CPM December 2022

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Editor’s pick

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New varieties take centre stage in this issue,with profiles of the new AHDB Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds and PGRO’s Descriptive List for pulses. Peas and beans often don’t get the attention they deserve and it’s often been their markets which have let the crop down. But this could be changing as new opportunities open up for the crop and in Pulse Progress,we visit a farm with an ambition to produce net zero eggs by substituting some of the soya in hen rations to homegrown beans (page 26).

Continuing the focus on varieties, Theory to Field (page 14) tackles the changes that AHDB could make to the RL to provide better information to growers. With not long to go before spring barley planting gets underway, we have a closer look at brew-only variety Skyway in Insider’s View (page 22).

Plant nutrition again comes under the spotlight and is likely to remain as a focus of attention in 2023 as pressures grow to make sure every last bit of nutrition applied is used as efficiently as possible. In this month’s survey article, technology to best achieve this is assessed (page 41). Our first of two Research Briefings turns its focus to reducing ammonia emissions from urea-based fertilisers (page 38). In the second roundup of research, the role applied bacteria can play to make soil nutrients available to plants is investigated (page 44). It seems there are many ways to look at improving nutrient use efficiency.

Last month, Michael Kavanagh was awarded the accolade of CPM Climate Change Champion by readers. In a roundtable event that brought together some of the past three years’ champions, there was in-depth discussion about achieving net zero goals and we share the highlights on page 58.

Real Results Pioneers (page 55) features North Lincolnshire farmer Colin Chappell and takes a

fascinating look at his approach to sustainability, in particular how he breathes life into this concept at every level of his farming enterprise.

There’s been no shortage on farming events in October and November and we bring you a flavour of some of these; with reports from the CHAP/Soil Association ‘Fit for the Future’ plant breeding conference (page 18) and the BCPC Congress and the CropTec Show (page 33).

The father of regenerative agriculture Gabe Brown and his colleagues from US-based Understanding Ag visited the UK for the first time in October. CPM were amongst the 250 delegates who attended a fascinating workshop hosted by Groundswell in Hertfordshire (page 51).

It’s also the time of year when machine manufacturers unveil their latest developments and we report from the European machinery shows SIMA and EIMA (page 65), as well as a preview of next month’s LAMMA at the NEC (page 70). Väderstad chose a more exclusive setting to unveil its latest developments, with multiple launches revealed in Germany in October (page 76). CPM had a front seat view.

All of our farmer columnists have plenty to say this month. I’d like to thank Guy Smith, Claire Eckley, Martin Lines, Richard Styles and Andrew Wilson for every single word they’ve written this year, especially in the busy times when keeping to deadlines has meant burning the midnight oil.

And a big thank you to you, the reader, for the support you’ve given me and the CPM team this year Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this December issue of CPM as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together.

Editor Lucy de la Pasture Sub-editor Rachael Harper Writers

Design and production Brooks Design

Publisher Steve Kendall Commercial Director Angus McKirdy

Mike Abram

Tom Allen-Stevens

Adam Clarke

Charlotte Cunningham

Melanie Jenkins

Rob Jones

Martin Lines

Lucy de la Pasture

Guy Smith Richard Styles Andrew Wilson

Smith’s Soapbox - Views and opinions from an Essex peasant…

Nature Natters - A nature-friendly perspective from a Cambs farmer.

Styles’ Stance - A tongue-in-cheek look at farming.

Talking taties - Plain talking from a Yorkshire root grower.

Last Word - Topical insight from CPM’s Editor.

AHDB RL 2023/24 – The movers and shakers

We look at the new AHDB Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds, announced earlier this month.

Theory to Field – Evolution of a grower’s favoured tool

Change is afoot with the RL but it’s not too late to have your say and influence the outcome of AHDB’s review.

Plant breeding – The diverse paths to resilience

As the Genetic Technology Bill made its way through Parliament, plant breeders and innovators met to discuss other routes to a sustainable future.

Insider’s View – Taking the Skyway

As thoughts turn towards spring planting, we take a closer look at a brew-only variety that’s reaching new heights.

Pulse Progress – Eggs and beans

The substitution of soya in livestock diets with homegrown protein is lowering the carbon footprint of Scottish eggs.

Pulse varieties – Heptad of new pulses for 2023

With the launch of the PGRO Descriptive List, we look back at the new additions and how they compare with more established varieties.

BCPC/CropTec – Managing uncertainty

Highlights from seminar sessions at last month’s BCPC Congress in Harrogate and the CropTec Show in Peterborough.

Research Briefing – Shield for the easy win

A look at new trials which quantify potential N losses (as ammonia) to the air and how this can be mitigated to conform with new industry guidelines.

Nitrogen use survey – Measure, monitor,manage

We find out how technology is being utilised to assist decision-making for nutrient planning and fertiliser application.

Research Briefing – Biological solutions to nitrogen challenges

How trials of a biological seed treatment suggest it could potentially help farmers reduce nitrogen requirements.

Better buying,better selling – Unprecedented times

A look at how different farmers are managing market volatility, input inflation and the all-important cashflow.

Regen Pioneers – Advice from the fathers of regen

We joined growers who gathered at Groundswell to hear from Gabe Brown, Dr Allen Williams and Shane New of Understanding Ag.

Real Results Pioneers – Finding a better balance

Colin Chappell has breathed life into the concept of sustainability on his farm in North Lincolnshire. We find out how.

Climate Change Champions – Time is ticking on the carbon carrot

As this year’s champion of champions was crowned, we get valuable insights from CPM’s group of past and present champions.

Green Horizons – The basis for the right balance

A soil-led approach links the progress of two large, productive arable systems in Wiltshire and Kent.

European shows – European shows provide plenty of innovation

Highlights from Europe’s two premier machinery shows, SIMA in France and EIMA, in Italy which took place last month.

LAMMA preview – Starting January boldly

A look at some of the show’s features and the machinery, technology and innovation that will be on display.

Väderstad launches – Target: outstanding

emergence

We travel to Germany where Vädertad sets out its lofty ambitions and the machinery it will be delivering to help achieve them.

Potatoes – Foresight means minimising surprises

Growing potatoes is a risky business but technology could help keep growers on the right path to hit market spec.

The drudgery and disaster of olde farming ways

I’d guess that I’m not the only one who has witnessed the two immediate generations who came before me start to disappear and now I wish I’d spent more time talking to them. The key testimony of the generation of farmers and farm workers that were born before

the Second World War is they can recollect a very different style of farming to that which we know today.

As a lad I grew up with men and women who worked on farms powered by horses and human muscle rather than by tractors and machines. What struck me at the time was that none of them talked in terms of ‘the good old days’. They all preferred the work on mechanised farms. Many, then in their forties and fifties, bore the scars and infirmity of years of repetitive manual labour –– armed with hand hoes, shovels and pitchforks.

For me as a teenager, dead lifting hundredweight hessian sacks full of wheat was seen as some sort of agricultural coming of age ritual. I remember at the time being told by my elders I’d live to

regret my weightlifting prowess. Now, as my lower back tweaks and grinds to wake me up in the night, I wish I’d paid them more heed.

One key reason it’s important to accurately document pre-war farming is that it’s starting to be seen largely through rose-tinted spectacles. There is an alluring nostalgia that paints an idealised picture of farming before machinery and pesticides became commonplace on arable farms. It’s now forgotten that it was common to lose crops to weeds, diseases and pests before the advent of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.

While I’m enthusiastic about finding non-chemical forms for controlling these problems, I’m also mindful that it was for good reason that our forebears readily turned to pesticides when they became widely available in the fifties and sixties. They knew that even the best husbandry practice could be defenceless in the face of a June outbreak of yellow rust as it ruined a wheat crop in its final stages of ripening.

I remember one old boy telling me a story that as a young lad in the 1940s, he was sent to drill a two acre field with turnip rape. At the end of the day he noted, to his horror, he had forgotten to open the bag of seed that he had put in the hopper on leaving the yard. On confessing his sin to the foreman he was told not to worry as the farmer would never be any the wiser as most turnip rape crops were lost to various bugs and beetles before they had a chance to establish.

Even I can just about remember cereal crops festooned with thistles and couch grass before the wonder product that was Roundup became widely available. It’s interesting that many arable farmers under fifty today have forgotten that when it was first introduced, glyphosate was primarily a major step forward in

Guy Smith grows 500ha of combinable crops on the north east Essex coast, namely St. Osyth Marsh –– officially the driest spot in the British Isles. Despite spurious claims from others that their farms are actually drier, he points out that his farm is in the Guinness Book of Records, whereas others aren’t. End of.

@essexpeasant

controlling perennial weeds through its systemic action. It was so successful that weeds like thistles and couch grass are now almost forgotten, as is glyphosate’s part in their demise as major arable weeds. But we would forget this at our peril if we suddenly found glyphosate banned on the mistaken understanding that weed rakes would probably do the job instead.

By way of illustration, I include a picture from the 1930s of a field gang scratching up and burning couch grass roots by hand with pitch forks. You wonder if it’s only a matter of time until Countryfile feature some modern-day re-enacted version of this as evidence we wouldn’t miss glyphosate if it was banned. No doubt someone in Whitehall is thinking of giving such practice a grant on the understanding it would promote an old virtuous craft that needs to be revived.

Is there a tendency to look at the good old days with rose-tinted spectacles? It was brutal,hard labour.

The movers and shakers

AHDB Recommended List

The AHDB’s updated Recommended List for cereals and oilseeds was revealed as last month came to a close. The new varieties across the different crops are delivering large yield increases,especially in barley and oilseed rape. CPM takes a closer look at the movers and shakers.

By Lucy de la Pasture

This time last year there was a massive influx of new varieties on to AHDB’s Recommended List,with a record 37 new additions. By comparison, the launch of the 2023/24 RL is a much more considered affair, with just 28 newcomers across winter and spring wheat, winter and spring barley, oats and oilseed rape

While the numbers may be lacking, which may well be welcomed by those who thought the RL was becoming unwieldy, there are some notable additions, including the first new winter malting barley and winter oat variety for several years, says Paul Gosling, who manages the RL at AHDB.

“We’ve seen relatively few new varieties on the lists this year Several years of plant-breeding advances mean the

recommendation bar is set high and relatively few candidate varieties per for med better than the best listed varieties to secure a recommendation.”

It was a season that could have tested the RL trials, due to the heat and prolonged dry weather during the spring and summer, says Paul, but yields held up ver y well across all crops with only a few anomalies that had to be taken out of the datasets.

“We had good conditions in the autumn so crops established well, including OSR. There was also lesspressure from cabbage stem flea beetle feeding than has been experienced over recent years,” he adds.

So what’s new on the 2023/24 RL and which varieties have now been superseded?

Wheat

With just five new additions, and three of these with regional recommendations only, the winter wheat list also loses four varieties KWS Barrel, KWS Kerrin, LG Spotlight and RGT Gravity.The newcomers sit across Groups with one new UKFM Group 2 bread-making variety and one new UKFM Group 3 biscuit wheat. The list also adds two new soft Group 4 feed varieties and a hard Group 4, all of which have regional recommendations.

Group 2 variety KWS Ultimatum has good market potential, classified by ukp as a variety with potential for export. Its yield sits between comparator varieties KWS Extase and KWS Palladium at 101% of the controls. Good grain quality is a plus, with high specific weight its standout attribute

at 79.6 kg/hl, which is higher than both Palladium (77.6 kg/hl) and Extase (79.4 kg/hl). It also has a decent Hagberg at 287, though this falls behind the other two comparators and its protein content at 12.3% follows the same trend.

Agronomically, Ultimatum is a relatively shor t variety which produces decent yields across rotational positions (based on some limited data). It has high resistance to yellow rust (9) and has given high untreated yields in UK trials at 93%, which is comparable with Palladium and below highly septoria resistant Extase (at 97%).

In Group 3 there is one newcomer for all regions, RGT Wilkinson, which is rated as a uks soft wheat for export and as medium for distilling. This new addition provides an incremental yield increase to its comparative varieties on the RL, KWS Brium (+1%) and LG Astronomer (+3%). Although its Hagberg is better than Astronomer, its Achilles heel may be its specific weight.

This short and stiff-strawed variety is high yielding in the West region, across rotational positions and on heavier soils. It has a very high yield potential in the East region and on lighter soils (based on limited data). Its breeders have also brought septoria resistance which may not be outstanding but offers a variety in this Group which has a non-Cougar lineage.

Wilkinson is relatively late-maturing and has high resistance to yellow rust and mildew. Limited data suggest that this variety may have a tendency to sprout,

so it should be given priority at harvest.

The remaining new additions to the RL have regional recommendations, with two soft Group 4s –– KWS Zealum and LG Redwald –– and one hard endosperm Group 4 in Oxford.

Zealum is a high-yielding, soft-milling feed variety recommended for the North region only, where its ‘medium’ rating for distilling may be attractive, though it is late in terms of maturity. With regard to yield, it’s equal to Skyscraper in this region.

It has good resistance to yellow rust (9) combined with resistance to orange wheat blossom midge and produces an untreated yield which is also on a par with Skyscraper (86%).

Pushing the yield boundaries in this Group is soft-milling LG Redwald, which is recommended in the East and West regions where it outperforms Skyscraper and RGT Bairstow by 4% and 6% respectively. Redwald has the distinction of having the highest septoria resistance in Group 4 at 6.7, which should add to its attractiveness in the West. Its all-round strong package translates into an untreated yield of 92%, though lodging may be a weakness.

Hard Group 4 variety Oxford is a very high-yielding, hard-milling feed variety recommended for the East and West regions, though it tends to produce grain with a lower specific weight which tends to

be less than KWS Dawsum but better than Champion.

This relatively late-maturing variety has moderate straw strength but responds well to plant growth regulators. It has high resistance to yellow rust (9), combined with resistance to OWBM and a respectable septoria rating of 6.4, which is just 0.3 behind Graham.

Three new varieties from KWS have been added to the spring wheat list, offering good grain quality and yields: UKFM Group 1 KWS Harsum, which has particularly high yield, and UKFM Group 2 KWS Alicium and KWS Lightum. All three varieties offer resistance to OWBM.

Barley

The RL 2023/24 includes several new barley varieties that bring strength to yield and disease resistance, including the first malting variety added since 2018, Buccaneer, from Saaten Union, It’s still under testing for its brewing potential but it offers a significant yield increase over the established two-row malting varieties, Craft and Electrum, alongside good disease resistance. Falling off the list are KWS Gimlet, Flynn, Jordan and Creswell.

Two new two-row and a new six-row hybrid varieties add strength to winter barley feed yields (compared with current favourites). The two rows are Bolivia, from Agrii (bred by Nordic Seed), and LG Caravelle from Limagrain. The latter offers a particularly high yield in the

East region and a good specific weight. The new six-row hybrid SY Nephin, from Syngenta, is notable for its disease resistance ratings of 8 for brown rust and rhynchosporium.

A closer look at Buccaneer reveals this relatively tall two-row variety has given its best relative performance in the East and North regions (based on limited data). Over the three years of testing, Buccaneer has shown no major disease weakness. It has high resistance to rhynchosporium and is resistant to the common strains of barley mosaic viruses (BaMMV and BaYMV strain 1).

The second two-row addition Bolivia is a feed variety with a UK-wide recommendation. Over the three years of testing, this variety has given low screening levels. Stiff-strawed, Bolivia has per formed well across a range of regions and soil types and has a very high treated yield potential in the East region. No major weaknesses in disease resistance have been identified in trials, with mildew resistance (7) a strength along with resistance to the common strains of barley mosaic viruses (BaMMV and BaYMV strain 1).

Topping the yield figures is LG Caravelle, which brings two-row yields into a similar ballpark to hybrid varieties for the first time. In spite of its high yield, Caravelle also has a ver y high specific weight. It per for med well across all regions and soil types and has a ver y high treated yield potential in the East (109%) and West regions (105%), as well as on heavier soils. It looks to have a decent all round disease resistance package with its one weakness being net blotch. It’s also resistant to the common strains of barley mosaic viruses (BaMMV and BaYMV strain 1).

Winter barley six-row feed variety SY Nephin is recommended for the UK, with a very high specific weight which is similar to SY Canyon. This variety has a ver y high

treated yield potential in the East and limited data suggests it’s high yielding in the North region but less impressive in the West. Growers should be aware that it’s a tall variety with moderate straw strength that requires careful management.

SY Nephin has the highest resistance to rhynchosporium on the RL and is resistant to the common strains of barley mosaic viruses (BaMMV and BaYMV strain 1).

There are six new spring barley varieties under evaluation by the Malting Barley Committee (MBC): three for brewing only, two for brewing and malt distilling, and one for malt distilling. These offer improvements in yield and/or disease resistance (compared with the current market leaders RGT Planet and Laureate).

Last year’s new additions all fell foul of making MBC standards so are amongst those removed from the RL ––Jensen, SY Bronte, Spinner, SY Tungsten, SY Splendor and Fairway.

“RL 2023/24 delivers exciting potential for brewing and distilling. However, it’s a tough market to break into, with varietal success deter mined by end users. As varieties can fail to make the grade, farmers should talk to merchants before growing them,” war ns Paul.

