Arable Farming

Four years on from the aftermath of the Boxing Day floods, Richard Bramley, who farms 200ha at Kelfield, near Selby, North Yorkshire, has once again been watching 20ha of his promising winter wheat crop disappear under water

Boosting early grass growth using a natural growth regulator is helping a Yorkshire farming business maximise milk yields from forage.

Developments in plant transformation and insights gained from the pharmaceutical sector are helping to give a deeper insight into herbicide resistance in black-grass and how it might be combatted.

In 2019, the AHDB GB Fight Against Blight programme received 229 reports of blight outbreaks across 68 varieties, compared to just 40 outbreaks in 2018.

High rainfall experienced throughout most of the UK this winter has left soils saturated and crops struggling.

Gaining UK authorisation in December, the much-anticipated Revystar XE is available for use cereal in crops this season.

There is no doubt that the UK arable industry needs to scrutinise every opportunity available to it and indeed examine and lobby for steps which create new commercial opportunities.

February 2020 Arable Farming Issue

Almost 50 years on from the closure of the Scottish sugar beet factory in Cupar, a Rural Innovation Support Service group is aiming to look into the feasibility and steps required to re-establish the crop in eastern Scotland.

A majority of potato businesses are growing cover crops in order to improve soil structure, build organic matter and dry out wet soils, but there could be a benefit to yields too.