May 2021 Farming Monthly National

INSIDE: Weather beating crop management page 8

Farming MONTHLY National

May 2021

I Farm Security Solutions

page 48 - 51

| On Topic

| Golden Opportunity for Farmers Also inside this month..

page 18-19

Women in farming

Slurry Handling

Bespoke Garden furniture

PLUS: Arable| Grain | Potatoes | Building |Women in Farming |Security| Livestock| ATV | Motors

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CONTENTS

M a y 2021

FEATURES 10

26

32

42

20 Arable

52 Fencing

58 Livestock

24 Women in farming

54 Mental Health

64 Muck &Slurry

26 Potatoes & Root Crops 30 Cereals

FM REGULARS National

36 Grain

06 News

70 Machinery

40 Grassland and Silage

18 On Topic

76 ATV

48 Security

56 Buildings

80 Motors

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P 36 Agriculture. Covered.

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Farm Stays increase by 45% in 3 years Millennials driving the greatest trend changes Glamping now almost as popular as B&B's arm Stay, the market leader in farm holidays and rural stays throughout the UK is reporting a 45% surge in bookings since 2018*, the greatest increase in its 38-year history.

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Originally founded as the UK's first not-for-profit farmer owned consortium aimed at promoting the country's agri-tourism industry, the organisation has now grown to offer over 420 farm stays and rural boltholes, from working farm holidays to self-catering, B&B's to glamping across England, Northern Island, Scotland and Wales.

Farm Stay has also just launched a new website, www.farmstay.co.uk to help make it even easier for UK holidaymakers to plan their rural break whilst allowing its members capitalise on what is widely expected to be the busiest ever year for holidays at home.

As well as reporting a soaring increase in those wanting to escape to the country for their 'staycation,' Farm Stay, which has its headquarters at the National Agricultural Centre, Warwickshire, has found that: •

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Farm Stays and countryside escapes are most popular Farming Monthly | May 2021

amongst the 25 - 34 years age bracket, millennial couples, groups as well as young families.

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Glamping has soared in popularity, with almost as many people searching for it as B & B accommodation, up over 3,000 searches from 58,891 in 2018-19 to 62,023 in 2020-21. However, this may be due to Covid restrictions on B&B accommodation over the past year.

There has been a 58% increase in those looking for 'large group' i.e., sleeping 12 and above accommodation.

Indoor pools and hot tubs are a new 'must have', with searches up 45% and 35% respectively in the last three years.

Farm Stay has also identified which locations are the most popular amongst its visitors. In order of preference, they are: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Yorkshire Cornwall Norfolk Devon Suffolk Derbyshire Wales Wiltshire

9.

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Kent Scotland

Feedback from both its members and customers has also suggested that, post pandemic, more holiday makers are seeking a more responsible, sustainable holiday; a trend which is likely to continue in the future according to its Chairperson.

Kay Barriball, Farm Stay Chairperson says, "For 38 years, Farm Stay has provided its guests with the most authentic, grassroots rural holiday experience available throughout the UK. "Whilst our clientele and members have always been dedicated to sustainability, we see this as a trend which will become even more pronounced post-pandemic, both in terms of what our members offer, and what guests look for in a holiday.

"By booking through our website, our guests not only make a personal connection with the host but know that all profits go directly to the very people they will be staying with," ends Kay. For more information or to book, visit www.farmstay.co.uk , call 02476 696909 or e-mail info@farmstay.co.uk

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| News

SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR MEAT BUSINESS WOMEN ‘ONE TO WATCH’ AWARDS 2021 even brilliant young women from leading UK & Ireland meat organisations have been shortlisted for this year’s ‘One to Watch’ award, the annual prize for emerging female talent in the meat industry.

They were chosen from more than 50 applicants through a rigorous judging process assessing their professional impact, creativity, innovation, industry knowledge and vision for the meat industry. In keeping with Meat Business Women’s mission to inspire the next generation of female talent, candidates were also evaluated on their interpersonal skills, commitment to mentoring and ability to inspire others.

The shortlisted finalists are: • April Dear, site development manager, Cranswick plc • Eddelle Allen, area manager, Food Standards Agency • Erika Bruzaite, group planning manager, Finnebrogue Artisan • Helena Field, retail department manager, Cranswick plc • Megan Afford, quality assurance

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auditor, Moy Park Sarah Savage, head of product development, Finnebrogue Artisan Stacey Whelan, group management accountant/project lead, Dunbia

All seven finalists will now undergo further assessment during an interview by a panel of experts, with the winner to be announced at the Meat Business Women conference on 26 May 2021.

The independent judges for this year’s awards are: Margaret Boanas, chair of the International Meat Trade Association; Lucianne Allen, director at Aubrey Allen; Alan McKeown, company director at Food for Thought; Julia Glotz, writer, consultant and former managing editor of The Grocer; and Meat Business Women global chair Laura Ryan.

Laura Ryan says: “We had a record number of applications this year and were blown away by the high calibre of the candidates. Choosing our shortlist was tough, but we’ve ended up with seven inspiring finalists we

Farming’s Luckpenny tradition enters digital age with launch of NFU Mutual insurance for online sheep sales ne of farming's deep-rooted traditions has entered the digital age with NFU Mutual’s launch of Luckpenny insurance for online sheep sales.

For centuries, farmers have given the buyers of their livestock a penny known as ‘luck’ to seal the deal and show their goodwill. The tradition has given its name to Luckpenny insurance – taken out by farmers selling livestock to give buyers peace of mind that they are covered if an animal dies after purchase.

Now, with many sheep sales taking place on the internet because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading rural insurer NFU Mutual has launched online Luckpenny insurance to

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believe have what it takes to be future leaders of the meat industry.”

Ryan adds: “Supporting women in their professional and personal development is at the heart of what we do at Meat Business Women.

That’s why each entrant on the long list will also be given personalised feedback on their application by us.”

The winner will receive a personal development prize of their choice worth £4,000. Meat Business Women is grateful to the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers for sponsoring this year’s prize.

Launched in 2018, ‘One to Watch’ is an annual prize organised by Meat Business Women and awarded to a female aged 35 or under working in the meat industry in the UK and Ireland. 2021 will mark the third time the prize has been awarded.

The theme of the 2021 Meat Business Women conference is ‘transformation’, with speakers from KFC, 2 Sisters, Co-op and more set to share insight on their approach to business, personal and industry transformation. Tickets are still available and can be booked here.

provide a valuable reassurance for buyers of livestock they haven’t been able to check over personally.

The insurance, part of NFU Mutual’s support package to help UK farmers through the pandemic, provides ‘fall of hammer’ cover for a three-month period from sale through websites such as SellMyLivestock.com and marts who have adapted their offer to include online trading. It includes slaughter on humane grounds due to injury, illness and disease, to encompass online private sales of sheep.

“Farmers have been incredibly innovative adapting the way they work to keep the nation fed,” said Alex Nott from NFU Mutual’s Farm Underwriting Team.

“Moving to online sales has been a huge change from buyers being able to physically inspect the livestock they are buying – so it’s more important than ever that they have the protection of Luckpenny insurance to give them the confidence to buy.

“There are varying stories on the origin of ‘luck’ on animal sales – it certainly goes back centuries and is still a tradition, particularly in the key livestock farming areas.

“While the tradition was for a penny to change hands, luck sometimes involved larger sums changing hands which was then spent in the pub as an incentive to buy.

Luckpenny insurance preserves the tradition while providing valuable protection for the buyer - whether they’re bidding ringside or online.”

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Weather beating crop management t has been a dry but cold spring which has left grass growth looking a little jaded at best. Even with the slow start preparing for your hay harvest is still essential to ensure top quality forage is produced. This can be achieved by using Baler’s Choice preservative which will remove the mould and yeasts that grow in hay bales when baled more than the safe 15% moisture limit. Baling up to 27% for large square and 30% for round and conventional balers is safely achieved when utilising with the manual or fully automatic applicators.

Both systems have either built-in or standalone precision moisture sensors to ensure the quality hay you bale will be what is sold or fed in the winter.

If hay is untreated and baled above 15% moisture, just like grain it will not store without some degree of spoilage. The higher the moisture the more spoilage occurs with selfcombustion point around 25% moisture. Being able to monitor the moisture accurately is the first step followed by applying Baler’s Choice to bale with confidence. For the operators who have concerns of excessive moisture lumps entering the stack a wet bale marker can be

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added to highlight bales or parts of bales that exceed the safe baling limit of Baler’s Choice. No system is a one size fits all but by tailoring the system to meets your requirements the guess work is removed from quality hay making. In a normal year, if there is such a thing anymore, around 10-20% of hay will need treating due to excess moisture. To start baling earlier and bale later into the evening this increases further but reduces the drying cost with less tedder passes.

Baler’s Choice is also suited to straw baling getting closer behind the combine and opening the baling window of opportunity when the weather is less than predictable.

With fungicides keeping straw greener for longer and header widths in excess of 10 meters it has added to the pressure of getting straw dry before baling. The move towards rotary based combines has also increased the drying time required. In a large less fluffy row, the air cannot travel through as easily to take excess moisture away. If you have rain due and a valuable crop to remove Baler’s Choice will allow you to bale and store the product before a costly tedding and drying period is required on crops that have rain damage. PFC utilise Baler’s Choice

on their own 80 hectare arable unit along side the 50 hectare hay operation and it provides a less stressful harvest with an end product that is still just as usable as dry straw. The 150 B&B over winter cattle do not require any additional tonnage of straw baled at 20-25% than dry straw baled at 12-15% moisture. Treating straw is not for everyone as there is a cost implication. The customers treating straw are usually in a less favourable climate or just have too many acres to clear. To clear a large amount of straw in a smaller window usually means over stocking on machinery with additional tractors and balers.

This additional capital investment can be significantly reduced with an applicator system and preservative ready to use when required.

In conclusion for the operators who can reduce tedding passes on hay and bale earlier this increase yields baled and produces a greener product as it is less sun bleached than hay left for additional average of one / two days. the straw balers can turn up and bale significantly more acres safely in a day instead of waiting in the yard for the weather window to open up for dry straw.

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Terramap Carbon - the UK’s first Carbon Mapping Service now available utchinsons launches Terramap Carbon the first ever carbon mapping service to provide the most accurate baseline measurement of both organic and active carbon in the soil and is now available to UK farmers.

Despite growers coming under increasing pressure to look at their carbon footprint in response to the NFU’s commitment for UK farming to achieve Carbon net zero by 2040 – until now there has been no accurate means of measuring carbon in the

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soil – and unless you can measure carbon there is no way it can be managed, says Matt Ward, Hutchinsons services manager.

“Infact unless carbon can be measured how will we know when we are at net zero!” he points out.

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an exciting and unique development that reflects this approach.

“Terramap revolutionised the way in which soil nutrient mapping was undertaken in the UK- and it is now doing the same for carbon mapping,” explains Mr Ward.

TerraMap uses gamma-ray detection technology that delivers resolutions of over 800 points/ha and it measures naturally emitted isotopes, like Caesium and Potassium, that are very stable due to their long halflives.

The infield process of collecting the data is carried out in 2 very simple steps; scanning by driving a light weight all terrain vehicle fitted with the sensor over a field, and then taking soil samples to allow for each scan to be used to create the individual map layers.

This means that there are very few limitations to when TerraMap can be used – offering a much wider operating window compared to other soil scanning systems.

“The consistency and reliability of the results from TerraMap are proven, reflected in its uptake on over 35,000ha’s on UK farms since its launch in 2018,” he adds.

Now with the launch of Terramap Carbon it is possible for users to accurately map both organic and active carbon in the soil for the first time.

Terramap Carbon is available as a standard or premium service. The standard service maps a total of 17 micronutrients soil type & pH layers that now also includes total organic carbon in terms of percentage carbon and tonnes/ha. The premium service maps 27 layers which includes a wider range of micronutrients than those in the standard service, and also cation exchange, and now both total organic and active carbon percentage and tonnes/ha – that is the percentage of carbon that’s active in the soil.

Why is it important to measure carbon?

“The pressure to manage carbon is only going to become greater as other industries are already showing positive change. As an industry UK farming plc is in a unique and enviable position as farming activities can make positive changes to carbon, which most other industries are not able to do.

“This challenge comes at a time when the arable industry is facing great change in the light of the loss of basic farm payment, and many growers may well be questioning the importance or relevance of carbon management as potential profit margins are threatened.

“We need to move away from seeing carbon footprinting as a burden or simply a tick-box exercise and see that this is beneficial, as a proxy measurement for efficiency and profitability of a farm as well as simply a measure of waste,” says Mr Ward.

“So it’s clear that there are benefits such as lower input costs to having a negative carbon balance before even getting to the Carbon bit. A reduced carbon footprint can only be achieved through more efficient fertilisers, different technologies, better soil carbon management or considering the energy used in storage, so it’s a win– win on all levels.”

Omnia Carbon Management “Once I have the carbon www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| News measurements what can I do with them to achieve any of the potential benefits we have outlined? This is one of the most common questions with regards to carbon management,” says Mr Ward.

“Well, the results from Terramap Carbon can be used to create carbon maps within the Hutchinsons Omnia Carbon management system which aligns the field carbon measurements against the carbon costs of different machinery operations for that field incorporating detailed calculations for power, width, work rate and fuel, all of which are generated using the expertise of specialists from the Farm Carbon Toolkit.”

Within the Carbon management tool it is possible to create different rotation scenario’s from types of cropping and variety to stewardship and management practices and see first hand the projected CO2 impact and financial performance for each scenario.

“We wanted to move away from just presenting carbon figures on a spreadsheet into a visible and useable format- that can be used for forward planning much like we have done with the Cost of Production tool in Omnia,” adds Mr Ward.

“Its not always the grand gestures that make the difference, and this is where the ability to look at different scenario’s is invaluable. For example, it might be more beneficial to put more land into ELMs and sequester more carbon this way than to replace or change machinery.”

Nick Wilson of Hundayfield Farm just outside York is the host of the Hutchinsons Helix North Farm, one of the Helix Farms network where Terramap Carbon has been trialled and tested.

The farm consists of 260ha of mainly arable cropping, with land let out for potatoes and winter sheep grazing on stubble turnips. There is also bed & breakfast cattle which utilise the farm buildings and some of the permanent grass in the rotation.

For Nick and his agronomist Sam Hugill, carbon is just a part of the whole farm system, but both believe that it is useful to obtain a baseline measurement now, so that they have a baseline figure to work from going forward.

“The results of the Terramap Carbon scanning showed up large differences in the carbon balance between the arable fields and permanent pasture, as you would www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

expect. The average across the arable fields was about 30t/ha of organic carbon and it was almost double that for the permanent pasture,” he explains.

“Now that we have a baseline measurement, we can look not just how we can manage our processes to build carbon on the arable fields up to the levels of that of the pasture, but also to prevent any unnecessary losses of carbon. For example we would be interested to look at the impact of root crops on carbon. We will also use cover cropping to prevent having any bare land over winter and reducing loss this way,” says Sam Hugill.

“The carbon management tool allows us to look at these scenario’s using

real and accurate measurements and then quantify the impact on our carbon.”

For Nick Wilson the bottom line is that he is a food producer, and managing carbon has to fit into that. ”We always look at what we do and how we can do better and carbon is a part of that – how much we do about it will ultimately be driven by policy – but whatever decisions we make on farm have to be good for us agronomically and economically in the first instance.

“It’s all about adapting what we do rather than radical change- and being able to measure what we have is the first step.”

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Bring me sunshine – grow sunflowers! or farmers who are interested in growing a different break crop, perhaps ES Bella sunflowers should be considered. Wilson Hendry of Grainseed who market this variety says that the average yield in Europe is approximately 2.5 t/hectare, but yields can exceed 4 t/ha. “Climate change with rising heat units will enable more areas of the UK to reconsider sunflower seed production.

Realistically I would expect yields to average 1.5 to 2.5 t/ha in the UK,” he says.

Independent agronomist Richard Alcock who advises farmers in Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, and Devon has looked after several crops of sunflowers and says

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the average yield his clients are achieving now is 2.5 t/ha.

Richard says that some customers who have grown weary of oilseed rape may want to try sunflowers. He points out that most sunflower seed used in wild bird seed mixtures for bird tables is currently imported.

Richard’s customers purchased their Es Bella seed from Hubbard Seeds and the seed is packed in 150,000 seed units and treated with fungicide to prevent damping off and seedling blight and ensure good establishment. Wilson Hendry says that Es Bella is a short (around 150

cms tall), simple hybrid with high yield potential, high yield stability and regular plants with half erect pendulous heads. “Bella has good disease resistance to head Sclerotinia, collar Sclerotinia, Marcophomina, Alternaria, rust and Verticillium. It also shows good early vigour and is highly resistant to lodging.”

The suggested seed rate for sunflowers in the UK is 110,000 seeds/hectare, to achieve a population of 90,000 to 100,000 plants/ha on a 25 -35 cms row width.

“This plant population is higher than used on the continent because it ensures that plants will produce small heads which dry down quicker at harvest. Sunflowers prefer an open sunny site and large fields, so bird damage is limited to the headlands only. The crop can be grown on almost any soil type, apart from low pH soils. The optimum soil pH is 6 to 7.5. Sunflowers like potash rich clay soils and clay loam soils www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| News and will do well in dry, sandy soils in areas of low rainfall,” according to Wilson Hendry.

Sunflowers should be drilled between 15 April and the beginning of May into a warm seedbed when soil temperatures at 5cms deep average 7°C. “I advise growers to get the ground prepared early. This year the soil temperature is too low for early drilling,” says Richard and he has advised his farmers to delay until the last week of April this year when soil temperatures will have risen. Seedbeds need to have moisture at 3-5 cms depth. Precision drills have improved plant spacings along the row and this ensures evenness of maturity at harvest.

In terms of variable inputs, sunflowers require low fertiliser requirements, no more than 25- 50 kgs of Nitrogen pre-emergence. If the field is sprayed off with glyphosate (Roundup) before drilling, additional weed control may not be necessary. If grown on a weedy site, pendimethalin (Stomp Aqua) can be applied pre-emergence to provide residual weed activity. Aclonifer (Emerger) has as an EAMU for broad leaved weed control preemergence. Post emergence fluazifop-b-butyl (Fusilade) or clethodim (Centurion Max) also have EAMU’s for black-grass control.

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Sunflowers should not be grown closer than 1 in 4 years rotation to prevent build-up of diseases in the soil. Botrytis or grey mould and Sclerotinia or head rot can infect the back of the seed head at harvest.

Both diseases are favoured by mild, wet conditions and are seed borne, hence the 1 in 4 rotation. Growing an early maturing variety such as Es Bella means harvest can take place before these diseases become a problem. Bella has a good disease resistance package.

During establishment slugs can be a problem and may need pelleting if it is damp and favourable for their activity.

Harvesting occurs when seed moisture is at 15 to 20°C, normally in the middle of September through to early October. Richard says that combining is probably the most challenging aspect of growing sunflowers. The combine should be adjusted according to manufacturer’s instructions and tines on the reel removed or covered to prevent impaling the heads. Combining aims to cut all the heads and leave as much stalk as possible which can be disced in after combining. The seed can be dried on a cold air-drying floor down to 15% moisture.

Drying down to 9% for long term safe storage and marketing can be done using low volumes of heat, like oilseed rape. The lint layer surrounding the seed can be rubbed off in the drying process. The drier should be monitored whilst seed is being dried.

Most UK production goes into bird seed for which there is an increasing demand in the UK. Seed should contain 44% oil content, 9% moisture, no more than 2% admixture and 2% hulled seed.

Suppliers of sunflower seed are keen to buy British, because of complications of importing seed from the continent into Europe following Brexit. Richard also says that there is some facility to crush the seed for oil and if the cropping area increases this can be expanded further and logistics improved consequently.

Richard says that the crop has an aesthetic benefit of being so beautiful to look at. “We have seen people stop to have a better look at the crop in flower. But it also a serious viable alternative break crop, with a price of around £450/tonne. I am advising growers to try a small area to start with to experience the full growing season first before upscaling.”

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RHASS Directors pay tribute to members for digging deep to 'Save Your Show'

RHASS annual results lay bare the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the charity but highlight real signs of optimism

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he Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) has reported its results for the year ended 30th November 2020.

Amid one of the most turbulent times in RHASS history, the Society's financial returns detail significant losses of income compared to 2019 due to the impact of Covid-19 on the charity's operations. A 'no Show' year and the mass cancellation of events scheduled to take place at the

Royal Highland Centre were the main contributors to the Society's 44% drop in income compared to the previous year.

However, as a result of robust financial management and proactive steps taken by RHASS Directors to secure the Society's future, the results detail optimism for the future thanks to a committed membership, government grants, insurance compensation and new events business generated during this time.

Deep cuts to expenditure, including pay cuts for senior management, redundancies and the postponement of planned upgrading, contributed to

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drop in expenditure of 46% compared to the previous year.

(2020: £5.28m, 2019: £9.75m).

While the global pandemic devastated the Royal Highland Centre's events business, there were clear wins with NHS vaccination centre and Royal Mail lettings taking place over the period, a government resilience grant, furlough payments and insurance compensation thereby holding the overall drop in income to £4m (2020: £5m, 2019: £9m).

The success of RHASS' Save Your Show appeal, which generated just over £250,000 in the year with members and the wider agricultural community digging deep to help secure the future of the Society and the Show for future generations, also helped to mitigate the loss.

The Society continued to support key organisations during this time, www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| News including RSABI and RHET, with other grants, including the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth conference travel bursary, carried forward to when events are able to resume.

Highlights include: •

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Awards and bursaries awarded totalling £269,000 (2019: £340,000) - this reduction related to a reduced requirement for support from RHET due to the improved stability of RHET's finances £5 million income (2019: £9.01 million) - £4m drop in income due to Covid-19

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46% drop in expenditure to £5.28m (2019: £9.75m)

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Net assets to £20.4 million (2019: £20.8million)

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£526k raised through fundraising - Save Your Show and the capital campaign

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Trading income, generated by RHASS' wholly owned subsidiary, Highland Centre Ltd, down 80% to £451,000 (2019: 2,149,000)

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Net Operating deficit £247,000 (2019 : £713,000)

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£523,000 generated through membership (2019: £636,000)

Alan Laidlaw, RHASS Chief Executive commented: "The detrimental impact of Covid-19 on the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland lays bare the fight we had on our hands to save not only the Show, but the Society at large.

"The pandemic could not have come at a more crucial time for the organisation, poised as it was to reap the benefits of significant investment in facilities, including our new multiuse events venue which was completed on the eve of the first Lockdown and on the back of our record-breaking 2019 Show.

"The reality of Covid-19 came into sharp focus early on and we were transparent with our membership and the industry on the impact this could have on the Society's future.

"Our membership showed their www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

support of the Society through retaining and renewing their membership, taking out life membership for family members and of course donating to the Save Your Show campaign. I am so proud and humbled to be able to say that, thanks to their efforts, the actions of our trustees and the diversification of activity, the Show has been saved."

hard to ensure that our business interruption insurance claim was successful and secured other income streams by maximising the value of our assets and broadening our horizons. All of this could not have taken place without the absolute dedication and hard work of the RHASS team and the unfailing support of our Directorship.

RHASS Chairman, Bill Gray, paid tribute to the membership for their support.

"It has been a trying time for everyone, personally and professionally, but the strength of RHASS is its membership which has shone through and I feel incredibly privileged to be leading the organisation at this time."

Bill said: "There has been a gigantic effort by our membership, volunteer RHASS Directors, staff and the wider agri community, which has ensured the Society has so far weathered this challenging time not only intact, but emerging stronger for the future.