The spring barley list sees feed variety Hurler added. Bred by Secobra and available through Agrii, with high yields its standout feature.

Looking at the additions in more detail, Diviner is recommended for the UK, with potential for malt distilling use. This variety has a very high treated yield potential in the Nor th region at 105% (+3% over Laureate and Diablo) and is high yielding in the East and West regions (104%). It’s a short, stiff-strawed variety with high resistance to brackling (9). Diviner has ver y high resistance to mildew (9), but limited data suggests it is ver y susceptible to rhynchosporium (3).

Limagrain’s new two-row barley,LG Caravelle,brings yields on a par with hybrids for the first time.

Florence, Sun King and SY Signet are a trio under consideration as brew-only varieties. Florence offers a significant advantage in terms of yield, particularly in the East and West regions (106%) and has a high yield potential for the North region. It’s a short, stiff-strawed variety with high resistance to brackling (9) and mildew (8) which may help contribute to its untreated yields in UK trials (95%), which outper for ms both Planet and Laureate.

Sun King has a given high treated yields in both the East and North regions (104%), and limited data suggest it has a very high yield potential in the West region (107%). It’s a stiff-strawed variety with high resistance to brackling (9). Limited data suggests it’s susceptible to rhynchosporium (4) and tops the untreated yield data at 96%.

SY Signet looks relatively consistent across regions, averaging 104% above control variety yields in treated trials. Offering dual-purpose potential are KWS Cur tis and SY Tennyson. Tennyson has come up trumps in the East with yields at 107% of controls and has also performed well in both the Nor th (+4% above Laureate and Diablo) and West regions but tends to give a low specific weight. It’s a short and relatively stiff-strawed variety with very high resistance to mildew but is susceptible to brown rust and limited data suggest it’s very susceptible

to rhynchosporium.

KWS Curtis has a yield of 104% above controls across all regions and is a short, stiff-strawed variety with high resistance to brackling. It also has very high resistance to mildew and high resistance to rhynchosporium (based on limited data), but it is susceptible to brown rust.

Rounding off the new additions is feed variety Hurler which outper forms Skyway in terms of yield potential across all regions but tends to give a low specific weight (66.2 kg/hl). It’s a short, stiff-strawed variety with high resistance to brackling (9) and has given high yields in untreated UK trials, on a par with Skyway (94%). It’s susceptible to brown rust.

Oilseed rape

The winter OSR list features three new UK-recommended hybrid varieties: Vegas and Turing, from LSPB, and Attica, from Limagrain. Turing and Attica have especially high yields in the North region.

Recommended for the East/West region, Murray, from LSPB, has a high yield and a resistance rating of 8 for stem canker Recommended for the Nor th region, LG Wagner, from Limagrain, achieved the highest yield in this region and possesses good resistance to light leaf spot.

A new conventional variety for the UK, Tom, from CBI, offers a small yield increase but adds options for this important seed-market component.

The new RL features the first winter oat variety to be added since 2018. Cromwell,from Senova,offers good yield and grain quality.

New winter wheats at a glance

Points to note

UKp bread wheat classified for export.UK recommended with high Hagbergs and specific weights.Relatively short with high resistance to yellow rust,mildew and fusarium.

UKs classified medium distilling and export.High yielding with UK recommendation but lower specific weight. Short,stiff strawed and relatively late maturing.High resistance to yellow rust and mildew but potential tendency to sprout.

High yielding,medium distilling with lower specific weight and recommended in East/West.Relatively late maturing,medium-tall and relatively weak strawed.No major weaknesses with high resistance to septoria, yellow rust and OWBM.

High yielding with North recommendation and medium for distilling. Relatively late maturing,moderate straw strength.High resistance to yellow rust,mildew,fusarium and OWBM.

Very high yielding recommended for East/West but tends to lower specific weight.Relatively late maturing, moderate strength.High resistance to yellow rust and OWBM.

New winter OSRs at a glance

Points to note

Added to NL as of 19 December.UK recommendation with very high GO.Resistant to lodging with good stem stiffness.Strong against LLS.

High yielding and very high GO in East/West and North.High lodging resistance,good stem stiffness.Strong disease resistance to LLS,and stem canker.TuYV and pod shatter resistant.

Very high GO in East/West and high in North.Strong lodging resistance and good stem stiffness.Very high LLS and stem canker resistance.

East/West recommendation.Very high GO,high resistance to lodging and good stem stiffness.Strong LLS and stem canker resistance.

Highest yielding conventional in East/West.Good resistance to lodging,very stiff and high LLS resistance.

Very high GO in North region.Very strong lodging,good stem stiffness.High LLS score,plus pod shatter and TuYV resistance.

North recommendation with specific tolerance. High lodging resistance and good stem stiffness. Pod shatter,stem canker and TuYV resistance.

New barleys at a glance

Points to note

Best performance in East and North regions with potential for malt brewing and high specific weight. Relatively tall with no major disease weaknesses.High rhynchosporium resistance and against common barley mosaic virus strains.

Very high yielding with UK recommendation.Very high specific weight,strong mildew resistance and against common barley mosaic virus strains. UK recommended. High-yielding with low screening levels. Stiff strawed and no major disease weaknesses. Strong mildew resistance and to common barley mosaic virus strains.

High yielding hybrid recommended for UK and very high specific weight.Tall with moderate straw strength. Highest resistance to rhynchosporium on RL and resistant to common barley mosaic virus strains.

Very high yielding with UK recommendation and potential brewing use.Short,stiff with high brackling resistance. Good resistance to mildew

Very high yielding with UK recommendation but has tendency for low specific weight.Has potential for brewing and malt distilling.Short,relatively stiff,high resistance to mildew but susceptible to brown rust and rhynchosporium.

High yielding with UK recommendation and potential brewing use.Stiff strawed with high brackling resistance.Strong against mildew but limited data suggests susceptible to rhynchosporium. High yielding with UK recommendation and potential for malt distilling.Short,stiff strawed and high resistance to brackling. Very high mildew resistance but limited data suggested susceptible to rhynchosporium.

UK recommended with very high yields and potential for brewing.Short,relatively stiff with very high resistance to brackling and mildew.

UK recommended with high yields,plus brewing and malt distilling use.Short with stiff straw and high brackling resistance.

Strong against mild and rhynchosporium but susceptible to brown rust.

Very high yielding with UK recommendation but lower specific weight.Short,stiff strawed with high resistance to brackling. Strong against mildew but susceptible to brown rust.

Turing

Attica

Tom

Beatrix CL DSV Hybrid (Clearfield)

Chris Guest stands in LSPB’s newlyadded Turing,the top yielding OSR variety on the 2023/24 RL,along with two other new varieties – Murray and Vegas – giving the breeder a total of three varieties in the top five of the RL.

The list also includes Beatrix from DSV, a new Clearfield variety for the North region.

Looking a little closer at the new arrivals –– half the number that were added to the RL last year –– there’s something for ever yone. Hybrids Turing and Attica look reliable bets in all regions with both posting high treated gross output throughout the UK at 107% of controls, which makes them joint top per for mers on the 2023/24 RL on a national basis.

Turing has a slight anomaly in that it hasn’t yet been added to the National List so its addition to the RL is conditional at the time of its launch that this will take place on 19 December, as anticipated.

Whereas Attica comes fully loaded with TuYV and pod shatter resistances, Turing doesn’t carry these resistance genes. However, it does have strong stem stiffness and resistance to lodging, it’s early flowering (8) and has good resistance to light leaf spot (7). Resistance to phoma stem canker is only moderate with a rating of 5.

Attica also boasts good stem stiffness and lodging resistance, with pretty good all round disease resistance, rated 7 for both light leaf spot and phoma stem canker.

The third hybrid with UK-wide approval is Vegas, which also has a very high gross output with an edge in the East and

West, though it’s yield is respectable enough in the North to have justified its broad approval by the RL panel. This variety has a high resistance to lodging (8), with a good stem stiffness at maturity (8). Vegas also has a superior package of disease resistance, with high resistance to light leaf spot (8) and the only 9 rating for phoma stem canker of the varieties on the list with approval in all regions of the UK.

The approval of Tom in all regions of the UK adds a high yielding conventional option –– with gross output 102% compared with contemporary Acacia (101%) and now outdated, though still widely grown Campus (99%). Tom also has pretty decent disease resistance characteristics, rated 7 for light leaf spot and 6 for phoma. Rounding off the package is good stem stiffness at maturity (9) and resistance to lodging (8).

Northern growers may be attracted by LG Wagner, which has been listed for use in this region where it performs significantly better than anything else, recording a gross output of 108% which is 4% better than the nor thern specialist amongst the UK-wide approvals, Aurelia at 104%. TuVY and pod shatter resistance some as part of its package of traits.

ALS-tolerant, Beatrix CL has also been added to those with Nor ther n-only approvals, where it performs very similarly to Matrix CL and will provide an alter native to growers who aren’t able to source Matrix seed.

The last of the new additions is an option for those growing in the East and West regions. Murray has per formed par ticularly well here, with gross output of 106% which tops those in this section. Like the other two varieties from LSPB, it’s a hybrid without pod shatter or TuYV resistance but does offer good disease resistance with a 7 rating for light leaf spot and 8 for phoma stem canker ■

Evolution of a grower’s favoured tool

By Adam Clarke

It was almost 80 years ago that NIAB produced the first wheat Descriptive List, providing growers with information on 16 varieties.

Since then, what is now the AHDB Recommended List for Cereals and Oilseeds has evolved into a multi-million-pound project that recommends or describes varieties of 11 different crop types.

The project is managed by a consortium which consists of AHDB, British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB), Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain (MAGB) and UK Flour Millers (UKFM).

Public review

Despite its Titanic size, the RL management team could be said to have done a fine job of avoiding any icebergs in recent years –– it achieved the highest score for levy payer satisfaction of any AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds offering in the recent Shape the Future industry consultation.

However, with arable producers in a period of rapid change, the project can’t rest on its laurels and must continue to evolve to reflect what is happening on the ground, according to AHDB’s head of crop

health and IPM, Jenna Watts.

AHDB will soon launch a large-scale public review of the current RL project phase –– each phase typically r uns for five years –– and Jenna encourages ever yone to have their say on potential improvements.

The Recommended Lists achieved the highest score for levy payer satisfaction of any AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds offering in a recent consultation.

“ ”

The Recommended List system has changed over the years and always scores high for grower satisfaction.Just ahead of a detailed review, CPM finds out how levy payers can have their say and what potential changes are on the horizon.

Theory to Field

She adds that consistently high importance and satisfaction scores underline how critical Recommended Lists are to crop management and has inspired the latest review to be the biggest and most detailed ever conducted.

“There are so many challenges facing growers at the moment and the RL must help meet some of these,” says Jenna. This review will cover every operational

aspect of the RL project, including costs, trials, data types and analysis, selection, and removal criteria, plus its presentation and communication.

The RL project has a total value of more than £22M, based on contributions from all consortium members in its current five-year phase. Levy payers are the largest contributors, with AHDB adding £8M of cash plus more on staff time,

RL updates may require higher levy

as they are currently laid out –– is not as straightforward as it might appear,he notes. Small plot drills are light and don’t have the ability to produce enough coulter pressure to work effectively.

However,testing varieties under no-till conditions to generate independent data will help cater for the increasing proportion of direct-drilling levy payers.

“Not everything can be done using no-till or regenerative standards,as practitioners remain in the minority.However,the system does need to produce a greater spread of information for levy payers working to those standards,”he adds.

There is plenty of noise around variety blends, too, which offers another conundrum for the RL management team.

knowledge exchange and communications work.

Understandably, there has been particular emphasis on costs and efficiency to ensure that the project delivers value for money for its primary funders –– the levy payer.

While economics will still be an integral part of the upcoming review, there will be an increased emphasis on what could be

Yorkshire-based AICC agronomist and RL review steering group chairman Patrick Stephenson agrees the list is not immune to change and must reflect the changing needs of industry.

However,there is a cost to making changes and a levy increase might be required to deliver some of the data that some growers and agronomists demand.

He says the RL has been fit for purpose during a stable period for arable producers,who have been supplied with an effective and diverse armoury of plant protection products.

But the landscape is rapidly changing,with pesticide pipelines slowing to a dribble and pressure increasing on growers to use fewer synthetic inputs.

This means it will be important to adjust RL trials protocols that currently show a variety’s genetic potential when treated with a fungicide programme costing about £240/ha.

“Historically, variety choice was a smaller part of the puzzle,but as we move to a more integrated approach,traits are a greater part of the equation. We must accept that pragmatism is required when it comes to trial protocols,” says Patrick.

Another hot topic is establishment method, with a move to less or no tillage gathering momentum. Current RL protocols do not reflect this reality, he says.

But incorporating direct drilling into RL trials ––

Evidence suggests that blends with a variety of strengths and weaknesses can help produce more stable yields across different seasons,but the difficulty of incorporating blends into a centralised testing system is that grower and market needs will vary greatly.

Various millers may have different requirements from a Group 1 blend,while a feed wheat blend in Cornwall will require different constituent parts to one grown in the Cambridgeshire fens.

“One potential solution is to trial a yellow rust blend near Kings Lynn,a septoria blend in Cornwall or South Wales.These would provide a benchmark on what blends can achieve in relation to other options in specific situations,” explains Patrick.

One change Patrick would personally like to see is how the system deals with data anomalies in some trials.

These outliers –– such as when a variety unexpectantly fails –– are taken out of the system, but that data may have some regional significance that some growers might find useful.

Also,up to the point of trial failure,there might be some data gathered,like vigour scores,that would also provide valuable insight.

“At the moment,all that information is lost,and I think it’s wasteful.What we’d like is a place at the back of the machine where growers can access that information where relevant,”he says.

The elephant in the room when discussing

these potential additions to the RL dataset is cost of additional trials and Patrick says inevitably, levy payers may have to pay more to see the potential benefits.

One of those levy payers is David Bell,who runs a mixed farming enterprise near St Andrews,Fife, and now sits on the RL review steering committee alongside Patrick.

He sees the RL as the cornerstone of integrated pest management (IPM) and one of the best sources of independent data to help growers with decision making and question commercial advice.

David sees a need to have an “adult conversation”about the levy,which has remained the same for 12 years and effectively resulted in a real-terms budget cut for AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds,restricting its ability to expand the RL’s remit as some demand.

He also stresses the importance of engaging with the upcoming review to help identify areas to improve and establish how much additional funding might be required.

“The best way to steer the ship is to get on board and engage, whether in meetings or via the questionnaire.

“If we do want change,then give AHDB some direction. The RL belongs to the levy payers, and we must communicate what we want and offer some constructive ideas on how we can make it better,”he adds.

Patrick Stephenson says levy payers may have to pay more to see the potential benefits.

David Bell sees the RL as the cornerstone of integrated pest management.

The project can’t rest on its laurels and must continue to evolve to reflect what is happening on the ground,says Jenna Watts.

fine-tuned or added to provide the most relevant information as the arable sector continues to evolve.

“Before, the reviews have very much looked at what we’ve got, but this time we want to look at specific growers’ needs when choosing varieties, and how the RL can deliver on those needs,” says Jenna.

That’s not to say there haven’t been any needs-based changes over recent years.

Review activities since the 2010s have highlighted the increased importance of disease resistance relative to treated yields.

In the last major RL review, between 2017 and 2019, most respondents rated disease resistance and untreated yield as very important or crucial when selecting a variety. This reflected increasing concern about controlling foliar disease with a dwindling and less effective fungicide armoury.

This resulted in visible changes to the RL since the early 2010s, with a line for untreated yields given more prominence, and some changes in the background, most notably the criteria for a variety to be automatically recommended.

Rather than just headline yield, varieties must pass minimum standards for disease resistance, with a score of 3 the bare minimum for most diseases. However, for the most important diseases in key crops, the minimum standard is higher and there are additional criteria for automatic recommendation.

For example, for automatic selection oilseed rape candidates in the East/West region need a 6 for both phoma stem canker and light leaf spot, while winter wheats must have at least a 5 for Septoria tritici in addition to a high treated yield/gross output.

Where a variety doesn’t meet these

specific thresholds, the relevant crop committee would take a forensic look at its overall package and make a balanced judgement on whether it is worthy of recommendation for a specific, useful characteristic such as quality.

The sheer number of varieties that are on the lists has been a nagging criticism over recent years, although recent feedback suggests that it is not an important issue for all users.

However, some believe it’s confusing and to help address this, AHDB recently developed the Variety Selection digital tools, which allow users to filter varieties and focus on those suited to their own situation.

Agronomic merit

This is achieved by giving certain traits greater agronomic merit, depending on where the grower is in the country. For example, brown rust might be of higher importance in the East than in the North.

“Agronomic merit brings together all disease resistance and lodging data and gives you a single figure, rather than having to delve into the whole list itself.

“Having lots of varieties brings choice, but there needs to be a way of narrowing down that choice to make the process much simpler,” says Jenna.

