Farmers share concerns about loss of food-producing land

Suffolk farmers were invited to a roundtable event by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), where they heard the latest on available schemes and grants – and shared concerns about the level of financial support for food production versus environmental management. Sarah Kidby attended.

Order early to secure spring seed

Book spring seed requirements in good time given strong demand and tighter supplies going into next season, says Hutchinsons seeds manager for the south, Peter Brundle.

What would the cost need to be, to ensure farmers made sure every load was 100% fit for purpose?

The list of store-keeping issues that we deal with is huge but in most cases rejections can be avoidable if there is more attention to detail.

Price finally agreed for 2024/25 sugar beet crop

British Sugar and NFU Sugar have agreed a deal after weeks of intense negotiations, with particular contention over the futures linked contract.

Sugar beet update from inside the Wissington factory

British Sugar’s Wissington factory opened its doors to press at the end of November, providing an update on this year’s campaign and work being done to tackle virus yellows and carbon emissions – as well as answering questions on next year’s beet contracts. Sarah Kidby reports.

An impressive 11 varieties join the 2024 PGRO Descriptive List

A total of six combining peas, two winter beans and three spring beans have completed the requisite number of years in trials and demonstrated the necessary qualities for inclusion in the PGRO Descriptive List for pulses. Rachel Hicks reports.

Vital onion seed treatment gains emergency authorisation

A collaborative effort to allow a vital seed treatment for 2024 sowing of onions has succeeded.

Caution advised with late-applied herbicides

Growers planning to apply a pre- or post-emergence herbicide to late-sown crops must be aware of the potential risks to crop safety and efficacy where conditions are sub-optimal, agronomy firm Hutchinsons warns.

Looking ahead to spring options

A delayed 2023 harvest, followed by a particularly wet autumn hampered winter drilling, so spring cropping could be the only option for those farmers severely affected.

Supporting winter crop resilience above and below ground

As temperatures begin to decline, FMC crop nutrition product manager Chris Bond urges growers to build up their cereal crop resilience through foliar nutrition to help them withstand the winter.

Sugar beet negotiations fail to reach an agreement

Intense negotiations between British Sugar and NFU Sugar over next year’s beet contract have reached an impasse, meaning they will now move to arbitration.

Five priorities when choosing a spring barley variety

Spring barley is an important rotational option on many farms, and more growers may well be looking to the crop in 2024 if exceptionally wet autumn weather has disrupted winter cropping plans.

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