"We have retained our assets, invested in crucial IT upgrades which, coupled with changes to governance have allowed us to switch to online meetings, and in addition we have restructured the team to become a leaner organisation and secured new contracts during this time.

Alan Laidlaw concluded: "We cannot shy away from the fact that we are facing a very uncertain future with continued challenges posed by the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, however we will remain focused on the job in hand and we give our commitment to membership that, with their continued support, we will come out of this time a stronger, more resilient organisation able to support future generations of farmers and agri businesses."

"Crucially, we have made connections at the highest levels with Scottish Government, Event Scotland and other events businesses in Scotland resulting in securing a £750,000 grant to host the 2021 Royal Highland Showcase. These connections will continue to reap benefits for the Society and the wider rural and agri community, as we are now rightfully recognised as a key player in Scotland's events line-up.

"Finally, we have made sure that we have applied for Government support that has been made available, fought May 2021 |

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Bespoke wooden garden furniture company creates environmentally friendly products that are full of natural beauty passion for creating beautiful garden furniture and a commitment to reducing waste has led to the birth of Comfy Cosy Cottage, a bespoke wooden garden furniture company whose furniture creates a distinctive look with environmentally friendly products that are full of natural beauty.

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Those familiar with the Cottage Core aesthetic as well as those that are looking for something different to the massproduced alternatives will, no doubt, fall in love with the unrivalled beauty that comes from expert craftsmanship; gorgeous, sustainable materials; individual design and attention to detail.

Craftsman Andy Yeomans has over forty years of experience in precision woodworking and design through working as a pattern maker as well as in the design and technology industry.

Throughout this time, he has built and designed furniture for personal use, but has decided to take a step further and share his work with others. His high attention to detail results in garden furniture that is handcrafted, individual and finished to the highest of standards.

The family-run business has a passion and commitment to

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sustainability and the environment and, as such, wanted to develop a brand with a conscience. All of their products are sourced and hand crafted from recycled timber and reclaimed materials. To ensure the paint and varnish used are kinder to the environment and people’s health, only waterbased products are used.

The distinct character of reclaimed wood means that each piece is truly unique, and Andy’s designs allow for the beauty of the wood to be the defining detail of each piece. The result is a sustainable but stylish addition to your garden.

The trademark of these beautifully crafted tables is a distinctive stripe down the centre which can be created from a choice of different designs; from a paint finish to marble, slate or mosaic tiles, all produced from sustainable, reclaimed products. Customers are able to choose the design, size, finish and colour they want. For a truly personal touch, Comfy Cosy Cottage will even incorporate a client’s own materials if they have something they would like adding to create a truly personal, individual finish.

This summer, the addition of the ‘Prosecco table’ has proved very popular with customers. The cooler bucket addition means customers don’t need to keep popping inside to the fridge, as drinks are kept cold in the incorporated ice bucket which features in the centre of the table. Later this month, the company will be unveiling a stunning pergola and outside bar to their range.

Cottage design benches from reclaimed wood for a unique look that is oozing natural charm.

They also offer sustainably sourced, one-off chairs for a truly unique addition to your garden.

The company understand that tastes change over time and therefore offer a refurbishing service. If overtime customers want their table upcycling CCC will repaint it and create a new stripe design feature.

To ensure every piece arrives with customers as perfectly as it left the workshop, Comfy Cosy Cottage offer a personal delivery service to anywhere in England. They can also offer tailormade covers to protect your garden furniture Comfy Cosy Cottage customers describe the company as ‘helpful and accommodating’ with a ‘fab service’ where ‘nothing is too much trouble’, the quality of the product as ‘superb’. Many customers have said they have been searching for a table for some time, but ‘haven’t found anything of this quality in this price range before’.

Why not add a fabulous finishing touch to your garden this summer? One that’s hand crafted, unique and eco-friendly bringing style and a beautiful one-of-akind charm to alfresco dining or drinks with friends and family. Check out Comfy Cosy Cottage on; Facebook @comfycosycottage Instagram – @comfycosycottage EtsyComfycosycottageCo or contact Andy via email – cccottage79@hotmail.com

To accompany their tables Comfy Cosy

May 2021 |

Farming Monthly |

17

| On Topic

Why Golden Turkeys represent a he Traditional Farm-fresh Turkey Association (TFTA) is a group of family-run farms across the UK, supplying fresh, free-range traditional turkeys specifically for Christmas. The association’s ‘Golden Turkey’ Quality Assurance Guarantee sets the highest independent growing standard for exceptional quality festive turkeys.

The association was formed by a group of proud, like-minded farmers, passionate about producing the ultimate Traditional Christmas turkey in terms of eating quality, and to set a recognised high standard for welfare and environmental responsibility.

T

These Golden Turkeys® are produced solely on selected farms and naturally reared on a quality cereal-based diet. The birds are grown traditionally to full maturity, free-ranging on farmland and to the highest welfare standards.

The artisan practice of dry plucking and game hanging for at least seven days to mature, are essential to developing the Golden Turkey’s full flavour and succulent texture. These traditional methods are an intrinsic part of the growing standard – and are referred to in the association’s name.

The processing of these birds is a blend of traditional practices whilst also employing modern refrigeration methods. Combining this with online capabilities (and in some cases the ability to offer home delivery service), means that whilst its farming methods are rooted in the past, it is able to move with the times, embracing new trends, which are very relevant today.

The Early Years…

The Association was founded in 1984 by the strange coincidence of a former Environmental Health Officer, (later Poultry Specialist for the NFU), meeting a group of turkey farmers fighting to protect the continuation of

their product, the production and sale of un-eviscerated chickens and turkeys.

In 1979 Peter Barton was head hunted by the NFU and became the Poultry Specialist for the South East of the UK, as he was already known and trusted by many turkey producers in the region.

As a result, Peter with the NFU, campaigned to save the Traditional Christmas Turkey.

A group of farming founders including Tom Copas, Derek Kelly, Brian Homewood, Henry Bryant (currently President of the TFTA) and David Browning met at NFU’s HQ in Knightsbridge and formed the TFTA with Peter as its Secretary and Tom Copas (Snr) as Chairman.

sell their premium birds compared to their larger commercial competitors who were selling via the supermarkets. As the farmers had limited funds individually, the TFTA was set up as a group to promote their traditional festive turkeys and the high standard they produced to. They also sought to continually develop their traditional small-scale production methods in order to deliver the best taste and texture.

Over the years, the Association has been able to draw together this wealth of knowledge and the traditional methods of production to uniquely develop their own Quality Code – which became known as the Golden Turkey Quality Assurance Guarantee.

This set a recognised high bar, both in terms of welfare and quality; setting them apart from the mass-produced birds and intended to give their customers reassurance that they were getting the best, free-range traditional Christmas turkey, reared and produced the right way.

The Golden Turkey Quality Assurance logo represents the accreditation and is only applied to birds meeting all aspects of the code of quality requirements.

Many tests were done to prove the traditional processing and maturing practices were hygienically safe. A Code of Practice for members was devised to provide a strict food standard every member would be expected to adhere to. The hard work and campaigning paid off and within two years, the government’s policy had been overturned, overwhelmingly supported by both consumer and trade demand. In recognition of what had been done for the Traditional poultry sector, one of the Association’s founders, Derek Kelly, was awarded the MBE. The TFTA was set up to help the seasonal traditional turkey farmers who were struggling to

Today these accredited UK farmers range from small farms producing around 200 turkeys to over 10,000 Christmas turkeys each year.

Some are first generation and relative newcomers to farming, building successfully with each year of business. Other members are family farms with up to three generations of turkey-rearing knowledge and experience behind them.

As seasonal turkey farming occupies approximately seven months of the year, some of our farmers balance this with other businesses, or diversify from existing farming arable or livestock. From the Highlands of Scotland to Cornwall - all farmers have the same passion for working to our Code of Practice, to achieve an exceptional turkey. They are all family farms and as a

| On Topic

a Golden Opportunity for farmers to wholesale and retail customers.

The TFTA hold meetings and events each year, which include a visit to a Member's farm. Members find these meetings – particularly the farm visits - a great opportunity to meet like-minded seasonal turkey farmers and exchange ideas.

Overall, the core reason farmers join the TFTA, is that they are passionate about producing Christmas turkeys to the highest standards – and want to be recognised for that.

group, have an enormous wealth of knowledge and experience.

The growing standard is also the first product of its kind in the UK to gain the ‘Traditional Speciality Guaranteed’ designation, or TSG. Since January this year it has a revised accreditation mark to reflect having left the EU. The scheme highlights and protects the reputation of traditional foods whose authenticity and origin can be guaranteed. Its achievement sets the Golden Turkey apart from other UK turkey producers.

Accredited Golden Turkey Farmers (TFTA Members) have access to professional imagery of Golden Turkey packaging and an extensive collection of bespoke turkey recipes, artwork and logo's. Members benefit from the opportunity to purchase at competitive rates, various products including Golden Turkey packing tissue, printed carry boxes, cooking advice, recipe leaflets, posters, point of sale postcards and other useful materials. Where possible the TFTA participate in consumer and trade events.

Each Farmer is promoted online with their profile listed in a postcodesearch directory, bespoke blogs and as part of the Golden Turkey Farmers social media campaigns.

TFTA members have the right to market their birds under this recognised quality UK standard – both

A spokesperson for the TFTA said, Christmas 2020 was a very strange year for numerous reasons. Our farmers enjoyed strong sales, in fact, many would have been able to sell more in hindsight! Poults were ordered in April / May - before the full impact of the Covid-19 virus was felt. Smaller birds were in great demand due to the fluctuating pandemic restrictions, and some farmers even sold half turkeys successfully too.

However, the joy of going to the farm to pick up your bird really came to the fore last Christmas. The much-loved tradition of the collection was achieved by many farmers who employed a drive through system to keep all safe.

For those farmers interested in becoming TFTA members and producing seasonal turkeys to the Golden Turkey code, there are some basic requirements: •

the farm and processing practices meet our high standards – the farm would be audited to confirm this.

•

the birds are all free-range.

•

there are appropriate facilities and refrigeration to provide high welfare, high quality and safe products.

•

the birds originate from high welfare, slow-growing strains and are reared for more than 20 weeks.

•

birds are dry-plucked and hung for a minimum of 7 days, a

maximum of 14 days.

New members would be expected to have the passion and commitment to adhere to our code of practice and take part in regular independent audits. Golden Turkey Farmers are required to uphold the association’s values and be proud of their accreditation.

For more detail on joining the TFTA and becoming an accredited Golden Turkey Farmer, please email kim@goldenturkeys.co.uk Find out more at www.goldenturkeys.co.uk or get social on Instagram and Facebook (@GoldenTurkeyFarmers), and Twitter (@GoldenTurkeys)

Photo by: Kenny Elrick

| Arable

Simple spraying guidelines for better disease control unning through a simple application checklist ahead of key T1 and T2 disease control programmes can deliver sizeable improvements in product performance and yield.

R

As well as providing a better return on investment, keeping on top of disease will minimise the need for curative activity, reducing selection for pathogen resistance and helping to maintain the efficacy of today’s limited fungicide armoury.

Agrovista technical manager Mark Hemmant says: “Agrovista has carried out many trials over several years at the important T1 and T2 timings where yellow rust was the main pathogen.

“These trials clearly demonstrate the importance of correct application techniques. By following a few simple guidelines, growers can significantly improve control for very little outlay and effort.”

However, good timing remains key and should be the primary aim, as any slippage can have a big impact on yield.

“Agrovista trials show being a week late at T2 (GS37-39) can cause yield potential to fall away by as much as 0.5-1t/ha, and by much more as the delay increases,” says Mark.

Boom height Boom height has a major effect on application accuracy. “Apart from bad timing, this is probably the biggest cause of poor fungicide performance,” says Mark. “The optimum boom height is 0.5m above the crop.

Doubling it typically increases drift by a factor of 10 with flat fan nozzles.”

Water volume

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Farming Monthly | May 2021

Using a water volume of 100 litres/ha delivered better disease control in wheat than 200 litres/ha, according to results from 13 Agrovista trials.

“On average, the lower volume delivered 0.2t/ha more yield, although even under high disease pressure we saw yields rise by up to 0.53t/ha,” says Mark. “The finer spray improved coverage and each droplet contains more active ingredient.

“Halving the water volume also reduces travelling and filling downtime, potentially increasing work rates by a third. This means more crop can be treated at the optimum timing.”

On rare occasions under very high Septoria pressure, the higher volume worked better than the lower one.

“This is worth bearing in mind where disease is establishing on the upper leaves which are critical in delivering yield,” says Mark.

Nozzle type Standard 110-degree flat fan nozzles (F110-03) are the best option when applying fungicides to wheat, delivering an effective droplet spectrum that ensures good coverage and penetration at 100-200 litres/ha.

“Flat fans were consistently more effective when used with triazole/ SDHI treatments in normal spraying conditions, producing an average yield increase of 0.29t/ha over air induction (BBJ-03) nozzles across 16 trials over five years,” says Mark. “We also found that BBJs produced 0.23t/ha more yield than GuardianAir 03s.”

Nozzle angling Alternating forward-facing (30-degree) and vertical nozzles along the boom improves spray performance, aiding coverage and penetration.

The technique also reduces drift, probably because it allows air to pass through the spray curtain, reducing the tendency to create eddies behind it, says Mark.

Alternating the angle of flat fans as above produced a 0.46t/ha uplift in four wheat trials compared with a conventional downward set-up; the difference with air inclusion nozzles was 0.23t/ha over 16 trials.

“This work clearly shows the benefit of angling nozzles, but poses a dilemma for nozzle choice,” says Mark. “Whilst it shows flat fans can give better performance, air inclusion nozzles are less prone to drift, which may allow growers to time fungicides better in marginal conditions.

“The use of air inclusion nozzles may also be a label requirement for some products when applied close to water.”

Applications aids Agrovista has investigated the use of application aids to provide practical solutions for these dilemmas.

Adding Velocity to the tank mix delivers better product performance with any nozzle, improving droplet structure to aid penetration and spread on the leaf.

“Velocity is particularly beneficial when using air inclusion nozzles, taking performance to levels near those achieved by flat fans. This enables growers to get the job done without having to sacrifice efficacy and yield from using a 'poorer' air inclusion nozzle,” says Mark.

Over 17 trials, adding Velocity produced an average yield uplift of 0.45t/ha compared with no application aid when using air inclusion nozzles.

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Arable

Contact your nearest dealer: Agratech NW Ltd Unit 8 Dale Mill Burnley Road East Lancashire BB4 9HU 01706 211399 www.agratech.co.uk

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

May 2021 |

Farming Monthly |

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| Arable

Cold spell delays maize planting verage soil temperatures are too low for drilling maize just yet warns Simon Preece, Corteva Promoter in SW England and South Wales. The recent dry weather means the land is workable but don't be tempted to drill in the open for at least another week or two.

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Temperature is paramount for maize and its seed needs soil temperatures to be above 10°C to grow. This week's average soil temperature is well under this, and several degrees below comparative readings in the previous four years. Daytime air temperatures are forecast to reach the early teens, but by dropping back to low single figures at night, soil temperatures will be slow to rise.

During this critical time period, Corteva works with farmers in major maize-growing areas to measure weekly soil temperatures in order to offer specialist advice on when best to drill this year's crop. Temperatures

are taken at the daily temperature mid-point of 10am and at a typical drilling depth of 2.5cm.

Simon Preece advises patience: "All Pioneer's maize seed undergoes the 'Pioneer Stress Test' and are tolerant of soil temperatures down to 10°C. This test offers farmers the reassurance they need to drill when soil temperatures reach that minimum level, but not before. As well as inhibiting growth, drilling into cold seedbeds increases the risk of Pythium causing seed and root rot.

"If you're keen to harvest before the colder weather at the end of the growing season, early planting is not the answer. Choosing a variety with an earlier flowering date is a better solution."

Pioneer's earliest maturing variety, P7326, gives good, early yields of high-quality silage. It can be grown in

almost all conditions, including colder locations; its reliability making it Pioneer's biggest-selling variety. For those wanting a dent-type variety, producing silage easier for rumen bacteria to degrade, P7034 has been bred specifically for our cool, maritime conditions. Both varieties continue to show encouraging results in the ongoing PACTS® trials, testing varieties in a range of conditions.

To keep up to date with the weekly situation, contact Simon Preece on 07813 142957 or your local Pioneer Seed supplier.

New cereal disease decision support tool launched

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yngenta has launched a new, online support tool to help growers with fungicide decisions in winter wheat and in winter and spring barley.

Available at www.syngenta.co.uk/rustlocator-2021/fungicide-decision-tool, the interactive tool takes into account factors such as variety resistance, whether the main target disease is yellow rust or Septoria in wheat, or net blotch, Rhynchosporium or brown rust in barley, and whether disease is anticipated or already present.

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Farming Monthly | May 2021

Syngenta disease expert David Ranner says: “This information is used to help users narrow down options among different types of fungicide active ingredient. Usefully, with yellow rust a heightened concern for this year, the tool will help users to identify the optimum spray timing to apply the fungicide Elatus Era.” With the loss of chlorothalonil similarly a concern, the decision support tool also provides information on when to consider the alternative multi-site fungicide, folpet, says Mr Ranner.

“Other information included in the

support tool includes the use of mildewicides and the targeting of Ramularia in barley. With disease pressures prone to fluctuations, the tool will be updated as the season unfolds, so users should check it regularly,” urges Mr Ranner. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Arable

NEW BISCUIT WHEAT OFFERS BEST ON FARM YIELD SECURITY L

G Astronomer is an exciting new biscuit wheat that offers one of the most complete agronomic packages of any winter wheat available on the AHDB Recommend List for 2021/22.

Achieving high yields and gaining a premium is always an attractive proposition for growers as they look to maximise their most profitable crop and now with the added bonus of onfarm security, LG Astronomer makes for a really attractive package for the coming season, says Ron Granger from plant breeder Limagrain UK. LG Astronomer offers consistency in biscuit wheat yields, with a UK wide yield of 101.1% and a very impressive untreated yield of 86%; significantly better than the untreated yields of KWS Firefly (80%) and KWS Barrel (71%).

“Its best performance is in the east (102%) and its characteristics will suit growers in both the west and the north,” he adds.

LG Astronomer’s pedigree of ‘(Cougar x Leeds) x Britannia’, has resulted in a variety that is tall and stiff strawed with OWBM resistance, and a similar maturity of ‘+1’, to KWS Firefly.

“Its disease resistance profile is pretty impressive, particularly for the rusts with ratings of 9 for both brown and yellow rust, and this is supported by a very good septoria tritici rating of 7.4, raising the bar above the present commercial biscuit varieties, Elicit (5.1) and KWS Firefly (6.8).”

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“The variety shows a flexibility in rotational positioning, that makes it really useful on farm,” says Mr Granger. “It is equally as good as a second wheat or a first wheat, and in Limagrain trials, performs very well in both medium and heavy soil types which is backed up by the AHDB RL data sets.”

“Although limited data for now, we have found the variety to perform well in an earlier drilling slot - performing much better than many other biscuits at this time due to its superb agronomic package.” ”LG Astronomer can also be sown through to mid-February, which is a really useful characteristic, considering the late drilling seasons we currently seem to be faced with.”

Grain quality is very important for a biscuit wheat, and LG Astronomer stands out with its excellent quality attributes - starting with a specific weight of 77.8 kg/hl, protein content of 11.9% and HFN of 238.

“This is one of the best specific weights on the RL, irrespective of the UK Wheat Millers (nabim) Grouping.”

For this coming season, growers have the exciting option of growing a wheat variety that will deliver whatever the season throws at it, cope with a range of rotational positions, and also offer the added bonus of a biscuit or distilling premium, by choosing LG Astronomer, concludes Mr Granger.

PANEL: LG Astronomer has the Highest Variety Sustainability Rating (VSR), of

all of the wheats on the Agrii Advisory List 2021,” says Agrii’s head of agronomy, Colin Lloyd.

“These ratings complement the AHDB Recommended List, but with extra analyses and statisticallyrobust data from our extensive national and regional variety testing programme,” he explains.

“There are 13 key characters that are scored including: resistance to the three main foliar diseases, lodging (both treated and untreated), orange wheat blossom midge, yield resilience and consistency, grassweed competitiveness, specific weight and, latest optimum sowing date.”

“These characters are then weighted according to their importance in offering performance reliability, management flexibility and the potential for reducing pesticide use and overall cost/tonne to grow.”

“So, the higher the rating the more sustainable and secure the variety.”

“As a result of its superb agronomics, disease resistance profile and excellent specific weight, LG Astronomer deserves to hold this top position, and growers should have every confidence in the variety to deliver this coming season.”

May 2021 |

Farming Monthly |

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Lianne known as @thefarmingblonde on most of the social media platforms where she is inspiring us. And let’s us have a sneak peak of farming British life. ’m Lianne and a third generation farmer. I grew up on my family beef and sheep farm in Staffordshire and went on to study Veterinary Nursing and Practice Management at Harper Adams, working as a vet nurse for a few years I moved on to lecturing Vet Nursing eventually moving back home to work for an animal laboratory and concentrate on my farming ambitions.

Growing up on a beef and sheep farm I had always wanted to have my own herd and a career in farming but whilst leaving school options for woman in farming seemed limiting with little available guidance. We mainly have cross breed beef cattle on the family farm, but I wanted to grow a pedigree herd of something but wasn’t sure what!

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In 2010 a family friend who has South Devon cattle took me to the Autumn South Devon Cattle sale, I knew I wanted to make a purchase but wasn’t sure as to what exactly I wanted! I was constantly outbid and struggling to have my bids seen so took my chance on two heifers and hallelujah, they were eventually mine! Unfortunately, they weren’t a great investment, one getting TB and the other was barren but it didn’t

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stop me from achieving my life long dream of owning my pedigree herd of South Devon Cattle, the Damble Herd.

Over the past 11 years, the Damble Herd has steadily but surely grown and now I have over 60 head of cattle.

Majority are suckler cows with 2 stock bulls alongside breeding heifers and fattening steers. A couple of years ago we took on tenancy of a small holding broadening my aspirations for the herd and increasing options available for meat production.

Previously I have sold my South Devon heifers and steers at around 10 months to a local livestock market but the fluctuating trade and competition against more commercial meat breeds made me reconsider my goals for the herd and I wanted more recognition for the high quality meat I produce. Last year I

decided to start selling beef boxes and they were a huge success; South Devon meat is full of flavour and I am proud to produce home grown grass fed meat

that is raised to a very high welfare standard. The beef box sales and support I received was overwhelming. I realised a lot of customers were very focused on eating meat they knew where it had come from.

As the beef boxes were a fantastic accomplishment, I also started to sell home grown lamb and mutton boxes. Then I thought, well if I am producing beef and lamb, why not try pork?! I purchased 4 pigs www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

last October to produce home reared pork, again a sell out so I am now rearing 15 pigs and aim to go online with my meat sales later in the year as I already sell a lot via my social media account.

Another ambition of mine was to show cattle, I had always admired farmers parading their best stock around a show ring and luckily in 2018 I had the opportunity. We halter trained a home bred Pedigree South Devon Bull winning Native Junior Bull Champion and Reserve Native Bull Champion in several shows. The next year we showed 2 heifers that also achieved Native Heifer Champion at various shows.

Achieving such positive recognition during showing and sales of the meat boxes for me is such a positive step in right direction for women in farming. I feel as though there is so much more acknowledgment for women in the industry now which has clearly been male dominated for some time. With the right ‘can do’ attitude anything is possible, and I think farming at the moment is so much more open to change. Personally, being a woman in farming has come with many challenges over the years, from simple things like buying cattle through taking on tenancy of land and running a successful business but there is much more acceptance now. Innovation is critically important to this industry along with equal opportunity, regardless of gender we can all succeed and shape farming so it can continue to be such a diverse and productive industry.