However, Jenna accepts that things may need to go further in the future, perhaps by presenting the data in a different way or developing the digital offering.

One idea is to have a tiered system, where the top yielding and agronomically robust varieties are in a Premiership table, with others suitable for specific markets or regions presented in other divisions.

This is a topic where Jenna would really value feedback from industr y, and there will be the oppor tunity to do so in grower focus groups planned as part of the upcoming RL review

There will also be an online questionnaire launched alongside the 2023-24 RL, plus ways to engage at events over winter

Infor mation on how to get involved in the focus groups and any other aspect of the review are on the AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds website (ahdb.org.uk/rl).

Gathered information will be analysed during the spring and after stakeholder meetings, which include the plant breeders, an action plan for the next phase of RL funding will be published in the autumn.

Jenna is reluctant to speculate on the outcome of the review, but areas such as variety per for mance when direct drilled

Feedback from industry on ideas such as a Premiership table will be gleaned from grower focus groups planned as part of the upcoming RL review.

and response to different fungicide regimes are potential topics that will be subject to detailed discussion.

“The Recommended List can’t be everything to everyone, so we need to have this discussion and take a balanced view of how we move for ward,” she adds. ■

AHDB recently developed the Variety Selection digital tools,which allow users to filter varieties and focus on those suited to their own situation.

Research roundup

From Theory to Field is part of AHDB’s delivery of knowledge exchange on grower-funded research projects. CPM would like to thank AHDB for its support and in providing privileged access to staff and others involved in helping put these articles together.

For further info: AHDB Project P2110377: AHDB Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds (2021-26) is led by a consortium,including AHDB, British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB),Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain (MAGB) and UK Flour Millers (UKFM). For more detail about the project, visit https://ahdb.org.uk/rl-project

The diverse paths to resilience

Plant breeding

As the Genetic Technology Bill made its way through Parliament, plant breeders and innovators met to discuss other routes to a sustainable future. CPM summarises the discussion and the content of the new Bill.

By Tom Allen-Stevens

Diversity. Whether in the lab or the field, organic or precision-bred,nursery to row-crop, those from pre-breeding research through to the customer interface seem to agree that a wider genetic base will bring more resilience, productivity and a healthier future for crop production.

But there are diverse views on how to achieve it, with new precision-breeding technologies representing an ever-growing, ever-present elephant in the room whenever plant breeding’s future is discussed (see panel on p19). In a bid to explore diversity without being divisive, CHAP and the Soil Association clocked the elephant and manoeuvred it to one side at the Plant Breeding Fit for the Future conference they jointly hosted in Birmingham recently “Resilience in plant breeding does come from new traits, but it’s more about genetic

diversity,” said SA’s policy and strategy director Jo Lewis. “Farming systems that encourage this have a critical role to play, not a marginal one, but they’re starved of investment.”

Role underplayed

Dr Ruth Bastow, innovation director at CHAP, noted that plant breeding’s role is underplayed, despite the fact it underpins the entire food system human society depends on. “‘Just three crops –– wheat, rice and maize –– make up over 50% of the world’s calorie intake. Diversity of the food we eat and the systems that produce it will be our strength in the future.”

The conference started with perhaps the most doom-laden outlook ever presented to an agricultural audience by Prof Tim Benton, research director at Chatham House. “The only thing we can be certain about is that the future is uncertain,” he said.

Tim sees the world as TUNA ––turbulent, uncertain, novel and ambiguous –– and set about explaining why. A series of charts of various metrics did the job, with ever ything from inflationary pressures to economic growth either soaring to eye-watering highs or plunging into the abyss, depending on which you want to get more depressed about.

“Farmers will want to hedge against these risks,” he concluded, “so should plant breeders be looking for different targets?”

Paul Gosling championed the role of the AHDB Recommended Lists in making ‘the grade’, pointing out they’re a good “starting point” for growers. “The challenge

is to stay relevant with diversifying production systems. Everyone wants trials for their own system, but we simply don’t have enough trials.”

Digital was highlighted in the discussion that followed and heralded the second D of the day. “Is there a role for big data?” asked Dr Bruce Pearce of Garden Organic, noting the vast and varied datasets that services, such as the RL, produce that can be analysed against an increasing array of on-far m data.

“There’s so much knowledge, it’s a question of centralising that, which will help far mers understand what works in their own system,” noted Jen Bromley of Vertical Future.

Paul suggested growers “take the RL as a starting point and trial varieties in their own farming system.”

Farming

What we want is the marriage of farmer-led innovation and digital analytics.

“ ”

systems that encourage diversity have a critical role to play,said Jo Lewis.

Plant breeding

While this may help incremental change, enabling plant-breeding for the future has a more fundamental barrier, highlighted by Bruce: “We’re trying to turn a tanker in a canal –– there’s a lot of conservatism in the industry,” he said.

This was a point picked up by Liz Bowles of the Farm Carbon Toolkit. “But do we know the direction it should go? If we can’t decide, it’ll be very difficult to turn it.”

Liz illustrated the need for change by pointing out that 40% of arable farming’s greenhouse gas emissions stem from its use of synthetic fertilisers. “We have a system that incentivises varieties that respond to fertiliser, and not those that grow their roots.”

Questions were raised over how the UK’s Plant Variety Rights (PVR) system can be improved to increase diversity. “It’s a system that very successfully increases choice to growers,” responded Sam Brooke of the British Society of Plant Breeders.

“It’s worth noting that where there is a good system, like PVR, we see more open-pollinated varieties, while where there is not, breeders tend to invest more in hybrids to protect their intellectual property. But there’s a lot of data that sits behind PVR and perhaps we should be making more of that –– we have the right tools to

There simply aren’t enough trials for everyone,so growers should use the RL as a starting point and trial varieties in their own farming system.

make it work better for us.”

Prof Tom MacMillan of the Centre for Effective Innovation in Agriculture looked in more detail at how research and innovation could be done better. He highlighted the UK’s low total factor productivity (TFP)

Genetic Technolog y Bill opens route for gene-edited crops

Legislation currently passing through Parliament will pave the way to allowing the commercial release and marketing of gene-edited crops and animals in England. The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill has a new definition for a precision bred organism (PBO) that will no longer come under the tight restrictions required for a genetically modified organism (GMO).

Under the new legislation,plants and animals will qualify as PBOs if: ● any feature of their genome has come from modern biotechnology,which covers all organisms previously classed as GMOs,and ● ever y feature altered is stable,and ● every feature of their genome could have resulted from traditional breeding or natural transformation.

“We’re very keen to ensure that transgenes are removed from plants marketed as PBOs,but plants containing cisgenes maybe classed as PBOs,”said Louise Ball,GMO science and regulation adviser at Defra,speaking at the BSPB AGM (see panel on p21).

‘That’s not to say that GM legislation is fit for purpose for organisms not classed as PBOs.In our public consultation on genetic technologies, Defra set out its intention to carve out PBOs first then consider the case to regulate GMOs better.”

.”The Bill won’t drop the regulation on PBOs completely –– there’s still a requirement to notify the Defra Secretary of State,provide

evidence that it qualifies as a PBO,and this information is then held in a register.The Food Standards Agency has powers to include traceability measures.

Two distinct notification systems will be introduced: firstly for material going into field trials for research purposes only,not currently intended for commercialisation. These were relaxed earlier this year,allowing gene-edited crop trials to take place without the GM restrictions that most research organisations found prohibitively expensive.

The second form of notification will be for crops destined for commercialisation.

Extra authorisations will be required for precision-bred animals to ensure genetic changes haven’t caused differences that may result in welfare issues.And new powers in the Bill will come in to regulate food and animal feed derived from PBOs.

“The new Bill only applies to England,and devolved administrations haven’t yet made any changes to how GMOs are released to the environment,”noted Louise.

Scientists,such as director of the John Innes Centre,Prof Graham Moore,have generally welcomed the new legislation.“It will allow us to help UK farmers grow higher yielding,more resilient crops,and provide consumers with food that is healthier for them and the environment.”

NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw noted the new Bill should ensure public confidence,

The new Bill classes plants as a PBO if any feature of their genome has been altered with modern biotechnology but where this could have happened naturally.

enable diverse and accessible innovation,and allow investment in products for the UK market. “We know gene editing is not a silver bullet. But if we are to make this a success,any new government regulation must be robust,fit for purpose and based on sound science.”

But the Soil Association is among organisations opposed.“History has proven that GM only benefits a minority of big businesses with a major rise in controlling crop patents and unwelcome,profitable traits such as herbicide-resistant weeds,” says Jo Lewis.

“The Bill must also establish clear safeguards for farmers,including organic farmers,and citizens who choose non-GM to ensure protection from cross-contamination.”

There are vast and varied datasets that can be analysed against an increasing array of on-farm data.

Plant breeding

Farmer groups should be stepping up to help researchers answer the complex,real-world questions that matter on the ground.

growth for agriculture, against a relatively high public expenditure. “In the OECD, only Belgium spends more and has less innovation to show for it. There is an innovation gap –– the research investment isn’t relevant enough to what farmers actually do.”

Tom, who founded Innovative Farmers during his time with the Soil Association, believes greater farmer involvement is the key to better alignment. “What we want is the

marriage of farmer-led innovation and digital analytics. Researchers often dumb down their methods when they work with farmers. We should be doing the opposite, stepping up to answer the complex, real-world questions that matter on the ground.”

He introduced the third D of the day ––decentralisation. “We have this dream where researchers, farmers and everyone team up more effectively –– a kind of big tent. Whereas the way it works at the

moment is more like after a music festival, with lots of little tents strewn about the place. So it’s encouraging to see Defra and UKRI’s Farming Innovation Programme recognise the value of farmer-led research. But the devil’s in the detail –– we should take care how risk is shared against who gets the rewards.”

Liz noted the potential value of farmers’ data to enrich research projects and provide a good, sound grounding from which to test innovations. “Experience with Innovative Farmers shows that arable farmers often have more sophisticated ways to measure yield effects than some researchers. So farmers have a lot more to bring to the table than perhaps they’re given credit for.”

Prof Katherine Denby of the University of York noted plant breeding doesn’t necessarily need more public funding, just better targeting of existing resources. “We have long projects that take at least five years to get results, which don’t suit the three-year model of a typical public-funded programme. But work may only be carried out in certain months of the year.”

Summarising the elements that make plant-breeding fit for the future, Jo added a

GMO or PBO?

Any process that involves the introduction of foreign DNA or RNA classes the resulting product as GMO.But there are a number of ways through which a plant can undergo a genetic change:

Transgenesis is where DNA from another species has successfully been combined into the genome of the host plant.This confers a new trait,such as herbicide tolerance or longer shelf life.These organisms are universally classified as GMOs.

Cisgenesis is where DNA is artificially transferred between organisms of the same species,such as from a wild relative to an elite potato variety to confer blight resistance.In the UK at least,if this change could have happened naturally,this may now class the plant as a PBO, but it is considered a GMO in Europe.

Mutagenesis is a change or edit in the plant genome that confers a new trait.Such mutations occur naturally every day,when a plant comes

fourth D –– derisking. “Diversity remains key, and it’s a way to hedge. We must decentralise, making research more participatory and farmer-led to make it

under stress,for example,or it can be induced through human intervention.A small change in the genome may switch off the activity of a particular gene which allows or inhibits a property,and it’s these phenotypical changes breeders have sought out for generations to progress their lines.

For decades,scientists have induced mutagenesis to bring about new traits,using chemicals or radiation,and the Clearfield trait is an example.This is classified as traditional ––neither GMO nor PBO.

More recently,though,more precise geneediting techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 have been introduced.CRISPRs are short RNA sequences introduced into the host plant that recognise a specific stretch of genetic code. Cas9 enzymes partner these sequences and cut the host DNA at specific locations.

The cell tries to repair the damage,and that’s when the mutation occurs.By using different

A genetically edited plant must contain no foreign transgene to be classed as a PBO.

enzymes and techniques,researchers can deactivate or alter –– edit –– specific parts of the genome,thereby conferring traits.

It’s this technique that previously resulted in an organism classed as a GMO,specifically because foreign RNA is introduced to make the edit.But this transgene is usually crossed out in the next generation.So organisms edited by CRISPR and free of any foreign RNA will now be classed as PBOs.

relevant. And we must harness digital to manage the complexity of that challenge in a cost-effective way.”

But the industry battles against

short-termism and inconsistency, both in policy and funding, she noted. “We can’t wait for our leaders to lead. Collaboration and co-development show the way ahead.” ■

Insider’s View

Brew-only spring barley varieties don’t come along that often and although it’s only currently provisionally approved by the Malting Barley Committee (MBC), Skyway appears to be carving a path for itself. CPM finds out what elevates it from other spring barleys.

By Melanie Jenkins

While Laureate and RGT Planet remain firm favourites with brewers,hard on their heels is new variety Skyway. As well as an improved yield,with the second highest on the AHDB Recommended List at 105% of control,Skyway offers a step up in quality.

According to John Miles of Agrii, it was both Skyway’s yield and grain quality which really shone during trials. “Within our data set it was hard to ignore because of its yield potential and grain quality, which are hugely important characteristics for brew-only spring barley varieties.

“We often find that when breeders are pushing yields, they create more grain sites and this can be detrimental to specific weight, but with Skyway there’s something unique because it has both strong yields and high specific weight.”

Skyway is one of the lovechildren hailing

Taking the Skyway

from a union between Agrii, Nordic Seed and Throws Farm in Essex, which started in 2011, explains his colleague Colin Lloyd. “It became clear there was an opportunity to work together in the UK. After further meetings and visits to Nordic Seed in Denmark in 2012, the decision was made to start looking at early lines here to test their performance.”

Stow Longa trials

The first stage of this partnership involved winter wheat, but by the spring of 2013 several lines of spring barley were introduced the year prior to NL 1. “Great strides were made over the next few years under the watchful eye of Colin Patrick, seed trials manager at Throws, before Agrii entered Skyway into the National RL system,” says Colin.

One of Agrii’s aims while trialling the variety has been to determine its ability to combat blackgrass. “Skyway featured at the Stow Longa blackgrass site in 2022, being one of six blocks in the on-going rotations trials which is now in its eighth year.”

Having switched one rotation block to Skyway to assess its competitive effect on blackgrass populations, Colin was really pleased with the results. “It produced the highest gross margin after cultivations, drilling and all inputs when compared with the other blocks, which included winter beans, second wheats and spring oats.

“The ploughed area within this work led to a margin of £1537/ha, which was £200/ha more than either of the two second wheat blocks with the same cultivations,” he explains.

“There is no doubt that spring barley in

“ ”

Skyway provided us with some of the best samples of barley we saw last har vest.

the rotation helps greatly in the blackgrass battle –– better than second wheat –– and Skyway was easy to manage agronomically in this experiment, with no lodging or brackling.”

Skyway scores a 7 for resistance to lodging on the RL and has an 8 for brackling, confirms John. “Admittedly, we’ve seen less brackling than in previous years –– except in the West. We’re expecting its score to drop to 7. However, we believe the

John Miles says that both Skyway’s yield and grain quality has shone during trials.

lodging score will remain the same, based on the data this year.”

Looking at Skyway’s characteristics, John points out that powdery mildew isn’t an issue as, like all new spring barley varieties, Skyway has the MLO gene which is effective against all races of the pathogen.

It scores 4 against brown rust which is lower than its rivals but its rhynchosporium score is rated 7 –– similar to Laureate, he admits. “It’s not the very cleanest of varieties, but realistically it’s Laureate and Planet we’re comparing it with. There’s no hiding the

scores but it comes back to yield, which is at least three percentage points higher than the two market leading varieties.”

But he believes this is enough to attract growers to it. “Spring barley is a lot easier to look after than winter wheat and while it might have a lower brown rust score, you should look at this in the same way as brown rust in wheat –– keep it out at T1, keep it clean.”

The yield and grain quality will also attract the attention of feed barley growers, adds John. “The combination of straw length and high tiller number should provide good straw yields.”

Agrii colleague Mark Glover has had farmers with Skyway for the past two years and notes the variety has been straightforward to grow. “It’s got a good lineage with Planet as a parent and I haven’t found any particular weaknesses in terms of disease, which is good.”

In Agrii’s direct drilling trials,Skyway has demonstrated a 0.6t/ha yield advantage over Planet.

Standing the test

Having an early maturing spring barley is a vital cog in the machine that is Freya Morgan’s farming enterprise.Working around 1500ha of owned, rented,share,contract and collaboratively farmed land near Huntingdon on the Bedfordshire/ Cambridgeshire border with her son Joshua, it’s important that crops fit together to enable them to manage the workload.

Growing winter wheat, winter barley,spring barley,winter oilseed rape (when conditions allow) and winter beans,Freya uses spring barley to take some of the pressure off in the autumn.“We’ve always grown spring barley to ease autumn management and because we’re on heavy clay and blackgrass can be quite a big problem. It’s really helped us get it under control,on the whole,and has been a really good cashflow tool.”

But when it comes to har vest, the crop tends to come ripe when she’s in the middle of combining winter wheat. “We grew Laureate before and it would end up brackling, with quite a lot of heads ending up on the floor if we couldn’t har vest it on time.”

