fertiliser – Page 2 – Direct Driller

Making the most of organic materials to reduce fertiliser bills

Farm Trial Results, Research, Soils Farmer / By ADAS

Written by Lizzie Sagoo from ADAS Earlier this month, ADAS, Rothamsted and Bangor University welcomed over 250 delegates from 25 countries to the 18th International RAMIRAN conference in Cambridge. The theme of this year’s RAMIRAN was maximising the utilisation of organic fertilisers against a background of changing regulation and increasing pressure on the environment and food production. Following …

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How much do you understand your weather forecast?

Weather / By Simon Keeling

Written by Simon Keeling from WeatherWeb “The bloody weather forecast has changed again!”; how often have those words passed your lips? It’s a refrain that most in agriculture will be familiar with and is among of the most potent forms of frustration on the farm. As forecasters, we hear that frustration too. Talking to farmers, …

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Easing the Transition

Soil Health / By Mark Shaw

Written by Mark Shaw from Gaiago While financial and environmental pressures mount, so does our dependency on our soil. For those stepping away from conventional approaches, it can be a hard journey. Mark Shaw, UK manager at Gaïago, explains how microbes and natural substances can ease the transition, maintaining yields and building structure. Transitioning soils …

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Farmer Focus – David Aglen – July 2023

Farmer Focus / By David Aglen

Written 1st June 2023 Trials and learnings of livestock integration at BHF. So, calving happened, with a few more issues than we expected. Through our breeding choices we have managed to significantly reduce the level of human intervention at calving over the last 5 years. However, we hit a small bump in the road this …

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Direct Driller Issue 21 – Introduction

Other / By Mike Donovan

Written by Mike Donovan Downside pressures increase Every farming year has its ups and downs and in many ways 2022 didn’t perform too badly. The cost of inputs was certainly a real hit, but were to an extent balanced by the increase in crop values. Interest rates rose rapidly following inflation, but from an historic …

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Farmer Focus – Andrew Jackson

Farmer Focus / By Andrew Jackson

April 2023 Edition When Chris asked me to write this article, I gravitated into panic mode because this is a quiet part of the year and I was not sure what to write about, however we seem to have been continuously busy, so I had better fill you in on our out of season activities. …

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How to make foliar nutrient applications more consistent

Research / By Mike Abram

Written by Mike Abram When prices of nitrogen rocketed ahead of last season, and supply looked anything but assured for a time, there was an understandable interest and move towards alternative sources of nitrogen fertiliser. One of those was foliar nitrogen with plenty of growers either trialling or increasing its use. Foliar feeding, particularly of …

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How to cut nitrogen fertiliser use

Agronomist Focus / By Rosalind Platt

Written by Rosalind Platt, managing director of UK leaders in crop nutrition, BFS Fertiliser Services. BFS is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Foliar nitrogen fertiliser treatments later in the season can dramatically reduce the total amount of nitrogen needed while maintaining or increasing crop yields. The recent turmoil in the fertiliser market has …

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Anglian Water’s Grant scheme supports farmers with innovative ideas to improve soil health and water quality

Water in Focus / By Direct Driller

In Autumn 2022, Anglian Water announced a grant scheme inviting farmers from across the catchment area to apply for funding of up to £7,500 towards innovative ideas that would help them to improve water quality, reduce chemical use and support the improvement of soil health. A total of 65 farmers were awarded grants for innovation …

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Farmer Focus – Phil Rowbottom

Farmer Focus / By Phil Rowbottom

April 2023 Winter seems to have finally turned to spring in West Yorkshire, if not a little confused about its timeline! Having had very little in the way of snow all winter, 5 inches arrived on the 10th of March, just over a week after applying 85kg per ha of nitrogen to the wheats and …

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