Soil Health

Looking again at using cover crops to build soil structure and mitigate the effects of increasing weather extremes could reap benefits for farmers in Scotland.

Tissue testing crops is generally done in the spring, but FMC crop nutrition specialist, Chris Bond, calls for growers to consider its value this side of winter.

Continue to hold off drilling winter wheat fields where blackgrass is a worry until early October where possible, or mid-October in the worst fields, says agronomy firm ProCam.

Spring 2020 saw the largest area of spring cereals for many years. Although not as large an increase as in spring barley, oats saw a significant increase this year with the English crop seeing a 26% growth in plantings, according to the AHDB, with most of those appearing in spring.

AHDB research has identified potential desiccation blind spots for potato growers, putting them at risk of virus and disease if they do not follow an integrated approach to new desiccation regimes.

JDP, the UK’s leading distributor of civils and drainage products, is offering FREE delivery on all land drain coils bought through their website from now until the 30th of September.

The industry is in a better position to protect the quality and yield of linseed seed crops this harvest, thanks to a new emergency authorisation of a desiccant secured by AHDB.

The NFU has published 26 examples of how farmers are working towards net zero on their farms, showing how other farmers can make changes to their businesses to help achieve the NFU’s 2040 net zero ambition.

Decisions taken during harvest can have repercussions 12 months later. With farmers determined to recover from a difficult 2019/20, what steps can they take to increase the chances of a successful crop next year? 

“The future viability of the agricultural sector will depend on growers embracing more environmentally and financially sustainable crop production systems,” farmer and strip seeding pioneer Jeff Claydon, emphasised during the filming of a Virtual Open Day at the Claydon factory.

Spring-sown cereals that have struggled to establish in the dry conditions through April and May could be given a much-needed boost with targeted foliar nutrition, says leading agronomy firm Hutchinsons.

Control of perennial weeds such as docks, thistles and buttercups is easier and much more cost-effective in new-sown leys than spraying mature, fully established weeds a year later, according to Dr Nicola Perry, weed biology specialist for Corteva Agriscience.