Author Posts: Farmers Guide

The farming role plays an integral part in the lives of our rural, and indeed urban, communities and has only become stronger during these difficult times.

Farmers are being warned to take every precaution to protect their machinery, equipment and livestock, as reports come in from around the country of thieves targeting farms during the Covid-19 lockdown.

This season’s vast area of spring sown cereals face emerging to an almost instant intense and prolonged risk of BYDV infection.

Farm491, the AgriTech incubator based at the Royal Agricultural University, has adapted its season of events exploring the future of British Farming to comply with the UK’s Covid-19 social distancing measures.

Conservation and Environmental cropping schemes are likely to play a larger part in our future land management and with a new scheme on the horizon (NELMS), there has never been a better time to evaluate the farms environmental potential.

Veterinary professionals are urging farmers to vaccinate against lungworm (husk) ahead of the 2020 grazing season after a significant increase of cases last year.

The winners of the Farm Shop & Deli Awards have been announced; the defining class of 2020, chosen from a prestigious, 51-strong shortlist of UK speciality retailers.

Growers have until 3rd February 2021 to use up any remaining stocks of the foliar insecticides Biscaya and Calypso (thiacloprid) after the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD) confirmed the end of sales date of the 3 August 2020 for thiacloprid-containing products.

Researchers at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) have created an apple pollination experiment to help parents who are home schooling their children.

Pre-emergence herbicides will need to feature more prominently in sugar beet weed control programmes in order to mitigate the risks from poorer control later in the season, leading agronomy firm Hutchinsons says.

Thanks to the mild and dry weather conditions the UK has been enjoying recently, the annual British pea production has begun, allowing around 700 farmers to take to the fields to officially begin the drilling season.

Mapping technology is being used to help pair seasonal workers and employers as the Covid-19 crisis means overseas workers will be unable to travel to the UK to get the harvest in.