Lightening the load on glyphosate
For many direct drillers, glyphosate remains the cornerstone of successful crop establishment.
Agronomist Focus
How agronomy is adapting to better serve UK growers
Rob Bowes I’ve been an agronomist for over a decade, and I’ve seen my role change enormously over the years. A focus on crop health is simply one of the many hats I now wear as I collaborate with a range of specialist teams to better serve the growers I support. At Frontier, we believe …
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Building Resilient Forage Systems
What we know about the seasons is that there is no “normal” year. Last year saw droughts in many areas, causing forage shortages that have challenged production and affected the bottom line. Traditional cropping systems of ryegrass, maize and whole crop are not meeting the dry matter yields needed to sustain essential forage supplies, which …
Protect the flag leaf to fulfil yield potential
With many crops facing higher disease pressure this spring, Direct Driller takes a look at what this will mean for the crucial flag leaf (T2) fungicide timing Of all the main wheat fungicide timings, the flag leaf (GS 37-39) application delivers by far the greatest return, with the top two leaves typically contributing two-thirds of …
Making sense of satellite imagery
It is more accessible and affordable than ever before, but do you know your RGB from your NDVI? Jonathan Trotter from Agrii delves into the details of satellite crop scanning Unprecedented access to satellite imagery is giving growers a clearer and timelier picture of what is happening in crops throughout the season. Different types of …
Turning Pressure into Progress: Managing Cost of Production for a More Resilient Farm Business
Written by Jack Hind from Indigro In today’s arable farming environment, everyone is feeling the financial squeeze. Reduced yields, lower commodity prices, higher input costs, no BPS and uncertainty over government support all have an impact on one thing – margin. When the pie is getting smaller, but pressure continues to rise, how can we …
Agronomist in Focus – Ben Foster
How variable rate nitrogen applications can help offset upcoming fertiliser taxation The new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) tax, which is expected to add £50-£75 per tonne to nitrogen prices, is less than a year away. But it is likely to be felt this year, since the EU implemented its CBAM tax, which accounts for …
How healthy soil protects water and profits
Building soil health is one of the best ways to improve the resilience, profitability and sustainability of farming systems. The Soil & Water Health Day, organised in collaboration by Hutchinsons, the Ribble Rivers Trust and Mersey Rivers Trust, explored the practical steps farmers can take to improve soil health and protect watercourses, featuring in-field demonstrations …
Agronomist in Focus
Written by Louise Penn from Ceres Rural Setting Goals for 2026 For the first time in what feels like a long while, I am genuinely looking forward to the spring agronomy season ahead. The last few years have been tough. Awfully wet winters have led to poor establishment, delayed drilling, crop walking running right into …
The battle for a balanced biome soil
Increasing protozoa activity and enabling plants to efficiently utilise nutrients released by that protozoa development, is crucial for nutrient cycling and soil fertility, according to independent soil microbiology analysts. “Protozoa are the key indicator species for a well-balanced, biologically healthy biome, which interacts beneficially with the crops being grown, and are essential for earthworms to …