Soil Health

How can you keep weeds and disease at bay this spring? As warmer weather arrives and the season gets underway, we explore here the role of adjuvants in boosting the performance of herbicides and fungicides on farm to optimise weed and disease control. Right time, right place Bumper harvests are made in spring. Where every […]

Soil health is one of the government’s main concerns relating to the future of agriculture, and with many farmersnow turning towards conservation and biological farming, it is important to get soil heath, the cornerstone of theseprinciples, right. George Hepburn, biological soils expert at QLF Agronomy, gives his six practical steps for improving soil health, nomatter

Written by James Warne of Soil First Farming Ever measured the brix levels of your crops? Been told that if you achieve the magic figure of ~15% brix then you won’thave an issue with pest and disease? I have spent the last couple of years testing brix (during the spring) of most crops I visit

The undisputed indicator of a “healthy” soil is the earthworm. There are various methods of sampling (or extraction) in order to estimate a level of communities and analyse the different species present. But what is the best of these methods, both chemical or mechanical in nature? In this article we will discuss the methods you

By James Warne, Soil First Farming I recently attended the appropriately entitled ‘Calcium Conference’ which served to remind me of the importance to distinguish between calcium and pH balance within our soils, and also the importance of calcium to the dairy cow. How easily we confuse the use of calcium has with the role of

By Olivia Oldham, Farmerama Do you learn the most talking to other farmers? Don’t always find the time to get out there and hear what’s going on? Well that’s what we are here for. I am part of Farmerama Radio, an award-winning podcast released once a month sharing the voices of farmers in the UK

By Dr Niki Rust, Research Associate, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University – December 2018 issue We all know that some parts of the UK are getting more and more water- and nutrient-stressed over time. With less predictable rainfall, extended periods of droughts or heavy rainfall, and declining nutrients in some soils, it is becoming

By Sarah Ferrie, Marketing Manager at Interagro (UK) Ltd Could amino acids be one of the most overlooked assets in plant nutrition? In this feature we take a look at how supplementing the crop with amino acid biostimulants in-season not only boosts plant health and development, but can also help crops reach their genetic yield

By Mark Parker posted on June 1, 2013 | Posted in No-Till Farmer USA Growing double-crop sunflowers with multiple species has reduced inputs and enhanced primary crop health for Kansas no-tillers Robin and Kelly Griffeth. Double crop sunflowers planted with companion crops have a triple payoff for Jewell, Kan., no-tillers Robin and Kelly Griffeth. With

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