Follow Lianne on Instagram and TicTok @thefarmingblonde May 2021 |

Farming Monthly |

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| Potatoes & Root crops

Sustainable Sprout Control •

Is a naturally occurring product, in widespread use in the food industry.

•

Is approved for use on organic potato crops.

•

Has no harvest interval or MRL.

•

Does not leave persistent residues in the fabric of stores and boxes used for storage,

•

And is therefore suitable for use in stores, which may subsequently be used for the storage of other crops or seed potatoes.

iox-M is a well-established and highly effective treatment to control sprouting in potatoes in store and is in widespread use in the UK and on the continent on crops destined for both fresh and processing markets.

B

Although approved for use in the UK in 2012, the 2020 harvest season is the first to have seen widespread adoption of Biox-M as the principal product available for sprout control in this country. And, understandably, much of the immediate focus for new users has been on store management, efficacy and cost.

Growers, storekeepers and end-user

•

Is effective at higher storage temperatures, reducing the risk of acrylamide development on processing.

•

Sequesters carbon during growth, removing 1t of CO2 for every 1,000t of potatoes treated

•

And should be a component of the sustainability plan for every farm and every customer; effectively carbon neutral.

Biox-M is the natural and sustainable sprout control for potatoes.

customers have been on a steep learning curve to ensure that they get the best from an unfamiliar product, which requires a very different approach to store management.

However, this significant change to sprout control is not taking place in a vacuum. At the same time, British farm support is being turned on its head, with a shift to reward farmers for the delivery of public goods, many of which have a sustainability angle. And the world is moving, perhaps rather slowly, to address the challenges of climate change and to understand the role that farming and the management of farmland has to play in climate change mitigation.

Biox-M is part of the wider sustainability tool-box.

Biox-M comes from a naturally occurring perennial crop, spearmint (mentha spicata), grown in a number of countries around the world – India, China and the US are large exporters. Carbon is sequestered in the crop and in the soil (perennial crops sequester carbon in soil much more effectively than annual crops). Spearmint oil is extracted by a simple process of steam distillation, used to extract many essential oils. To deliver a uniform product with a minimum level of carvone, the oil is blended to produce Biox-M. There is no synthetic, persistent or harmful chemistry involved.

SCOTTS APPOINT VEGCRAFT TO SUPPORT SCOTTISH GROWTH

S

cotts Precision Manufacturing has extended its distribution network with the appointment of a new sales and service agent to cover Scotland.

The Boston manufacturer of vegetable harvesting and cleaning equipment formally appointed Vegcraft Agricultural Engineering this month.

Based near Dundee, Angus, Vegcraft will be offering Scotts' range of Trinity toppers, Microlift Pro fully mounted windrowers and harvesters, Evolution separators and their latest Grimme GT170 Windrower conversion kits "We have been looking carefully for the right partner in Scotland who we feel is on the same wavelength. Vegcraft popped up on our radar after an enquiry

by Gillan McDonald for a harvester upgrade. The conversation soon came round to haulm topping and it very quickly became apparent that we both could benefit each others businesses by partnering up. We are closely tied to farming backgrounds and have very close relationships with our customers, 26 |

Farming Monthly | May 2021

trust and understanding were key words in the way they do business and we liked that a lot. We've seen a significant rise in enquiries from their part of the world, and as we struggled lately to service these sales especially with the Covid situation limiting about ability to travel long distances, so having a specialist vegetable machinery dealer at the heart of Scotlands potato growing in the area makes a great deal of sense," says Derek Scott, managing director of Scotts Precision Manufacturing. "Gillan, Adam and their team are clearly very good at what they do and we're really looking forward to working with them."

(to provide a folding 6 row front/rear mounted system), our best selling model to date. This is complemented by the 30B, which has a 300cm cutting width, capable of handling either three 90cm or four 75cm rows. Three more models have been added to the range in 2020 to include a more affordable fixed 6 row with end tow, a folding rear mounted 6 row and a twin rotor fixed 4 row. Expect to see full details about these 3 models in the coming weeks

Vegcraft was established in 1990 and today focuses on farming, manufacturing of agricultural machinery such as trailers, bowsers and sprayer filling systems, and machinery sales, including Irrifrance, Oroflex and Euromacchine.

All Scotts' 2021 toppers feature new front and rear LED side lights and quick change flails for reduced downtime. The toppers offer a broad range of cutting heights and come with static shear plates that provide a "mulching" effect. Scotts has included a replaceable steel inner liner that offers excellent hood protection and the largest variation of flail lengths of any topper currently available.

"The banning of Diquat had sparked a dramatic increase in toppers," says Gillan McDonald, Sales manager at Vegcraft.

"The Scotts Trinity range of toppers is by far the best on the market, and we're delighted to be able to represent them in this part of the world."

The appointment of Vegcraft follows a recent announcement that Scotts was working closely with Russell Price Farm Services to cover the West of England and Yorkshire & Humber to provide service and support to customers in the North of England.

Scotts' range of toppers now comprises seven models:

For more information about Scotts, please visit www.scottsuk.com and to contact Vegcraft on 01241 860204 or visit

The Trinity 22B two-row topper is available separately or in combination with the folding rear unit, the Trinity 6000

www.vegcraft.mcdonaldcontractors.co.uk www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

BIOX-M

| Potatoes & Root crops

Exceptional sprout suppression in fresh and processing crops

Contact:

Peter Hall peter@junopp.com 01622 821276 Nick Tapp nick@junopp.com 077 75785748 www.junopp.com www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

May 2021 |

Farming Monthly |

27

| Potatoes & Root crops

Don't overlook the importance of calcium for potato quality Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet, to fulfil our vision of a collaborative society, a world without hunger and a planet respected. To meet these commitments, we have taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming and work closely with partners throughout the whole food value chain to develop more climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions. In addition, we are committed to working towards sustainable mineral fertilizer production. We foster an open culture of diversity and inclusion that promotes the safety and integrity of our employees, contractors, business partners, and society at large. Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has a worldwide presence of about 17,000 employees and operations in over 60 countries. In 2018, Yara reported revenues of USD 13.1 billion.

A

re your potatoes getting enough calcium? Natalie Wood, Country Arable Agronomist at Yara, explains that this crucial nutrient plays a vital role in ensuring quality parameters: "Calcium, along with other nutrients, can make the difference between selling the crop prepack or as ware. The cost of application is compensated for by the price differential."

Natalie took the time to answer some questions on the importance of calcium and how to most effectively apply it in order to maximise quality.

Q: What role does calcium play?

"Calcium has multiple supporting functions. Potatoes need calcium to

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Farming Monthly | May 2021

strengthen their tuber skin, for example.

This not only results in a better skin finish but improves resistance against many diseases, including black scurf, silver scurf and both common and powdery scab."

"Deficiency in calcium can also cause internal rust spot, discolouration and hollow tubers, so ensuring availability is crucial."

Q: When should calcium be applied?

"Applying calcium at tuber initiation is important so that the developing tuber can be flushed with soluble calcium."

Q: Does the source of calcium matter?

"Yes, getting the source right is also key.

Many incorrectly believe that liming on its own will be able to provide enough calcium for the crop. However, that's usually not the case; many liming materials contain calcium carbonate.

This is not highly water-soluble, meaning the calcium is not freely available to the

crop throughout the growing season."

Q: What kind of product should we use?

"Choose a product that delivers what you need at high solubility levels. Lime, for example, is calcium carbonate and requires 66,000 litres of water to dissolve just 1kg. That's a long time before the calcium becomes plant-available – it certainly won't be during the season when it's required. A product that only needs 1 litre of water to dissolve 1kg, however, would ensure availability for the plant during those crucial stages."

Q: Any other comments?

"Calcium is a very important nutrient when growing potatoes. That said, it's easy to underestimate how much of a difference it can make. To get the best results possible in your potato crop, use the right product at the right time to make sure calcium is available to support healthy growth."

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Potatoes & Root crops

WORK STARTS ON £6M POTATO PROTEIN EXTRACTION FACILITY AT BRANSTON W ORK has started on a new £6m facility, which will be used to extract high grade plant protein from potatoes, at Branston's site in Lincolnshire.

Branston is working alongside B-hive Innovations as part of a collaborative project to improve potato crop utilisation. The commercial factory is the first of its kind in the UK and will see the introduction of bespoke technologies and capabilities to meet the growing demand for UK grown plant-based ingredients.

The facility will convert low-value potatoes into cleanlabel functional protein, which can be used in vegetarian and vegan foods. It will also generate starch-based products for a range of manufacturing applications.

“B-hive Innovations has been honing this technology for a number of years, working with a group of academic and industry partners and supported by Innovate UK. They have developed a process to gently extract and isolate high-grade proteins from potatoes. This means we have the potential to meet the growing requirements from food manufacturers for 100% plant-based protein that is free from allergens and is fully traceable from our UK grown crops.”

Branston is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of potatoes – supporting UK retailers and wholesalers nationwide – as well as providing seed for potato growers.

For more information about Branston, visit www.branston.com.

The project is being headed up by the newly appointed managing director of the Branston’s Prepared Foods division, Richard Fell, as a key part of his focus on transforming the Prepared business.

Richard said: “We’re delighted to be working with Bhive Innovations on this new venture. Most people are aware of potato starch and fibre in potatoes, but they don’t consider the highly nutritious protein fraction. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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| Cereals

Cereals moves date to welcome more visitors he Cereals Event has moved to 30 June – 1 July to accommodate the maximum number of visitors and exhibitors following the Government’s announcement of its lockdown exit strategy.

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After extensive consultation with both exhibitors and visitors the event team decided it was best to move the dates from 9-10 June to 30 June – 1 July 2021. “We began consulting after Boris Johnson’s announcement on 22 February to end lockdown restrictions in England by 21 June,” says event organiser, Alli McEntyre.

“Speaking with exhibitors and

visitors, we looked at the choice of having a restricted event in early June or moving the date and potentially having no restrictions, and the majority opted for the latter.

Features will include the Syngenta Sprays & Sprayers Arena, Isuzu Driving Course, Crop Plots, NIAB Soil Pit and Drone Zone, as well as many others (see box).

“We wanted to act quickly in making this decision to give everyone certainty so they can plan ahead,” she adds. “This is a really positive move for visitors, exhibitors and the event, as it will maximise the opportunities for all without lockdown restrictions in place.”

“Though the Government is targeting a full lifting of lockdown restrictions before the new date, we are still planning on prioritising visitor safety and will be taking all necessary precautions, while allowing visitors to enjoy the entire event experience,” explains Ms McEntytre. “We realise the change of date may not slot into everyone’s schedule, however, moving it to a later date will allow the maximum number of visitors to get the most from the event.”

The event format will remain the same, meaning visitors can still expect to see a large host of exhibitors, live demonstrations and attend a full seminar programme.

Event theatres and features: Theatres

Features

•

AHDB Theatre and Recommended List presentations

•

Syngenta Sprays & Sprayers Arena

•

Isuzu Driving Course

•

Young Farmers Sustainable Solutions Theatre

•

Crop Plots

•

Market & Farm Diversification Theatre

•

NIAB Soil Pit

•

DIT British Innovation Theatre

•

Cover Crops Drilling Demos

•

Inter-row Weeding Demos

•

NAAC Drainage Area

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www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Cereals

CEREALS VISITORS WILL BE THE FIRST TO SEE AGRICAST'S LOCKDOWN LAUNCHES

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isitors to this year's Cereals event will be the first to see several new products from Agricast.

The leading supplier of replacement wearing parts will be showcasing its STP 650 packer, GLX leg, and new bearings, all of which were launched during lockdown.

The STP (Steel Tensioned Packer) was developed in response to growers saying that wet weather was causing smearing and soil flattening, making drilling hard work. Agricast has designed the STP with a shouldered profile and 190mm spacing to leave an open surface, which dries out quickly in the wind. The STP650 fits onto new and existing machines, including those made by Cousins, Heva, Horsch, and Sumo, amongst others.

Designed for medium depth cultivation, with minimal soil disturbance, the Agricast GLX leg is backwards compatible with the Sumo GLS and grassland legs. It boasts Tungsten on the leading edges and hard facing on the body, as well as a reinforced shin.

Competitively priced, William Robinson, Agricast's managing director, believes the new point will offer a lower cost per acre than other parts.

Agricast's heavy-duty press bearing was introduced in January 2021. Offering over twice the dynamic rating of existing bearings, the heavy-duty bearing is more robust than standard greaseable and fully sealed units. Agricast has designed it to fit the company's PRR packer assemblies, but it is also backwards compatible with many Simba machines

offering.

As well as the Heavy Duty Bearing, Agricast will also be giving visitors to Cereals the first chance to see a new range of disc harrow hub bearings for Horsch, Lemkin, Vaderstaad, Bednar and Proforge® machines.

Priced at £125 to £150, depending on order quantities, the new bearing offers considerable savings compared to OEM parts and features better dust sealing and thicker steel plates combined with additional rivets.

The bearings feature an upgraded sealing arrangement and strengthened cast flange, as well as improved overall quality. The new design allows maintenance-free lubrication through the use of high-performance long-life grease and special sealing arrangements which protect the inner races from the external environment.

A fully-sealed version with six sealing lips will be introduced later this year for customers wanting a 'fit and forget'

"We are very much looking forward to meeting people at Cereals," says William. "There is no doubt the last 18

using the popular Double Disc packer.

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

months have been very different and challenging for everyone, but hopefully, we will all start getting back to normal soon. It is great that Cereals is taking place this year, and with it being just down the road from us, it was an easy decision to attend. We can't wait to show people our new products, all of which were launched in lockdown. They have all proven very popular with our customers, and we are excited to be able to show them off to people who have not yet seen them."

Agricast will be on stand 1008 at Cereals, which takes place on 30th June and 1st July at Boothby Graffoe near Lincoln.

For further information about Agricast, its new products and wider range of replacement wearing parts, please visit www.agricast.net.

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| Cereals

BDC Systems’ Moisture Monitoring System takes remote monitoring of moisture content of grain to next level Moisture content details emailed to any mobile device and text alerts sent if maximum or minimum levels reached

To be showcased at Cereals 2021, 30 Jun-1 July, 2021, Stand No: 921 M oisture Monitoring System (MMS) is helping farmers/grain store operators overcome the perennial challenge of how to accurately and automatically check moisture content (mc) of wet grain as it enters storage. BDC’s MMS now emails details of mc to any mobile device as well as sending text alerts if mc pre-defined limits are exceeded.

“Since our MMS became commercially available in 2019 it has been extremely well received,” said Andrew Head, BDC’s MD. “These latest developments meet the increasing demand for real-time information to be remotely delivered to farmers/grain store operators.”

Pre-configured timings for the delivery of screen shots of the MMS’ control panel highlighting mc details via email to any mobile device, mean that there is no longer the need for anyone to be on hand at the grain plant to manually check levels and make any necessary adjustments.

Valuable manpower resources can be assigned to other more revenue generating tasks.

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confident that the dryer is optimised to ensure that grain enters storage at the right mc which ultimately leads to a significant decrease in energy costs,” added Mr Head.

Crucially, the MMS can be preconfigured to automatically send text alerts should the mc fall below pre-defined maximum and minimum levels. The necessary adjustments can be made remotely to swiftly restore mc to the required levels.

“I am sure that these latest developments to BDC’s MMS will be welcomed by farmers and grain operators alike,” said Charlie Edgley, Kensham Farms, High Wycombe, an original MMS test site. “Defra’s plans around The Path to Sustainable Farming - the Agricultural Transition Plan, mean that we need to do more with less and keep a close eye on reducing our carbon footprint. BDC’s MMS can help by reducing staff costs or making existing staff more efficient and help reduce our energy useage – a win win situation!”

After spending several years on R&D around its MMS, there are now seven operational systems in place with a further three in the process of being installed for harvest 2021.

Using bespoke sampling units designed and developed by BDC, the MMS takes grain from both the incoming (wet) elevator and outgoing (dry) elevators. These samples are then processed through a multi-chamber duct incorporating a Sinar Technology moisture probe, specifically designed for this application. Live readings showing the mc of both samples, in a percentage format, are displayed on the control panel’s screen together with a graph showing the moisture trend.

Historical data is stored in the control panel’s memory for future reference.

BDC’s MMS can be monitored directly from the control panels of all new BDC’s grain dryers but for anyone wanting to deploy the MMS with an existing drying system, a stand-alone control panel would be required.

“BDC is continuing to develop our MMS’ features and functionality to make sure that it delivers exactly what our customers need,” said Mr Head. “We will be showcasing the MMS at Cereals 2021 (Stand No: 921) at the end of June, and look forward to demonstrating to visitors how it can help make harvests now, and in the future, as productive and efficient as possible.” www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Cereals

OPICO to launch SKY’s 8m EasyDrill at Cereals Event 2021 ollowing the success in the UK and Europe of the 3m, 4m and 6m EasyDrill, Sky Agriculture has introduced an 8m model into the range.

This will be on show for the first time in the UK at the Cereals Event 2021.

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The W8020 Fertisem EasyDrill follows the same exacting standards and design principals as the 4m and 6m pneumatic drills - sharing the same coulter line, multi hopper capacity and sophisticated electronic system.

Glenn Bootman, Product Manager for SKY in the UK commented, ‘The 8m EasyDrill delivers for the larger acreage farm, where higher Hp tractors are generally available from previous crop establishment systems. The additional width allows a higher work rate for this most versatile of drills.’

With up to four hoppers, and being able to drill product at two different depths, accurate placement of multiple combinations of seed and/or fertiliser at two different depths is possible.

Separating the placement depth of seed and fertiliser increases the efficacy of applied nutrients and eliminates the risk

of shoot burn with certain fertilisers.

The main hopper is split between grain and fertilizer, each with its own pneumatic distribution. In addition, the option of up to two separately metered PRO hoppers can be integrated so that seed or microgranules can be introduced via either distribution circuit.

Continuing, Glenn Bootman remarked, ‘The ability to seed from four hoppers at once allows so many possibilities e.g. mixed cover crops/companion cropping/ small seeds/slug pellets to be added as desired. It also combats the risks of seeds of different sizes settling out in the hoppers.’

The 8m drill is ISOBUS ready and supplied as standard with Sky’s Quartz 800 control box. However, E-Drive premium can be specified which offers left and right section control as well as electronic row shut off for each individual outlet, meaning that the drill can be set to seed with a number of row configurations from the touch of a button. This ability to shut off individual rows also means that whatever the width of the sprayer or spreader it no longer needs to be a multiple width of the drill. This function allows farmers and contractors to change

sprayer/spreader width without having to renew the drill.

With row spacings of 16.6cm the 8m drill services forty-eight coulters, each with seed and fertiliser outlets. A 250kg coulter pressure provides the versatility to drill straight into hard stubbles, cultivated soil and direct, and through cover crops. An additional feature of the coulter line is the ability to transfer weight hydraulicly between the front press wheels and the rear press wheels. This feature comes into its own when, under damp and/or loose soil conditions, weight is transferred onto the front press wheels, but in dry seeding conditions the weight can be moved to the rear press wheel for improved slot closing.

Typical working speed is between and 6 12km/hour depending on conditions.

The drill weighs in a touch under 10 tonnes with a transport width of 3m.

Loading height is 3.2m. The drill will be on show on the OPICO stand (stand 750) at the Cereals Event on 30 June – 1 July 2021.

Prices from: SKY Agriculture 8020 EasyDrill Fertisem - £151,624.

MASTENBROEK TO RETURN TO CEREALS AFTER THREE-YEAR ABSENCE he UK's leading designer and manufacturer of agricultural drainage trenchers is returning to Cereals this year after a three-year absence.

Mastenbroek and Trimble have worked in partnership since 2010, when they developed a GPS system for drainage trenchers. Today, all Mastenbroek trenchers are factory-ready for Trimble GPS machine control.

Mastenbroek has announced it will be exhibiting as part of the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) Drainage Area at Cereals in June.

Based on the Trimble® WM-Drain® farm drainage solution, the system offers several benefits compared to laser surveying, including much quicker and more accurate field surveying, reduced drainage installation costs due to more accurate deployment of gravel fill. An onboard computerised touch-screen display records every detail of the job, which can be easily downloaded for analysis and customer billing.

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The company's return to the event will give visitors an opportunity to find out about the latest technology that can be used to transform field drainage and improve crop yields.

Mastenbroek manufactured its first drainage trencher in 1977. Since then, the company has grown into a globally respected name in trenching and machine automation through its partnership with Trimble®.

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

"We are very much looking forward to returning to Cereals later this year and giving visitors the chance to see how combining a Mastenbroek trencher with Trimble WM-Drain can make a significant difference to how agricultural land drains," says Christopher Pett, general

manager at Mastenbroek. "Since we last exhibited at Cereals, we have seen three very wet autumns and winters, with many farmers struggling to cope with the amount of rainfall we've endured.

Flooding and ponding have shown the importance of having excellent drainage in place, and we feel that there is renewed interest in land forming and drainage plans, so when the NAAC invited us to be part of the drainage area, it was an easy decision."

As part of the NAAC Drainage Area, Mastenbroek will demonstrate how Trimble WM-Drain software can interact with precision farming data to survey and design sub-surface and surface drainage, together with the machinery to install it.

For more information about Mastenbroek, visit either www.mastenbroek.com or find them on Stand 1106 at Cereals.

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Multiple variety plots and debut of new fungicide technology planned by Syngenta for Cereals 2021 ith variety choice top of growers’ minds around midsummer, Syngenta plans to demonstrate plots of 20 different cereal varieties on its stand at this year’s Cereals Event (30 June - 1 July 2021, Boothby Graffoe, Lincoln), subject to the event continuing to go ahead. It will also be the first opportunity for growers to find out about an advanced new SDHI fungicide that the company is developing.

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Top things to see at Cereals with Syngenta: • New hybrid and malting barleys • Fungicide technology debut • 3D Ninety Nozzle launch • Protector digital platform disease forecasting • Sustainable farming research results Seven winter feed barley hybrids Headlining the plots of seven hybrid winter feed barleys on the stand will be the new high-yielding hybrid, SY

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Farming Monthly | May 2021

Thunderbolt. New on the AHDB Recommended List for 2021/22, SY Thunderbolt epitomises consistency in hybrid barley breeding, says Syngenta, with the highest treated yield figure on heavy land (111%), good wet weather disease resistance and early maturity to aid harvest management.

Meanwhile, a second new hybrid barley on the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List and in the plots, SY Kingston, has performed particularly well in the North and West, says Syngenta, again with strong wet weather disease resistance.

Also on the stand will be plots of established hybrids, SY Kingsbarn, Belfry and Belmont. A further new hybrid barley, SY Armadillo, will also feature.

Winter and spring malting barleys Continuing its heritage in malting barley breeding, Syngenta will be demonstrating nine malting, or potential malting, barley varieties – three winter and six spring.

Among the winter variety plots, Electrum, the newest winter malting barley on the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List, is in

only its first full season of having full approval for brewing use on the Malting Barley Committee (MBC) approved list for harvest 2021.

Meanwhile, six spring barley plots on the stand will feature newcomer varieties, SY Tungsten and SY Splendor, which Syngenta has been progressing for malting, plus two new candidates selected as potential malting varieties, SY Lowry and SY Bronte, and established malting favourites, Laureate and Fairing.

Winter wheat varieties With the importance of robust Septoria resistance in variety choice, all four Syngenta winter feed wheat varieties with Septoria tritici resistance ratings of 6.1 or above on the AHDB Recommended List will be on the stand.

These are newcomer SY Insitor, launched last summer, Gleam, Graham and Shabras.

