I don’t want to bang on about the weather, but the farm here doesn’t look brilliant as a result of all the wet we’ve had these last few months. That and some poor management decisions in the autumn, leaving some undrilled land bare over winter and various late drilled fields succumbing to slugs and rooks …
Farmers should be congratulated for continuing to produce food at low prices by constantly fine-tuning their businesses and keeping updated with the latest machinery, plant breeding developments and precision management techniques, says Jeff Claydon. The inventor of the Opti-Till® direct seeding system contemplates the challenges for UK farming and provides an update on the Claydon family’s arable farm in Suffolk.
Year 5 into my farming career, is it getting easier…?
Simple answer is no; however, I feel a lot more relaxed about the annual cycle of ups and downs, and after 5 years at it, with countless droughts and floods I’m definitely battle hardened and most importantly the farm is building diversity and resilience.
Slender Foxtail has put in its annual appearance with great vengeance this year. It’s that time of year where we all can see the results of each other labour’s. With wheat now out in ear, fields that are normally clean are showing the effects of the long & wet winter. Grass weeds are out in force, particularly Slender Foxtail AKA Blackgrass. The lack of herbicide activity and lack of conditions to get the applications on in a timely manner are showing. No doubt the mild wet autumn also played a part in reducing the longevity of herbicides.
BYDV-resistant wheat is a relatively new concept in the UK that is creating significant interest among farmers and the seed trade.
Pressure from BYDV is building after the ban in 2019 of seed treatments that controlled the aphid vectors, while resistance to insecticide sprays is increasing and government policy on insecticide use is tightening.
Tom Allen-Stevens travels forward to 2030 and looks back at what progress has been made since 2024 to improve agricultural productivity. What goes around comes around, it seems. The debate about food security and nanotechnology that we’re currently having in the first few months of 2030 has echoes of a very similar discussion that preoccupied …
A change in English law now allows certain gene-edited crops to be grown on commercial farms. Tech Farmer visits the scientists working with a new farmer-led platform that will make the first three introductions. Rarely would you find so many misfits in the same place. Looking closely you can see spikelets within a wheat ear …
Wild plants could hold the genetic key to a step change in productivity across major agricultural crops. Tech Farmer visits the labs of a new start-up that’s sifting through the genomes.
Foundational artificial intelligence may still be in its infancy, but it’s already being used to help bring new varieties with better traits to farmers’ fields. Tech Farmer takes a look at some of the AI innovations that are set to speed up the breeding pipeline. Imagine having a brain that never gets tired and retains …
New legislation now allows the growing of certain gene-edited crops in England. Professor Jonathan Jones, group leader at The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, calls for a fresh approach to rules preventing the cultivation of GM crops. But Roger Kerr, chief executive at Organic Farmers & Growers urges caution over moves into new genetic technologies.