So when her agronomist asked her to grow Skyway,Freya was interested to try it.“We first put it in the ground in spring 2021 so we could compare it with Laureate. Skyway stood up, didn’t brackle and was really straightforward to

The seed crop Mark managed last year was direct drilled behind grass and didn’t get the kindest start, but despite this it got away very nicely.

“In some ways it was a boring variety to grow. It has a robust agronomic package ––

Skyway is one of the lovechildren hailing from a union between Agrii,Nordic Seed and Throws Farm in Essex,says Colin Lloyd.

it’s brackling resistance looks pretty good, lodging resistance with a little PGR applied is decent, it’s not overly tall and it’s neither early nor late,” he explains. “Skyway’s yield potential compared with the control is up 4-5% and its specific weight is better than most.

“It’s also pretty consistent in the East or ▲

har vest.” Because of this, she decided to grow 100% Skyway in 2022 and plans to do the same in 2023.

Ahead of drilling, the ground is lightly subsoiled in the autumn before being tined and left stale over winter to get a good blackgrass kill. “Ideally we direct drill with a 6m Kverneland tine drill into the stale seed but,if need be,we cultivate in the spring ahead of drilling,” she says.

“We drill seeds at about 200kg/ha and use 120kgN/ha and 30kg SO3/ha.It’s a relatively cheap crop to grow and because it was so dry this year,we only spent £16/ha on herbicides, £10.50 on fungicides and £8/ha on trace elements. But each year the weather is different, so we tr y to utilise the characteristics of each variety.For example,Skyway has a 9 for mildew and a 4 for brown rust.”

At har vest Skyway really stood out, she notes. “It stood up and didn’t brackle.This meant we could prioritise cutting winter wheat if we need to get the quality and leave Skyway a bit longer before cutting it.This helps keep our work rate up and our combine operator is happy that it’s easy to har vest. Even the man who bales the straw really likes it,claiming that it doesn’t smash up,”explains Freya.

Skyway achieved yields of 5.5-6.5t/ha, with grain nitrogen ranging from 1.59% to 1.79%

Freya Morgan was really pleased with the Skyway’s yield,especially considering the crop had no rain after it was drilled.

and specific weights averaged between 66.3kg/hl and 69.9kg/hl in 2022. “We were pleased with the Skyway,especially considering the crop had no rain after it was drilled,”says Freya. “The sample had a nice bold grain, low screenings and coped well in the extreme heat.”

Freya’s Skyway is grown on contract and has gone for malting the past two years. “It has a nice little premium on it and the maltsters seem happy with it,so hopefully it’s got a good future going forward.”

Skyway scores a 7 for resistance to lodging on the RL and has an 8 for brackling.

▲

the West, which is an advantage for both the breeder and the farmer –– especially with our unpredictable seasons. This gives the variety a good robustness,” adds Mark. According to John, a lot of spring barley is being used in direct drilling situations at the moment. “There’s a bit of commentary about the sustainability of varieties for direct drilling, so we thought it was sensible to look at how Skyway’s habit suits this situation. We had seven strip trials last spring and results so far, from six of the trials, show that Skyway averaged 0.6t/ha more in yield compared with Planet. Its performance really stuck out in a direct drilled situation.”

As far as market potential goes, Tom Eaton of Viterra believes that Skyway has scope, both in terms of on-farm

performance and for maltsters. “The growers we’ve spoken to have all been very positive and want to grow more for Harvest 23 and beyond.

“We’ve sent small samples to maltsters to trial and the feedback from them is good,” he says. “The expectation is for the variety to get full malting approval in the second quarter of 2023. If it gets this, I think it’s likely that Skyway will take market share from other staple varieties as it will definitely be supported on farm. And it looks as though there could be good premiums available for next harvest.”

Boortmalt has been trialling Skyway for the past few years and feel it could provide a successor to Planet, according to the firm’s Jonathan Roberts.

“We favour standalone, brew-only varieties, and at the moment that’s Planet but we see

Direct drilled farm strip trials yield difference between Skyway and RGT Planet

Skyway at a glance

dual-purpose varieties, so Skyway bucks this trend.

“Skyway provided us with some of the best samples of barley we saw from harvest 2021, in terms of tests and analytical parameters,” he explains. “It looked good, and the maltsters were very happy with how it performed throughout the process. We’ve built on the couple of hundred tonnes we had last year and now have more from Harvest 22 that we will begin to take in from January. If Skyway continues to produce positive results, then we will look to build on this.”

Although Skyway looks like it could take market share from other mainstay varieties, Jonathan feels that Laureate will remain the market leader. “I think Laureate will continue to be the biggest variety but, for us, it’s important not to get into a monoculture of varieties. It’s good to have options, of which Skyway could be one in the future.”

like Planet and Laureate.”

Skyway as a variety that could replace it. There aren’t many brew-only varieties coming down the track as there seems to have been a decision by breeders to pursue

Mark agrees that Skyway could potentially take market share from the more established varieties. “It’s the end market which will determine whether Skyway gets traction or not –– even if it has the best qualities for the grower, such as yield and standing ability. But if the demand is there from maltsters, it could take market from established varieties

Because of its performance, Boortmalt is a keen supporter of Skyway getting approval, says Jonathan. “If its performance stays positive, Boortmalt will deliver a report to support the approval process. The variety could be a useful option for southern farmers to avoid cropping moving towards varieties that can only be exported.” ■

Mark Glover feels that Skyway could potentially take market share from the more established varieties.

Eggs and beans

Pulse Progress

Growing beans has a multitude of known benefits, be it improved soil health or retained nitrogen for the following wheat crop,but what about replacing soya in laying hen feed to produce a carbon neutral egg?

CPM investigates.

By Melanie Jenkins

With COP27 only just wrapped (at the time of writing), the conversation surrounding cutting carbon emissions is as sharp as it’s ever been. One farm in Scotland has taken it upon itself to reduce its carbon emissions and attempt to produce a carbon neutral egg.

Arable far mers could play a crucial role in decarbonising egg production, with the farm in question cutting its use of impor ted soya by adding beans to its arable enterprise.

Rotationally, beans and peas are underutilised in the UK, states Roger Vickers of PGRO. “About 4% of the UK’s arable cropping area is used to grow pulses. When these are included in a

rotation, it’s sensible to have them one in ever y five years, meaning 20% of the cropped area could potentially be pulses.

“One of the upsides of legumes is that they don’t require any nitrogen fertiliser and can help to produce a higher yield ––of anything up to 1t/ha –– in the subsequent wheat crop,” he says. “This comes from improved soil fer tility and the N left behind by the crop, which averages around 70kgN/ha –– but this can vary significantly.”

Bean benefits

As well as residual N, the interaction of root exudates with minerals in the soil helps to release them into a more readily available form for the following crop, explains Roger. “There’s also a very strong mycorrhizal association with pulses.

“Growers often comment on how nice seedbeds are after the crop, which can mean fewer cultivations are needed, easier preparations, reduced machine use, lower diesel consumption and minimised impact and damage to soils as a result.”

And in terms of marketing, the largest outlet for beans in the UK is for livestock feed, but a new market could potentially be opening up for human food ingredients. As producers look to cut their carbon emissions this has driven them to assess feed inputs, with soya beans standing

out as a prime candidate for substitution due to their environmental impact from deforestation in South America, says Roger

“I think there’s a massive opportunity for domestically grown beans and peas as a substitute for soya in livestock feed,” he explains. “But such is the volume of soya that’s consumed in the UK that we couldn’t replace all of it with homegrown pulses. Soya meal also has a much higher protein content than pulses, so it wouldn’t be

In the long-term we want to reduce soya use by 100%.

“ ”

Beans have stood out as a more environmentally friendly alternative to imported soya beans,says Roger Vickers.

possible to fully replace it with beans or peas in livestock diets. However, using domestically grown pulses could make a massive dent in soya bean imports.

“And although it’s desirable to massively reduce soya use from an environmental perspective, it has to be economical as well,” says Roger. “Any alternative feeds farmers consider have to stack up financially. If they don’t, you won’t achieve a great deal. But this might be something that policy could encourage in the future.”

Duncan Farms, a producer/packer in Aberdeenshire, is one enterprise that has turned to homegrown beans in an attempt to create a carbon neutral egg from 64,000 of its 446,000 free range hens.

Alistair McBain, rearing and production manager, started with the firm a little over a year ago and was tasked with reducing the carbon footprint of egg production. “We’re trying to achieve a net zero egg, partially because of pressure from retailers and consumers, and also because we feel there’s a commercial opportunity in doing so,” he explains. “This is going to be more costly for us, so it has to be linked to a premium egg and we have had a lot of interest from retailers about paying for this.”

Around 80% of the fir m’s carbon footprint for its egg production enterprise

Breeding for better

As interest in homegrown beans for feed has grown,breeders have turned their attention to producing varieties that are better suited to this purpose.The Abo-Vici project has specifically looked at how beans can be used in laying hen diets.

Although beans can have around 30-35% crude protein,their use in animal feed can’t necessarily be increased because their composition –– predominantly the vicine and convicine content –– can cause issues for hens and other monogastrics,such as pigs,explains Michael Shuldham of LSPB.This means that the maximum inclusion rate in a feed mix is normally about 10% for beans.

However,LSPB has been breeding varieties low in vicine and convicine specifically to overcome this issue.These new LVC varieties can be fed to monogastrics at higher quantities than normal beans without any adverse side effects,potentially pushing up their inclusion rate in the ration,explains Michael.

“Based on research conducted in Germany,a 15% inclusion rate of standard bean varieties in the ration caused adverse effects in laying hens,

is from feed, and 80% of that is from soya, so Alistair set about looking at alternatives. “Beans came up trumps as we can grow them ourselves.”

The business has around 2630ha of arable land that produces 90% of its own cereal requirement, with soya and minerals imported before it’s milled and mixed on site. “We grow 25,000t of cereals and all of that goes back into the hens, other than some malting barley and milling oats,” says Alistair.

“We’re initially looking to reduce the soya use in the ration by 50% and replace it with rape meal and beans, based on nutritional advice from Harbro and Trouw.” Changing the ration has involved trying to make sure there are no unwanted side effects to either egg quality, feed intake or hen behaviour.

Work in progress

“In the long-term we want to reduce soya use by 100% but a lot of work has to be done before we can get there,” says Alistair. “We’ve gathered from others that this is very difficult to do as soya provides something that just can’t be replicated with synthetic amino acids or by beans.”

But this hasn’t deterred him or the far m’s arable manager, Sandy Norrie. “I’ve been working here 26 years, and

this is new for me; I’ve never grown beans before.”

It wasn’t just a case of diving in. Sandy did a lot of research to make sure beans would fit with the existing system. One of the challenges was using a variety that would work on the farm. “It’s crucial we have a very early maturing variety here and we’ve chosen the earliest fields that are south facing. Luckily, we’ve got enough land suited to beans to keep us going throughout the rotation.”

This year (2022), Sandy grew 26ha of LG Raptor, which he found a “doddle”. “We were advised against growing winter ▲

such as lower feed intake and reduced egg quality.But with LVC varieties the inclusion rate could be increased to 30% without any issues.

“This means there’s an exciting opportunity to increase the amount of beans grown in the UK for monogastric consumption,which would reduce reliance on imported soya. Plus,growers can still benefit from all of the other elements beans bring,including increased biodiversity, better soil health and providing a flowering crop for bees.”

The headline LVC variety from LSPB was Tiffany,which has been followed by its latest addition, Victus –– both spring beans, says Michael.“We have another in the pipeline that should challenge the top varieties for yield and growers can hear more about this one in the spring.”

Tiffany came to the UK market in 2019 after at least 10 years’ worth of research and breeding beforehand,says Michael.“Our breeding programme is looking at LVC varieties as part of the future of growing beans. And these varieties have the same market outlets as standard varieties,so they can also go for

Victus is an LVC variety from LSPB which can be fed to chickens and pigs in higher quantities than regular bean varieties.

human consumption.”

Eagle-eyed readers who have seen the recently released PGRO 2022 Descriptive List (see article on p30) will have noticed that the previous ‘pale hilum and LVC’ specific row has been removed from the table.Instead,these varieties are now part of the main list where they can be more easily compared with the rest. “This move is a big step and I hope it will help people see the real benefits of these varieties,” adds Michael.

Soya meal has a much higher protein content than pulses,so it wouldn’t be possible to fully replace this with beans or peas in livestock diets.

beans had to fit into Duncan Farms’ existing system,with earliness being paramount.

▲

beans because the yield benefit versus the risk from birds and the weather over winter just didn’t stack up. And as we’re predominantly winter cropping, growing spring beans helps to spread the workload.

“We ploughed as normal, no manure was applied, and we drilled at 50 seeds/m2, as close to 10cm as the drill could go,” he explains. Using a Lemken power harrow drill combination in February, the beans were planted in dry conditions and came through the ground relatively quickly. Conveniently, the Lemken machine could be adjusted to plant different seed sizes, so there was no need for investment in new equipment.

“The one disappointment was that my first choice of pre-emergence herbicide was sold out, but the beans grew

through the weeds in the end,” says Sandy.

“We didn’t have to apply any P or K, as we have high levels in the soil here, so in that respect it was a very cheap crop to grow. Plus, there was no sign of chocolate spot and we never had a problem with powdery mildew either.”

The crop had a trace element spray six weeks after establishment, followed by an insecticide, more trace elements, sulphur and manganese in June, says Sandy. “We applied the first fungicide at the end of June and a second in July, ahead of glyphosate in August before we harvested in September. With the weather the way it was this year, I think that if we’d left the beans for another week, we wouldn’t even have had to desiccate them.”

LG Raptor achieved 5.4t/ha in its first year on the farm and the beans are due to go into the hen feed from the spring of 2023.

Growing

One of the fears when going into spring beans was that they wouldn’t be fit until really late in the season, meaning he’d not be able to drill winter wheat and would instead have to put the bean ground to spring barley. “I thought we’d be harvesting in November,” says Sandy. “But we combined them in the first week of September. If I get that every year, I’ll be very happy. But I know we had an exceptional year and I don’t expect it to always be that way.”

And he’s pleased with how the beans performed considering it was the first year growing them. “I was aiming for 4.9t/ha and we got 5.4t/ha. I do wonder if the beans would have had more potential if we’d managed to get the correct herbicide, as they may have been a bit

smothered by volunteer oilseed rape.”

The beans were analysed by Harbro with germination testing at 96%, and analysis showed a 45.5% starch content, 26.8% crude protein, 14.2% neutral detergent fibre, 13% oil content, 7.3% fibre, 2.9% ash and a specific weight of 87kg/hl. “They were really heavy, we had a shock when we weighed the trailer,” says Sandy.

Next year he’s planning to grow 32ha of Raptor and is trialling 16ha of Yukon. “Yukon is a very early maturing variety and I’ve heard of farmers in Fife who have harvested it two weeks before anyone else in the area.”

Nitrogen rate trials

Looking at the financials of growing beans, Sandy isn’t sure how they stack up yet. “This year was a bit different as we have had high crop prices and I had bought my fertiliser really cheap, plus, we’re yet to see the benefits in the following crop ––I think it will take two or three years before we see any.”

Beans can only be fed to hens in certain quantities to avoid behavioural and egg quality changes.

beans until the coming spring, Alistair is fully committed to doing further research into replacing soya protein in egg production. “I’ve been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to look into alternative proteins to drive net zero egg production. One area of focus is on beans and how these can be improved for poultry diets.”

There’s pressure from both consumers and retailers to cut carbon emissions from egg production.

But Sandy’s also using the beans as an opportunity to do N trials in the following wheat crops. “We had beans in three fields this year, so those are now in wheat and I’m putting different rates of N on each one to see how they fare,” he explains.

And although the hens won’t be fed any

He and Sandy will also look to increase the bean area on far m, but they know it’s not possible for them to grow enough to feed all of the farm’s hens. “The demand for beans in hen feed might open up a bit of a market and we would certainly look at purchasing beans from further south,” says Alistair. ■

Heptad of new pulses for 2023

Pulse varieties

With growing interest in pulse crops,breeders have been working hard to bring forward varieties with better agronomic traits. CPM looks at the additions to PGRO’s Descriptive List, which was unveiled last month.

By Lucy de la Pasture and Rob Jones

The Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) unveiled its 2023 Descriptive List (DL) for pulses at the CropTec Show in Peterborough last month, with seven varieties making their debut.

Combining peas feature the most prominently, taking up six spots on the DL, with the remaining position being filled by a solo winter bean variety. Those numbers could swell further, with a strong possibility that up to four spring bean varieties could be added when they have obtained National List status.

Even without reaching this ‘full house’ of new additions, the number of varieties making their debut is more than double

the debutants on the 2022 list, according to Chris Judge, senior technical officer at PGRO.

“2022 has been a year with a lot of changes. Not only have the trials run successfully, but the data produced by the DL is reassuringly consistent.”