Fungicide technology debut

On the leading edge of crop

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Cereals protection, the Syngenta stand at Cereals 2021 will be an opportunity to learn about the latest, new generation SDHI fungicide active ingredient, ADEPIDYN Technology, which Syngenta is currently developing in the UK. TM

3D Ninety nozzle launch

Cereals 2021 and Sprays & Sprayers will see the launch of the Syngenta 3D Ninety nozzle.

The pioneering nozzle has been specifically designed and engineered to better target spray application, whilst also reducing the risk of drift. The 3D Ninety launch will give time for operators to gear up for this season’s essential pre-emergence herbicide applications. Also at Sprays & Sprayes will be the chance to see the EasyConnect closed transfer system in operation on new sprayers.

Protector digital platform forecasts disease

Syngenta will be using Cereals 2021 to showcase its Protector

digital agronomy platform, including an exciting disease forecasting tool that has been in evaluation with growers and agronomists this season. The innovative platform provides better integrated recording, monitoring and mapping of key issues for growers, to enable more effective future decision making. It also incorporates the widely acclaimed Spray Assist App, for a complete practical digital solution in the field.

Sustainable results

Furthermore, Cereals will see the publication of three years’ results from the farreaching Syngenta Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Farming Initiative. Addressing the impacts of different cultivation and establishment techniques through a whole farm rotation on different soil types, it provides an in-depth insight into environmental, agronomic and financial implications. Farmers

and scientists involved in the study will give guidance to growers and policy makers on how best to put the results into practice.

Spaldings to focus on cost-effective soil engaging parts for cultivators and subsoilers at Cereals Event n expanded range of SPL Ultra points, wings and shins will be the focus of the Spaldings stand at this year’s Cereals Event (June 30/July 1, Boothby Graffoe) as the Lincs-based company showcases its expertise in creating cost-effective replacement parts for cultivators, subsoilers and seed drills.

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draft, low surface disturbance shallow subsoiler for grassland and arable soil restructuring – will be at the heart of the Cereals Event exhibit, kitted out with various examples of Spaldings wearing part solutions, including replacement shins, points and wings.

Spaldings celebrates 65 years in business this year as the original and largest aftermarket spare parts supplier.

The Spaldings exhibit at the Cereals Event will also emphasise the company’s distribution agreement for original Grimme parts and its exclusive role supplying Tillso subsoiler and cultivator parts, including the unique multicomponent Sabre tine system designed for effective soil loosening and re-structuring.

“We’re very well known for the workshop tools, consumables, general parts and other products we supply throughout the UK and Ireland, and increasingly for our range of vegetation control and forestry machines,” said Steve Constable, Managing Director.

“But at the biggest arable event of the year, we want to focus attention on the various lines of replacement wearing parts we offer, engineered for performance as well as longevity with the strategic use of strong base materials and wear-resistant technologies such as Durafacing and tungsten tiles.”

A Spaldings FlatLift – the original low www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

This newcomer complements the existing design with 76mm (3in) wings and follows on the heels of the claw-type chisel point and point/wing combinations introduced for Grange Machinery and TWB subsoilers, and Horsch Terrano cultivators, which extended the original portfolio of SPL Ultra parts for Horsch, Väderstad and Simba/Great Plains cultivators, and tine coulter points for Kuhn, Kverneland and KRM Sola seed drills.

The latest addition to the Spaldings SPL Ultra range of premium soil-engaging parts is the R1360 Rear Subsoil Point for Keeble Progressive cultivator/subsoilers; this one-piece structure has 16mm thick, 127mm (5in) wide soil-lifting wings with tungsten tile leading edges behind a projecting point with tungsten tiles on the face and sides.

The patented Sabre designs result from intensive studies of soil mechanics and enable growers to equip their heavy tine implements with the most appropriate configuration of points and wings for effective restructuring of compacted zones in different soil types at different depths.

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| Grain

A British Manufacturer for British Farmers With 400+ Years Of Experience

Is it a company that has been a specialist in grain handling for 70+ years so fully understands your needs?

Is it a company that understands the importance of specifying machines that are built to last multiple harvests and not just ones that meet your budget but then need replacing very quickly?

Is it a company that’s fully based in the UK with a decent level of spares and stock so can respond quickly when needed? magine that when you are thinking about the changes you want to make to your arable handling, drying or storage requirements you want to work with a manufacturer who truly understands your needs as they are based in the same country, specialise in grain handling with centuries of knowledge, and support their machines for decades.

I

Perry of Oakley Ltd. tick all those boxes.

Our large manufacturing facility in Devon and our nationwide team consult, design, manufacture and support farms and commercial grain stores across the country, working closing with a network of dealers.

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Farming Monthly | May 2021

Then Perry of Oakley Ltd. tick all of those boxes.

We have numerous stories of Perry manufactured machines from the 1960s that are still in active use and we still provide spares for.

We often do rapid turnaround on breakdowns even on Sundays if that’s what is needed to keep our customers going.

We even offer a 10 year guarantee on our up to 60tph agricultural range of machines against trough perforation because we know we build them to last.

To meet the range of needs we manufacture two drier models: the entry level “Mistral” and the top specification “Savannah” series. Both driers have our own advanced touch screen PLC panel, which can be linked to any smart phone for full control of the drier from any location.

A full range of handling equipment is also designed and manufactured including chain & flight conveyors, aspirator pre-cleaners, belt & bucket elevators, belt conveyors, U-trough and tubular screw conveyors, which come in three different performance levels: industrial (150-1000tph), light industrial (60-150tph) & agricultural (8-60tph).

We are so confident about the performance of the 60tph range that we even guarantee the machines against

trough perforation because we know we build them to last.

We believe our sales and technical support team, with over 450 years of industry knowledge, are the best in the industry. That combined with our 70 years experience in manufacturing of handling, drying & storage equipment, make us the supplier of choice. In this new period where parts and machinery entering the UK from Europe are less certain and more costly this is the best time to choose the UK’s most experienced manufacturer for your handling, drying & storage equipment.

Contact Perry today for all your handling, storage & drier requirements on +44 (0)1404 890 300 or email sales@perryofoakley.co.uk, and receive a free, no obligation quotation. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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| Grain

Lincs-based agri seed business Cope Seeds & Grain announces new owner following management buyout

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he Lincolnshire-based agri seeds business Cope Seeds & Grain has a new majority owner following a successful management buyout.

Managing director Gemma Clarke has bought out the majority stake from the previous owner Trevor Cope, who founded the business back in 2003.

In her current role since 2008, Gemma has built Cope Seeds & Grain into the UK’s largest organic seed producer, championing low input varieties and supporting regenerative farming practices.

Gemma Clarke, MD of Cope Seeds, said: “I’m confident we can continue to grow the business in line with our vision, making sure farmers are getting the best varieties and advice for a new era in agriculture.

“With the spotlight on sustainability, for the environment, and for farm businesses, we are creating more bespoke buy-back contracts for our leading organic and conventional

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Farming Monthly | May 2021

varieties, giving farmer’s market security.

Trevor explains that in recent years Gemma

“Covid-19 has exaggerated the need for robust, transparent supply chains and we’re excited to be launching new varieties, new contracts, and new industry initiatives to help to support British food and farming as we transition to a new subsidy framework and prioritise the environment even more.”

After 47 years working in the seed industry and 18 years in the business, Trevor Cope will remain involved in Cope Seeds as chairman, working in an advisory role for Gemma and her team.

“I’m proud that my daughter, Gemma Clarke, has decided to facilitate a majority share buyout of the business.

She has developed strong working relationships with the company’s existing customer base while overseeing considerable growth in new clients and continues to develop our relationships with a number of continental plant breeding partners,” says Trevor.

has overseen a move to new state of the art offices in Sleaford and appointed new sales staff to join the established Cope Seeds team. “Gemma identified that for the business to grow and develop it needs to look at new areas and directions to keep pace with the ever-changing face of agriculture.

“I am very confident that Gemma will achieve her goals and the company and its staff will prosper under her leadership,” adds Trevor.

To learn more about Cope Seeds and Grain, visit www.copeseeds.co.uk

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Grain

Plant health on trial at Strategic Cereal Farm Scotland aselining and plant health are the focus for the first year of AHDB’s Strategic Cereal Farm Scotland programme. A series of assessments are being carried out to provide baseline crop health, soil, pests and beneficials data at the outset of the programme.

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The first year’s trial is looking at whether amending crop nutrition in response to live crop monitoring will have an economic benefit on crop health, yield and grain quality.

David Aglen, Farms Manager at Balbirnie Home Farms, Freuchie in Fife is the host of AHDB’s Strategic Cereal Farm in Scotland and is working with SRUC and ADAS to run this year’s programme of activity. He explains: “We are well underway with our baselining work looking at soil health, along with pests, pollinators and natural enemies across the farm. We have also recently started our first trial focused on plant health and crop nutrition in winter wheat.

“Our goal is to apply the right nutrients this season to improve crop health so it can withstand any disease. We are looking at whether or not plant health can be improved through a tailored nutrition programme, and hopefully reduce, or do away with completely, the need for fungicides.

“Throughout the growing season, we are using a refractometer to take Brix meter readings every week at the same time of day, in similar locations in the same field. A drop in the Brix measurement is being used as an indication of a drop in plant health. Brix is already used in the livestock sector to assess

colostrum quality and in the horticulture sector to look at sugars in plants. It’s a quick, simple and effective solution, and the meters are not expensive either.

changes in the weather which is why it’s taken so regularly, and tissue testing carried out when there is a trend of reduced values over a short period.

“When the Brix meter value falls below the threshold of ten, immediate tissue testing follows. A bulk tissue sample is sent off for analysis and the results are sent back to the trials group within a couple of days. We then make a decision as to which micronutrients or macronutrients should be added to correct any nutrient deficiencies that have been identified in the crop.”

This year, the trial is being run on one winter wheat field at Balbirnie. However, the same trial will be replicated in future years to collect more data and further explore the relationship between crop health and nutrition, using Brix and tissue testing more fully.

Chris Leslie, AHDB’s Knowledge Exchange Manager for Arable explains: “Brix meter readings provide a quick snapshot of crop health; we are simply using the sugars as an indication of the plant’s health status throughout the season. Our purpose is to improve plant health using testing and analysis so that it is not impacted by disease to the same extent. Tissue testing is an important part of IPM and is an effective way of measuring what is actually getting into the plant. It allows deficiencies to be identified before symptoms are seen or yield is affected. We are using it as the basis of the nutrition trial to help us better understand seasonal plant health changes and the crops’ vulnerability to disease.”

No fungicides will be used in the Brix-led approach. This is to see if nutrition alone can improve plant health enough to withstand disease.

The first year of the trial is a baselining activity, a few years’ data is needed to be able to make any correlations between plant health and Brix. Brix can be affected by

The nutrition trial which has been set in a field of Istabraq winter wheat will compare: 1.

Control tramline receiving standard nutritional inputs – no fungicide.

2.

Farm standard.

3.

ailored nutrition treatment based on plant deficiencies deduced from the tissue analysis and Brix assessments – no fungicide.

Other crop assessments will be carried out throughout the season and include: GAI, biomass, plant counts and foliar/stem disease assessments.

Funded by AHDB, Strategic Cereal Farms bring cutting-edge research, new innovations and practical farming together with the aim of making farming more economically and environmentally resilient. During the six-year programme, they host a structured combination of short and long-term field and farm-scale trials and demonstrations.

See us at Cereals, Stand No: 921

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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| Grassland and Silage

Professional Quality from Silotite

or over 35 years, Silotite has been used by farmers and contractors all over the world to wrap millions of silage and haylage bales every year. As part of its mission to continually improve efficiency, ease of use and sustainability, Silotite have added new products to their Professional Range of bale wrapping films.

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BaletiteGo Our new BaletiteGO baler film has a high holding force, meaning the bale is more compact and denser. With less oxygen in the bale, the fermentation process will be better, resulting in less mould and improved silage quality for livestock.

BaletiteGO comes in easy to use sleeve packaging, with cardboard disks to protect the reel ends,

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each reel is fully protected, until it is ready to be used. Due to our advanced pro technology, BaletiteGO is pre stretched on the machine and it only needs to be tensioned around the bale. A low stretch level of 10-15% is needed.

With a 20µm thickness, BaletiteGO is more tear resistant and can be used in challenging bale conditions, and

allows less layers to be used in the right conditions. It is also easier to open during feed out, with no fodder becoming enmeshed because of its smooth surface. Whether opening manually or mechanically, even frozen bales are easy to open and feed out, saving you valuable time.

Silotite1800

Designed specifically with contractors in mind, Silotite1800 is perfect for both round and square bales and can be used on any type of crop and bale wrapping machinery. With its 1800m length, contractors get up to 20% more bales per reel, meaning less downtime to change reels. Along with the quality of film you’d expect from Silotite, our new Silotite1800 is a technically

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| Grassland and Silage

advanced stretchfilm that has an enhanced oxygen barrier and UV

protection for bales, whatever the weather.

The innovative sleeve packaging offers significant advantages for farmers and contractors. Being lighter than the standard cardboard box, there is a reduction of almost 20kg in packaging material used on every pallet.

Cardboard also takes up a lot of space on the pallet. By using sleeve packaging we can add an extra 300m of film on each reel. Along with time savings, Silotite1800 means there is 20% less handling, transportation and storage space required.

Both BaletiteGo and Silotite1800 come in unique sleeve packaging that means no bulky boxes to handle, and recycling is easy, as the packaging is made from the same film as the bale wrap. No separating of recycling

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materials is needed. Another advantage of the sleeve packaging is that the reel is more protected when it is stored on the baler.

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| Grassland and Silage

Dry and cold weather hampers early first cut silage G

rass growth has been severely hampered by the lack of rain and cold nights for many farms across the UK & Ireland, delaying the start of the silage season.

“Don’t just rely on a visual assessment, pre-cut test grass weekly for fermentation criteria and forage quality to identify the optimum time to cut.”

John Thomas, regional business

“High levels of nitrate in grass buffer the pH drop and slow the fermentation process down, resulting in butyric silage and an unstable clamp.

AHDB Forage for Knowledge grass growth tracker reported growth levels of 24.7 kg DM/ha on the 20 April 2021, over 50 percent down on average grass growth levels recorded on the same day last year and almost 40 percent down on reported growth in 2019.

“I would encourage farmers who think the nitrate levels could potentially be high to carry out a pre-cut grass test as close to cutting as possible, especially if we have any localised rain forecast; ideally within two or three days, as results come back within 24 hours.”

According to Lientjie Colahan, Technical Sales Support at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, grass growth has been extremely variable so far this season.

Mr Thomas explains the reason closeup testing is important is because nitrate levels in grass, which was previously analysed as within the safe limit, can suddenly surge due to a phenomenon known as “luxury uptake” caused by rain after a dry period.”

“A lot of farms are behind previous years. While NDF levels are now starting to creep up to the target of 38 – 40% the lack of moisture has been a real problem and first-cut yields across the board will likely not be as good as they were in the last two years.”

“The use of a crop and condition specific inoculant can help overcome ensiling issues in grass with marginally high nitrate levels, however if free nitrates in fresh grass is above 1000 mg/kg you should postpone cutting until they drop,” he advises.

“That said, every farm is different.

Grass growth has been reasonable in some isolated areas where they have been able to take a first cut, for example for those on lighter soils which warm up quicker or farms near the coast that haven’t had such cold nights.”

Mrs Colahan emphasises the importance of treating each farm on an individual basis and encourages farmers to use all the planning tools available, to carefully monitor grass growth stages in the weeks leading up to cutting.

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“The slower rate of grass growth due to the variable weather could result in higher nitrate levels, and I’ve seen instances where fertiliser prills are still visible,” he says.

manager at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, highlights that one particularly important area to double check is the level of free nitrates.

“Ultimately, there are usually some compromises to be made when producing silage and the goal should always be to make the best silage possible under the given conditions. It’s therefore important to be prepared to adapt plans accordingly each season, while ensuring everyone involved in the process is fully in the loop.” www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Grassland and Silage

Grasslands stopped fighting climate change over a century ago W

orld’s oldest ecology experiment shows ‘hypersensitive’ grasses unable to absorb any more carbon dioxide

An investigation into why the world’s 50 million square kilometres of grasslands aren’t soaking up more CO2 from the atmosphere has shown many such habitats reached their peak over a hundred years ago.

Based on UK grown samples, the study also shows that grasses are physiologically constrained from taking up further CO2 – even when nitrogen fertilisers are added to encourage their growth.

In fact, grasslands that have received high levels of nitrogen fertiliser are today yielding less than they were a century ago.

This latest analysis of samples from the world’s longest running ecological experiment, Park Grass, shows that some of the planet’s most productive grasslands may have reached carbon saturation sometime near the beginning of the twentieth century or earlier when the concentration of atmospheric CO2 was only two thirds of its current level.

Grasslands make up about 40% of the earth’s land area – excluding Antarctica and Greenland – and are primarily grazed by large mammals, both wild and domesticated.

The report’s authors say the common practice of adding nitrogen fertiliser to grazing land to encourage greater grass growth – and hence greater CO2 uptake – is not only fruitless from a climate point of view, but also counterproductive.

Dr Andy Macdonald, Rothamsted Research said: “These findings indicate that increasing nitrogen fertilizer supply to temperate www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

grasslands may not be an effective climate change mitigation strategy because it promotes the expansion of grasses at the expense of the more CO2 responsive plants such as forbs and legumes, and it may enhance greenhouse gas emissions.

“In fact, this study shows that heavily fertilised grassland has yielded less under a century of climate change.”

The reason why grassed have reached their limit with regards carbon storage stems from the tiny pores, called stomata, that plants use to exchange carbon dioxide and water vapour between their leaves and the surrounding air.

Carbon dioxide is absorbed through open stomata and used by leaves to make sugars in the process known as photosynthesis.

However, as plants also lose water vapour from their leaves when these stomata are open, they have also evolved the ability to close them resulting in a delicate balancing act between carbon-in and water-out.

The researchers found that, going as far back as 1917, there has been a decline in the amount of time grasses have had their stomata open – which has meant they have not absorbed as much carbon dioxide from the air.

A further impact of this is that the grasses take up less nitrogen from the soil, which further constrains their growth.

Of all the plant species looked at in the study, grasses seem to be the most sensitive to CO2 levels, say the team which was led by the Technical University of Munich.

The samples the researchers looked at came from the Park Grass experiment, the oldest ecological experiment in the world which is

located at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire It was started in 1856 on 3 hectares of old grassland and its original purpose was to investigate the effect of fertilizers and organic manures on hay yields of permanent grassland.

The experiment comprises 20 main plots with different fertilizer inputs, with representative hay samples from each harvest stored in the Rothamsted Sample Archive.

Using new analyses of oxygen and carbon isotope composition, nitrogen and phosphorus in biomass, and yield and climate data, the research team analysed the physiological effects on these samples of increased atmospheric CO2 concentration.

Lead author, Professor Hans Schnyder from theTechnical University of Munich, said: “Sometimes we seem to know more about the future than the past. This is especially true for the projected impacts of future elevated CO2 and climate change on the natural cycles of carbon, water and nitrogen in grassland, that have been intensively studied in controlled environments and field experiments.

“This new investigation of the Park Grass Experiment shows for the first time that key predictions for those future effects have already materialised in the last century or earlier. These results are important for informing earth-systemsmodelling and global change management policies for grassland.

“In particular, they also raise questions concerning the sustainability of elevated nitrogen fertilizer use in permanent seminatural grassland.”

The study is published in the journal BMC Biology.

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| Grassland and Silage

KTWO IMPROVE TRAILER SILAGE SIDES TO INCREASE VERSATILITY AND LONGEVITY two are a leading British manufacturer of farming machinery and are focused on continually improving their product range to maximise versatility and longevity, recently with their new agricultural trailer silage sides design.

K

Ktwo have always invested heavily in their product design and have increased their design engineering team by three in the last year alone. They are continuing to focus on product innovation based on customer feedback, precision, efficiency, and the most up-to-date technology.

Ktwo trailer silage sides are designed to give farmers the flexibility with materials without needing to increase their trailer fleet.

The new and improved silage sides have been designed to ensure there are

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no external ledges, reducing any spillage of product onto the road to improve efficiency and road safety.

Ktwo’s Roadeo Curve Trailer range has a unique body design built from a single sheet of high tensile steel for increased strength and a lower nett weight. The new silage sides have been improved to follow the Curve’s strength in its design and build quality.

The silage sides have an increased side thickness from 2mm to 3mm to improve rigidity and longevity. ‘’Our silage sides are fully welded to improve quality. This allows for an excellent paint finish and product longevity.’’ Explains Chris Gordon, Design Manager. ‘’The new silage sides have no external lip so when loading there is no risk of product remaining on the outside of the trailer.”

Ktwo have made further improvements in the rear trailer posts to improve fitment and making it easier to take the sides on and off.

Coupled with the new Ktwo Roadeo Curve Trailer front window which gives increased visibility and the removable front ladder, Ktwo trailers are now more versatile then ever before to ensure maximum efficiency.

The new design also features the bold Ktwo logo cut into the front panel of the silage sides which really makes the new design standout.

The first Ktwo Roadeo Curve Trailers with the new and improved silage side designs have left the factory and are being very well received by customers.

For more information on Ktwo visit: www.ktwo.co.uk

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

UPDATES TO IMPROVE BALER PERFORMANCE AND BALE QUALITY

echnological updates announced by KUHN Farm Machinery in relation to its forage and straw baling equipment are all designed to improve control of product quality and/or operational efficiency.

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Humidity sensor to help achieve optimum dry matter KUHN’s VB variable chamber balers and VBP BalePack variable chamber baler-wrapper combinations are now available with the option of a humidity sensor. This device can measure forage composition up to a level of 40% moisture, providing a useful way to monitor a crop’s suitability to hit a target dry matter. The humidity sensor is available on all models in the VB and VBP ranges from 2021 and will be retrofittable onto 2021 machines and beyond.

VB balers and VBP Balepack baler-

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wrapper combinations are equipped with KUHN’s progressive density baling chambers and are suitable for handling a range of wet and dry crops: from hay and straw (5-20% moisture), to haylage (18-35% moisture) and silage (35-80% moisture).

From 2020, the VBP BalePack has been available with KUHN’s awardwinning film binding system as an alternative to net binding. This system has been successfully deployed over several years on the FBP BalePack and the compact i-BIO baler-wrapper combination.

Bale weighing for production monitoring A bale weighing system is being launched as an option on KUHN’s FBP BalePack and VBP BalePack balerwrapper combinations, from 2021 onwards. Mounted on the wrapping table, this technology weighs each bale and provides a rolling average of the

| Grassland and Silage

previous three bales, allowing an estimation of total production of forage or straw.

Intake control and consistent output Technological developments on KUHN’s SB square baler range include an adaptation of the pick-up to improve intake and an expansion of the bale channel to increase the consistency of bale density.

At the intake end, the new power feed roller actively follows the height of the swath and the overall tine-to-tine width within the pick-up has been increased.

This improves the consistency of crop flow to the rotor, removing peaks in power demand and reducing the risk of blockages.

At the output end, the bale channel length is now 375cm and includes a total of nine cylinders. This ensures consistency in bale density, particularly when baling very dry material.

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| Grassland and Silage

KUHN LAUNCHES TRIPLE GANG MOWER CONDITIONER WITH INTEGRATED SWATH GROUPER he FC 9330 RA is KUHN’s new mounted mower conditioner combination with fully integrated swath grouping units capable of delivering the machine’s 9.3 metre cut into one swath in a single pass.

