LG Beowulf – the highest yielding wheat on the 2024-25 AHDB Recommended List offering a complete agronomic package for securing high yield potential on-farm. Ron Granger, arable technical manager for breeders Limagrain UK, shares his views on what the variety offers and where it fits on farm. As breeders, when we make a cross between …
Latest Agrii trials suggest while clear differences can be seen between varieties in various production scenarios, there is little to separate them when it comes to their performance in direct drilling or conventional cultivation systems.
Having started my career at Dalgety Agriculture too many years ago, I was hooked. Farming is so diverse, and there are many opportunities available from a nutritionist to an agronomist. I tried on a few different hats and was lucky enough to have support from some great people along the way. When I realised that I loved growing things and helping people do the best job possible, I decided to focus on agronomy.
With the delayed Spring, forages stocks have been severely challenged, late turn out meant that already depleted Winter stocks were used, and grazing paddocks left longer than expected in warm wet conditions continued to grow so quality was reduced. This alongside being unable to apply fertiliser particularly in the heavier soils of the west has meant a late start to both grazing and silaging in the livestock sector. Even now soils have not recovered, recent silaging has been under challenging conditions in many areas trailers and foragers being pulled in and out of fields. This means that the silage is likely to be poorer quality due to late cutting, little or no fertiliser applied so yields not what they could be and the resulting damage and compaction to fields potentially having a knock-on effect for 2nd cut. Upon completion of VESS soil inspections around the country, compaction can be seen because of heavy winter rainfall, animal treading following a wet Autumn and Spring, this will mean that plant roots will be restricted from taking up water if the summer turns dry reducing the ability of the plant to endure periods of drought.Â
There are new payments to encourage the uptake of precision farming, and increasingly powerful platforms to implement it. Steve Butler, Agrovista precision specialist, examines some of the benefits on offer. Precision farming has been gaining traction on UK farms for the past 20 years, aiding crop production, farm efficiency, grower knowledge and ultimately, business profitability. …
Bringing all the data together within a management system has allowed a Lincolnshire arable business to rationally assess new markets. Farm manager Nick Young discusses the changes with Agrii. The 1200ha Holton Farms in north-east Lincolnshire is fully invested in precision farming technology. From automated guidance and yield mapping to soil texture analysis to variable-rate …
Data-driven decisions open up new opportunities Read More »
Around 100 farmers from across East Anglia attended a recent demonstration day in Suffolk, where drills from leading manufacturers were put through their paces in a variety of establishment situations. The event at Street Farm on Ampton Hall Estate, near Bury St Edmunds, was organised by leading agronomy firm Farmacy, and kindly hosted by Strutt …
Soil health takes centre stage at direct drilling demo Read More »
Todd Jex won Arable Advisor of the Year at the Farmers Weekly Awards by being at the forefront of the latest regenerative and no-till farming practices. The award is the culmination of a journey he began almost a decade ago when his eyes were opened to a different way of farming following a visit to …
An award-winning advisor’s path to no-till agronomy Read More »
Written by George Hepburn from Aiva Fertilisers With the amount of rain we have had and the poor crop conditions this year, the availability of phosphate is going to be critical to maintaining yield potential. In this article, we will explore the chemistry behind it and how important biology is to release it. Not only …
Featuring John Haywood from Unium Bioscience With rainfall totals reaching the highest recorded since the year 2000, many winter crops have been in standing water for prolonged periods. Research indicates that the longer winter crops are exposed to flooded conditions the more significant the impact, as one might anticipate. According to experts, supporting roots in …
Damage limitation and root support for flooded crops Read More »
