How much do you really know about your soil and its health? Elizabeth Stockdale, NIAB and knowledge exchange lead for the AHDB Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership takes a closer look. Recent work on soil management carried out by AHDB with grower groups across the country highlighted a lack of information on soil biology …
10th October 2018 – At Nantwich Football Club Calcium has a key role in maintaining healthy, fertile soils and the production of high-quality crops and forages. Yet it is estimated that 60% of UK soils are below optimal levels of pH and calcium, and the importance of this key nutrient is often overlooked. To help …
Conference Highlights Calcium’s Vital Role In Soil Nutrition Read More »
By Nathan Morris, Elizabeth Stockdale, David Clarke – NIABLong term findings from field-scale experiments (STAR and NFS) show that while yields with non-inversion tillage are similar in most years to yields with ploughing, when decreased costs of labour and fuel are factored in, gross margins under non-inversion tillage were better than under ploughed systems. Hence …
Dr C John Baker, Feilding, NZ If you want to start a pub debate amongst farmers, try telling them which direct drilling (no-tillage) opener is the best. Everyone has an opinion. Here are some of the problems that direct drilling openers have to cope with, plus summaries of what published science and field practice tells …
Written by Maxime Barbier. First Published in TCS Magazine N°97 in March 2018 With the list of agrochemicals that is available to agriculture constantly shrinking and a threat hanging over the use of glyphosate, there is a growing interest more and more in alternative weeding solutions. All over the world many alternatives are being investigated; …
ALTERNATIVE WEED CONTROL – A WORLD WITHOUT GLYPHOSATE BUT WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES? Read More »
Written by Steve TownsendThink you have your soil fertility mastered? Well-read on about possibly the most misunderstood soil scientist Dr WilliamAlbrecht, skip this article and you could be missing something I don’t think there is anybody in agriculture more misunderstood or misquoted than Dr William Albrecht, who was emeritus professor of soils at the University …
Article adapted from a presentation given by Cotswold Seeds MD Ian Wilkinson at this year’s Groundswell event In 2016, the NFU reported the biggest year-on-year fall in farm profitability since the millennium, as farmers deal with the impact of devastating cuts in the value of their products and the rising prices of nitrogen fertiliser. There …
PUT THE BIG ‘G’ – GRASS – BACK INTO YOUR FARMING SYSTEM Read More »
Nutrient stratification is common concern for no-till farmers.By Laura Barrera, first published onwww.Agfuse.com in August 2018 Without tillage to mix fertilizer into the soil, no-tillers may wonder whether the nutrients applied to the soil surface are reaching the crop roots. According to University of Nebraska Extension engineer Paul Jasa and Ray Ward, plant scientist and …
NUTRIENT STRATIFICATION NOT A PROBLEM IN NO-TILL Read More »
Jamie Stotzka, Consultant Bioagronomist Healthy soils contain billions of bacteria from thousands of species. A special group of these bacteria, collectively known as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria or PGPR are known to promote plant health, growth and productivity. PGPR are unlike the nodulating rhizobia only found associating with leguminous plants, as they are free-living in …
It’s clear that we need to build more resilient soils, both for the future of our farms and for the long-term health of the land. The satellite images of muddy waters spilling out of brown rivers around the UK after a heavy rainfall are hair-raising. We can visibly see the soil gliding off fields, into …
HOW TO BECOME A SOIL HEALTH EXPERT ON YOUR FARM Read More »