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To ensure full adaptability according to forage type, prevailing conditions or the pick-up width of forage harvesters and balers, the swath width can be adjusted between 1.8m and 3.6m, or the groupers can be lifted out of work to leave the cut and conditioned grass spread. When working at the headlands, one of the two conveyors making up the grouper can be operated independently with the other out of work.

The grouper attachment has been designed with a new frame and support arm configuration, when compared with earlier models, to make the overall unit

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more compact and stable. Significant weight saving has been achieved with the use of aluminium in the conveyor belt frames. The conveyor belts are driven by two pumps supplied by a dedicated tank integrated into the central frame, with all other operational functions (folding, lifting/lowering at the headlands, suspension) driven by a hydraulic unit connected to the tractor.

This design avoids significant hydraulic requirements during work, eliminates over-heating and increases responsiveness of all machine functions.

Ground following accuracy and cutting precision of the mowing units is aided

by KUHN’s Lift Control hydro-pneumatic suspension system and Optidisc cutter bars. The two rear units each have a 3.5m operating width and the frontmounted unit is 3.1m. A generous 42cm overlap on each side ensures complete

coverage when working on bends and slopes and gives an overall effective working width of 9.3m.

Pivoting steel finger conditioning units are easily adjusted to suit forage and weather conditions using two levercontrolled speeds. A transfer plate is situation between the conditioners and the conveyor belts to prevent any crop loss.

Control and monitoring of all machine functions can be carried out through an ISOBUS compatible on-board terminal or by using one of KUHN’s CCI 800 or CCI 1200 control units. The most common actions can also be controlled

by KUHN’s CCI A3 joystick handle that has an integrated screen for displaying key functions. An integrated inclinometer can automatically control the conveyor belt speed according to the steepness of slopes. LED work lights are included as standard.

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| Grassland and Silage

Agricultural expert warns waterways could become polluted if farmers let silage storage standards slip

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n agricultural expert is warning that highly-toxic run-off from farms could leak into and pollute waterways this summer if farmers aren’t vigilant.

Farmers are being urged by Rupert Wailes-Fairbairn, of leading farm insurance broker Lycetts, to check their clamps ahead of the first cut of the season, which was delayed this year by the cold,

dry Spring.

If the effluent from the silage clamps gets into the waterways, it can have a devastating impact on fish, wildlife and ecosystems as it could be up to 200 times more toxic than untreated sewage.

Rupert fears that too many farmers haven’t checked their silage clamps are airtight and leak-free because they aren’t fully aware of the dangers of poor silage storage.

“Silage effluent is extraordinarily toxic - so the damage it can cause to watercourse eco-systems is profound,” said Rupert.

“Once the effluent is in the ground www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

and reaches a watercourse, it is very difficult to contain and it can find its way into springs, wells and boreholes and public water supplies which will require immediate action by an Environment Agency approved contractor.

“Farmers must therefore make every effort to ensure their clamps are well maintained, and that includes all pipes and tanks as well.”

According to the Environment Agency, there has been a steady rise in the number of water pollution incidents in recent years, from fewer than 6,500 in 2015 to almost 7,600 in 2019. Most of these are caused by water/sewage companies and farmers.

If farmers are found to be negligent in their storage of silage and other polluting materials, such as agricultural fertiliser and slurry, they face hefty fines.

Rupert emphasised that whilst insurance cover is available for the cleanup, it is not available for the substantial fines that could result from action taken by the Environment Agency as a result of any incident.

“Farmers have many HSE and Environment Agency standards to comply with and must keep ahead of the game to avoid these fines, which

remain un-insured,” he added.

“Now is the time to do robust checks on the clamp, before the first cut of the season. Measures should include checking that the floor is sound, that cracks are properly repaired and that wall coatings and overlapping protective films are intact.

“A deep clean will allow farmers to inspect the clamp for damage, as leaks will be more easily identifiable but be careful not to damage protective lining, asphalt or concrete surfaces.

“Collection channels should be regularly cleaned out and drains checked to ensure they are watertight.

Before filling the clamp, flush the drains with water to ensure they are free from leaks or blockages.

“Remember after filling the clamp to regularly monitor effluent levels and routinely check nearby watercourses for signs of pollution.

“This proactive approach will not only allow farmers to rest easy in the knowledge they are fully compliant with working practices and not polluting the environment, but that they won’t suffer an unexpected financial hit if things go wrong.”

For more information about Lycetts and farm insurance, visit lycetts.co.uk/ insurance-services/rural/farm/ May 2021 |

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| Security

Farm security

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upert Wailes-Fairbairn, rural divisional director at insurance broker Lycetts, looks at the rise in rural crime and outlines measures farmers can take to help protect their businesses The farming community has borne witness to a tumultuous few years, from the climate change impact on crop yields to the withdrawal of subsidies post-Brexit.

But one of the most pressing issues of today is a rise in rural crime.

Prior to the pandemic, almost threequarters of people living in the countryside (74 per cent) said that they thought rural crime was on the increase, according to the Countryside Alliance (CA).

Lockdown compounded this issue, with police forces reporting a spike in rural crime. This was thought to be largely driven by gangs and thieves taking advantage of more isolated areas and lack of security, with agricultural vehicles and machinery and livestock top targets.

Fertiliser and valuable chemicals are another attractive target for criminals.

With some farms having tens of thousands of pounds worth of fertiliser products on farm, this would be a huge loss if it was stolen. It is important to store chemicals appropriately and keep them out of sight, in a secure building.

Be vigilant about ALL farm machinery and vehicles As well as farming equipment, ATVs and 4X4s are a common target for thieves. It is important to secure these types of vehicles when they are not in use, ensure that nothing is on display in the cab, and to always keep the keys in a secure location.

Because the tanks tend to be situated around the back of properties, there is no breaking or entering involved and so thieves with the right equipment can come and go very quietly.

Forensic coding systems, such as

Therefore, it is important to protect farmhouses, as well as farming buildings. Install security lights in vulnerable areas of the home, such as access points and near to the tank itself.

Regularly check the oil levels in the tank as you may not realise you are a victim until weeks after the theft.

Diesel is also a valuable commodity so ensure that tractors are locked up at night, to prevent thieves siphoning fuel.

Thefts during harvest Thieves are known to strike at the height of harvest time, targeting expensive farming machinery.

Ask workers to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour.

Theft of fertiliser

Metal theft

Lycetts DNA+, combine an adhesive solution with uniquely coded micro particles registered to a farmer. This provides irrefutable, traceable evidence of ownership and has been proven by the police to be a powerful deterrent to thieves.

Livestock rustling There has been a rise in livestock rustling so measures should be taken to ensure fields, hedges, fences, walls and gates are well maintained.

Livestock should always be tagged to aid identification and an accurate and up-to-date record of all livestock should be kept. Ensure the value of the full herd or flock is covered by insurance, not just a proportion, to avoid the possibilities of a shortfall should you fall victim to loss.

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Depending on its size, a tank can hold many hundreds or even thousands of pounds worth of oil.

Where possible, GPS kits should be removed when not in use. To be extra cautious, farmers can fit tracker devices to vehicles and have machinery security marked.

Here, we look at the simple measures farmers can take to mitigate the risk of theft and bolster their farm security.

Wherever possible, store machinery in secure sheds overnight and use security cameras and light sensors. If machinery needs to be left in the field overnight, ensure it is hidden from view and keys are removed. Fuel bowsers should be fitted with wheel clamps or hitch locks.

Oil theft

Churches have long been the main target for lead theft but now other metals are being snatched too, from a variety of locations.

Iron railings, copper boilers, tools, building materials, machine parts, and cabling and metal from rooftops are on the list of items to keep an eye on.

Consider replacing copper and lead with artificial lead, which is less costly to replace, or mark the metal with tamperproof stickers and use anti-climb paint.

Metal items, such as building materials and cables, should be stored out-of-sight and in a secure location.

Become a member of a rural watch scheme Finally, ensure the basics are covered – keep perimeters well maintained and restrict access to the yard with locked gates – and also consider signing up to Farm, Country and Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

Criminals generally target isolated areas, so these networks become the eyes and ears of the countryside, helping to combat rural crime.

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| Security

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| Security

SMARTER FARM SECURITY & LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT FROM ACTIVE FARM SOLUTIONS

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imple, powerful technologies give farmers a detailed, full-scale view of assets, equipment, and livestock.

Farms of the future will use smart technology to secure their assets. Active Farm Solutions’ smart agriculture security and herd management solutions give you a unique, granular, whole-farm view.

A system of tags, sensors, pressure pads, gateways, and cutting- edge herd management tools combine to create a digital ecosystem which can be remotely monitored in real-time. This empowers immediate response to security breaches, asset and equipment tampering, livestock status and location, and crop management.

Their Orion Data Network is a system of active Radio Frequency Identification and GPS technologies combined with tags, gateways and IoT-enabled sensors and CCTV. The covert, weatherproof tags attach to vehicles, equipment, gates, fencing and walls, with specially designed collars and boluses for livestock. The gateway creates 5km private network around the farm, giving you real-time data feedback and instant alerts on the status of your entire farm.

All of this data is presented to you on a

bespoke dashboard that can be accessed through any smart device, putting the entire overview of your operations into the palm of your hand.

Features?

•

Orion Network-compatible

•

Motion-activated

‘Get a clear picture of what’s happening on the ground with constant data sent to connected devices 24/7.’

•

GPS Trackable & Recoverable

How does Active Farm Solutions’ BB3 Tracker Benefit Farming?

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Multiband high gain GPS

•

GPS antenna 1.5m passive GPS antenna

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Orion UHF tag

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Digital and analogue (beacon mode) on 433Mhz frequencies

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48000mAH battery pack.

•

Military specification battery from Tadiran.

•

Alerts are triggered and received via sms & email in real time

Operating temp -18 to +75 degrees centigrade.

•

No monthly connection fees for tracker

Tilt sensor Alarms outside the 90degree range.

•

Three-axis motion sensor Provides motion detection and threshold detection, for instance, driving.

•

Two-year ‘return to base’ warranty.

The BB3 is a covert, battery-powered tag, which offers simple installation in mobile farm machinery and trailers. Its Orion Network compatibility allows alerts to be managed by the user and tracked within their private network. The weather sealed unit has a four-year battery life, which allows for installation away from vehicle wiring looms and power supplies and batteries are replaceable. A unique web portal access to allow you to access, control, schedule and monitor all devices and alerts.

• • •

Technical Specifications

Full recovery service is available for small annual fee

What are the BB3 TRACKER TAG Key

Motorway Cop receives CESAR Champion Award he latest winner of the coveted CESAR Champion Award has been named as PC Chris Bagnall from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG). Chris has been awarded the limited edition pin badge for successfully identifying a stolen JCB mini-excavator on the M6 in Staffordshire during a routine check.

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PC Chris Bagnall and his colleague PC Gudgeon stopped a van because its load appeared to be insecure while also towing a JCB mini excavator on a trailer.

PC Bagnall used the CESAR identification mark on the JCB to check the status of the machine via the CESAR 24/7 contact centre.

The call centre confirmed that the www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

JCB had been reported stolen in April 2020 and the necessary action was taken to seize the machine.

"As a motorway officer, I am always on the lookout for plant machinery displaying the CESAR triangle" explained PC Bagnall, "When we checked the JCB and it came back stolen it was the perfect example of how quick and simple the system is; one call and I had everything I needed to take action and recover the machine."

The CEA's (Construction Equipment Association's) CESAR Scheme, which is powered by Datatag technology, is a multi-layered system that includes tamper-evident warning and registration plates, RFID transponders, a microdot identification system comprising between 500 and 1,000 microdots that are scattered around the machine, and forensic DNA. Once fitted, these technologies are almost impossible to remove, and when the machine is registered on Datatag's secure database, these unique details are accessible to the police 24/7, enabling

them to identify any machine at the roadside. The CESAR website also has a 'hot button' to instantly report stolen machinery.

The CESAR Champion award is given to operational police officers and staff who either perform 10 CESAR provenance checks via the secure CESAR Call Centre or identify a stolen machine using CESAR technology. Award winners are given an exclusive limited edition pin badge to wear on their uniforms to show everyone that they take plant and agricultural theft seriously and have used the power of CESAR Security.

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| Fencing

Nofence - The Norwegian scaleup using technolog need for traditional electric fencing: improving an orwegian scaleup, Nofence (www.nofence.co.uk), has created the world’s first virtual fencing for livestock: using GPS and cellular communication technology built into special collars to help farmers graze animals on pasture without the need for traditional penning and electric fences. The company’s vision is to improve animal welfare and make it easier for farmers to rear animals, as well as promote sustainable food production and help people to make better use of pasture resources throughout the world. Nofence is at the forefront of the growing farm tech industry, which, according to a report by AGFunder, received $4.7 billion in investment in 2019. With COVID-19 further prompting investment in new solutions in order to help the world’s food systems recover, Nofence is also enabling farmers and governments to promote and safeguard domestic food production.

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The idea for Nofence began nearly two decades ago, when founder, Oscar Hovde Berntsen, then a teenager living in the Norwegian countryside, wondered whether technology might allow for the safe containment and monitoring of livestock without the need for physical barriers. Oscar observed how traditional fencing, beyond being expensive to install, prevented animals from grazing freely: negatively impacting biodiversity and subsequent carbon capture. He also sought to find a means by which the use of electric fencing to pen in livestock might be reduced, noting that while electric fences do not cause long term physical effects, they discouraged free grazing and prevented farmers from easily adapting and changing grazing

zones. After recognising the global need for better practices for large-scale farming and smarter use of the earth's limited land areas, the first Nofence prototype was created in 2015.

Following several years of internal testing, the first commercially available collars were tested using goats in four separate locations and proved successful.

Nofence now has more than 2,500

customers and 16,000 collars worldwide.

In the UK, Nofence currently has 25 customers, with 360 collars in market pilots in operation at sites including Epping Forest (managed by City of London Corporation), Gloucester City Council, and Natural England, and the British farmers will be the first in the world to use Nofence outside Norway.

Commercial sale of Nofence in the UK will commence in 2021 alongside the company’s continued expansion in its native Norway and other parts of Europe, as well as in the USA. How Nofence Works Controlled by a mobile app, Nofence enables farmers to set specific virtual boundaries and grazing zones, in addition to demarcating exclusion areas.

Through the collar’s use of both GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo to triangulate the positions of animals within a herd, farmers can also view live locationtracking information for every animal wearing one of its patented collars (currently available for cattle, goats and sheep).

The specially designed collars contain a rechargeable battery powered by solar panels (located on either side of the device). Nofence collars generate a unique sound that gradually increases up to a defined tone when the animal crosses the boundaries of a defined grazing area. Should any animal within the herd continue moving towards the

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boundary, a halfsecond electric pulse is generated as a last resort to dissuade them from leaving the defined grazing area.

Only three such pulses are ever generated in succession (to allow the animals to flee predators or danger without impediment, if necessary). After using the collars for a short time, the number of pulses generated rapidly decreases as the animals learn to avoid the pulse by changing course after hearing the audio warning.

This unique technology works in a similar manner to a physical fence, which the animal can see with its eyes and knows to avoid, but instead conditions the animals to ‘listen’ for the fence and learn where the boundaries of the grazing area are through trial and error, which is particularly beneficial at night.

Additionally, the maximum energy transferred by Nofence is approximately 0.1 joules, but if there is good contact with the animal’s skin, it will only be around half that (0.05 joules), at a voltage of 1500V (1-2% of the equivalent pulse generated by a traditional electric fence).

However, unlike the constraints of a traditional penning-in, if livestock feel threatened, they will ignore the pulses generated by the collar and be able to flee to safety without risking being cornered by a predator (against a physical fence). Following an animal choosing to ignore the pulses and flee, the farmer will be notified and can locate using the mobile app. If necessary, the farmer can use the app to alter the grazing zone to exclude areas in which predators are believed to be active. The ability to set a grazing area, but render dangerous topographical features (e.g. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Fencing

gy to help farmers graze animals without the nimal welfare and increasing global biodiversity cliffs or rivers) offlimits, further reduces risks to animals.

Positive Environmental Impact Grazing animals on open pasture land offers welldocumented benefits for both wildlife and the environment. For example, grazing animals will often choose more dominant plant species to eat, allowing less competitive plants to thrive. In addition, grazing animals that lie and roll help increase structural diversity of the land, and trampling helps to create areas of bare ground that produce nurseries for seedlings that might not otherwise survive.

Managed grazing, including rotational grazing, is also known to help increase the ground’s ability to bind carbon. According to a report by Project Drawdown, a nonprofit organisation that seeks to help the world reach “Drawdown”— the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, managed grazing, including rotational grazing of livestock will account for the equivalent of a carbon dioxide reduction of 16.42 26.01 gigatons between 2020-2050.

The Nofence system facilitates the managed grazing process, allowing farmers to change the boundaries of the grazing zones throughout the day in order to optimise the energy uptake in the grass and avoid overgrazing. This makes it easier for farmers to allow grazing animals to authentically thrive in nature, removing physical barriers, encouraging sustainable farming and helping to reduce global carbon emissions.

Post-Brexit UK Farming

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As Brexit negotiations continue, the food industry is under increasing pressure from the threat of increasing tariffs on importing meat and meat-based products. According to a report by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), a UK statutory levy board, funded by farmers, growers and others in the supply chain to help the industry succeed, imports from EU countries accounted for an average of 86% of total beef and beef product imports between 2013-2017, representing a significant reliance on free trade within the European Union.

Synne Foss Budal - Country Manager UK

The UK is placing a higher value on domestic production of meat and meatbased produce and Nofence is helping to bolster the UK’s homegrown meat market and reduce the country’s reliance on EU imports.

Synne Foss Budal, UK Country Manager at Nofence comments: “Nofence is an incredible step forward in farming technology, utilising already to bring the job of raising cattle, goats and sheep into the digital era. We hope that with our unique technology, we can promote further developments in animal welfare and sustainable farming, helping farmers to continue diverse agricultural practices all over the world and help to build a sustainable future for our planet.”

Management Team Oscar Hovde Berntsen - Founder/CTO With more than 15 years experience, Oscar is a pioneer in the farm tech industry, having honed his expertise as a cybernetics engineer prior to founding Nofence in 2011, where he is now CTO. Nofence started as a passion project, brought about from a desire to build technology which can be used to replace traditional fencing, but also serve a greater purpose of improving sustainability within the global food industry.

Oscar’s commitment to sustainable farming led him to create a solution which enables farmers to maximise profits from their land by running their business in better harmony with mother nature's ecosystems.

Synne leads Nofence’s operations in the UK, working closely with the company’s growing network of farming sites. She holds a degree in Economics and Politics from University of Exeter, which has helped fuel her passion for climate change activism, as well as addressing society’s role in positive environmental change. She is a firm believer that the best strategy to fight climate change is to play on nature’s team, encouraging the farming industry to nurture the world’s grasslands through effective managed grazing solutions.

About Nofence Nofence is revolutionising the farming industry with the world’s first virtual fencing solution, helping farmers graze animals without the need for expensive physical fences. Nofence’s GPS collar device prevents livestock from moving out of a geographic area by generating a unique sound that gradually increases up to a defined tone, and a electric pulse that generates when the animal wanders past the preset boundaries of a defined grazing area. This method utilises the animals’ listening skills to learn where the boundaries of the grazing area are and represents a significant opportunity for farmers to help contribute to the global effort to increase biodiversity through free grazing and help to further improve animal welfare on a global scale.

Founded by Oscar Hovde Berntsen located near Molde, Norway in 2011, the company now employs more than 17 staff members and has additional offices in Oslo and will be opening offices in the UK in 2021. Nofence has raised NOK 36 million (£4.5 million) to date.

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| Mental Health

Mental health in the work place i

n today’s hectic moving times through tech revolution, terrorism, employment targets, worklife balance, rising prices of essentials, relationships, etc., mental health in the workplace are the buzzwords at the moment.

When we have life challenges we cannot leave them at the clockingin machine until the end of CCHT Master Clinical/ our work shift and then Certified Hypnosis coach/ Dip. Child PSY/ collect them to take back home. These challenges Dip. NLP/Dip. CBT (Cognitive Behavioural play out in our minds all Therapy) Level 3 BACP through the day and counsellor. employers are now waking up to the realities of how personal, outside pressures and influences affect their everyday businesses. So now the tables are turning from just expecting employees to perform or else, to helping the workforce to become profitable and have less absenteeism.

Turning a blind eye to employees taking working holidays is not an option The number of employees absent from work due to stress and mental health conditions is rising. The most recent government figures show that the number of days lost to stress, depression and anxiety have increased by 24% in the UK between 2009 and 2013 and in this year’s CIPD absence management survey, 40% of participants noticed an increase in stress-re- lated absence and mental health problems in the past year. These were cited as the most common causes of long-term absence along with musculoskeletal injuries and acute medical conditions, and workload was quoted as the most common cause of stress. In an age of connected technology: 24/7 phone alerts, texts, emails, status updates, posts and tweets during and outside working hours, employees increasingly feel unable to switch off. The concept of the ‘working holiday’ has entered the modern vernacular due to the availability of remote working, coupled with job insecurity fears. The financial costs of stress-related absence are stark. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that 9.9 million days were lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2014/15. And the issue runs deeper than the direct financial cost.

Adding to the practical difficulties caused by absenteeism, businesses find themselves facing personal injury and 54 |

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constructive unfair dismissal claims from employees who feel their stress and mental illness has been triggered by workplace pressure, or the often quoted ‘bullying and harassment by management’.

Employers have a legal duty to ensure that employees are provided with a safe working environment. This means taking reasonable care to prevent personal injury, including mental or physical harm that may in some cases arise due to work-place stress. The Court of Appeal set guidelines on employers’ obligations in the leading case in this area, Sutherland v Hatton [2002]. Case law indicates that no occupation is Employers can assist those already suffering from stress and anxiety by providing access to counselling or other employee assistance programmes. In the Hatton case, it was held that employers offering such confidential help systems are unlikely to be in breach of their duty of care. Workplace stress and employees’ mental health is a rising concern for employers and, while there is no ‘easy fix’ for the problem, it is clear that this issue is certainly on the radar as one which has to be addressed.

I am a hypnotherapist based in Leicester. I have qualifications in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Child Psychology. I am also a level 3 CPCAB counsellor. I was trained as a hypnotherapist when I was in Canada in 2008. Since I moved back to the UK, I’ve seen more and more emphasis placed on mental health, so I set up a social media group where I concentrated on dealing with panic attacks, agoraphobia, OCD and phobias. I was astonished by the number of members who reported that they were unable to leave their homes and therefore unable to work.

This in itself was a problem for them because the NHS waiting list approximately three years ago (when I set up my therapy group) was months; and obviously if they were unable to leave the house, appointments to the doctors, let alone hospital appointments, were nearly impossible. Therefore, it’s a vicious circle: they can’t make appointments, have got no money coming in so can’t afford to pay for private health care and so exist in a mental health limbo.

I set up the group to give support, advice and information that these individuals could access through the

internet. Groups back then were very small and run by individuals who were suffering themselves. I think I was one of the first therapists to give my time for free within my group. This group slowly grew worldwide as I got more and more member reviews for just being there for someone to share when they’re burdened.

I wrote a book about my own journey with details of how I was once a victim of panic attacks and how I over- came them on my own. This book is titled Panic Attacks Be Gone. I then wrote five other books that were all on areas of the mind. I then noticed that members who couldn’t get out of the house searched day and night for cures. They would get into a cycle of behaviour pat- terns that had negative effects on their sleep patterns and wellbeing, so they moved into stages of depression. By the time they got to see a medical professional they were so far away from where they first started they’d tell me“I feel lost within myself”.

As a hypnotherapist I work with the subconscious mind. I regard panic attacks as a remembered feeling of a memory while in a heightened state of emotion. This feeling is then played out whenever you are in a similar situation in the future and so your subconscious ends up on high alert to protect you in any situation that may have some elements of the original memory.