Reliable performers

“High-yielding varieties have maintained their good performance and other traits, such as disease ratings, also retain similar scores to before with the addition of new supporting data. For example, the list now includes a score for downy mildew and rust on winter beans. Hopefully the new varieties added to the list will also prove stable and reliable in the years to come.”

The 2022 season wasn’t the easiest on spring crops, with prolonged drought conditions and record temperatures reached during the growing season. Despite this, the PGRO trials were successful and the varieties grown across the country demonstrated impressive consistency in terms of yield and disease resistance, he says.

“Dry conditions in April impacted initial growth of spring-sown crops, but rainfall in April wasn’t as low as in 2020 and 2021. The summer heatwaves led to early harvesting of most crops, with the first pea trial –– in Essex –– being harvested on 18 July, which is

17 days earlier than in 2021.

“On average, spring bean trials were harvested 23 days earlier than in 2021. But

The list now includes a score for downy mildew and rust on winter beans.

“ ”

The combining peas category has seen the most new variety additions in 2023,with two yellow peas, three green peas and one new variety of marrowfat pea added.

the high temperatures and dry conditions did help to reduce levels of powdery mildew.”

With pulses still taking a back seat in many trial programmes, the PGRO’s DL provides growers with a valuable opportunity to compare different varieties and consider which will best suit their soil type and rotation. Chris points out that promising new varieties are regularly submitted by plant breeders, with those that suit the market and have traits of interest most likely to be supported and available for purchase in the future.

Kicking off the combining pea additions are two yellow peas – Glam (bred by Senova) and LG Ajax (Limagrain). Three new green pea varieties have also been added, namely Butterfly (LSPB), KWS Gotham (KWS), and Kiravi (Senova).

While Kameleon (114%) and Orchestra (111%) remain the top-yielding yellow peas, new addition Glam is snapping at their heels with a yield of 108%. Glam combines decent

yields with a straw length of 88cm and a standing ability of 7, along with resistance to pea wilt and a 5 rating for downy mildew.

Upward trend

Glam has a seed weight of 248g, with a protein content of 21.8% and it’s also later to mature than other yellow peas, with just a 3 for earliness of maturity. Where downy mildew is a key consideration, Rivoli has the best downy mildew score (8) of all the yellow peas on the list.

LG Ajax maintains the upward trend in yield in this section, with 103% of the control varieties. It’s supported by good resistance to powdery mildew.

Green pea Carrington remains the top yielder at 115% of control varieties. Closing the gap is Butterfly, which also performed well with a yield of 109% and has an earlier maturity and larger seed size than Carrington.

KWS Gotham and Kiravi are both later maturing varieties with competitive yields,

Har vest date and yield forecasting tool for vining peas

The PGRO has undertaken exciting advances in the development of a forecasting system for har vest dates and yields in vining peas. Work has continued in model development and refinement,and the first tests on its online forecasting tool will take place in 2023.

The work is being led by Leah Howells, data scientist at PGRO.“The UK’s climate is undeniably changing,with the Met Office indicating that the ten hottest years since records began have occurred since 2004. This year,the worst of July’s record-breaking heatwave was concentrated around the South and East of the UK,which is particularly troubling for the vining pea growing area which corresponds directly to this eastern seaboard hotspot.”

Purely temperature-based prediction methods,such as accumulated heat units,are no longer accurate enough to reliably predict harvest dates year-on-year,she says. Additionally,increasingly frequent extreme weather events are wreaking havoc on processors and growers’ ability to make advanced estimates of factory throughput.

PGRO would like to make it possible to predict maturity and yield in advance through the use of remotely-sensed earth observation data,explains Leah.By combining this data with a large body of historic commercial crop data, machine learning models can be used to predict future harvests.

“Also under consideration is the current need

to collect tenderometer samples for individual crops multiple times in the approach to harvest. Every sample taken well before the crop is ready is ultimately an unnecessary trip.

“By narrowing the window of certainty around harvest and therefore knowing in advance an earliest estimated sampling date,processors may see the possibility of more than halving the number of samples that need to be collected per field.”

The project secured further Innovate UK Smart Grant funding in July,enabling it to continue through to completion in February 2024, when the tool will be launched.

The tool requires a small number of inputs which are already collected by growers.These are unique crop identification numbers or codes, drill dates,full-flowering dates,varieties and maturity indices,and target tenderometer readings. The tool also needs a field location.

Analysis of over 17,000 historic crops has determined that regardless of variety or location, by far the most important factor when predicting harvest date in vining peas is the date of full-flower.

All other information, including climatic data, spatial and topographical data relating to field locations,and earth observation data is collected and handled by the forecasting system itself. This results in a simple to use,largely automated system that can be run as often as required throughout the season for continuous crop monitoring.

Downy mildew resistance is something pulse breeders have been improving and a resistance rating for the disease has been added to the DL for beans in 2023.

107% and 105% respectively. Within the green category, LG Aviator and Greenwood have resistance to powdery mildew, which is becoming an increasingly important trait.

Downy mildew resistance is another trait that growers may value highly and, of the

▲

PGRO is developing a new forecasting system for harvest dates and yields,utilising machine learning to help keep pea viners on track.

Ongoing automated weather data and satellite-derived canopy reflectance data means users are provided with timely,up-to-date and dynamic forecasts.

Vining pea growers will be able to test a beta version of the tool next year,adds Leah. Processors will also be encouraged to run the models alongside current prediction or management methods and compare results

“We aim for the trial version of the platform to be made available through the PGRO website in early spring next year.Following feedback received during the 2023 testing period,we plan for an official launch at the end of February 2024,ready to be used during the 2024 vining season and beyond.”

The PGRO said it hopes that this tool is able to become an integrated management solution for the UK vining pea industry and continue to improve planning and management for years to come.

Pulse varieties

was first added in 2021. Both of these varieties have a yield which is 10% above that of old stalwart Sakura, though it has a smaller seed size with a thousand seed weight of 350g. Octavia also remains on the list.

Takayama also is the standout variety when it comes to downy mildew resistance, scoring a 6 –– which is considerably better than the other marrowfats on the DL, which are rated from 2-4.

Most winter bean trials established well with better conditions for winter drilling than the past few years. Bonneville is the only new winter bean addition to the 2023 list and has a pale hilum. Its yield is above average at 102%, and it has the second highest protein content on the list.

have scored a 5 for downy mildew, with Vincent (7) and Norton (6) achieving the highest of the ratings. Rust resistance ratings have also been added to the DL for winter beans.

Mirroring grower experience across the country, spring bean trials suffered in the prolonged hot and dry period in the summer, producing lower yields than 2021. Four new high-yielding spring bean varieties performed well, which are Genius, Futura (both LSPB), LG Stego (Limagrain) and Focus (Saaten Union), but at the time of writing none of these have received UK National List status so can’t be added to the DL at the time of publication.

green peas, Carrington, Bluetime and LG Aviator have the highest downy mildew rating (8).

Mantara and Rose remain the only two maple peas on the DL, with both having good resistance to downy mildew

A new variety of Marrowfat has made the list, Takayama (LSPB), and has become the highest yielder in that category –– achieving a 96% yield and equalling Akooma, which

With a seed size of 692g, protein content of 26.5% and standing ability of 8, Bonneville has a good agronomic profile, points out Tom Yewbrey of Senova. “Bonneville is a great package. It’s similar to Vespa in terms of straw length at 115cm but has a slightly higher protein content and larger seed size.”

From the same stable, Vespa remains at the top of latest DL for the third successive year, with a yield of 111, with Vincent just behind on 108.

Ratings for downy mildew in winter beans have been added to the DL. Most varieties

Lincolnshire grower returns to spring peas

There’s a renewed interest in growing pulses as marketing opportunities begin to make them a more attractive proposition.After several years away from spring peas,Andy Pearce of South Lincolnshire-based WA Pearce and Sons,returned to the crop in 2022 –– drilling 20ha of the green pea variety Greenway in late March across two sites made up of silt and black land soils.

“There was a combination of factors behind bringing spring peas back into our rotation this year.They are still the best entry for a following wheat,we needed to bring our 2022 harvest date forward having grown a lot of spring wheat the previous year and, from a business perspective, both prices and domestic demand for peas have risen since we last grew the crop.”

Following an application of starter fertiliser at 100kg/ha,the crop established well on the back of some decent early April rain and staying ahead of the farm’s normal weed burden of thistles, speedwell,cleavers and mayweed.All went very smoothly up to mid-May,from which time there was no significant rain until the crop’s eventual harvest in late July.

“Having been caught out before with long dry spells, we were proactive this time, adding two

applications of manganese and a foliar feed to our aphicide and pea moth sprays in May and June, along with an application of Signum (boscalid+ pyraclostrobin) at 0.44 l/ha on 17 June 17,which helped the crop stay green and cope better with the drought conditions. The strategy worked well and by June we had a healthy,still green crop that was standing waist high.”

Harvest took place between the 21-25 July, with the overall yield a respectable 2.75t/ha,says Andy “Admittedly,it wasn’t quite what we were originally looking for, but a very good result given the unprecedented dry spell.I have no doubt that with more moisture it would have been a 5t/ha crop given it grew well and produced a lot of pods.”

It was Greenway’s agronomic traits that attracted Andy to the variety “It’s a tall variety with good canopy cover,produces an excellent straw length and we didn’t need to go overboard on herbicides to keep it clean during the spring. There were no issues with pod set,and it suited both our soil types and the change up in our rotation.”

Echoing Andy’s assessment, Agrii seed manager Rebecca Gibson highlights several marketing pluses offered by the variety.

Old-timer Lynx has proven to be a consistent performer since it was first added to the DL in 2016 and remains the top yielding variety (107%). It also has one of the highest downy mildew ratings at 7, though is susceptible to rust (4).

For growers looking for an early maturing variety with good downy mildew resistance, Yukon may tick the box. Despite having a low yield (92%), it has the best downy mildew rating (9) and is the earliest maturing variety on the list.

Maris Bead, the only bean on the list with a black hilum, has the same downy mildew rating as Lynx (7). ■

After its first full commercial year Greenway appears to have shown promise based on grower feedback,according to Agrii.

“This is Agrii’s first full commercial year with Greenway and,on the whole,its shown promise based on customer feedback.With uniform seed size and good colour retention,it has the key attributes that the end markets are looking at, both for human consumption and micronising.

“For the grower,it’s high yielding –– having achieved 109% of control in 2021 trials –– and has very good standing ability,so it’s easy to harvest.It’s also agronomically strong with good downy mildew resistance,”she comments.

Last season’s winter bean trials established well with better conditions for winter drilling than the past few years.

Managing uncertainty

BCPC/CropTec

Farmers have a lot to contend with at the moment and getting to grips with the uncertainty they face can be challenging. CPM attended the BCPC Congress and the CropTec Show in November to get an update.

By Melanie Jenkins

There’s no denying that UK farmers are facing challenging times,be that from financial pressure or regulatory reform, but getting to grips with just what those challenges are can be the means to planning for them.

Speaking at the British Crop Production Council (BCPC) Congress in Harrogate, Nick von Westenholz of the NFU took the opportunity to focus on the prospects for UK farmers in the coming months and years. “There are challenges caused by a considerable amount of uncertainty in the farming sector at present, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities as well. Uncertainty seems to be a sort of buzz word.”

He points out that there are three really major areas that demonstrate where the uncertainty is coming from. “The first is economic pressures, primarily caused by the conflict in Ukraine. However, energy prices were on an upward trajectory prior to this,” he says.

“It’s clear that this has had a huge impact on the economy and on the farming economy in particular. And the COVID pandemic has also contributed to this.”

International trade

The second area causing uncertainty is the situation regarding international trade, says Nick. “There are tensions in the UK’s approach to international trade, which itself is pretty conflicted, because we have a very different approach to the rest of the world than we do with the EU. And there’s also conflicting domestic policy.”

The final point Nick raised regarded a really important piece of Brexit regulation. “One of the big issues during the referendum was sovereignty –– taking back control and having the ability to do things differently. I think from a business perspective, this was one of the more attractive aspects, although we haven’t really seen it happen yet.

“But there’s quite a lot going on behind the scenes and we may suddenly be in the middle of a maelstrom of potential

regulator y reform.”

Diving a little deeper into the topic of economic pressure, Nick highlights that although far mers are facing rising inflation, there are strong commodity prices in the sector, especially arable. “But agricultural inflation is huge. Inflation in the economy is 13.2% as of September 2022, but agriculture input inflation is actually up at about 20% and fertiliser has, at times, peaked at about four times inflation over the past 12 months. Plus, there’s energy, fuel and feed prices and the physical availability of some of these products.”

On the back of this, there’s been an increase in requests for bank finance as ▲

Speaking at the BCPC congress,Nick von Westenholz detailed how economic,trade and regulatory pressures are impacting UK farmers.

The government has made some quite bold claims about how many trade deals it has done since leaving the EU.

“ ”

After transferring all EU law into British law,the government has set a deadline for all laws to be proactively amended or they expire.

cash is a bit hard to come by, he says. “I think banks have generally been quite positive about meeting the requests to provide finance though.”

Arable farmers have also been changing their cropping to help manage their finances. “We found that a third of arable growers changed their cropping plans a few months before a survey we conducted in the summer. These were varied but a major one was switching from milling wheat to feed due to fertiliser requirements. It’ll be interesting to see what the impact of this will be on next year’s harvest.”

And although Nick points out that the natural gas price has come down significantly in the past few months, it’s still historically high. This has combined with political developments having a big impact on the exchange rate. “The geopolitical issues are really contributing to the volatility and uncer tainty.”

Moving onto trade policy, Nick feels that this is proving unhealthy for UK farmers to forward plan. “The government has made some quite bold claims about how many trade deals it has done since leaving the EU; claiming around 70, but nearly all of these are rollover from deals we had when we were a member state. The only two real trade deals we’ve done are with Australia and New Zealand which many aren’t particularly happy with because they are liberalising deals allowing these countries to send commodities to the UK in whatever volumes they like.

“The potential downsides from them to UK farmers could be significant, injecting a lot of competition and putting downward pressure on prices,” explains Nick. “There are almost no upsides because there are hardly any tariffs on exports into Australia and New Zealand, so doing a trade deal hasn’t changed things for the UK.”

However, the UK is negotiating deals with a number of other countries. “India, Canada and Mexico we have rollover trade deals with, but we’re going to expand on these. Then there’s the Gulf Cooperation Council and CPTPP, which is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement Trans-Pacific Partnership. We’re also about to kick off talks with Switzerland and Israel and there may be a few others. However, things with the USA are still stalled.”

Regulatory reform

Speaking to Department of International Trade a few years ago, the NFU asked how the government expected UK farmers to compete with the new imports to the UK market, explains Nick. “We were told that the government thought UK farmers would increase their productivity 2% year-onyear, which would, by their modelling, allow for competitiveness. But when we asked to see this modelling, they didn’t have it at all. It was more a case of ‘if’. They’ve taken this step without developing the domestic policies to enable farmers to improve productivity and compete.

“So a major par t of our lobbying is aimed at tackling this and we are starting to get through,” he says.

To wrap up his talk, Nick turned his attention to regulatory reform since leaving the EU. “In summar y, there’s a lot of noise and very little action. But an important part of the EU Withdrawal Act and the EU Withdrawal Agreement was creating retained EU law, which lifted all of the EU law and created a new category of law here,” says Nick.

“Since then we’ve had oppor tunities to reform regulations but there hasn’t been a huge amount of progress, except with gene editing. But a few weeks back we had the publication of the Retained EU Law Bill which sunsets all retained EU law by the end of next year. This means that if civil servants or ministers don’t do something proactively with these laws, they fall away and are no longer law

“Ministers can extend these by almost three years, but mostly they have powers, just with the stroke of a pen, to revoke, modify or reinstate any regulations. You can see the jeopardy of this approach and it creates uncer tainty,” war ns Nick.

“There’s an opportunity for a systemic process, but because of the extraordinarily tight deadline there’s a risk that impor tant regulations may fall by the wayside and we’ll miss the oppor tunity to do a proper job.”

Harnessing efficiencies

Harnessing efficiencies was a key theme of the seminars at the CropTec Show 2022 in Peterborough, with a central focus on fertiliser and sustainable practices, which was likely of little surprise to attendees based on the past year.

Although Defra didn’t have a lot to add to what’s already known about the Sustainable Farming Incentive at the show, Caroline Nicholls of the Future Farming and Countryside Programme, reiterated its intention to invest in and support farm businesses. “We are changing how we work with farmers to make things fair, more workable, flexible, successful and proportionate.”

One aspect of the new schemes Caroline was particularly keen to highlight was how inspectors plan to take a very different tact to what many have experienced with the RPA to date. “We want to work with farmers and offer them advice so they’re able to meet the requirements.

“Farming is going through one of the biggest changes in a generation and we want our inspectors to offer guidance. It’s about supporting businesses, achieving environmental and animal health and welfare goals,” she says.

