the Marks and Spencer Plan A Accelerator Fund, successfully grew a crop …

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New technology connecting the lab to the field

Agronomist Focus, Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Robotics, Tech Farmer / By

Drone technology is unlocking the potential of traditional crop trials and helping to bridge the gap between detailed laboratory studies and field trials. Drones were used to assess an oilseed rape trial this spring at a site in Yorkshire, gathering data that hasn’t been possible before. The trial is a collaboration between Envirofield, Agrii and …

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Artificial intelligence is speeding up the development of the next generation of Biostimulants

Artificial Intelligence, Products in Focus, Tech Farmer, Varieties / By

Written by Syngenta Syngenta and the pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) company TraitSeq are combining forces to use the full power of AI for the development of innovative, high-performance biostimulants. Syngenta, a world leader in developing the next generation of biologicals products for agricultural use, will use its extensive knowledge of crop biology to complement TraitSeq’s …

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Humic Substances: a background to their classification, properties, origins and uses in Agriculture.

Soil Health, Soils Farmer / By

Written by Tim Smales from Humi-Cert.com Humic substances play a vital role in a healthy soil.  We’ll review what humic substances are, their benefits, the various amendments that are available and some examples of how they are used in agriculture.  Having an understanding of these substances and their properties is of great use in understanding …

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Planning for silage success 2025 – using AgTech to fine tune decision making.

Agronomist Focus / By

Improving quality and producing the right quantity for the animal numbers on farm takes planning and it starts with the soil, test so that you know what you already have on farm in the soil, in the slurry/FYM means than when the conditions are right the correct amount of nutrients can be applied to the …

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