Unfortunately, they say our subconscious mind is like that of a seven year old child; you can imagine what wild and wonderful similarities a seven year old could throw up using their imagination.

So through hypno-analysts, the hypnotherapist can bring the client back to their very first memories and the feeling attached to an event or situation.

It can be fascinating when the client has no conscious awareness beforehand where the feeling of fear comes from. It is also said that the subconscious mind cannot differentiate between real or falsely perceived events. This is how hypnosis has been used with athletes.

They are put into a state of hypnosis and then they play through the task by simply visualising the task from start to finish.

You have the athlete encounter all the elements as if they were the winner; the perfect race for them. This suggestion is then planted into the subconscious mind so it can play the perfect race over and over again and then through repetition it reinforces success.

So, as in the case of an athlete, when a client comes with a learned neg- ative www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Mental Health pattern of behaviour reinforced through repetition, we as hypnotherapists can change or reinstall faulty selfprogramming using the client’s own internal representation of what success would look like for them. CBT is the NHS’s most commonly used talking therapy for changing negative behaviour within clients. This looks at the cognitive cycle of thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts. You’re shown how

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and be- have. It is most commonly used in the treatment of anxiety and depression but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems too.

Uses of CBT

How CBT works

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.

• Panic disorder • Post-traumatic stress disorder

CBT aims to help you deal with

to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel. Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems rather than focusing on issues from your past. It looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis.

CBT has been shown to be an effective way of treating a number of different mental health conditions.

In addition to depression or anx- iety disorders, CBT can also help people with:

(PTSD) • Phobias • Eating disorders such as anorexia

and bulimia • Sleep problems such as insomnia • Problems related to alcohol misuse. • CBT is also sometimes used to treat people with long-term health conditions such as: • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) • Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) Although CBT can’t cure the physical symptoms of these condi- tions, it can help people cope better with their symptoms.

Please feel free to join my online worldwide therapy group on Face- book at https://www.facebook.com/ groups/ 427094084084830 Steven Blow’s books available on Amazon Panic Attacks Be Gone A Guide To CBT Cognitive Be-havioural Therapy (Anxiety Be Gone) Insomnia Be Gone Anxiety Be Gone Mind Reprogramming Hypnosis for Change

Sanomentology® is fighting back against labels and out of the box treatments for mental health

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abels put people into boxes they struggle to get out of.

Sanomentology® is smashing open those boxes with its Dream Architecture therapeutic method, which can free people from chronic health conditions. It uses processes that have their foundations in science, and are inspired by ancient practices long forgotten by modern healthcare.

to address the underlying issues causing each unique individual's anxiety. It's a simple but revolutionary method using a combination of therapeutic processes to address the physical and emotional pain from conditions such as fibromyalgia and PTSD. Martin Rothery, founder and creator of Sanomentology® says: "The possibilities and capabilities of this groundbreaking process are as unlimited

as the very mind itself.

Standard healthcare channels have their place, but they fail so many people when it comes to mental health. This programme is for people who are fed up with being fobbed off by a system that simply doesn’t work for them, are ready to break free from the conditions they thought they had to live with, and want to start moving forward with their lives."

By harnessing the power of dreams to heal, they are helping people to achieve their full potential. Once liberated from their symptoms, people can shed the labels that too often become part of their identity and hold them back.

A diagnosis of depression, for example, gives a name to a collection of symptoms. This may be useful in some ways, but it comes along with a plethora of unhelpful stereotypes and it pushes individuals into generic treatment pathways. These one-size-fits-all treatments can be barriers to successful recovery. Ignoring important factors and never getting to the root of the problem, they sometimes even ask people to go through difficult processes that can exacerbate, rather than solve, their issues.

Sanomentology®, on the other hand, offers its clients a unique holistic method www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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| Buildings

New jobs for 'green' building blocks start-up with six-figure investment boost

nnovative Scottish startup, QuickBlock, has received more than £250,000 in seed funding that will create four skilled jobs and accelerate growth of the company's unique rapid-assembly building blocks made from 100% recycled plastic into new markets.

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transport to remote or hard-to-reach locations, such as rural settlements or camps. A fraction of the weight of traditional cement blocks, the block is made from 100% recycled polypropylene that would otherwise go to landfill and can be repeatedly

The investment from Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise comes as the company sets its sights on global market opportunities within agriculture, humanitarian aid and disaster relief. It will help create a variety of permanent new roles, including securing the longterm appointment of it's interim CEO, Andrew Vincent. Other new positions include head of sales, sales executive and graduate-level marketing and product designer.

Commenting on the funding, Chairman Tom Thomson said: "Our investors' commitment validates and supports our ambition to make QuickBlock one of Scotland's major business successes. We are now recruiting for a further three new members of staff and ramping up output as the product gains appeal in diverse markets."

Similar in concept to children's building blocks, the flat-pack building material requires no tools, additional materials or construction experience. Its unique compact design makes it easy to 56 |

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disassembled and re-used.

Vincent, said: "We have an innovative, sustainable, market ready product and, despite a challenging year with COVID-19, we've gained traction across a number of sectors. This investment will allow us to respond to this growing demand, build our sales team and scale-up at pace over the next year. Longer term, we have a bold and ambitious vision to enable people all over the world to build a greener future with QuickBlock."

QuickBlock was conceived by architect Hugh Fisher whose vision was to build refugee housing in the Middle East by recycling the plastic that litters parts of the region's landscape. The company has recently worked with students from Oxford University as part of an industry skills development programme to develop the block's deployment within the humanitarian market. Additionally, it has been further tested in a variety of applications and the company is seeking partners in the construction industry that see the benefits of the time-saving and sustainable technology.

Caitlyn Hughes, Relationship Manager at Equity Gap, said: "This innovative new building technology will help meet the challenges faced by a variety of sectors where speed, reusability and sustainability are priorities. Products like QuickBlock can enable a greener future and put Scotland at the forefront of the technologies that will support the country's drive to net zero. This funding will allow the company to expand the team, increase focus on sales and marketing, and deliver new product improvements."

QuickBlock is a finalist at this year's Scottish EDGE. The competition aims to identify and support Scotland's upand-coming, innovative, high-growth entrepreneurial talent. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Buildings

RIDBA Announces Shortlist for the RIDBA Building Awards 2021 ast year, the Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association (RIDBA) launched the RIDBA Building Awards 2021, designed to recognise innovation and excellence amongst members in the industrial and agricultural buildings industry. After receiving a record number of award entries, RIDBA is delighted to announce the shortlisted projects.

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Now in their fifth year, the Awards demonstrate the diversity of skills of RIDBA members, from schools and offices to cattle buildings and grain stores. There are seven categories on show this year including: Education & Leisure, Industrial & Production, Farm Storage, Public Services, Livestock, Residential & Offices, and Retail & Distribution. There is also an additional category to recognise Training.

The judging panel consisted of industry

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experts including: Martin Heywood (Head Judge and RIDBA Technical Consultant), Jamie Robertson (RIDBA Livestock Consultant), Joe Black (Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Roofsafety), Andrew Brown (Owner, Visit Our Farm), Niresh Somlie (Principal Technical Officer at BM Trada), Stuart Roberts (Deputy President of the NFU).

The judges were very impressed by the high level of technical excellence demonstrated by RIDBA members delivering successful projects to their clients.

forward to sharing them with you at the flagship event in September.”

Head Judge, Martin Heywood said:

Premium sponsors: Joseph Ash Galvanizing, Hadley Group, Kingspan, and Steadmans. Event sponsor: STRUMIS

“I would first like to congratulate everyone who entered the RIDBA Building Awards this year. We received some excellent entries, demonstrating that members continue to exceed high standards of work in the industrial and agricultural buildings industry. Although a challenge, we are delighted with results of this year’s Awards and look

The winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony on Thursday 30 September 2021 at the Macdonald Hotel in Manchester. Bookings for the event are now open, and guests can secure their places by completing the booking form on the RIDBA website.

RIDBA would like to take this opportunity to thanks its sponsors for supporting this event: Headline sponsor: AJN Steelstock

Media Partner: Farming Monthly RIDBA would also like to thank Joseph Ash Galvanizing as the Evening Drinks Reception sponsor.

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| Livestock

Agri Website Livestock Lounge Adds Online Sales Function A

website for farmers and crofters has enhanced its offering to them by introducing two new online livestock sales platforms.

Livestock Lounge now offers users the opportunity to buy and sell livestock directly from the farmgate, through either live auctions or private off-farm sales.

The introduction of the new features broadens the established website’s offering. The site, for which basic membership is free, has undergone a thorough revamp over the past six months to accommodate the latest elements and improve the user experience.

Live auctions are weekly timed online livestock sales where buyers can bid on lots, each of which has a fixed reserve.

Vendors can upload lots from Saturday until Monday, before the auction goes live on Tuesday mornings, with bids being accepted until 3pm on Friday afternoons. Commission rates of 5% are charged on livestock sold by live auction.

Private sale pens, for which no 58 |

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commission is charged, allow sellers to promote livestock for a fixed price as private direct farm-to-farm sales. Listings remain on the site until sold, or for as long as the seller wishes. Vendors can download their private sale pen listings into sales catalogues to share on social media, e-mail to customers or to print.

The tailored brochures can also be used as promotional sale cards to accompany livestock to auction marts or shows.

The past year has shown how agriculture adapts and evolves to changing situations, as it has done for centuries.

Restrictions meant that many farmers began appraising and bidding for livestock online as traditional markets adapted their sales processes, a trend that will likely evolve further as farmers continue digitising their businesses.

Selling livestock online from the farmgate through Livestock Lounge gives farmers and crofters an additional option for marketing and trading, placing them in complete control of the sale process.

Online selling can also save sellers time and money, particularly those faced with significant roundtrips to reach auction marts.

Launched in 2019, Livestock Lounge was founded by Scottish farmer Sandy Watt, who along with his family runs the Swordale herd of pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle at Bonar Bridge in Sutherland. In a move that has helped diversify the farm business, Sandy is also a partner in Swordale Farm Butchers, which has a shop in the village of Bonar Bridge.

Alongside the new sales functions, Livestock Lounge allows users to create their own promotional profile with dedicated sections to showcase their livestock, promote animal health and register any diversified businesses or services that they operate. It also features forums where users can share knowledge, ask questions and discuss different agricultural topics with likeminded individuals.

Livestock Lounge founder, Sandy Watt, said: “Expanding Livestock Lounge to include online sales is a natural evolution for the site and it is a feature that the industry is embracing. The past year has shown how adaptive the agriculture sector is, and receptive to buying and selling livestock online. Such sales will www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Livestock never fully replace in-person livestock auctions, although they can certainly be a safe and efficient addition to the industry”.

their businesses, which can help broaden their exposure for additional trade, whilst also inspiring others and bolstering the future of British farming.”

“Livestock Lounge gives farmers and crofters control of promoting and selling their stock. It is an opportunity for them to showcase their animals 365 days of the year, similar to what they do at agricultural shows around the country every summer. There is also the ability to illustrate how they have diversified

Livestock Lounge is an online farming community created for farmers by farmers. It offers farmers and crofters a platform to showcase their livestock yearround and provides a means to buy and sell livestock directly from the farmgate, either as private sales or through timed online auctions. Free to sign up to,

Livestock Lounge also allows users to create farm business listings for any diversified businesses and share knowledge and discuss farming matters.

The website was created by Highland farmer Sandy Watt, who along with his family – brother David and mother Morag – runs the pedigree Swordale Aberdeen Angus herd at Bonar Bridge overlooking the Kyle of Sutherland. For further information about Livestock Lounge, visit www.livestocklounge.com.

Advertise here with us Get in touch with our team: Email: sales@farmingmonthly.com Tel: 02476 353537 www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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| Livestock

Crushing, falling, cutting and poisoning are the most common types of injury on livestock farms

Livestock farmers face higher risk of injury

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gricultural injuries on farms are more likely to occur through interaction with animals than other operations, according to new research.

The study of a small group of farmers in Denmark also found that the risk of injury on cattle farms is three times higher than on pig farms.

Noha Mahmoud, a postgraduate researcher from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Aarhus University in Denmark, developed a method to estimate the risk of injuries during different agricultural operations.

interventions – including engineering solutions, policy changes and educational programmes - in reducing these.

The study, which was published in the Sustainability journal, found that the type of injury varied considerably between different operations on cattle and pig farms.

Crushing, falling, cutting and poisoning were considered the most common types of injury on livestock farms, with crushing injuries estimated to be more frequent on cattle farms - with the risk greatest during milking, and during the movement and treatment of animals on both types of farms.

This method, which divided the production system into a number of operations and used expert assessment to estimate the risk of injury in each, was applied to two production systems – cattle and pig farms in Denmark.

Falling injuries were frequent during the repair of buildings on both cattle and pig farms, as were poisoning incidents – including asphyxiation relating to manure management operations.

The aim of the research was to predict the risk of injuries during future farming practices and identify the impact of multi-dimensional

Noha said: “Agriculture is one of the most dangerous working environments globally and despite the technological advancements in

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agricultural production, the frequency of injuries and fatalities is relatively high.

“This has high adverse socioeconomic effects on farmers and societies and there is a need for innovative approaches to enable implementing effective preventive interventions.

“The method developed as a part of this research allows for the collection of detailed data on agricultural production operations and an assessment of the likely impact of changes in agricultural production operations. This enables the risk of injury to be linked to separate operations and provides the necessary knowledge for prioritising interventions to reduce that risk, to improve the sustainability of agricultural development.”

The research was carried out as part of Noha’s PhD research project funded by SRUC in partnership with Aarhus University.

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Livestock

STABILISER CATTLE COMPANY PROGRESSES UK BEEF INDUSTRY WITH FIRST GENOMIC ENHANCED EBVS eef producers can now rapidly accelerate genetic progress with access to the UK’s first genomic enhanced estimated breeding values (GEBVs) for all production traits for beef animals through Stabiliser Cattle Company.

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“Genomic technology is a game-changer for the beef industry, allowing producers to make data-backed decisions early on in an animal’s life for faster genetic development,” explains Seth Wareing, SCC Business Manager. “This is not only extremely beneficial for pedigree producers making breeding decisions within their herds, but for commercial producers wanting to improve the genetics they bring into their herds.”

Understanding genomics Thousands of genes contribute to all aspects of an animal’s life from disease resilience to carcass traits. When a DNA sample is tested and compared to a large database of similar genetic type animals, it is possible to identify the differences in the sampled animal’s genes against the larger population, therefore allowing for reliable predictions of how the sampled animal will perform in its lifetime.

“Whenever you have a mating of an animal, there is going to be huge variation in the offspring – you do not get a halfway house of a dam and a sire. If you did, every animal would be consistent in everything. In reality, some animals will perform more like the dam and some will perform more like the sire, and sometimes the offspring will outperform the sire and the dam,” says Mr Wareing. “Genomics allow us to move faster by determining if a calf is going to be a good or poor performer in particular traits so we can make educated breeding decisions to accelerate genetic www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

improvement.”

in vast array of environments.

Ten years into genomic testing, the UK dairy industry has made significant strides in genetic improvement. Data from Zoetis (the DNA testing partner for SCC) shows that before genomics, the rate of gain was increasing by 100 points every five years. When sire testing started, this increased the rate of gain to 100 points every two years. However, once females were tested to allow producers to make highly accurate genetic predictions for both sides of the lineage, rate of gain accelerated to 100 points every year.

Where genomics and EBVs converge

“This kind of rapid genetic progress is what we are expecting to see within the Stabiliser breed within the next few years,” explains Mr Wareing. “It doesn’t matter what the trait is, if you are selecting males and females with GEBVs, you can achieve genetic progress faster than the conventional selection process.”

Importance of data For genomic evaluations to be possible, a large gene pool of at least 10,000 animals is required, with accuracy increasing as the size of the gene pool increases. Nearly two years ago, SCC started working with Zoetis to gather and analyse DNA samples through its HD50K genomic-enhanced genetic evaluation, drawing on Stabiliser genetics in the UK, US and around the world.

“Accuracy of data is a key part of developing genomic predictions,” explains Mr Wareing. “Since comprehensive data collection has been at the core of our multiplier model for nearly 25 years and the SCC’s link to Stabiliser genetic analysis in the US, we’ve been able to compile a large database with proven performance data

Genomics provides producers with higher accuracy, more reliable EBVs for young animals, says Dr Kent Andersen, Director of Technical Services for Zoetis.

“EBVs have been used for a long time to give us the best predictions of genetic merit expressed in our next generation, to allow producers to distil what component of an animal’s recorded performance is a result of the farm’s management system and what component of it is a result of its genetic merit,” says Dr Andersen. “EBVs are predictions. Until an animal is highly proven and we know it’s true breeding value, this prediction could go up or down. GEBVs jumpstart the accuracy of an EBV to get a better prediction earlier of the true breeding value for those animals.”

What genomics mean for the future of beef production For beef producers using pedigree Stabiliser cattle in their genetic programmes, GEBVs are going to allow breeders to accelerate the genetic progress of their own herds, with sustainability and profitability benefits.

“Genomics will allow a Stabiliser breeder to make decisions early on in an animal’s life, giving them the ability to make better management decisions for better use of resources,” says Mr Wareing.

“Commercial producers will have greater access to accurate genetic data and improved genetics for the stock they bring into their herds.”

To learn more, go to stabiliser.co.uk

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| Pig & Poultry

Get the latest information at Pig & Poultry Forums online

ig and poultry producers can get all of the latest information and advice about developments in their sector at the Pig & Poultry online forums on 12 May. Partnered by ABN, the programme for the day will include the popular pig, poultry meat and egg outlooks, plus a number of technical sessions, all of which will be free to attend live online.

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“Attending the outlook sessions at the online Pig and Poultry Forums gives producers the opportunity to hear about the things that matter to their own business from a variety of representatives from across the supply chain including farmers, packers, retailers and trade bodies,” says NFU chief poultry adviser Aimee Mahony.

“With the sessions taking place virtually this year you don’t even need to leave the farm to get the latest information!”

So what can visitors expect from the day?

Poultry meat outlook It’s been a difficult year for the poultry industry, with Covid-19, Brexit and avian influenza all causing market disruption.

But there is room for cautious optimism, according to Danny Johnson, commercial director at ABN, Consumers are increasingly focusing on higher welfare and slower growing birds, and retailers will want to meet those demands, he explains. This will require a joined-up approach throughout the supply chain – and a higher price at the end of it, he adds. “In this forum we will be hearing from Sophie Throup at Morrisons and Jonty Hay, who sits on the Red Tractor board for independent producers. I am looking forward to hearing their thoughts on what retailers want and how that will fit into the standards. Ultimately, we all want to know what that change will mean for producers.”

Managing the slower growing bird So how can producers deliver on these consumer demands? According to Patrick Nicholls, technical sales manager at Hubbard, the answer lies in the 62 |

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genetics of the bird, combined with the feed it is given.

When selecting the right breed, a producer must first look at what they’re looking to produce: Do they want a 2.5kg bird at 49 or 56 days, or a 2kg bird at 70 days? “Diets then need to be tailored to the specific requirements of the breed and the production system. In slower growing systems health is normally good.

Gut health also tends to be stronger, litter quality is significantly better, and liveability is excellent. I’ve also been told that the farmers themselves experience better job satisfaction with slower growing breeds.”

Egg outlook In the egg sector, the looming colony cage ban by retailers will create significant disruption, warns Tom Willings, supply chain director at Stonegate. “Very few retailers have supported the scale of investment required to convert 50% of production and 30% of the retail trade to free-range or barn. My expectation is that, in the short-term, prices will go up. But high prices will then motivate oversupply.”

Other trends include the continuing pull between ethics and economics, quickly followed by environmental issues. There are also new challenges coming down the track, says Mr Willings. These include a potential ban on beak trimming, slaughter of day-old male chicks, and transport and slaughter of end-of-lay hens. “We only need to look at the EU to see what’s coming – there is a strong direction of travel which we cannot ignore.”

What does Net Zero look like for freerange eggs?

When it comes to environmental issues, farmers will be keen to hear the findings of an in-depth study commissioned by the British Free Range Egg Producers Association. “We have been looking at the environmental credentials of egg production for a long time,” says BFREPA chairman James Baxter. “But practical, meaningful information is not always obvious or easily accessible, and that’s the barrier we’re trying to break down.”

As part of the study, consultancy firm Promar International has been working with a multi-tier unit in Wales and a flatdeck system in Devon to capture findings from commercial operations at different scales. Its target is to produce a report which shows farmers how to mitigate risk, build resilience, source responsibly and unlock revenue streams.

Pig outlook The consumer themes of higher animal welfare and environmental improvements are mirrored in the pig sector, and Morrisons is taking practical steps to help its farmer suppliers to meet these demands. “Customers like to feel that an animal has a life worth living, so we’re very keen on environmental enrichment for indoor pigs to provide entertainment and interaction,” says Sophie Throup, head of agriculture, fisheries and sustainable sourcing at Morrisons.

The retailer recently published its commitment for its whole supply chain to be net zero by 2030 – and to help farmers to meet these targets it is setting up a School of Sustainable Food and Farming with Harper Adams University.

“This will provide research and training to farmers,” explains Mrs Throup. “We need to find a balance between productivity, yield and health.”

Ammonia – What is coming?

The Government’s Clean Air Strategy presents another environmental challenge: It has signed up to reduce emissions by 16% by 2030. Given that 87% of the UK’s emissions come from agriculture, there will be plenty of measures affecting farmers, warns Dr Philippa Mansfield, agricultural lead at the Catchment Sensitive Farming partnership. “A lot of those will be to do with manure storage and application, nitrogen fertiliser use and housing design standards.”

To help farmers adapt to these changes, Defra is planning to introduce several new grant schemes, says Dr Mansfield.

These include Countryside Stewardship, the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund and the Slurry Investment Scheme, all of which will offer capital grants for air and water quality options like slurry store www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Pig & Poultry covers, robotic scrapers and precision farming equipment.

Farmers and stakeholders from across the supply chain can register for free to watch the forums throughout the day and

put questions to the panellists. To find out more and secure your place visit www.pigandpoultry.org.uk

Optimising sow and pre-weaning piglet performance To further maximise efficiencies and help pigs reach their potential, producers need to adjust their feed patterns to keep up with the change in pig genetics. Chris Opschoor, manager of global nutrition at Topigs Norsvin, says the genetic improvement in pigs is averaging 1.5-2% per year – so taken over five years or more, that needs to be reflected in how they are managed. “If you’re looking for increased litter size and high weaning weights, you need to feed and manage them for such high output.”

In an ideal world, young gilts should have a ration designed for body weight gain, while older sows need to maintain bodyweight without getting overweight.

“Not everyone is ready for precision feeding of sows, but the long-term savings and benefits are there. You can’t keep pushing for higher production and keep inputs the same.”

Panel: Programme for Online Pig & Poultry Forums

Poultry keepers urged to maintain highest possible standards of biosecurity as housing measures lift oultry and other captive birds will no longer need to be housed unless they are in a Protection Zone and are now allowed to be kept outside. However, the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) remains in force and additional mandatory biosecurity measures have also been introduced as infection may still be present in the environment for several more weeks.

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Compulsory housing order is lifted

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High standards of biosecurity remain essential as the risk of avian influenza continues.

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New mandatory biosecurity measures introduced for all outside birds

Those who intend to allow their birds outside from today must follow guidance and take action to prepare the outside areas. When released, owners should continue to take extra precautions and birds should be kept in fenced or enclosed outdoor areas whilst feed and water must be www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

provided under cover where wild birds cannot gain access.

signs of disease and maintain stringent standards of biosecurity.”

