Senior Knowledge Transfer Manager Henny Lowth introduces the nitrogen trials at AHDB Strategic Cereal Farms, ahead of the release of this year’s results in November. How nitrogen behaves in farming systems is often variable and hard to pin down. With nitrogen prices stuck above pre-Ukraine-war and pre-energy-crisis levels, there is an emphasis on the nutrient …
A summary of the paper published in One Earth, Volume 7, Issue 9, 20 September 2024, Pages 1638-1654 – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.07.008 Agriculture faces increasing challenges from unpredictable weather. Diversifying crops over space and time can help maintain productivity and enhance the resilience of agroecosystems by enabling farmers to adapt to environmental risks. We quantified crop output under …
Rotational complexity increases cropping system output Read More »
The Regenerative Agriculture Conference 2024, organised by the Green Farm Collective, brought together industry experts, Nuffield scholars, and innovative growers at Church Farm near Wolverhampton. Hosted by Michael Kavanagh, the event on 22 May 2024, was a landmark gathering focused on sustainable agricultural practices, attracting around 200 participants. Soil Health and Sustainable Practices Neil Fuller’s …
Green Farm Collective Regenerative Agriculture Conference 2024 Read More »
Written by Dr David Cutress: IBERS, Aberystwyth University. Why working with nature and encouraging its recovery is important? Agriculture represents the single biggest use of land area worldwide, as such it inherently has a large role to play in human interactions with natural systems. With an ever-growing population of mouths to feed, following our historic …
Land sparing and land sharing – considerations for farming with nature Read More »
Where do we stand? • The development of synthetic nitrogen production allowed a boom in agricultural yields and population growth worldwide• Whilst N is growth limiting it is regularly applied at levels where less than half is used by the plants, wasting input costs and causing theexcess to harm the environment• Whilst N efficiency losses …
As discussions around sustainable farming practices and environmental stewardship continue to gain momentum, the spotlight on soil health has never been brighter. Recognising the critical need for effective soil monitoring solutions, PES Technologies has emerged as a pioneering force, offering a fast, accurate, and hassle-free method to measure soil health right in the field.
Written by Steve Holloway from Soil Fertility Services Like many other crops, wheat requires various nutrients for optimal growth and development. Nitrogen is one of the most critical nutrients for wheat, as a key component of proteins essential for the plant’s structure and function. When Nitrogen is applied to wheat, it directly influences the plant’s …
The role of nitrogen and innovative biological solutions Read More »
The reviewers found that nine of the 11 product categories were associated with a statistically significant increase in yield in at least one experiment. For the most common product categories – seaweed extracts, humic substances, phosphite and plant-growth-promoting bacteria – statistically significant yield responses were observed for 3/7, 3/4, 4/17 and 13/15 cereal experiments, respectively. Data for oilseed rape was found to be lacking for all products, and no firm conclusions could be made.
As I embarked on my Nuffield scholarship in 2022, I held soil carbon markets (SCMs) in very high regard. The media buzz portrayed them as a transformative solution for promoting regenerative farming in UK agriculture. Sceptics of SCMs were dismissed as ‘killjoys’ and those likening it to the ‘wild west’ considered ‘spoilsports’. Soil carbon dynamics …
The RL has entered its eightieth year. Jason Pole, technical content manager at AHDB, explores the history and direction of the long-lived lists. A brief history? The RL has delivered trusted, independent variety information since 1944. Over the intervening 80 years, it has evolved and adapted through many changes to farming and wider society. Although …
