Arable

The rain keeps falling. The sheds have rarely been tidier, the machinery more sparkling and the tractors more serviced. The land is just too sodden for fieldwork. There is nothing to do but wait for better conditions.

The Agriculture Bill has potential to deliver for the environment, but the Government’s insistence on penny pinching during the transition period is likely to drive the farmers needed to implement the policy out of business, says Tim Farron MP, Lib Dem farming spokesman.

Labour has not always done the best job of speaking for the countryside, but farmers need us to raise their concerns now more than ever, because uber-loyal Tories afraid of Number 10 won’t, says Shadow Defra Secretary Luke Pollard.

The Government’s post-Brexit agriculture reforms provide an opportunity for farms to become more prosperous, but those who resist the push to become ‘park keepers’ risk being the first to go out of business, says independent consultant Derrick Wilkinson.

Australian wheat production is set to rebound more than six million tonnes on improved soil moisture to a four-year high of 21.35mt after this year’s catastrophic harvest.

It is likely the virus yellows forecast for the sugar beet crop will be ‘high risk’ for a second successive year.

While disease pressure may be lower in late-drilled, thinner wheats, difficulties with leaf identification and timings as crops rush through growth stages will make fungicide applications challenging.

Data and technology firm, Yagro is inviting arable farmers to take part in its Tech Check scheme, after being awarded a Government grant to improve productivity through better use of software on England’s farms.

A Treasury plan to slap higher duty on red diesel for farm vehicles has been branded ‘madness’ by a leading farm group.

Work being undertaken into alternative uses for sugar and sugar beet in the Netherlands to maximise the crop’s potential was the focus of the 2020 NFU Sugar breakout session at the NFU conference.