Good biosecurity is the most effective method of disease control available and bird keepers should apply enhanced measures at all times to prevent and mitigate the risk of future outbreaks.

All bird keepers (whether they have pet birds, a commercial sized or a backyard flock) must be diligent in continuing to take effective and precautionary biosecurity measures including cleaning and disinfecting equipment, clothing and vehicles, limiting access to non-essential people on their sites, and workers changing clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures.

Great Britain’s three Chief Veterinary Officers have reminded all bird owners, that regardless of flock size, should not be complacent.

In a joint statement Great Britain’s three Chief Veterinary Officers said: “Whilst the lifting of the compulsory housing order is welcome news, rigorous biosecurity remains the most important thing bird keepers can do keep their birds safe.

“It is thanks to the hard work of all bird keepers, who have played their part and kept their flocks safe this winter, which has allowed us to take this action today. However, the recent cases of avian influenza show that it’s more important than ever for bird keepers to remain vigilant for

To help ensure bird keepers meet the requirements set out in the AIPZ declaration and protect their birds from this highly infectious virus, the Government has provided biosecurity guidance and published a biosecurity self-assessment checklist, in addition to steps keepers should take before they release their birds. This includes the new AIPZ legal requirement to keep free ranging birds within fenced areas, and ensure that ponds, watercourses and permanent standing water are fenced off to minimise any direct or indirect contact with wild birds.

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| Muck & Slurry

Dirty water applications risk rejected paddocks sing dirty water as a source of moisture for the grazing platform could lead to rejected paddocks, or poor residuals, caused by high potassium levels, which make grass taste bitter. Despite growing a lush and leafy cover, over-application – when the irrigator can only reach the same few paddocks – means that both phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels build up in the soil.

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Sufficient soil content is 30 ppm of P and 170–200 ppm of K. Excess K levels of >300 ppm can cause problems with magnesium availability. While an application of 125 g/ha of salt can enhance palatability and encourage cows to graze down, it is a short-term solution, says Mark Tripney of ISoils.

“Salt dramatically lifts pH – four times more than calcium – so it’s about long-term, whole-farm nutrient balancing,” he says.

He explains that any P and K applied ends up in a nutrient cycle: taken up by grass plants, grazed by cows, then deposited as urine and dung patches, or spread as slurry. The only way to break this cycle and rebalance levels is to take a silage cut.

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| Muck & Slurry “Silage removes significant amounts of P and K, lowering the load in the paddock. But be careful which class of livestock you feed this high P and K silage to. Hopefully, it will be diluted in the clamp; if not, avoid giving it to dry cows,” he advises.

Dirty water works well because of its low dry matter content: it leads to less coating of the grass leaf, making it possible to re-graze from 21 days, particularly after some rain. “But the nitrogen it contains is highly volatile. Trailed irrigators pump it too high and atomise it,” says Mark, “and on a warm soil surface, there is the potential to lose ammonia nitrogen, so it should be applied via trailing shoe.”

Ideally, spread dirty water according to individual paddock soil nutrient levels, stopping when they are satisfactory.

Monitor residuals and notice if cows don’t like grazing certain paddocks. Then, put surplus dirty water into the slurry system, targeting slurry and muck applications.

“True dirty water doesn’t come out of the lagoon, weeping wall or mechanical separator,” Mark points out. “It is defined as parlour washings, or water from a lightly soiled yard, and is only 0.5% dry matter, which is why you don’t have to store it and can spread it any time of year.”

Most dirty water, therefore, is actually slurry, he says.

Because it is higher in dry matter, there is a greater concentration of nutrients. Weeping wall liquor, for instance, is about 3% DM and contains the equivalent of 2 kg nitrogen (N). “Straight away, you have higher P and K as well, with 2.1 kg of available K, which is quite a loading. This means nutrients are often over-applied, in addition to bag fertiliser. A maximum of 20–22 m3/ha will supply 25 kg N, if done correctly.”

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| Muck & Slurry

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| Muck & Slurry

On-farm emissions reduced by proactive slurry management ivestock farmers are being urged to have a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impact of slurry if the agricultural sector is going to be anywhere near reaching its net zero emissions target by 2040.

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Andrew Sincock, commercial director at Agriton UK explains that a proactive approach to slurry management, coupled with the willingness to adopt change, is going to be key in achieving the sector’s aspirations.

"As an example, many dairy farmers will use lime as a bedding powder to help prevent mastitis and other pathogenic diseases. But what many don’t currently know is that the reaction between the ammonium in slurry and the lime can lead to the release of large volumes of carbon dioxide and nitrogen,” he says.

“There is evidence to suggest that 1000kg of lime can react with ammonium in the slurry to release up to 440kg of carbon dioxide, and 280kg of nitrogen, in the form of ammonia,” he adds.

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“These emission rates are significant. However, they can be reduced by simply using an alternative bedding powder, such as Vulkamin. This is a natural antiseptic that can be used as a direct replacement for lime. It doesn’t react with slurry and acts quickly to raise the pH of the environment killing harmful pathogens and bacteria.”

Mr Sincock explains that slurry inoculants that contain effective microorganisms are another example of how farmers can reduce on-farm emissions when added to cubicles, slurry, or farmyard manure.

“When you add effective microorganisms (EM), which contain a mixture of bacteria, yeast, fungi, actinomycetes and phototrophic bacteria to slurry, they work synergistically to break down and ferment organic matter,” says Mr Sincock.

“Fermentation helps retain key nutrients within the slurry and decreases the release of harmful emissions such as

ammonia, carbon dioxide and methane.

The nutrient rich and non-toxic slurry can then be spread as an alternative to artificial fertilisers.

“We need to ensure that farmers have access to products like this that do not produce harmful emissions and are proven at a farm level to work just as well as traditional methods.

“Achieving net zero emissions in agriculture by 2040 could be a real possibility with practical management steps such as adapting slurry management plans. But we need to be proactive and start making changes today if we are going to see a meaningful difference in the next 20 years,” he says.

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Slurry handling Solutions from Greencrop W

ith new legislation coming into effect in 2025, we have the solutions, when it comes to slurry application.

Greencrop can supply a range of shallow injectors, trailing shoe, or dribble bars, including a full range of vacuum tankers. Dribble bars, up to 9m spreading width, can be mounted on existing vacuum tankers from the rear door without having to weld on any mounting brackets, with the ability to still use the splash plate if needed.

The machines are very close coupled to the tanker, are fitted with lights and the 7m wide and upward machines have boom brake backs protection.

The units are fitted with an easy access single or twin, horizontal macerator, which is self-sharpening and reversable. 50mm outlets and pipes (less blockage) at 250mm spacings. A manual

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| Muck & Slurry gate valve before the inlet to the macerator, controls the flow rate you require.

Our full range of dribble bars, start at 6m up to 12m with single macerator on tanker models, with twin macerators on umbilical machines from 9m plus. The tanker mounted units can be removed and used as an umbilical machine.

Trailing shoes applicators range from 6m up to 12m tanker mounted and up to 9m umbilical mounted, or up to 9m as both tanker and umbilical. Shallow injectors start from 3m up to 6m.

We have just launched the new heavy-duty Stingray tanker mounted trailing shoe at 12 and 15m wide booms. STINGRAY is priced with twin Vogelsang distributors, either side shut off, Electrohydraulic control hydraulic service c/w free flow return, built in 4-point linkage mounted and fitted to tanker with side brackets, allowing an arm rest for booms that fold down the side of the tanker, including mounting kit.

We can offer a range of other umbilical equipment, including pumps, layflat hose reelers, Oroflex layflat hose, splash plates, flow meters and monitoring systems.

Greencrop also produce a full range of vacuum tankers, from 900 to 5000 gallon, with auto fill arms, dual pumps, single, tandem and tri self-steer axles etc.

We also import the Sepcom range of horizontal and vertical screw press separators, for digestant and slurry. These give consistent quality of separation, low maintenance, reduced running costs for improved plant performance. Including the Sepcom range of pumps mixers, plus the new patented micro filter to complete the final stages of separation.”

For more information on our slurry and dirty water systems, go to www.greencrop.co.uk or email enquiries@greencrop.co.uk

www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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| Machinery

Kubota’s photo competition returns he #MyKubota photo competition is back, and Kubota UK is inviting all Kubota operators to take part, with the chance to win a £200 retail voucher and a number of runner-up prizes.

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independent panellists, so entrants are encouraged to be as ambitious and creative as they like. But please make you follow all relevant safety guidelines, when getting that shot.

The lucky winner will be presented with a £200 retail voucher, while eight runners-up will receive an exclusive collection of Kubota merchandise.

David Hart, managing

Running from the 3rd to the 31st of May, operators are invited to submit an image of their Kubota machine to the Kubota UK Twitter or Facebook page, using the hashtag #MyKubota, along with a few words on why their Kubota is their machine of choice.

Crucially, this year’s #MyKubota competition will be judged by a group of 70 |

Farming Monthly | May 2021

their machines alongside the entire Kubota community. Having such a diverse and versatile portfolio within agriculture, ground care and construction machinery, used in diverse environments and situations, we are looking forward to seeing what our customers come up with.”

To stay up-to-date with the competition, follow Kubota UK’s Twitter page at twitter.com/KubotaUK, or like the Facebook page at facebook.com/ KubotaUK.

director of Kubota UK, said: “#MyKubota is a great opportunity for Kubota users of every stripe to show off and celebrate www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

| Machinery

New Hyundai HL960A wheeled loader a firm favourite with aggregates business site foreman he increase in the use of recycled aggregates isn't a new phenomenon. Many developers use them as they meet a specification at a fraction of the cost of virgin material.

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To meet the ever-increasing demand for these materials, G Webb Haulage operates a large site adjacent to the A1 at Little Paxton where they currently handle a large volume of material on an annual basis. Whilst offering a wide range of recycled aggregates from Little Paxton, the company also operates a virgin stone quarry and a second recycled aggregates facility nearby. To service these sites the company runs a fleet of over fifty 8-wheeled and articulated tippers and a small fleet of earthmoving equipment for both the quarrying operations and outside earthmoving projects the company picks up. Founded in 1947 by the late George Webb, the company still remains in the strategic Cambridgeshire location they have occupied for the past 70 plus years.

The Little Paxton site is currently home to a new Hyundai HL960A wheeled loader, the latest model to be operated by the company and already a firm favourite of long-standing operator and site foreman, Nigel Missen To handle the large amounts of both incoming and outgoing materials, the company relies on a single, frontline wheeled loader. "We have had a number of machines over the years but have recently settled with Hyundai," Nigel explains. Replacing an 18-month-old HL960, local Hyundai dealer Willowbrook Plant has supplied a new HL960A into the site. The new arrival is kept extremely busy five and a half days a week, every week according to Nigel and so far, is proving to be an excellent replacement for what was a very good machine. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

The huge site contains a massive variety of recycled aggregates and soils ready for dispatch, an area dominated by Nigel and his new Hyundai. Incoming aggregates are also catered for with a small processing area occupied by another Hyundai, an HX140 feeding a Sandvik crusher and McCloskey tracked three-way screener.

The arrival of the new loading shovel has seen the older machine retire to a slightly more sedentary life within the fleet after a busy introduction with G Webb.

The large site and variety of materials present require Nigel and the HL960A to be flexible and nimble. "With the amount of material we dispatch on a daily basis, having dedicated bays for each material wouldn't be possible as we stock hundreds if not thousands of tonnes of the most popular products." Nigel comments "This means we need to be travelling from one end of the site to the other, sometimes after each truck. The Hyundai is ideal for this, it's the right size for the site to give us the perfect combination manoeuvrability and performance."

With an operating weight of 19.2 tonnes, the HL960A carries a straight edge bucket with a capacity of 3.3m3. A variety of heavy-duty and light material buckets are available for other applications, but Webb's feel the general-purpose unit fits their needs exactly. The A model is the latest incarnation of the wheeled loader range and has been upgraded model around a new Cummins B6.7 diesel delivering 225hp. The Stage V Cummins engine delivers slightly more power but more importantly, has increased its torque output by 15% to 875lb/ft over the outgoing HL960 model. Meeting the Stage V regulations involves the loader using Cummins' Single Module aftertreatment system that incorporates DPF,

SCR and Urea dosing in a single unit taking up 50% less space than the previous system.

The large bonnet covering the machine's vital components is electrically opening and gives ample room around the engine, and a cooling pack for service access.

The HL960A rides on a pair of heavyduty axles offering a ground clearance of over 400mm and thanks to the short wheelbase, boasts a relatively tight 7.75m turning circle, ideal for the tight site. Wide and well-spaced non-slip steps provide access to the large cab.

The Hyundai cab is well-appointed boasting large areas of glass to give excellent all-round visibility, the cab is well laid out with a bank of switches to the operator's right-hand side behind the main joystick. Joystick steering can be specified as an option, but this wasn't taken by Webb. "I like the steering wheel, it's responsive and light to use."

Nigel commented. "I have been very impressed by the noise, or lack of it in the cab. My old machine was quite quiet, but this is far better."

Servicing is carried out by Willowbrook with remote monitoring of the machine undertaken through Hyundai's Hi-MATE telematics system. An addition to the A model is Engine Connected Diagnostics (ECD) which reports any engine failures immediately to both the Hi-MATE system and to the engine manufacturer themselves.

As overall first impressions go, Nigel is more than happy with the new Hyundai; "The fuel consumption is good as is its AdBlue intake. If it stays as reliable as my old machine, I'll be a very happy man."

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| Machinery

New Holland supports three forward-thinking farmers with machinery in Up to Speed scheme

ew Holland Agriculture has partnered with The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) for the second year in the Up to Speed joint scheme, which aims to support young farmers, new entrants, or those looking to make a difference in their local community but would otherwise not have access to this type of farm machinery. This year’s successful applicants, Isobel and James Wright, Sam Walton, and James Miller won the use for a year of a TH telehandler, a T6 tractor and a Boomer compact tractor respectively.

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“It’s great to have the support of New Holland and The Prince’s Countryside Fund as without the use of the machine I was expecting many late nights, I will now get more time to spend with family whilst our business grows,” said James Wright, who will be using the TH

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telehandler on his farm.

Established in 2010 by HRH The Prince of Wales, the PCF is the only UK-wide charity that empowers family farms and rural communities to survive and thrive.

The Up to Speed scheme, alongside its Farm Resilience Programme and Farm Support Groups Initiative, forms part of the PCF’s strategy to support thriving family farms, to ensure farmers have access to immediate, local and practical support and a path to a sustainable future. The partnership between New Holland and the PCF began in early 2020, and the second year of the Up to Speed scheme proved just as popular as the first, with farmers applying from all reaches of the UK. Keith Halstead, Executive Director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “We were so impressed with the quality of

applications this year and are delighted to have chosen three worthy winners. We hope that each will be able to build their farm business through this tremendous opportunity. Our thanks go to New Holland for working with us to make a positive difference to the working lives of each of our winners.”

Mark Crosby, New Holland Marketing Manager for UK&ROI, said: “New Holland are delighted to continue our partnership with The Prince’s Countryside Fund for a second year, allowing us the opportunity to support and work alongside three very enthusiastic and talented winners. The volume of applications and competition between them for each machine was even stronger this year. It was so inspiring to meet such talented individuals and learn of their plans, to understand firsthand the difference the

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| Machinery loan of a new machine would bring to their business over the next twelve months. We, at New Holland, remain very keen on championing our winners as industry ambassadors, and are proud to back local production with our British built tractors. Our huge congratulations go to Isobel and James, Sam and James and we look forward to working closely together over the coming year.”

move from here in a few years to a larger farm. Winning the use of the telehandler for the year will be a great asset to the business, right now we are reliant on contractors and our old loader tractor which struggles to start on cold mornings.”

James Miller from Hatherleigh, West Devon has won the use of a Boomer tractor. James has a 30-acre smallholding with small a flock of

Sam Walton from Knutsford, Cheshire

Meet the 2021 winners Isobel and James Wright are first generation farmers from West Sussex and have won the use of a TH telehandler. They are halfway through

their first tenancy on the Wiston Estate where they keep a herd of suckler cows and have started rearing calves too.

James also works for an agricultural software company, Breedr.

They said: “The farm is our first step into farming in a big way and our hope is to

has won the use of a T6 tractor. Sam works at Tatton Park, which attracts 90,000 visitors a year to learn about food and farming. Alongside this, he has his own herd of pedigree Hereford cattle on some rented land and he has been breeding Herefords since he was 12 years old.

Sam said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be the winner of the T6, it will make such a difference to my business over the next 12 months.”

sheep, pigs and manages an ancient woodland. He also has his own business JRM Countryside Services, which provides agricultural contracting services with the use of an ATV and attachments to smallholders, equestrian units and amenity. James said: “The use of the boomer tractor over the next year will allow the business to expand into other markets and test how viable a compact tractor will be. Thank you so much for the opportunity. It will make such a big difference to the business and small holding.” The Up to Speed scheme will be open again for applications in early 2022.

To find out more, please visit www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/ uptospeed.

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ed@tractortuninguk.co.uk www.tractortuninguk.co.uk May 2021 |

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| Machinery

New Range of Small Articulated Loaders from Bobcat Bobcat Aims to Expand Customer Base with Increased Loader Offer obcat has launched the company’s new L23 and L28 small articulated loaders (SALs), offering high lift capacities in confined spaces, ease-of-use with simple intuitive controls and low ground disturbance for working on any terrain. The new SALs continue Bobcat’s expansion in the compact wheel loader market and confirm that the company now has the largest loader portfolio of any manufacturer in the world.

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Designed and built by Bobcat at the company’s North American facilities, the new SALs offer impressive stability and tipping loads of up to 1.39 tonne. It is therefore easy to place loads with the SALs over trenches and pavements, a task that is further enhanced by the excellent all-round visibility on both machines. The high lift capacities compared to machine weight are ideal for

heavy lift and carry operations in confined areas. The extendable boom on the L28 provides more options for easy placement of loads and counterweight options allow the user to customize the capacity to the application.

The machines’ compact size, with a width of just over one metre combined with a tight turning radius, allow Bobcat SALs to work easily even in tricky and hard to reach areas. Despite their robust construction, the SALs are also built to be light enough for easy transportation.

New SALs Increase Reach of Bobcat Loader Range Entering the SAL market allows Bobcat to extend the breadth and reach of its loader range, increasing business opportunities for both the company and the comprehensive network of Bobcat Authorised Dealers throughout Europe,

the Middle East and Africa. The new SALs allow Bobcat to attract more customers in the growing landscaping, light construction and municipality maintenance markets, as well as powering growth in agriculture and horticulture.

John Chattaway, Loaders Product Manager at Bobcat, said: “SALs pack a serious punch in a compact, lightweight package that's wonderfully easy to operate, making them a powerful and handy multi-purpose tool for a wide range of applications. Both the L23 and L28 are 25 HP machines with intuitive controls that make them ideal for almost any user to operate, appealing to an even wider customer base and extending the reach of Bobcat loader products.

“The key attributes that SAL users are looking for are a high lifting capacity coupled with stability and low ground disturbance as these machines are mainly used in load and carry applications. Bobcat brings to this market the company’s years of experience in the loader business enabling us to build machines that are safe, reliable and very durable. This adds up to a quality of machine not matched by our competitors.”

Easy-to-Use Operation and Controls Bobcat SALs are available with canopy and cab versions, both specially designed to provide extra space where needed for easy entry, exit and operator comfort. The controls are intuitive for all levels of operator experience and an enclosed cab and heated seat are available for colder climates.

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| Machinery front tyre path when turning, but also the turf-safe mode that limits wheel slippage.

This means Bobcat SALs are ideal for those landscaping, construction and maintenance projects where space is minimal and ground care is needed.

Depending on the operating conditions, Bobcat SALs automatically enable one of two traction modes: High-Traction Mode for control over rough and slippery terrain or Turf-Safe Mode for the least possible ground disturbance.

A simple, intuitive twin-pedal design on the SALs enables quick and easy direction changes: one pedal moves the machine forward, the other puts it into reverse. These travel controls are easy for operators to master, making the SAL a great choice for seasonal employees or rental customers. It is also convenient and simple for operators who need to master controls for multiple machines.

In addition to its impressive lift capacity, the L28 has a telescoping lift arm that extends the lifting height and reach. It also includes an innovative dual-cylinder design that keeps the load level as the operator moves the bucket and handles materials at height. The telescopic cylinder is synchronized with a hydraulic levelling link, providing assistance with levelling and helping to prevent spillage over the back of the bucket, again greatly improving ease-of-use and productivity.

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To ensure the new SALs are truly multipurpose machines, Bobcat has utilised the company’s unmatched expertise in attachments, to develop a special version of the proprietary Bob-Tach® attachment mounting system allowing the use of both S70/MT55 and S100/S450 approved attachments.

The dependable, in-line mounted high torque engine, is Stage V certified but mechanically governed so that it can be used in all regions. The efficient cooling system on the SALs offers improved operation and component protection for class-leading performance.

In the High-Traction Mode, when the steering wheel is not turning, improved traction provides excellent control and mobility over rough or slippery terrain.

The Turf-Safe Mode allows active steering and keeps the wheels from scrubbing on the ground, causing the least possible ground disturbance. In addition, an optional traction assist, similar to a differential lock, enables the operator to momentarily override the automatic modes to travel through adverse conditions at the touch of a switch.

Main Specifications

Excellent Attributes for Groundcare Work Specifically designed not to damage surfaces, Bobcat SALs achieve very minimal ground disturbance not only through the use of an articulated joint, which enables the rear tyres to match the

For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit the website www.bobcat.com

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| ATV

No job too big for the Kawasaki full 2021 MULE and ATV Range ith demand for the Kawasaki MULE and ATV machines soaring, the 2021 range is available now from the extensive Kawasaki utility dealer network.

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Despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the shutdown of production lines, demand for the Kawasaki utility range has remained strong and the brand is pleased to announce the availability of its full 2021 range of Kawasaki MULE and ATV products.

The 2021 collection comprises of four MULE vehicles, the MULE PRO-DXT, MULE PRO-DX, MULE PRO-MX and the MULE SX. The entire range is designed for use by outdoor professionals, such as farmers, gamekeepers and groundscare experts, providing them with the ability to easily transport equipment over various terrain.

The MULE SX 4x4 rides on 24 inch tyres and offers selectable 2WD and 4WD with Hi-Low dual-range transfer case and rear differential lock. The 16-litre fuel tank extends the operational range

of the SX with its 401cc four-stroke, OHV, air-cooled engine, delivering power reliably and economically, with a restricted top speed of 25mph. The tubular steel chassis provides the best balance of rigidity, strength and ride comfort with offroad pursuits.

Drawing on the design of the PRO Series console, the dashboard puts all controls within easy reach and sight of the operator, adding ease to everyday use. The easy-to-load tilting cargo bed can carry up to 181kg of tools and materials, and an extra 500kg can be towed behind by fitting a tow ball to the ever-eager MULE. The PRO-MX offers the ideal balance between compact and full size UTVs. With conveniently small dimensions (2,795 mm long x 1,525 mm wide x 2,005 mm wheelbase with a turning

For more information

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circle of just 4.2m), the carrying and towing capacity does not suffer at 317kg and 680kg respectively. These small dimensions are maintained thanks to minimised bodywork overhang, also helping to reduce the chance of knocking or scraping a bumper when driving off road. Beefy 25’’ tyres on 12’’ rims provide incredible offroad traction and help to ensure ample ground clearance to protect the MULE PRO-MX. This single-cylinder 700cc petrol powered MULE is perfectly positioned between the MULE SX and MULE PRODX, giving customers even greater choice to find the perfect vehicle for their needs.

Working in tough environments demands durable, reliable machinery that continues to deliver in all conditions.

