Arable Farming

January 2021 Arable Farming Issue

A last minute Brexit deal meaning trade with the EU can continue with zero tariffs and quotas has brought some comfort to British farmers but there are still big concerns over seed potato exports.

Spring bean varieties LG Viper, LG Sphinx and Allison have joined winter bean Norton on the PGRO’s 2021 Descriptive List.

Keynote speaker at Agri-TechE’s REAP 2020 conference, Prof David Montgomery, Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington and author of ‘Growing a Revolution’, has a global view of soil health.

Reductions have been seen for UK wheat, barley and oilseed rape production in Defra’s final estimates for the 2020 crop, updating the provisional figures published in October.

Weather was a much bigger factor than cabbage stem flea beetle in the poor performance of last season’s winter OSR, according to the latest ADAS Oilseed YEN analyses.

Walkers crisps, one of the largest buyers of British potatoes, is turning its potato waste into fertiliser to reduce its carbon footprint.

Defra is consulting on its draft revised UK National Action Plan (NAP) for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. 

While there is room for optimism in spring barley markets, growers will need to work more closely with traders, maltsters and brewers to tackle increasing variability in the crop.

AHDB has today formally announced a ballot on the continuation of the statutory potato levy will go ahead in the New Year.