Farmers are reporting positive benefits of drilling primed seed Despite 37 years’ industry experience, Agrii agronomist David Vine readily admits that growing oilseed rape successfully year-in, year-out can still be a huge gamble for many growers with significant challenges posed by slugs, pigeons, cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) and, given this year’s weather, the …
January 2023 Well, the last few weeks have been exciting! A few weeks back I finished a 7yr stint managing a large veg and cereal operation in West Suffolk and am now taking a bit of time off to explore what direction I want to take myself and my little family next. Taking a bit …
January 2023 Attempting to make farming less of a gamble…….. In my very early years of farming, I remember chatting to a good friend of mine who works in the investment banking world. He trades daily on the commodity markets. I mentioned to him that I didn’t think I could deal with the stress of …
I ended my previous article noting the challenges ahead, but with some optimism for the season, and the forthcoming harvest. However, I had underestimated how exciting it was to get, and how much volatility we would come to enjoy! Our crops continued to look well through the spring and early summer. The spring beans established …
Transitioning to more regenerative regimes hasn’t been entirely plain sailing for three growers with very different soils and situations who shared their experiences at a packed Agrii Green Horizons seminar at this year’s Groundswell. However, they have all found their journey over the past 6-8 years very positive and are increasingly profiting from moving less …
Transition Experiences Give Groundswell Guidance Read More »
October 2022 The build up to harvest is always mixed with a bit of trepidation and excitement, this year was no exception, Harvest 2022 was our first harvest following direct drilling with the Opico Sky Easy Drill. After the hard work and cost of growing a crop, there’s always a bit of uncertainty of how …
Martin Lole of Springfield Farm and Mzuri, reflects on drilling into stubble and his recipe for successful straw management. As farming systems become more productive, arable enterprises are faced with increasing levels of straw to manage post-harvest. For many this provides a valuable secondary income source when baled, but for others, whether through environmental objectives …
Straw management for successful direct drilling Read More »
October 2022 Many farmers have been surprised at their yields this year, the starting point must have been a kind autumn and winter, but it appears that sunlight in June contributes more to yield than we thought and rainfall to the beginning of harvest (6 months), was 207mm, could be of less importance. Like the …
It’s now been well over a year since I wrote my first Farmer Focus piece and I have continued to learn as I go on with our strip-tillage system having had some good and not so good results on the way. As with a lot of farming much can depend on the weather, and despite …
Rapeseed With Pulses and the Management of NitrogenOriginally written by Gilles Sauzet and published in TCS in March 2016When we include pulses or beans in the cropping system, either as a main crop or companion crop, nitrogen management is at the heart of the strategy. Knowledge of the evolution of nitrogen build-up and nitrogen flows …
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