Arable News

Following a relatively wet autumn, weeds could take advantage of wet soil and open canopies to cause problems this spring. Adam Hinchcliffe of Bayer shares his thoughts on how to approach weed control in 2024.

According to the BBRO’s latest bulletin in early November, poor harvesting conditions – with already wet soil continually being topped up by further rain – have led to slow and challenging harvest progress for many, with operators having to be selective in where they can travel and constantly having to change harvesting plans.

Balancing mankind’s burgeoning need for food and the welfare of the planet we inhabit is a challenge that will require innovation on a scale similar to that of the IT revolution of the last 30 years.

Burdens’ specialist vegetable machinery department is looking for more dealers for the Struik range of potato equipment.

Around 100 farmers from across East Anglia attended a recent demonstration day in Suffolk, where drills from leading manufacturers were put through their paces in a variety of establishment situations.

UK regulators have granted emergency authorisations for three seed treatments for the 2024 maize growing season, after a successful lobbying campaign.

The Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) is changing the format for its launch of the Descriptive List for peas and beans, to encourage pulse growers to attend.

Two spring bean and two combining pea varieties from breeders LS Plant Breeding Ltd (LSPB) head up the 2023 PGRO Descriptive Lists (DL). All varieties bring a set of positive agronomic characters for pulse growers planning their 2024 spring cropping.

British potato farmers have been facing significant challenges in recent years. The costs of production have all increased substantially and the sector is also being asked to become more sustainable. Everybody wants more predictability in the cost of inputs, marketable yield and the selling price at the farm gate. More and more UK potato farmers are turning to biostimulants to mitigate these challenges. Maxstim Ltd CEO Richard Salvage and CSO Dr Colin Fleming, who are both research scientists at the Institute of Global Food Security at Queens University, Belfast, explain.

An autumn application of ICL Polysulphate multi-nutrient fertiliser to supplement conventional spring timings can increase wheat yields by 0.3t/ha and significantly decrease leaching of N and P over the winter months, new independent trials are suggesting.

Woburn Farms has invested in a future-proofed grain processing plant, which allows them to grow a much larger percentage of high-quality crops with the associated premiums.

British Sugar has today (1st November) contacted its 2,300 sugar beet growers with details of its contract offer for the 2024-25 growing season.