The Power of Foliar Feeding
Key to regenerative farming is the ability to cut fertiliser inputs, while not compromising on…
Newer herbicides and multiple modes of action are the key to grassweed control success
Spring cropping provides one of the best opportunities for control of problem grassweeds, but with…
Farmer Focus – Zoe Fletcher
Hello! I am Zoe, the Assistant Farm Manager on a large arable and sheep farm…
Plan for Potassium
Written by George Hepburn, Crop Nutrition Consultant with AIVA. The time has come to think…
Drilling for Success: The Versatility of AMAZONE’s Tine Drills
In the current farming climate, growers require drills with maximum flexibility to handle multiple crop…
Foliars mean less nitrogen with increased yield and protein
Rosalind Platt is managing director of crop nutrition specialists BFS Fertiliser Services Limited. Foliar nitrogen…
Farmer Focus – Ben Taylor-Davies
Embracing Diversity and Branding for Farm Resilience Up horn, down corn – never has this…
Agronomist in Focus – Cameron Ferguson
Responding to the challenges of climate change and extreme weather with versatile varieties Although…
Unlocking the power of genomics: What it means for farmers
Biostimulants are becoming a staple in agriculture, enabling growers to boost crop health, resilience, and…
UK National Action Plan Overlooks Biologicals – WBF Urges Regulatory Reform
The UK Government’s revised National Action Plan (NAP) for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (2025)…
Farmer Focus – Andy Cato
Mar 2025 On an April day 90 years ago, Hugh Bennett was testifying to the…
Regenerating the soils of tomorrow: SoilPoint’s answer to the UK’s Agricultural Crisis
As farmers worldwide face the dual challenges of maintaining productivity while transitioning to more sustainable…
Farmer Focus – David Aglen
Mar 2025 Reflections on learnings and change. We are moving on to pastures new, after…
Agronomist in Focus – Harry Molton
“Roots, Rotation and Resilience: The first steps to a more productive and profitable future. The…
New living mulches guide to help boost soil health and farm resilience
Farmers looking to enhance soil health, increase resilience, and improve sustainability now have a powerful…
Farmer Focus – Tim Parton
At the time of writing things are getting dry! Are we in for another dry…
Pasture for life growing on many fronts
Pasture for Life, which champions the restorative power of grazing animals, continues to go from…
Turning the Tide: How Digital Intelligence Can Help British Farmers Break the ‘Perma-Crisis’
Let’s be honest — there’s hardly a farmer in Britain today who doesn’t feel like…
Ag Tech Has a Problem
There is a common saying around the industry that “Farmers are slow to adopt technology.”…
Parsnip Pioneers: the world’s first autonomously grown parsnip crop
Huntapac’s parsnip crop, grown without human machinery operation, used Skippy Scout drone monitoring operated by…
New genomic technologies flex their potential
Billions are being invested in gene editing globally, but what innovations will that investment deliver?…
New technology connecting the lab to the field
Drone technology is unlocking the potential of traditional crop trials and helping to bridge the…
Farmer and scientist collaboration helps to unearth soil secrets
Farmers and scientists working on the TRUTH Project have revealed some intriguing findings from their…
A ‘big revolution’ in nitrogen management
Nuffield Recommendations for ‘AgTech’ entrepreneurship and development
Yorkshire entrepreneur Hannah Senior NSch has published her Nuffield Farming report ‘Innovating AgTech Entrepreneurship’, sponsored…
Welcome to the first tech focussed edition of Direct Driller Magazine. From now on, issues will rotate between soils issues and tech issues.
Contents –
Old-fashioned farming with modern technology – page 4.
It’s 2030, so how have we done? – page 4.
Labour pains push robotic pickers – page 6.
Industry-leading research in robotics and automation – page 12.
Flash, crackle, pop – page 14.
Agronomist in Focus – Todd Jex – page 16.
The win-wins of regenerative agriculture – page 19.
Robots find their way into farmers fields – page 22.
Bayer and Microsoft forge a new frontier – page 26.
Robitics and perception in agriculture – page 28
What will appear at FIRA24? -30
Farmer Focus – Thomas Gent – 36
From hands-free hectare to aerial delivery – 37
Farmer Focus – Daniel Davies – 39
Catapult plans for UK agritech – 41
Shedding light on LED grow lighting – 46
Drilling down into fixed costs – 48
Farmer Focus – Simon Beddows – 50
Making methane practical – 52
Hitting rock bottom – 53
Basics best for hi-tech wine – 56
Biochar venture wins equity investment – 59
Farmer Focus – Clive Bailye – 61
Manufacturer Focus – Vaderstad – 63