When phosphate prices rocketed three years ago, Cambridgeshire arable farmer Russell McKenzie faced the same dilemma as many growers: how to maintain crop performance while keeping a lid on input costs. Instead of simply absorbing the rising cost of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), he decided to test whether biological alternatives could take its place. “This led …
Written by Mike Harrington from Edaphos I have written articles for DD magazine on phosphorus and potassium so it’s time to complete the set and take a look at nitrogen. Nitrogen inputs are generally framed as merely a commodity input in agriculture — something to be bought, applied and managed. However, nitrogen is far more …
By Ben Foster, RHIZA Product Manager Rotations are changing, and farm management systems need to change with them to help farmers manage their data effectively. According to the latest DEFRA figures on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions uptake, there are 32,200 active SFI agreements, taking 3.4% of England’s utilised agricultural area out of food …
New Updates for Agrii’s Contour Platform Help Manage SFI Changes to Rotations Read More »
By Dan Crummett from No-Till farmer USA Takeaways Big changes are under way in the soil testing industry as digital technology demonstrates the importance of viewing farm fields as a living system — requiring more than a yearly grocery list of plant nutrients. No-tillers and strip-tillers take soil biology seriously and many of them are looking beyond …
How Soil Testing is Evolving into ‘Predictive Agronomy’ Read More »
Autumn Crops Despite another wet autumn crops are relatively clean and well established. OSR had reduced CSF grazing this year and pigeons/slugs aside, looks well. The dry spring has kept diseases down throughout flowering and crops are now podding up nicely. Harvest will soon be upon us and we’ll see how yields have fared. Premium …
A comprehensive Agrii trial focusing on different combinations of drilling date, cultivation technique and drill options is delivering vital insight into the best management strategies for achieving the most effective blackgrass control while encouraging strongly early crop growth. Delaying drilling to give the best options for blackgrass control or simply because of challenging autumn conditions …
By Louise Penn I’m still undecided on how I feel about this season, and from an agronomic perspective, I can’t quite predict where yields will land. On one hand, crops have faced relentless pressure: a wet autumn followed by a record breaking dry spring. But on the other hand, some crops have surprised me and …
Looking Ahead: Building Resilience After Another Testing Season Read More »
Time to give soils a lift? After two incessantly wet winters followed by virtual drought conditions, soil biology is approaching an all-time low in many fields, says Chris Martin, Agrovista’s head of soil health. He urges all growers, including the most ardent regen enthusiasts, to check they are not heading for a costly backward step …
By Tim Ashley, Edaphos Agronomy Introduction The 2025 wheat season has revealed significant vulnerabilities in cereal production systems across the UK. Yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) has emerged as the most problematic disease of the year, affecting a wide range of wheat varieties, including those previously considered resistant. The widespread reliance on fungicides, …
Yellow Rust: A Symptom of Systemic Weakness in Cereal Cropping Systems Read More »
Spring cropping provides one of the best opportunities for control of problem grassweeds, but with only a few of the selective herbicides used in the autumn authorised for application in the spring, growers need to plan carefully if they are to achieve the high-level control needed. Spring weed control requires different tactics because there are …
Newer herbicides and multiple modes of action are the key to grassweed control success Read More »