Harry Henderson of AHDB points out that change has always happened in agriculture, and it always will, but there’s likely tougher times ahead. Speaking about farm businesses, he explains that the middle 50% of performers saw costs increase 6% on average in the five years to 2021. “In 2022, costs rose 15% and it’s predicted to be up 32% for the crops harvested in 2023. And although the net margin for winter wheat could increase by 80% for 2022, this is predicted to fall 60% for 2023.

“So how are we going to save money? Is it regenerative agriculture? There’s a lot of peer pressure on social media about how it

CropTec 2022 was all about harnessing efficiencies to become sustainable in a constantly changing environment.

should be taken up wholesale without a fear of failure.”

He believes that having integrated pest management and integrated farm management implemented on farm are key to starting the process. “These are entries to the more holistic type of farming, but uptake must be linked to maintaining costs. And looking after the soil has to underpin reducing fertiliser costs and lower crop production costs, as well as minimised fuel use and machinery costs.”

One such area of focus given a lot of attention in the seminar programme was the optimisation and reduction of fertiliser usage.

And while Matt Culley of the NFU flags that all growers are at different stages of technology adoption in their fertiliser application, Mark Tucker of Yara stressed that growers don’t have to try to adopt every piece of technology available. “But if you go into it, remember that it’s about gathering data to make informed decisions. Start by knowing your soil fertility and how this impacts crop nutrition and then you can manage the crop throughout the season.”

Measuring nitrogen use efficiency is a useful tool to help tailor N use across fields or the farm, he suggests. “Calculating this is a basic input versus output equation.”

Tissue testing is another useful tool to help gather data. “The crop can tell you where there’s variability, so that will prompt you to ask why you aren’t applying N variably. In a year where the price of fertiliser has gone from 65p/kg to 222p/kg, why haven’t more growers adopted better N management?”

But fertiliser isn’t the only area where application practices may require some adjustment in future. Pesticides were another area of concern voiced at the show, be that from the threat of increased regulation, loss of authorised products or from reduced efficacy.

“In the past 10 years we have lost a lot of pesticides,” states Andrew Watson of NIAB. “Close to 500 products in all –– about 50% of what we had.”

With key actives such as tebuconazole under threat, and likely to lose authorisation within three years, growers could face some challenges in controlling diseases such as rusts, says Andrew. “The loss of tebuconazole will be a blow and it will push fungicide costs up, so varietal resistance is going to be very important.”

But breeding resistant varieties is not easy, says Andrew’s colleague, Dr Phil Howell. “Genetic resistance is ▲

A lot of discussion at CropTec centred around nitrogen use and how to manage it more efficiently.

Harry Henderson says that change has always happened in agriculture,and it always will.

Inhibitors…Don’t know where to go?

Total crop nutrition advice to boost plant health and improve crop yield. Inhibitors, a word I’m sure you’ll have heard plenty of over the past few months due to the impending change in government guidance, but where do you start? Inhibitors are a great tool in your arsenal for reducing emissions and improving NUE, which crucially results in optimum uptake of nitrogen and a better return on investment for your fertiliser purchase.

So, how do they work? The OMEX range of inhibitors have been designed to essentially ensure the liquid fertiliser is held where it needs to be, in the soil. At this point you may be questioning, how safe are they on my soils? The answer is, incredibly safe. Scientific studies on NBPT, the active ingredient inside OMEX’s urease inhibitor NitroShield, have demonstrated no negative effects on soil microbes even with continuous use.

Alongside meeting government guidance, there is a clear commercial benefit to applying an inhibitor, with NitroShield demonstrating a 10:1 return on investment. Independent trials have shown an average +330 kg/ha grain yield in wheat, thanks to the improved nitrogen use efficiency that NitroShield provides farmers.

Improving NUE is key, not just for sustainability reasons but also profitability for your farm and using an inhibitor is an excellent way to help achieve this. In this months edition of CPM you’ll find an in-depth article all about NitroShield, detailing the research and development work that’s gone into it. Your local FACTS qualified OMEX advisor can help you understand the new guidance or head to www.omex.com/NitroShield to watch our on-demand webinar, with independent input from Tom Misselbrook of Rothamstead on why using an inhibitor is key.

an arms race; we breed in resistance and new races of the pathogens frequently overcome it.”

And to add to the pressure, Phil is convinced that the time of the multi-site is going to come to an end. “These are much harder to break down in soils and once one has been labelled as an endocrine disruptor this may stop future investment.”

There’s also a steady decline in efficacy of some plant protection products and reports of diseases such as stem rust reaching winter wheat trials in the UK –– a disease never seen here before, he adds.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. “There’s more emphasis on resistance and untreated yield in new varieties on the AHDB Recommended List now,” says Andrew. “Variety blends could also be a tool to help growers, but do check with your buyer first. Farmers in Canada have been using a refuge system where the second variety in a blend is there to provide a home for pests such as Orange Wheat Blossom Midge.

“And new technologies such as gene editing offer great promise. There may be some problems that can only be addressed with this,” he adds.

Another big talking point at the show was natural capital and how and why it should be adopted on farm to benefit farmers and the environment. According to George Cook of Andersons: “The tide is shifting, and we have to get used to managing land differently and exploring the options of natural capital.”

He points out that the soil ecosystem is an essential part of natural capital. “Everything you put on to soil has to be processed by it. But getting carbon into that soil has a lot of significance as it has benefits to the bottom line of businesses.”

And this is what the supply chain is interested in supporting on farms at the moment, says Nigel Davies of MaltDoctor. “The consumer wants the sustainable raw materials, and some parts of the supply chain will pay a premium for those types of products.” ■

Growers

could face more challenges from diseases as actives continue to be lost from the arsenal.

Genetic resistance is an arms race,according to Dr Phil Howell.

Scott Baker, National Agronomy Manager

Shield for the easy win

Research Briefing

Keeping nitrogen losses to a minimum is in the interests of growers,the environment and public health. CPM looks at new trials which quantify potential N losses (as ammonia) to the air and how this can be mitigated to conform with new industry guidelines.

By Lucy de la Pasture

The inflated cost of nitrogen fertiliser over the past year has made both urea and liquid UAN (a mixture of urea and ammonium nitrate) attractive as an alternative source to ammonium nitrate forms. That may push some use a little later in the season than its traditional early spring timing.

This change in use pattern has the potential to increase ammonia losses to the air through volatilisation, which have already been targeted by the UK government for reduction due to rising levels. It’s a problem where the finger points firmly at agriculture, which is responsible for 87% of atmospheric ammonia pollution, and it’s an issue that’s being addressed by new industry rules around using urea-based fertilisers, explains David Booty, technical manager at Omex.

“A few years ago, an outright ban on urea use was mooted but after a period of industry consultation, Defra has agreed to a self-regulatory approach –– which the industry

will have to demonstrate is working to avoid the threat of future legislation.

“This will be applied through a new Red Tractor standard which will be published in April 2023 and come into force in October next year, though Red Tractor won’t begin to assess whether the new rules are being complied with until 2024. Manufacturer sales will also be monitored,” explains David.

New standards

The new standard will require Red Tractor scheme members to restrict the use of untreated urea to the period from 15 January to the end of March each year, starting in 2024 and require treated/protected urea-based fertilisers throughout the rest of the year

Defra’s expectation is that mitigation from the addition of urease inhibitors to urea-based fertilisers will provide a 70%, or more, reduction in ammonia emissions (see panel).

Urease inhibitors aren’t something new and not all applications will have to be protected, highlights David. “If applications are to be soil incorporated or are made before 1 April then these measures won’t apply.”

One of the most established active ingredients used to reduce volatilisation from urea is NBPT, which is widely used in the United States and proven in the UK for use with granular urea as Agrotain. More recently Limus/Limus Clear (NBPT/NPPT) has come on the market and Nutrisphere (partial calcium salt of maleic-itaconic copolymer) provides a further alternative.

Many other compounds have been investigated or promoted as urease inhibitors, for example neem, humates, ammonium thiosulfate, along with

methodologies such as acidification and the addition of zinc and manganese but for these evidence of their effectiveness in the field remains largely unvalidated, says David.

With very little hard data available to quantify the ammonia reduction possible from protection measures, Omex initiated a series of trials to find out which active ingredient would best meet the Defra ammonia reduction target for use with its liquid range of UAN-based fertiliser products.

One of the key questions the trials set out to answer was whether inhibitor products performed in the same way when sulphur is included in a fertiliser, which is the case in 95% of Omex products –– previous tests had concentrated on straight urea, explains David.

“Field testing to measure ammonia emissions is very complex and it’s extremely expensive to obtain results from just one trial –– with its unique set of conditions –– let alone replicating it, so we had to look at another way to build up a robust set of data,” he explains.

To do this Omex devised a laboratory protocol to replicate what happens to the fertiliser when applied to soil in the field, using a continuous series of in-vitro trials. “This allowed us to eliminate all the other variables that would have been encountered in the field so that the effect of the inhibitor being tested could be properly quantified.

“It’s the standard ammonia volatilisation method, validated by UCD and in the EU,

We’ve been running these tests back-to-back for a year, so we’ve now built up a considerable set of data.

“ ”

Volatilisation can be demonstrated using Dräger tubes - these contain yellow crystals which turn blue when ammonia is released.

for testing these materials,” adds David.

The trial was conducted using conical glass flasks with soil placed in the bottom. Fertiliser was then applied to the soil surface in a known quantity and air pumped over the treated soil, which was then passed through a vessel filled with acid to capture the ammonia released over 14 days.

“This effectively measures how

much nitrogen has escaped in the form of ammonia. We’ve been running these tests back-to-back for a year, so we’ve now built up a considerable set of data and have found that NBPT has consistently averaged a reduction in volatilisation of over 70%, which is in line with the government target,” explains David.

As a result, Omex has just launched its NPBT urease inhibitor product, NitroShield, which will be available to mix with any of its liquid UAN products on the day of application.

“We decided not to pre-mix any of our fertiliser products with NitroShield to remove any potential issues with inhibitor degradation during storage and to give farmers flexibility to decide whether a urease inhibitor is necessary and to determine its

The problem with ammonia

Although ammonia isn’t a greenhouse gas, it acts as a serious pollutant, explains David.“Ammonia emissions are a problem because increased levels in the atmosphere cause public health concerns, especially for people with respiratory disorders.”

But it is also a problem for the environment,he adds.“Ammonia is an issue,particularly for some of our most protected habitats designated as SSSI,because rain brings it back down from the atmosphere, effectively depositing nitrogen in rare habitats where it may be detrimental and adversely affect biodiversity,for example,in lowland heathland and acid grassland.”

Although the majority of ammonia emissions from agriculture are attributed to the livestock sector ––and there are moves underway to address these –– the losses connected to fertiliser use (17%) are an easier job to tackle,explains David.

“All nitrogen fertilisers can volatilise,regardless of form,but the biggest combined contribution comes from urea,responsible for 41% of fertiliser ammonia emissions and UAN contributes 19%, equivalent to around 3% of total emissions.”

NitroShield usage rates

● Soils are neutral or slightly acidic ● Soils are alkaline (pH >7.0)

● The crop canopy provides full ● The crop canopy does not coverage of the soilprovide full coverage of the soil

● Ambient temperature is not ● Ambient temperature is expected to be more than 150C expected to exceed 150C within 24 hours of applicationwithin 24 hours of application

● A FACTS qualified advisor has recommended

rate,” explains David.

As well as the continuous series of trials that have been running to measure the efficacy of its urease inhibitor, the effects of NitroShield on ammonia volatilisation from granular urea and UAN can be seen in a striking visual demonstration, using Dräger tubes inserted into the tops of four soil containing conical flasks –– an untreated and the remainder treated with

either granular urea, Nitroflo (UAN) and Nitroflo plus the Omex inhibitor, explains David.

“The Dräger tubes contain yellow crystals which turn blue when ammonia is released. The tubes are graduated in parts per million, allowing the ammonia emission to be quantified. In theory, because UAN contains 50% urea it’s logical to assume that it should volatilise at half the rate of urea. However, the trials

Prof Tom

at Rothamsted Research carried out the modelling studies for Defra,which predict a 70% reduction in ammonia emissions is achievable by utilising urease inhibitors.But how easy will it be to assess whether the new rules are having the desired effect on levels of atmospheric ammonia?

“We’re not going to do away with all the ammonia emissions associated with fertiliser because there will still be some emissions,even from an inhibited urea and from other fertiliser types.But there will be some significant reductions which should be quickly seen as a signal in the ammonia concentration monitoring network across the UK. So the impact on atmospheric concentrations should be fairly immediate,”he says.

“In terms of the impact on sensitive habitats,deep nitrogen deposition is a much longer-term effect because there’s been an accumulation of nitrogen in those habitats over many years.So,it will take many years of much lower nitrogen deposition to have an impact there.

“In terms of air quality,the impact should be fairly quick because if you

haven’t got the ammonia in the atmosphere, it’s not combining with other gases –– nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxides –– to form particulate matter, so you will get cleaner air.”

But overall,it’s going to be a relatively small impact,says Tom. “Fertiliser is only one part of the totality and urea fertiliser is only one part of fertilisers as a whole.And this is one of the problems with not just ammonia, but also greenhouse gases coming from agriculture sources,it’s from a big number of often diffuse type sources.

“One measure will never have a massive impact; it requires a raft of measures coming in to reduce emissions from a whole range of sources to have the impact we’re really looking for.And that’s why it’s complicated.

“But a lot of it does coincide with best practice.Keeping the nutrients, nitrogen in particular,within the cycle of the production system, losing less of it to the environment, is good practice and this is ultimately what we’re trying to achieve.”

So what’s Tom’s advice to farmers for 2023,before the new rules officially kick in? “If this is coming down the line, then start looking at it now.Because you’re going to be saving nitrogen then it makes sense to use an inhibitor.With fertiliser prices increasing by so much,look again at the nutrient management planning on your farm,for example, how you’re making best use of manures and other organic resources and how that fits in with fertiliser use.”

When it comes to ammonia emissions, the finger points firmly to agriculture

Misselbrook

Use Reduced Rate whenUse Full Rate when

Research Briefing

How does it work?

Urea left on the soil surface in high temperature and/or low rainfall conditions can be rapidly broken down to release ammonia gas. High pH soils increase this risk, whereas rainfall,cool temperatures, irrigation and incorporation can all mitigate it.

When urea is broken down to a form that’s available to plants

(ammonium) by hydrolysis,the process is catalysed by the urease enzyme which is prevalent in soil microbial communities.This chemical reaction produces ammonia,resulting in localised increases in pH that favour ammonia loss.Urease inhibitors work by delaying this conversion of urea to ammonium.

Effect on fungal communities

show that this isn’t the case ––UAN actually produces 72% less ammonia when applied to the soil surface than straight urea granules.”

David believes the reason for this lower rate of volatilisation is due to the form of the fertiliser. “Liquid UAN soaks into the soil within a minute when we’ve looked at this in a further trial. Even though urea granules are hygroscopic, drawing in water so that they dissolve, that process takes time –– exposing the urea to the air for much longer The liquid fertiliser is in the soil, and hence protected by it, almost from the word go so some of the risk of volatilisation is mitigated.”

Although mitigation won’t become compulsory under Red Tractor until 2024, the coming spring provides an opportunity

for farmers to get to grips with the new measures. It also makes good financial sense, he says.

“In theory, reducing nitrogen losses should mean that more is available to the crop, but we wanted to quantify what this would mean on the farm under UK growing conditions. In a series of NIAB-TAG trials at Morley, liquid product 30N with NitroShield gave a yield uplift of 0.3-0.4t/ha for winter wheat over two years (2016 and 2017).

“These results have been replicated in trials in the UK, Czech Republic and Poland, with an average yield increase of 0.33t/ha. In Omex trials in 2022, the yield improvement was in line with these other trials (0.39t/ha) and we also recorded elevated grain protein (0.56%), which has also been demonstrated in a

Are there effects on soil microbes?

One of the concerns most often expressed about urease inhibitors is that they could have potential to disrupt soil biology and the ecosystem services they underpin.It’s an area where research has been minimal and often carried out in the lab rather than in the field.Of the studies conducted so far,a diversity of outcomes has been reported.

Researchers at Teagasc in Wexford,set out to answer some of the questions that hang over the use of urease inhibitors –– is there an impact of fertiliser and or inhibitor use on overall microbial abundance and function in the long-term? How is the nitrogen cycling functional community

There was no significant differences between treatments for 16S rRNA. Some examples of significantly different genus between treatments are: Clonostachys – has biological control ability against numerous fungal plant pathogens; Glomus – form arbuscular mycorrhizae; Tylospora –ectomycorrhizal fungi that includes species that can grow on nitrogen sources and produce N2O and CO2.

Source:Aoife M.Duff et al,2022

series of 10 trials in France.”

Yield increases and improved grain protein indicate a higher nitrogen use efficiency, adds David. A closer look at the figures, using NitroShield at the full rate (£8/ha), reveals the 0.33t/ha yield benefit seen in the Omex trials worth £82.50 (wheat at Nov 23, price £250/t).

“With Nitroflo 24S priced at £560/t, 100KgN cost £207/ha, giving a margin over input cost (MOIC) of £74.50/ha. That’s a better MOIC than for most inputs,” says David.

