Tim Parton looks to the future in farming and sees microbes taking a leading part in crop and animal production To quote Rudyard Kipling, “If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs….” – seems quite appropriate at the moment. Something, as farmers, we are good at living with, is uncertainty: …
SIMTECH T-SEM FOR TRUE VERSATILITY Simtech T-Sem tine drills are probably the most versatile of all the direct drills on offer today. Their heritage is from the inverted T-slot coulter, initially developed in New Zealand for establishing new seed into living grass, which is probably one of the most difficult of direct drilling challenges. From …
Written by Denise Attaway, Clemson University, South Carolina USA Phosphorous is one of six essential nutrients for plants and a Clemson University doctoral candidate wants to show farmers how organically growing cereal and pulse crops can improve nutrition while lowering production costs. Sarah Powers is a doctoral candidate in the Clemson Plant and Environmental Sciences …
Doctural Candidate Receives Endowment To Help Fund Organic Field Pea Research Read More »
Written by Nick Woodyat Time and time again the main topic of conversation is Nitrogen. Whether from the side of the regeneration farmer who wants to turn the tide from the toxic, expensive inputs, or from the conventional farmer who still believes in the phrase, `Nitrogen builds yield’. It is my belief that it is …
The Question Is, `Why Is Synthetic Nitrogen Burning Carbon?’ Read More »
Clean Slate Harvest has been and gone and was fairly straight forward here in Kent, all bar the Linseed came in dry. Harvest ended well with the Linseed and the Lentils performing well, previous to them it was a real mixed bag. Glad to being starting with a clean slate for harvest 2021. I had …
WHAT WILL THE NEW SEASON HOLD IN STORE? As part of his ongoing series chronicling events on E. T. Claydon & Sons’ farm in West Suffolk, Jeff Claydon, who invented the Opti-Till® System of direct strip seeding, reflects on last season’s challenges and outcomes, together with how he is approaching the season ahead. The article …
Applying gypsum in liquid form could prove particularly beneficial in relieving soil compaction ahead of the autumn sowing programme. It’s been a tough season for soils. Many fields were drilled in less-than-ideal conditions, often after abandoned earlier attempts at cultivation that left soils prone to slumping, while others were left bare fallow which has done …
Jon Williams provides a fascinating insight into the development of chemical farming, the super-importance of calcium and magnesium, and the limitations of using PH as a guide to fertilising. He ends with a useful soil sampling suggestion At the end of the second World War there was rationing in the UK and the Government edict …
Why Agriculture Is A Practice And Not An Industry? Read More »
Written by Christoph Felgentreu, Deutsche Saatveredelung AG · Bückwitz Deeptill Radish (Raphanus sativus), also known as “melioration radish” is a plant breeding innovation. The focus was on a strong rooting performance to combat soil compaction during the crucifera selection process. The aim of the breeding was to select a strong, aggressively downwards growing root. It …
SOIL HEALTH BONUS FROM COST CUTTING SOLUTION Cutting the cost of cultivations was the key driver for arable farmer Chris Marchment when he parked his plough for the final time 12 years ago. Farming 80ha near Andover in Hampshire, just to the south of the North Wessex Downs, he faces the challenge working with clay-capped …