Dirt, terrain and weather won’t stop the ultra-rugged MULE PRO-DX and PRODXT, with all essential systems designed to resist water, dust and debris. A steel ladder chassis is ready for all terrains, strong where it needs to be and flexible where it matters. Whilst the threecylinder diesel engine guarantees the torque needed to carry loads and crew

Southam Agri. Services Southam, Warwickshire CV47 2DH 01926 813426 http://southamagri.co.uk

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| ATV

reliably, hour after working hour.

High torque diesel power moves cargo and crew quickly with the safety assurance of Roll-Over Protection System (ROPS). On site or on the farm, the class-leading 453 kg capacity of the long and low tipping cargo bed and 907 kg towing potential makes light work of the heaviest tasks. The tilting cargo bed is operated by a two-lever release system for easy opening and closing.

And the innovative MULE PRO-DXT quickly changes from four to two seats in a few, swift moves that a single operator can manage in less than one minute.

Alongside the Mule products, the 2021

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collection also features two ATV machines, the Brute Force 750 4x4i EPS Camo and the Brute Force 750 4x4i EPS in Super Black. These high-performance vehicles feature a range of industry-leading features, providing all-day working performance. Kawasaki ATVs are designed for all-day comfort and durability to assist in everyday tasks.

Whether you are tending to animals in rough terrain, repairing a run of fencing or require industry leading power, a Kawasaki ATV will help you get the job done. For those looking for an entry version, Kawasaki also has the Brute Force 300 ATV available. All Kawasaki ATV vehicles have CVT transmission as standard, contributing to ease of

operation and leaving you free to concentrate on the terrain ahead.

The full range is available now, visit the Kawasaki website to locate your local Kawasaki utility dealer, with decreased production but increased demand, it is recommended customers place their orders as soon as possible.

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Suffolk farmer tackling flock and crop aboard Honda ATV Suffolk-based shepherd looking after approximately 1,000 sheep at one location plus many additional flocks grazing cover crops on other farms, says the job would be impossible without his Honda ATV.

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Robert Spink, trading as Dunhill Farm Ltd, set up his shepherding business seven years ago. Operating from the family’s farm near Diss he built up his own flock of 500 ewes and also contract-rears up to 1,000 additional store lambs each year. Other activities include accommodating 900 nursery pigs on a bed-and-breakfast arrangement, housed indoors and bedded on straw. In addition, Robert provides a contract shepherding service for a 1,000-head flock of sheep owned by a local farmer.

Previously, Robert’s own flock lambed indoors, but a change to Romney ewes means that lambing this spring will be field-based for the first time, reducing the workload. His flock is grass-grazed on pastures either owned by the family or on rental agreements during spring and summer, but in autumn and winter the sheep graze cover crops established on predominantly arable land by an increasing number of local farmers.

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Mutual benefit “It’s a good arrangement,” explained Robert. “The cover crops provide much needed ground cover when the land would otherwise be bare after harvest, and my sheep convert the vegetation to organic manure.

It’s a time of year when the fields would otherwise be unproductive, and the fodder crops provide fresh feed for the flock at a time when I would otherwise be short of grass. Popular cover crops in this area include fodder radish and stubble turnips, as well as mixes such as oats, vetch and phacelia, or rye and vetch.”

With arable agriculture dominating in the region there is hardly any stock-proof fencing, so nearly all the grazing is managed using electric fences. With sheep grazing on so many fields at a time relocating the fences is timeconsuming. “I used a hand-reel fencing system when I had only 100 ewes,” said

Robert. “However, it was hard work and as the operation quickly expanded it became obvious that something more efficient was needed to save time.”

Honda solution With a wide range of soil types plus sensitive grassland used for grazing, an ATV-based fencing system was the obvious solution. “I asked the advice of other farmers in the area, and everyone I spoke with said that it had to be a Honda. The business had only been running a year or so and my budget was limited, so I asked the advice of Keith Collins, the ATV specialist at Fieldens (WTA) Ltd which was the local Honda dealer at the time. He was very helpful and quickly found me something suitable.”

A used Honda Fourtrax TRX420FM was purchased, and immediately proved successful. The large flotation tyres provided plenty of grip for working on slippery ground, and because the

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machine’s weight was distributed across a large surface area, ground damage was minimal even in the wettest operating conditions. Whereas working on foot it took half a day to erect a fence around a 2ha grazing block, the Honda with a mounted fencing system could complete the same task in just over 30 minutes. Other tasks for which the ATV proved ideal included livestock checking, moving ewes and lambs by trailer and transporting feed and bedding around the yard.

Proved reliable By 2019, the TRX420FM was due for updating. “It very rarely needed attention and was totally reliable,” commented Robert. “So, when we were upgrading there was no need to look at other brands. Fieldens was no longer a Honda dealer, but the ATV specialists who had looked after us so well there had been recruited by our new dealer MKM Agriculture Ltd. “We asked the advice of Keith Collins again, and with the help of Honda’s very attractive interest-free finance scheme we upgraded to a new Honda Foreman TRX520FM6, with more power and extra load carrying capability.”

The new machine was delivered in early autumn, and Robert said he is pleased

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with his decision to upgrade. “The extra power is handy occasionally and, although the ATV is slightly larger, it’s just as manoeuvrable as our previous machine.

The heavy-duty, independent rear suspension attracted us because of the extra load capacity, but we hadn’t expected such an improvement in ride quality too. At all speeds and on any terrain it’s smooth and comfortable and with its rear load rack rated for loads up to 85kg, anything we carry is well within its capabilities,” he added. “It’s got power steering too which makes a surprising difference during long working days - particularly for tasks such as putting out and reeling in fencing, and operating in confined areas.”

Fuel economy is rated as excellent, and Robert said that the 14.7-litre petrol tank is filled only twice each week. Daily checks and maintenance are quickly and easily carried out.

The controls are well located and all within easy reach and there is plenty of storage for smaller equipment. The 12-

volt power supply socket is especially useful for keeping mobile phones charged in the field.

“In the relatively short time since we started our business we have developed excellent relationships with many farmers and landowners,” concluded Robert. “We are always on the look-out for additional land in the Bury St Edmunds and Diss areas which would allow us to expand our operation further.

We are totally reliant on the Honda ATV – we couldn’t do what we do without it, and I believe that operating modern, reliable machinery is essential for our growing business. I haven’t a bad word to say about the new Honda or MKM’s back-up, and would certainly buy the same machine again.”

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Ford Adds Exclusive New Ranger Stormtrak and Wolftrak Limited Editions to Europe’s Best-Selling Pick-up Range ord has introduced two exciting, limited-edition models building on the style and capability of the company’s award-winning pick-up - the new Ranger Stormtrak and Ranger Wolftrak.

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Ranger Stormtrak is a premium truck offering distinctive styling and premium features for customers that value outstanding capability and a generous specification to support their active work and lifestyle needs. Ranger Wolftrak is an intrepid, rugged pick-up designed around the needs of customers who work outdoors and desire commanding off-road performance without compromising comfort and desirability.

“Customers love the bold style and tough capability of our Ranger pick-up, so we’ve developed the new Stormtrak and Wolftrak limited edition models to offer even more of both,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Commercial Vehicles, Ford of Europe. “Stormtrak combines striking looks with added luxury touches and features for active lifestyles, while Wolftrak’s rugged offroad performance helps it comfortably take owners far off the beaten track for work and fun.”

The new Ranger Stormtrak and Wolftrak limited editions will arrive in dealerships from October this year, adding further breadth to Ford’s award-winning lineup 80 |

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of Ranger variants for a wide range of customers, including the thrilling Ranger Raptor, rally-inspired Ranger MS-RT and recently-announced Ranger chassis cab.

Ford is also introducing a desirable new Power Roller Shutter option for Ranger Wildtrak Double Cab, which is specified as standard on Ranger Stormtrak.

New Stormtrak is a force of nature Based on the premium Ranger Wildtrak series, the new Ranger Stormtrak delivers even higher specification with further enhanced comfort features and unique finishes. A limited run of vehicles will be built to ensure exclusivity, available as a Double Cab for UK customers with spacious rear seating.

All Ranger Stormtrak models are equipped with Ford’s range-topping Biturbo 213PS 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel engine developing 500Nm of torque for outstanding pulling power. 1 A standard selectable four-wheel drive system offers confident off-road performance, while the advanced 10speed automatic gearbox delivers a smooth, effortless driving experience.

Striking Rapid Red paint is unique to Ranger Stormtrak, complementing the exclusive red grille insert that contributes to the muscular front styling. LED

headlights also feature, and rugged underbody protection as standard delivers serious road presence. Frozen White and Blue Lightning paint options are also available. Ranger Stormtrak’s powerful look is enhanced by exclusive bonnet and body side decals, chunky three-dimensional badging and a black rear bumper and sports hoop.

In addition, a bedliner, load divider and Ford’s new Power Roller Shutter feature as standard, providing greater convenience and practicality when moving cargo. Ranger Stormtrak also retains the 1.0-tonne payload and 3,500kg maximum towing weight delivered by the popular Wildtrak series.

The Ranger Stormtrak interior further enhances the model with premium specification and practical features.

Stormtrak-specific seats feature the same supple leather as Ford’s iconic Ranger Raptor, accentuated with embroidered Stormtrak logos and bolsters trimmed with technical fabric.

Tinted Graphite interior surfaces and red stitching throughout mirror Stormtrak’s unmistakeable exterior palette.

Ranger Wolftrak tames the wilderness Ranger Wolftrak is built for customers who desire dependable off-road capability and a bold, nononsense exterior. Based on the Ranger XLT series, Wolftrak is powered by Ford’s www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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170PS 2.0litre EcoBlue diesel engine with the choice of six-speed manual or 10speed automatic transmission.

A selectable four-wheel drive system with shift-on-the-fly function, electronically-locking rear differential and all-terrain tyres are standard to enable progress in challenging off-road conditions, supported by a low range four-wheel drive setting to improve performance on steep hills and soft surfaces.

Ford anticipates Ranger Wolftrak will appeal strongly to customers in farming, forestry and outdoor pursuit industries as well as private buyers. A 1.0tonne payload and 3,500kg maximum towing weight offer significant load-moving ability, supported by a standard protective bed liner. An optional manual load bed cover or Aeroklas full load canopy are uniquely available in matte black to match Ranger Wolftrak’s blacked-out exterior detailing.

A long-leg tubular sports bar exclusive to Ranger Wolftrak creates a rugged look and supports accessory fitment and easy load restraint. Imposing Conquer Grey paint accentuates the pick-up’s haunches and complements the matte black grille, underbody protection and 17-inch black alloy wheels. The truck’s distinctive style is completed by darkened Wolftrak badges and plastic moulded side steps. Sea Grey paint is www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

also available.

Exclusive touches in Ranger Wolftrak’s cabin include Wolftrak badges, a matte black instrument panel and door spears, and durable all-weather floor mats.

Ford’s SYNC 3 connectivity and navigation system with 8-inch touchscreen is a standard feature.

New Power Roller Shutter for extra practicality Ford is also introducing a desirable new power-operated version of its popular Roller Shutter load bed cover, available as an option for Ranger Wildtrak Double Cab models and fitted as standard to Ranger Stormtrak.

The Power Roller Shutter adds new convenience and ease of use, with customers able to open and close the shutter via the key fob, or using buttons located in the load bed or inside the cabin on the dashboard. Sensors provide an anti-pinch function to help prevent trapped fingers or damaged cargo.

Ranger remains Europe’s best-selling pick-up, setting a record 34.9 per cent annual segment share in Europe and 36.7 per cent in the UK last year. In the UK, Ranger accounted for 40 per cent market share for the first quarter of 2021, with more than 5,000 sold year-todate.

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AN ARRAY OF TEMPTING POST-LOCKDOWN OFFERS FROM MITSUBISHI MOTORS

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itsubishi Motors in the UK has an array of tempting spring offers for customers seeking a new postlockdown vehicle to get them back on the road.

There are customer savings across the range for cars registered between April 1 and July 31 2021, up to £4,000 on some models, with three years’ of free routine maintenance, as well as three years’ home and roadside assistance, also included.

In addition, anyone who takes a test drive at an official Mitsubishi Motors dealership between April 5 and May 31 2021 is eligible for an additional £400 saving on top of any existing offer.

That means that right now customer savings can range from a £1,400 on the Mitsubishi ASX (£1,000 saving plus 84 |

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£400 test drive bonus) to a £4,400 saving (£4,000 customer saving plus £400 test drive bonus) on both the Eclipse Cross and award-winning Mitsubishi L200 pickup. The UK’s bestselling plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, attracts a £3,900 saving (£3,500 + £400) and there is a £2,400 (£2000 + £400) saving for Outlander Petrol customers.

On the Mitsubishi Mirage and Mitsubishi Shogun Sport there are also 0% APR finance plans available and there is up to 28% off a wide variety of official Mitsubishi accessories, including spoilers, floor mats, tow bars and the L200 bed box and styling bars.

Finally, due to the disruption caused by the recent lockdown, a limited number of 20-plate, delivery-mileage Outlander PHEVs are also available from just £26,995 via Mitsubishi Motors’ Buy

Online portal which will then be delivered at a local dealer of the customer’s choice.

Mitsubishi Motors in the UK vehicles are backed by a comprehensive five-year warranty and a 90-strong dealer network across the UK. The brand is committed to providing full aftersales service to all 400,000 owners of Mitsubishi vehicles across the UK well into the future, including maintenance, warranty, spare parts, accessories and comprehensive training for new and existing technicians.

The new Mitsubishi range is available to order now from Mitsubishi showrooms and via Mitsubishi Motors’ Buy Online service: mitsubishi-motors.co.uk/buy Press information at: mitsubishimedia.co.uk

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SPRING OFFERS FROM SSANGYONG MOTORS UK

sangYong Motors UK is delighted to announce its Easter offers on its previous generation Tivoli and Tivoli XLV models of up to £3,750 off retail pricing. There is also a 4.9% APR representative HP deal available on the previous generation models with the Tivoli EX model starting at £199 per month over 60 months with a £2,382 customer deposit. The new model Tivoli derivatives see a 0% APR HP finance offer starting at £175 per month for 60 months with a customer deposit of £3,845 or a 2.9% APR representative PCP offer of £199 per month for 48 months, with a customer deposit of £199 and an optional final payment of £5,354.

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Whether it be the outgoing model or the incoming model, the SsangYong Tivoli offers the perfectly capable all-round compact SUV with smart driving technology and advanced safety systems.

SsangYong Korando From every aspect, Korando has an eyecatching design, with a powerful, sturdy stance that serves as a solid foundation for its superior ride and handling dynamics. Inside, the Korando impresses even further with its full digital www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

cock-pit interface and driver assistance technologies that are unrivalled in its class. Engineered for an active lifestyle, new Korando exceeds expectations by delivering spacious comfort, superior safety, class leading NVH and pure driving fun.

and an optional final payment of £6,310.

Alternatively, a 4.9% APR representative HP offer is available from £299 per month over 60 months with a £10,815 customer deposit.

The all-new Korando petrol offers a 4.9% APR representative PCP deal starting at £199 per month with a £3,660 customer deposit and £2,000 SsangYong deposit contribution. A 0% HP offer is also available on new Korando ELX with a 20% minimum deposit, payments across 60 months are £249 per month with a £5,455 deposit.

Previous generation Korando sees a 4.9% APR representative HP finance offer with payments starting from £229 per month with a £4,282 deposit and £3,000 off of the retail price.

SsangYong Rexton The flagship SsangYong Rexton, 4x4 magazine’s ‘4x4 of The Year’, has a powerful 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine, offers a 3.5 tonne towing capacity, so is perfect for those who tow large caravans and trailers or need rugged off-road capability. As with Musso, this quarter for Rexton sees a 4.9% APR representative PCP offer with payments starting from £399 per month for 48 months, with a customer deposit of £9,382. The 4.9% APR representative HP offer starts from £479 per month for 60 months with a £12,448 customer deposit.

SsangYong Musso

SsangYong Affiliate Programme

The Musso is a multi-award-winning, extremely competent, multi-purpose truck with SsangYong values to the core - comprehensively equipped, a sector leading 7-year/150,000-mile warranty.

This quarter sees a 4.9% APR representative PCP offer from £299 per month over 48 months on the entry EX model with a customer deposit of £5,151

SsangYong Motors UK continues with its affiliate programme for key workers, the farming community and construction workers, offering large discounts on vehicles across the brand’s range.

Offers are also available for BASC, NFUS, Mole Valley and Griffin members.

Full details are available from SsangYong franchised retailers.

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Hyundai Announces First All New TUCSON N Line Specifications

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yundai Motor UK has announced the pricing and specification of the All New TUCSON N Line T-GDi and 48V Mild Hybrid models, starting from just £31,110. TUCSON Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid N Line pricing and specification will be announced later this year.

The TUCSON N Line offers sporty and distinctive exterior design features and differentiating interior details so customers can enjoy a driving experience with even more attitude. The N Line range starts with the standard N Line 1.6 T-GDi 150ps six-speed manualequipped model and – until Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid models receive the N Line treatment – ends with the N Line S 1.6 T-GDi 180ps 4WD Mild Hybrid, with seven-speed dual-clutch transmission at £37,065 For this latest sporty take on the All New TUCSON, the parametric jewel patterns on the grille pieces have been elaborated with edges, creating additional reflections depending on the angle. The grille also incorporates the N Line badge. Under the grille sits a rectangular shaped bumper and a 88 |

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refined air intake, which is taller and bigger than on the standard TUCSON for a sportier look, while striking black bezels frame the head lamps. At the rear TUCSON N Line is outfitted with a longer aerodynamic spoiler, complete with stabilising fins, a diffusor and aggressive twintip muffler exhausts. Standard 19-inch alloy wheels, featuring a geometric pattern mirroring TUCSON’s grille, complete the look.

Customers can choose from seven exterior colours, with an optional twotone roof in Phantom Black available on five of the colour trims.

Exterior colours: •

Shadow Grey [exclusively for N Line] w/ optional Phantom Black roof (£665 + optional £500)

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Polar White w/ optional Phantom Black roof (£300 + optional £500)

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Engine Red w/ optional Phantom Black roof (£0 + optional £500)

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Sunset Red w/ optional Phantom Black roof ((£665 + optional £500)

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Dark Knight Grey w/ optional Phantom Black roof (£665 + optional £500)

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Shimmering Silver (£665)

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enhancements include metal pedals, a foot rest and door steps.

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Phantom Black (£665)

In the cabin, TUCSON N Line features N-branded sporty seats with black suede and leather seat coverings, as well as red stitching. Red stitching is also woven on the door trim and armrest, while the grey cloth crash pad is garnished with red accents. A dedicated N steering wheel arrives complete with an N logo.

Other N design elements are to be found on the leather gear shift knob or shift by wire console cover, depending on the chosen transmission. Meanwhile, a black headliner gives the interior an extra sporty touch. Further N Line www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

Customers can choose between N Line (from £31,110) and N Line S (from £32,810) trim levels, with the former generously equipped with heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, parking sensors, Smart Key, wireless charging pad and ambient interior lighting. N Line S models additionally receive three-zone climate control, a tilt-and-slide electric panoramic roof, Smart electric tailgate, a heated steering wheel, KRELL Premium Audio with eight speakers and subwoofer and added SmartSense safety including Blind Spot Collision Warning and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

This standard equipment is in addition to TUCSON’s technology across the range, including automatic rear view mirror,

lights and wipers, 10.25" touchscreen satellite navigation with Bluelink® connected car services and a 10.25" driver’s supervision instrument cluster.

The optional Tech Pack is available on N Line S models and includes electronically controlled suspension, blind spot view monitor & around view monitor

Ashley Andrew, Managing Director, Hyundai Motor UK said “As consistently one of our most popular models, we’re delighted to be able to confirm pricing for the latest addition to the TUCSON lineup. N Line and N Line S models build on the well-equipped, wonderfully designed and hi-tech groundwork of TUCSON with a package of performance-inspired styling editions and an expanded list of luxurious standard equipment – all at a price that, we believe, is better value than rival products.”

All New TUCSON N Line models come with Hyundai’s industry leading 5 Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty, Roadside Assistance package, 5 Year Annual Health Check, and 12 Year Anti Corrosion Warranty.

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Volkswagen T-Cross range grows to include well-equipped Black Edition trim priced from £21,035 RRP OTR

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he versatile and practical Volkswagen T-Cross is now available with a new Black Edition specification featuring black-themed exterior trim, an upgraded equipment list over the SE on which it is based, and the model’s acclaimed blend of personality, usability and style.

The T-Cross Black Edition is available with the model’s 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engines, meaning two power outputs and three gearbox options are on offer. The first of these 999 cc petrol units provides a town-friendly 95 PS and 175 Nm and is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, while the second has 110 PS and 200 Nm, and is available with a 6-speed manual gearbox, or a 7speed DSG. These three engine and 90 |

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gearbox combinations offer low running costs, with fuel economy and CO2 emissions (WLTP combined) figures of 48.7 mpg and 132 g/km for both manual models, and 44.1 mpg and 145 g/km for the 110 PS, 7-speed DSG. The 95 PS variant starts from £21,035 RRP OTR, with the additional equipment of the Black Edition contributing to a value boost of more than £2,000 for customers, given its modest £500 stepup in price over the SE trim.

On the outside, the T-Cross Black Edition has a bold appearance. It builds on the model’s already attractive design with black roof rails and door mirror housings, black trim across the front grille and bumper, and rear tinted glass

from the B-pillar backwards for an upmarket look. A set of 17-inch ‘Manila Black’ diamond turned alloys and LED headlights complete the exterior package, replacing the halogen light units and ‘Clayton’ alloy wheels of the SE model.

Inside, the black theme continues, with stylish high gloss black and platinum grey ‘Transition’ decorative inserts in the dashboard, sports comfort seats with ‘Diag’ design seat upholstery in ‘Titan Black’, and carpet mats front and rear.

With personalisation high on the roster of the T-Cross’s attributes, customers can choose to further individualise their model and upgrade its equipment with options including a 300-watt, six-speaker www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

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and subwoofer sound system by beats (£445); 2-zone climate control (£875); and Volkswagen’s acclaimed Digital Cockpit (£385).

The standard colour for the model is Urano Grey, which complements the black and dark-coloured details outside and inside the T-Cross Black Edition.

However the model’s full, nine-colour palette is available to Black Edition buyers, including more extrovert shades such as Makena Turquoise and Energetic Orange. Deep Black Pearl is available for those seeking the full black look.

In new Black Edition spec’ driver’s assistance also gets a boost over the standard equipment list of the T-Cross, www.farmingmonthly.co.uk

with dynamic headlight range control included for the LED lights, as well as front and rear parking sensors, bringing added convenience over the already technology and convenience-packed compact SUV.

The T-Cross Black Edition is based on the T-Cross SE – the top-selling trim level in the T-Cross range – with a generous package of standard equipment already in place. This means that the T-Cross Black Edition features Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) as standard, alongside a Driver Alert System, blind spot monitor and lane keeping system amongst its raft of driver assistance systems. Also included is App-Connect, bringing smartphone mirroring to the car’s connectivity

features, while the Black Edition also maintains the T-Cross’s sliding rear bench, which moves up to 14 cm backward or forward, to facilitate up to 70 litres of extra boot space, or extra leg room for rear passengers.

Claire Haynes, T-Cross Product Manager at Volkswagen UK, said: “You can’t help but love the T-Cross – it’s got dinky dimensions but a big personality, city-friendly agility and family-friendly practicality, all in a small but tough compact SUV package.

“With extra technology, style and convenience, the T-Cross Black Edition builds on three of the model’s key strengths to create a truly impressive car.”

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