“Another way of looking at the effect of adding a urease inhibitor is rather than push yields with nitrogen, growers can look at reducing rates and maintaining yields by using their

nitrogen more efficiently.

“There are lots of factors to consider when it comes to determining how much nitrogen is ‘just enough’ to support the crop and urease inhibitors are an integral part of this process, making more nitrogen available to the crop.” ■

Research Briefing

CPM would like to thank Omex for kindly sponsoring this article and for providing privileged access to staff and material used to help put the article together.

impacted by the use of N fertiliser and inhibitors? What is the impact of N fertiliser formulation and inhibitor use on microbial community composition and structure?

The results were published in Soil Biology and Biochemistry earlier this year and the results provide some reassurance that there were no long-term effects on non-target bacterial and fungal communities from using NBPT on the five-year study Microbial function and the abundance of nitrogen cycling communities were mainly unaffected by fertiliser type or inhibitors, however the application of Urea or CAN did alter

fungal community structure resulting in positive or negative impacts on certain common soil genera but didn’t change bacterial composition or diversity Overall, the researchers found the effect of fertilisation on the microbial community is greater than the impact of inhibitor use.

Source: Aoife M. Duff et al, Assessing the long-term impact of urease and nitrification inhibitor use on microbial community composition, diversity and function in grassland soil, Soil Biology and Biochemistry,Volume 170,2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108709

Measure, monitor, manage

Nitrogen usage survey

“I use it for recording, stock control, accounting and so on –– it’s a big part of the business for us. Having that data is essential to look back on and also justify any decision-making –– both past and present. It’s also vital for crop assurance. It’s a good starting point for every single decision on the farm.”

By Charlotte Cunningham

With input costs elevated and looking likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future,making sure every kilo of nitrogen is applied exactly when,and where,it needs to be is essential.

Precision farming technology has a role to play in this – but which tools provide the most accurate and valuable information to farmers?

Software has found itself at the core of farm management over recent years, so it comes as no surprise that a recent survey carried out by CPM and Yara revealed that 70% of respondents use some kind of digital system –– with 42% favouring Farmplan and a further 30% opting for MuddyBoots. “The more information you’ve got, the easier it is to manage your farm operations efficiently,” says Yara’s Natalie Wood.

Nottinghamshire farmer Tom Hawthorne says his management platform, Farmplan, is at the core of all decision-making. “My father was actually a beta-tester of Gatekeeper and it does what it says on the tin. We use it in quite a lot of detail –– obviously for crop records, but also for stocks of inputs and outputs, as well as budgeting.”

Agronomist Ben Abell concurs and says management software is the ‘bible’ for him.

Test and plan

In the field, good crop management starts with a soil test and a nutrient management plan, says Natalie and the survey showed 63% of farmers test soil every two to four years, while 26% do so annually. “Ideally, it’d be every year, though most farmers like to do it in a rotation. But however frequently you do it, the most important thing to do is be consistent.”

In terms of a nutrient management plan, she believes that RB209 is the place to start, and this is also the go-to for 66% of growers. “The data is held within AHDB and so this provides the most up-to-date results. It’s good to have some kind of thought process about how much you’ll apply in the way of nutrients, rather than just doing the same as the previous year. Last year forced a lot of people to do that purely because of the nitrogen price, but it’s a good lesson in knowing how to tailor inputs according to the historic performance of fields.”

Tom adds: “We use RB209 as a base and then have our own spreadsheet to build on that. We’re all using a lot more manures now. What type of manure that is and when it’s applied has a big impact on how much other nutrients will be required by the crop. As well as a huge cost, nitrogen is also a big polluter, so it’s even more important than ever to be able to justify exactly what, why

and where you’re applying it. A nutrient management plan is vital.”

When it comes to fine tuning these plans and subsequent applications, technology can play an important role. With nitrogen prices at record highs of late, it’s perhaps of ▲

Yara’s VRA platform Atfarm is free,so there’s nothing to lose by trying it and potentially a lot to gain,says Natalie Wood.

The evolution of technology has revolutionised modern-day farming,but just how beneficial can it be for managing inputs?

CPM explores the concept.

It’s just about using all the tools we have,to do the best job we can.

“ ”

Nitrogen usage survey

Thinking more dynamically on a field-by-field basis rather than taking a whole farm approach can only be a good thing,says Ben Abell.

little surprise that 45% of growers are monitoring nitrogen uptake by their crops. “We do it quite a bit, largely to sense check what we’re doing, and also to ensure we’re maximising what we apply and minimising it when we can,” says Ben.

And what was the respondents’ tech of choice? For 39%, the Yara N-Tester is their go-to, while 24% said they opt for leaf tissue testing, and 7% are using Yara’s N Sensor.

“The elephant in the room is that nitrogen is still very expensive, so if you’re not monitoring the uptake in your crops, you don’t really know what’s in there,” says Natalie. “This means you could be putting too much on and wasting your money, or you could be putting too little on and getting less yield than you may be able to achieve. By monitoring uptake, it takes the guesswork out.”

With this in mind, she notes there has been a surge in interest for the N-Tester technology. “Essentially, the N-Tester looks at the level of chlorophyl within the crop and this directly correlates with the amount of nitrogen in the crop. From there, the tester can take that reading and calculate an application rate based on it.

“It can be used as a regular monitoring tool and some growers are using it on a weekly basis to perfect the timing of their applications. It’s very useful in terms of both saving money by taking out the guess work when it comes to nitrogen application, and it’s another way to increase your nitrogen use efficiency if you’re getting it on at the right time.”

Tom says his approach to nitrogen usage is starting off with a plan and then when it gets to the point of physically applying it, he uses the N-Tester to monitor uptake and has done for a long time. “We were also one of the original users of the N-Sensor. We now

use it a bit differently and make use of an algorithm within the N-Sensor called ‘absolute mode’, which we’ve been using on oilseed rape for a long time but are now also incorporating into cereals.

“This takes away the majority of the human input when deciding how much nitrogen to apply to crops. You simply put in growth stage, what type of fertiliser you’re using and then, a bit later in the season, the crop’s yield potential. It just takes all the human emotion in decision-making away by telling you exactly what you should or shouldn’t apply. We then monitor the crop through the season to ensure we’re on track.”

Sense check

Natalie agrees that this approach can help growers sense check their original nutrient plan throughout the year if circumstances change, allowing them to up nitrogen rates if necessary, for example, to ensure no yield potential is lost. “When N was £200-300/t growers probably got away with it a little bit more –– inefficient applications didn’t have as big an impact. But when prices are around the £700-800/t mark then you just can’t afford to waste it.”

Regular tissue testing is also worthwhile for looking beyond just nitrogen, to help gain a better understanding of trace element levels, notes Ben. “We actually tailor our programme based on the tissue test results.”

Tying this drive for efficiency together is variable rate application technology, which 44% of growers claimed to use. In terms of their system of choice, 39% are using SOYL, compared with 16% who are using Omnia. Other systems included Yara’s Atfarm platform and xarvio. In terms of cropping, most growers (79%) said they’re using variable N rates on wheat. Of those who are using it, 93% said they trust the VRA procedures. “When you variably apply nitrogen, you’re only applying exactly what

the crop needs,” says Natalie. “In terms of the physical benefits, it can help even up cropping and we see up to 4% yield increase when variable rate technology is used. This is on top of economic benefits ––most people find they can save on nitrogen compared with the amount they thought they’d need to apply.”

In practice, Ben says he’s seen benefits from variable rate nitrogen application too. “It helps with problems like lodging. We’ve got some pretty fertile soil and it just means we don’t overdo it in these areas. It also helps when we get to combining as the crop is more even. For me, it’s just about using all the tools we have, to do the best job we can. I’m all for tech to help us try to be better with inputs because it adds a bit of pre-eminence to the food that we produce –– that we are trying to do it smarter and more efficiently.”

However, Tom says he actually prefers to use the N-Sensor over satellite-based technology. “I’m not a huge fan of the satellite-based stuff, and it’s not always real-time. When you drive into a field with an N-Sensor, it’s in real-time and therefore I think more accurate.

“With regards to trusting the data, one of the big reasons I’m such a big fan of the N-Sensor is because of its algorithms, and all the trials work behind it to make those algorithms as good as they are,” he adds.

“There is always an element of faith with these types of technology, but for me, the proof is in the pudding. If you’re going to use it, you’ve got to be completely on board with it.”

So why are 56% still not convinced? The majority of growers (72%) believe it’s essential that a variable rate application system is simple to use, while a further 66% said it has to add value for the user. “I think there’s a fear that this type of technology requires a lot of input to implement,” explains Natalie. “But these systems are really simple to use, and something like Yara’s Atfarm platform only requires inputting a few simple parameters to produce a variable rate map. What’s more, Atfarm is free –– so there’s nothing to lose by trying it and potentially a lot to gain.”

At the business end of the season, 93% of growers said they monitor yield to inform decision-making the following year and, to help them with this process, 88% said they

turn to their agronomist, while 35% said they use farm management software –– bringing that use of technology full circle. “Knowing your yields helps to make more realistic, informed management decisions,” says Natalie. “For example, on consistently poorer performing areas, will there ever be any point in applying loads of expensive nitrogen?”

Grain tests

Tom says the majority of his harvested crop goes over a weighbridge, but he also tests his grain at this point to check whether the amount of nitrogen he applied was correct. “This helps us again sense check everything and inform decision making for the coming season. Sometimes at the point of application the technology might recommend different rates of nitrogen than perhaps you’d have applied, but when the results come through and you’ve got as good, or even better, yields than you’d ever

Nitrogen usage survey

had and compare this with your traditional farm practice –– I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t use variable rate.”

So with fertiliser costs as high as they are and the benefits of technology well-versed, why aren’t more growers using tech tools available? Almost half (46%) believe it’s due to poor trust in data/technology, while 42% reckon it’s to do with value for money. A further 35% said it’s likely to be due to poor data integration. “There are a lot of reasons why people don’t trust the data but if you’re unsure, I think the best approach is to talk to other farmers who are using these systems and having success and even try it yourself on your own farm,” recommends Natalie.

“We’re giving our technology away for free because we want to help farmers in such difficult times, so where value for money is an issue then Atfarm is worth considering this coming season.”

Ben concludes: “Thinking more dynamically on a field-by-field basis rather than taking a whole farm approach can only be a good thing.” ■

Winner

Congratulations to our winner Campbell Baxter from Angus,Scotland who responded to the CPM/Yara survey on managing nitrogen usage and has won the fabulous prize of an iPad Air II and an Apple pencil.

Campbell responded to the sur vey and completed the tie-breaker question, which asked respondents to detail, in their opinion, what would make tech products more compelling to use.

To take part in the next survey,make sure we have the correct details for you by emailing angus@cpm-magazine.co.uk

Biological solutions to nitrogen challenges

Research Briefing

Research into a biological seed treatment is suggesting it could both increase yield and potentially help farmers reduce nitrogen requirements.

CPM finds out more.

By Mike Abram

Finding ways to cut synthetic nitrogen requirements,or use cheaper alternatives, continues to be a priority for many growers, with imported ammonium nitrate trading at £870/t in September and granular urea at £864/t,according to AHDB.

At those fertiliser prices and a grain price of £260/t for wheat, AHDB’s nitrogen fertiliser adjustment calculator recommends reducing synthetic nitrogen applications by between 25-50kgN/ha, depending on whether the source is ammonium nitrate or granular urea.

With malting barley prices currently in the same ballpark, similar adjustments could be justified for spring barley this spring.

But cutting back further than, or even to, the economic optimum, isn’t the easiest decision for growers given the uncertainty on a field-by-field basis of what that is and the high level of return on investment from fertilisers.

“Growers are still very nervous about cutting back on nitrogen inputs,” says independent agronomist Ed Maule from Deben Agronomy.

More data and backing within the industry

is required to give growers confidence to reduce nitrogen inputs, he suggests.

It’s one of the reasons why he has been working with microbial nutritional company Biolevel to research whether microbial biofertilisers can be used to reduce fertiliser inputs without any loss of yield.

Biolevel’s GramaxNP product, designed for use in cereal crops, contains microbes that free up essential nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus nutrients within the soil and supplies them to the plant in a form that can be readily taken up, according to the company

Input reductions

Some of the first trials looking at input reductions in the UK were conducted in spring wheat and spring barley on two farms last spring. Seed treated with GramaxNP at a rate of 2 l/t by a large independent certified seed processor was supplied to the two growers near Woodbridge, Suffolk and Downham Market, Norfolk.

One of the aims was to check that there were no issues with treating seed with GramaxNP, notes Ed. “The processor had no issues –– it coated the seed well and was in a stable state when the seed was drilled.”

Three treatments were set up in 12m wide blocks across each field: the non-GramaxNP-treated control with a standard farm nitrogen regime of either 150kgN/ha in the spring wheat or 125kgN/ha in spring barley; the same nitrogen regime with GramaxNP treated seed; and the GramaxNP-treated seed with a 20% reduction in nitrogen.

In the Escape spring wheat trial in Suffolk, that brought the applied nitrogen dose down

to 120kgN/ha,

reduced to 100kgN/ha.

The bulk of the nitrogen was applied in the seedbed with the remainder topped up at tillering. Each treatment was replicated twice and harvested with a combine with yield monitoring.

The results were positive in each of the trials, says Tim Eaton, seed treatment product manager for Certis Belchim, which is marketing the product for Biolevel.

“The Planet barley with the reduced nitrogen and GramaxNP was level with the standard nitrogen, while all the others had a positive yield response and return on investment even when the nitrogen was reduced.”

In the Planet trial, the yield lift was 0.28t/ha from the use of the microbial seed

Growers are still ver y nervous about cutting back on nitrogen inputs and data from trials is really important to help build confidence,says Ed Maule.

while for the Laureate spring barley –– also in Woodbridge –– and Planet spring barley in Downham Market, nitrogen was

“ ”

Economic benefits from spring crop trials 2022

Spring GramaxNP 2001.26325.0802.5012.59312.49 wheat - + Std N Escape (150kg/N/ha)

Spring GramaxNP2000.81208.98302.57512.59271.39 wheat - + reducved N Escape (120kg/N/ha)

Spring GramaxNP +2000.2871.9602.5012.5959.37 barley - Std N Planet (125kg/N/ha)

Spring GramaxNP200-0.01-2.57252.562.512.5947.34 barley - reduced N Planet (100kg/N/ha)

Spring GramaxNP +2000.87223.5902.5012.59211.00 barley - Std N Laureate (125kg/N/ha)

Spring GramaxNP + 2000.2461.68252.562.5 12.59 111.59 barley - reduced N Laureate (100kg/N/ha)

Source:Biolevel,2022

treatment plus regular nitrogen over the farm standard nitrogen alone, while in the Laureate there was a 0.87t/ha increase for the GramaxNP.

“Where the nitrogen was reduced the GramaxNP treatment still did 0.24t/ha more than the standard treatment in the Laureate,” says Tim.

In both trials, an assessment in early June showed an increase in ground cover of 4-6% where the microbial seed treatment

was used over the standard nitrogen, reducing to a 3% advantage even where the applied nitrogen had been cut back by 20%.

“It was a noticeable difference which one of the host farmers picked up on,” says Ed.

Both spring barley crops were grown for seed rather than malting, so grain nitrogen levels haven’t been tested. “It wasn’t the premise of the trial to test for malting quality,

but it is obviously something that needs to be looked at.”

In the spring wheat there was a 1.26t/ha uplift in yield from the GramaxNP seed treatment with farm standard nitrogen, and 0.81t/ha increase with reduced nitrogen.

“We weren’t really expecting this result as there hadn’t been much to see visually,” admits Ed.

Field yields in all three cases were average to below average for UK crops last

Getting the microbial population established in the crop early,theoretically,should be helpful, suggests Ed. “In particular, phosphorus is crucial for establishment,so applying it as a foliar spray to the soil could technically be too late.Putting it on the seed should mean you have the full benefit from the microbes.”

Microbes need the right environment to succeed, the same as a seed will in terms of moisture and temperature so applying on the seed will deliver it to the soil as early as possible for success, he comments.

Biolevel has good data for the use of its products as soil-applied treatments for many crops across the world, adds Tim. “But we needed to prove that those same advantages could be delivered in a cereal seed treatment.”

Formulating the product as a seed treatment requires some particular characteristics,he explains.“It’s all very well having some interesting technical benefits but if the formulation is not

user-friendly then it can be prohibitive to both seed processors and growers.

“We were looking for a liquid formulation that is stable and has a lengthy shelf-life in the can,and likewise will be stable and have a reasonable shelf-life once on the seed.”

That will open the market for both the seed processors and growers as it will fit into their usual systems, he notes.

“It also ideally needed to be co-applied with existing complementary fungicidal seed treatments, be easy to apply with no pre-mixing and no refrigerated storage, as most cereal seed processors wouldn’t have that available.’

