Arable News

With 6ha of plots growing a wide range of crops for Cereals 2023, exhibitors gathered at the new Thoresby site to view their crop plots and discuss plans for the event on 13th-14th June 2023.

To reduce financial barriers for potato farmers transitioning to sustainable agricultural practices, McCain Foods, the largest manufacturer of frozen potato products in the UK, has joined forces with NatWest in offering financial support with the costs of switching to a regenerative farming system.

With 2023 spring declarations underway, the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has published payment rates for farmed saved seed and the latest list of eligible varieties, including advice on blends, cover crops and what farmers should do in the event of a failed crop.

Nutrient deficiency is a widespread issue in potatoes grown in the UK and can lead to internal and external crop damage with associated financial losses. To help farmers maintain adequate nutrient levels in potato crops, Oscar Thacker, area manager at Yara, offers some advice.

Growers are being warned about high slug risk in potatoes where crops have been planted into cloddy seed beds and are urged to counter the threat with a good quality pellet as soon as tubers reach golf ball size.

The Arable Event, one of the largest farming events in the Midlands, is returning to Woodlands Farm in Staffordshire this summer with extensive trial plots, expert speakers, and machinery demonstrations to entertain visitors.

Cereals has a wealth of seminars this year, with opportunities to question political leaders, players in the environmental services arena and farmers going down the regenerative agriculture route.

With barely crops forecasted to grow rapidly over the next few weeks, the timing of T2 (GS39-45) spray applications will be critical for both PGR and disease management to effectively mitigate against the risks of big canopies, crop production specialists Hutchinsons have warned.

To support knowledge transfer and benchmarking achieved through the yield enhancement network (YEN) initiative run by ADAS and PGRO, LS Plant Breeding Ltd (LSPB) has extended its sponsorship of the Bean YEN for a fifth year and added sponsorship of the Pea YEN in 2023.

By cleaning grass seed on-farm using JK Machinery’s JCM VibroMAX vibrating sieve cleaner, Andrew Stovin from N M Stovin Farms has significantly increased crop value and bottom line while meeting the cleaning standards of his grass seed merchants.

Farmers will continue to have access to the multi-site potato blight fungicide Mancozeb this spring, which can help delay further shifts in fungicide resistance, according to crop protection manufacturer UPL.

Potato growers are facing a different proposition when it comes to weed control this spring compared to 2022 following delayed planting of much of the UK’s maincrop, according to Corteva Agriscience.