wheat

The good, the bad and the ugly

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.

Farmer Focus – George Sly

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.

Blackgrass | Direct Driller Magazine

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

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

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.

It’s 2030 – Has food security improved?

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 …

It’s 2030 – Has food security improved? Read More »

Feeding the world or seeding unknowns?

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.