Crops

The UK markets are watching for any signs of bigger crops.

AHDB Recommended List (RL) harvest results are showing very variable yields in winter barley in a difficult season.

With growers starting to harvest wheat crops, specific weights are holding up well, while there is some concern about protein levels - although it is early days.

A research project in the USA exploring the feasibility of vertically farmed wheat has found yields of 39 tonnes per hectare could be achieved within just 70 days when grown under optimum artificial conditions.

The Maize Crop Watch series guides farmers to the best return on investment when growing maize. It will focus on maximising yields of quality feed through correct variety choice, optimal harvesting, careful storage in the clamp and management at feed out.

Recommendations from a new report on integrated pest management for cabbage stem flea beetle control offers growers direction for crop establishment, often with little or no additional costs, says Syngenta technical manager Dr Max Newbert, co-author of the AHDB research.

A new recruitment initiative will aim to connect growers with ex-offenders in an innovative bid to address labour shortfalls within the country’s horticultural sector.

A public consultation into post-Brexit regulation of precision breeding techniques such as gene editing (GE), will take place this autumn Government has announced.

Industry leaders have called for Government to provide ‘critical’ data on the UK’s figure for access to seasonal workers, in a bid to prevent labour shortfalls.

John Hunt, 22, is a Harper Adams graduate from Woburn, Cambridgeshire, and is set to start work as a business analyst for the G’s Group, a national salad producer.