The seed treatment Biolevel has formulated ticked the boxes Tim was looking for in a product. “We’ve got a very robust product formulation. Shelf-life tests have proven the product can be stored in the can for two years without any problems. Similar tests on the seed suggest the bacterial levels applied remain within the required

tolerances for over a year.

“Growers would like to apply a seed treatment that will get an additional return on investment, usually from a yield uplift,not from the crop looking greener the first week after germination or be quicker getting out of the ground,”adds Tim.

And that’s not what the Biolevel product does. “It’s a longer-term thing –– the biology goes into the ground,begins to multiply,and over the life of the crop will make more nutrients available to the plant so you get the benefits later on.From the trials, that’s what we’re seeing being delivered.”

Initially Tim thought the value from the treatment, which costs around £13/ha, would come only via additional yield on top of a standard nitrogen programme.“In the early days of these conversations,nitrogen was still cheap,but when nitrogen has gone above £800/t there’s huge value in improving nitrogen use efficiency and being able to reduce the amount applied,both economically and environmentally.”

The Planet barley with the reduced nitrogen and GramaxNP was level with the standard nitrogen, while all the others had a positive yield response and return on investment even when the nitrogen was reduced,says Tim Eaton.

season, especially with the spring wheat, which in the farm standard control plots only yielded 1.94t/ha.

“It was a difficult season for spring crops in East Anglia –– it was ever so dry,” adds Tim. “But in my opinion, this could be where these types of products earn their keep. If everything in the crops’ favour, particularly from a nitrogen uptake point of view, then it will be more difficult for the GramaxNP to improve it that much.

“But it is when things are compromised that you need it more –– and I think we’ve proven the concept with these trials.”

Ed agrees, drawing on his experience with microbial bionutrition products in other

crops, such as potatoes. “You do tend to find that where there is more of a stressed situation, whether it’s the season or something within the crop, there’s more benefit from using the microbial products.”

In all three trials, there was an increased return from using the Biolevel product, with standard or reduced nitrogen, compared with the farm standard treatment. In each case the highest return came from using the microbial seed treatment with the farm standard nitrogen programme, rather than as a replacement for synthetic nitrogen, with extra yield more than paying for the extra costs of both nitrogen and GramaxNP.

At September 2022 nitrogen prices of £2.50/kgN and grain prices of £258/t for both feed wheat and malting barley, the average increase in return after input costs was £143/ha for the GramaxNP with reduced nitrogen, rising to £194/ha with the farm standard nitrogen programme.

The balance between using GramaxNP as an addition to fertiliser or as a replacement closes where yield responses are smaller. A drop in malting barley price to £200/t using nitrogen bought at the current values would see the difference in return equalise at the yield differences seen in the Planet trial, for example.

The figures do highlight the difficulty in persuading farmers to cut back on nitrogen, highlights Tim. “Even at today’s prices, it’s

On-farm trial provides promising result

and a seaweed product sprayed in early spring.

A key priority on the 160ha arable farm in its move towards more sustainable farming is to find alternatives for synthetic nitrogen,because of its impact on the environment.

“Gas-fuelled production of synthetic fertiliser accounts for around 1-2% of global greenhouse gas emissions,”he says.

The economics for smaller scale farmers have been tough in recent years,he adds.“So the high price of fertiliser is another factor,although the high prices are somewhat offset by current high commodity prices for wheat and other cereals.

“However,we’ve seen it before –– the typical cycle seems to be that you buy fertiliser before the season at a high price,and by the time you sell the grain,the price has dropped.”

That led him to explore the potential of organic microbial biofertilisers to release soil nutrients as an alternative to synthetic nitrogen,setting up a field-scale trial comparing his usual farm practice with a reduced level of nitrogen with GramaxNP

Both parts of the field had a starter fertiliser of 50kgN/ha with the farm standard then having an additional 55kgN/ha of Nitram applied during spring, while the part treated with Biolevel had no other additional applications.

While it wasn’t a high yielding site on Cotswold brash soil,the final yield from both treatments was similar, according to Peter “The Biolevel treatment yielded around 95-96% of the normal fertiliser regime.”

Peter was fortunate to buy fertiliser before the huge escalation in price in September 2021 for last season,which meant the savings from the Biolevel treatment, which together with the other inputs cost £80/ha,was only around 15%.“But that would be a lot more now based on current fertiliser prices.”

The results have encouraged him to expand the area he treats with Biolevel products this season to around half the farm.“While the safest way to test products is through university and independent trials,which have proven Biolevel generates better yields,I was happy with the results of our amateurish trial. Coupled with the data Biolevel has,

Research Briefing

CPM would like to thank Biolevel (www.biolevel.net) for kindly sponsoring this article and for providing privileged access to staff and material used to help put the article together.

difficult for them to take the leap, so when nitrogen was much cheaper they were never going to do it. They do need more evidence to help them make the leap, so we’ve got to do more trials to help prove it.”

Further trials are being carried out this season, including in winter-sown crops, says Ed. “We’ve got two winter wheat trials on Gleam, one on moderately heavy land in Essex and one on lighter land in Norfolk, with the same protocol.”

Both are intrigued to see how the microbial seed treatment interacts with a higher yielding autumn-sown crop. “It’s in the ground for a lot longer so will it have more or less of an effect,” says Tim. “Time will tell.”

“Drilling conditions were good,” adds Ed. “So you could say those crops have got off to a very good start, so it will be interesting to see how they fare and what type of season we get.” ■

After trialling GramaxNP on the farm, Peter Bartlett says the results have encouraged him to expand the area treated with Biolevel products to around half the farm this season.

and the way this technology has advanced over the past five years,I’m keen to use it again this season on a larger area.”

Most of his cropping will be spring drilled,so in the majority of cases he prefers to use a seed treatment formulation.“It’s proven to be effective, there’s no risk of the microbes not reaching the seeds,and it offers significant economies in cost and time,”he concludes.

Oxfordshire grower Peter Bartlett trialled Biolevel’s GramaxNP microbial product last season in a crop of January-sown Skyfall second wheat.

Unprecedented times

Better buying, better selling

As the year draws to a close, the past 12 months have seen some of the greatest volatility in commodity markets in recent history.

CPM reflects on the farmgate challenges and considers the strategies for mitigating risk.

By Charlotte Cunningham

It’s somewhat poignant that the December 2021 issue of CPM featured an article on grain outlook and trading and began with the line:“Grain prices have been particularly buoyant this year –– but global markets are notoriously volatile, so what does the future hold in store for harvest 2022?”

Just 12 months on, and it’s safe to say no one could have envisioned just how volatile the past year would be…

The war in Ukraine has no doubt proved to be the biggest influence on global markets, but trouble was brewing before Putin waged his war, with soaring fer tiliser and fuel costs sending balance sheets spiralling and forcing many growers to relook at their operations, says Openfield’s Edward Hastie-Smith. “Prior to this, the world was in a pretty stable place, there were a few issues in places, but from

a grain perspective, prices were hobbling along –– over £200/t at the end of January.”

Februar y came around and the war in Ukraine sent global grain and oilseed supplies into jeopardy. A lack of availability from the East tightened stocks, and the effect for the UK was extremely buoyant prices, says Edward, with grain value peaking towards the end of May when India announced briefly they were banning expor ts. “At that stage, the wheat prices were way up over £340/t for wheat –– if you could get a market that is, as a lot of mills weren’t pricing due to the significant volatility.”

A waiting game

However, this wasn’t necessarily received at the farm gate. When it came to the appetite for risk for this season’s crops, many farmers chose not to sell a tonne of grain until it was in the shed, explains Edward. “With the turmoil going on across the world, there wasn’t much incentive to price a lot of grain. Speaking to colleagues and others in the industry there wasn’t that much grain sold over £300/t as some had already priced forward their set percentage at £200/t+ and there were drought concer ns in the UK, so many were happy just to wait.”

The value –– particularly for wheat ––stayed at over £300/t well into June. But Edward says the most challenging part of this has been the range between the highs and lows of grain prices across the year –– from a high of over £340/t for wheat

and a low price of about £170/t. “We have seen a swing of close to £200/t in wheat prices –– and we’re not even done with the year yet,” he notes. “I’ve been in the job for nine years and some of my colleagues have been supporting our members for 40 years, and no one has ever seen anything quite like this.”

The difficulty with that is tr ying to advise far mers on what to do with their grain, when arguably, the only person with an insight on what may happen is Putin, warns Edward.

So with the grain market finding itself in such unprecedented times, how can growers protect themselves from volatility and maintain a margin?

For Warwickshire far mer Robin Turney, honing in on exact cost of production figures has been an integral part of the strategy this year ▲

Wheat prices peaked at a high of about £340/t in May this year after India announced a brief ban on exports.

I don’t have sleepless nights wondering whether or not I’ve sold at the right price.

“ ”

Regular communication with grain contacts and putting more of his grain in pools is helping Robin Turney protect against price volatility.

Robin farms 900ha across the south of the county, growing oilseed rape, wheat, barley, beans and maize for anaerobic digestion. He also operates a 30,000t central grain store for local farmers, Openfield and others. He says the business has experienced a significant amount of change over the past 12 months. “Our biggest challenge has been trying to confirm what our cost of production was going to be for the 2023 harvest and drawing up a budget against likely market grain prices. But then by the time we got to Februar y we could have thrown it in the bin quite frankly. At one point we were selling wheat at £170/t and then the next minute it was £300/t.”

The benefit of these inflated prices was short-lived however, amid a backdrop of rising input costs, he adds. “Likewise, we were buying fertiliser at £260-270/t (for ammonium nitrate), and then all of a sudden, we were having to pay up to £650/t. So the whole matrix of ever ything has changed.”

Though thankfully fer tiliser needed for

the 2022 harvest had been bought in advance of the worst of the price rises, when it came to relooking at the 2023 budget this had a huge impact on cashflow, explains Robin. “We were talking more than doubling the cost of purchases so we had discussions on whether we could mitigate some of the impact with some sales –– and if so, we needed to know what our cost of production and margin aspirations were.”

This meant looking hard at both buying and marketing strategies. “Earlier than normal we were trying to refine our cropping plan, how much fertiliser we wanted to use compared with normal and what exposure to further market risk we were prepared for.”

To better manage and understand the risk, pool marketing has been essential this year, explains Robin. “We’ve historically grown in the region of 4000t of milling wheat and committed a third pre-harvest and two-thirds after.”

Managing volatility

“But as we couldn’t decide where the market was going, this year we were more inclined to lock more in when the price was strong to protect us from that rising cost of production. At this point in time, I’ve probably got about 30-40% of my crops in pools already.”

Regular communication with Openfield has aided this decision making, he adds. “My communication with the team is more regular than ever at the moment because of this volatility while I tr y to understand what the market is doing and what the fundamentals are on a weekly basis.”

Nearby in the West Midlands, Staffordshire grower Rob Atkin has also been capitalising on the advice of the Openfield grain-marketing team to deflect the risk when it comes to selling his 400ha of combinable crops.

Like Robin, rising input costs have been a major challenge for Rob. “Fertiliser for me was bought quite well for last season –– I always buy in the May and I paid about £270/t for it. Buying fertiliser this year has costed in at £640/t, so we’re now watching markets a lot more closely to work out when is the best time to buy.

“Diesel costs have gone up too and the same approach of being more wary applies to our chemistry usage ––essentially, we’re just trying to manage our costs better. The difficulty with this is the weather and knowing when to go or when to hold off a spray.”

This closer eye on the market is also relevant to how Rob is approaching grain sales this year. “Everyone always wants the best price they can get, but for me, I’m more focused on tr ying to achieve a decent average across the whole tonnage. I know what I need to make to break even and make a bit of profit, so having a good average price will cover me.”

In terms of what this looks like practically sales-wise, Rob sells about 80% of his grain through Openfield. “We’ve been dealing with them for 30 years and what I like most is their model of how I can manage risk. So what we do is sell a quarter of our tonnage into their pool system, a quar ter onto their producers direct (PD) contract, which offers freedom to discuss and define with Openfield the best strategy to market grain, but set for a month –– not priced. A quar ter is then on spot, but I’ll put that in a pool if necessary. The remaining 20% is sold elsewhere.

Fertiliser costs have soared this year,putting upward pressure on cost of production.

“What I like about their pools is that we split it between autumn pools and late marketed spring pools and that takes the risk from me by not having to ring up

Market volatility like this year’s has never been seen before,reckons Edward Hastie-Smith.

every month to try to sell a certain tonnage at a certain price –– they just do it for me.

“Every eight weeks I get a statement (monthly from October to July) with an estimated budget which is really helpful when I’m trying to work out cashflows.

“Then with their spot pricing, Openfield are very good and very clever with its forecasting so I know prices will never be below expectations. It means I don’t have sleepless nights wondering whether or not I’ve sold at the right price.”

In the Cotswolds, Ed Horton is taking a holistic approach to managing risk, based around operating a mixed farming system where arable and livestock enterprises are very much integrated and reaping the rewards from each other.

The arable enterprise spans across 3200ha, with a varied cropping plan which includes combinables as well as more niche crops like buckwheat and spelt.

Unlike Robin and Rob, fertiliser cost has had minimal impact on Ed due to his ability to incorporate the manure in place of the majority of his bagged fer tiliser requirement. That said, he has still experienced a huge amount of volatility. “There has been variation of extremes of grain prices, input prices and weather. Energy prices have also risen, but the weather meant we didn’t have to spend on drying a single tonne of grain this year. However, it did cost us three times as much to cool everything. So it has been swings and roundabouts.”

Par t of the solution to protect against this volatility is being more strategic with grain marketing and selling, explains Ed. “We grow a lot of niche crops, and I

approach selling our spelt, for example, in quite an old-fashioned way.”

With the bulk, commodity crops, risk is tackled by aiming for milling specification to counteract the lower yields achieved on the Cotswold brash. Some of this is marketed through Openfield pools. “As much as I could sit and watch the markets every day, when that is someone’s full time job inherently, they’ve got a better idea than I have about when is best to sell,” explains Ed.

Attention to detail

The rest of the sales are based on a ‘when the price is right’ approach, driven by Ed’s close attention to detail in terms of his cost of production and margin aspiration –– meaning he knows exactly what price he needs to hit to cover this. “I work closely with Edward from Openfield on this too –– he knows exactly where my set prices are and so we play the market in that respect.”

Looking at the future, this close relationship also aids the planning of further harvests, he says. “Edward and I analyse what is globally looking like it could be in demand and tr y to pre-plan the growing of commodities which are most likely to be wanted by an expor t market so that we can capitalise on our close proximity to Portbury Dock.”

So looking to the future, what can growers expect over the next 12 months? While much is unknown at this stage, globally there is a lot happening –– from the continuation of the war in the Ukraine, to the drought in Argentina and closer to home the potential impact of reduced feed demand –– which could positively or negatively impact grain prices, says Edward. “It’s an uncer tain picture

Better buying,better selling

To remain at the forefront of arable farming and to maximise the value from every hectare of crop grown requires a keen understanding of the grain market, the seed to supply it, and the fertiliser to feed the crop.

Through this series of articles, CPM is working with Openfield to provide a market insight and help farmers to focus on these major business decisions to ensure better buying of inputs, and better selling of the produce.

at the moment and needs to be watched closely.”

Therefore, the overarching advice from him is to consult with the experts if there is uncertainty over how growers can best market their grain and mitigate risk. “Know your costs, pay attention to the market, set target prices and take advantage of industr y knowledge. If we take Openfield’s pools as an example, they per for med incredibly well over the past few years ––probably some of the top performers in the countr y. And then there’s also our crop fund which is totally unique to Openfield members and really helps them with cash advances on committed tonnage to aid cash flow and contra payments for seed and fer tiliser in these very challenging times. That really does just help to take the risk away from growers.” ■

farmers to supply some of the biggest and best-known names in the British food and drink manufacturing industry

But there’s more than just grain to Openfield, supplying seed and fertiliser,providing grain storage and offering expert advice on grain marketing and risk management. This delivers innovative supply chain solutions to its farmer members and consumer customers.

Looking at global commodity trends helps Ed Horton tr y to predict future trends to tailor cropping to be desirable for export markets.

Openfield is Britain’s only national farming grain-marketing and arable inputs co-operative and is owned by over 4000 arable farmers. Openfield’s team works with a total of 6000

Rob Atkin minimises his risk by spreading grain sales across pools,a producer’s contract and spot prices.

In a year of crisis comes opportunity

What a year it’s been. I can’t remember any time when we’ve seen so much fluctuation in prices of inputs,fuel,and grain matched equally by as much instability and lack of leadership in Westminster. Extreme weather has hit home, and the tangibility of the climate crisis has brought stark reminders of how changing weather patterns will impact farm businesses, with the availability of water and high temperatures causing a significant impact on spring crops.

Speaking to farmers, many are deeply concerned about the water supply for irrigation and whether groundwater will be replenished this winter, coupled with the pressures of expensive inputs and energy. Some farmers are already changing cropping plans and rotations to lessen the risk to their businesses. With the cost of living affecting everybody, many supply chains aren’t willing to increase their purchase price on contracts to keep their market share and protect their customers from paying more. Those suppliers deciding not to pay a fair price above production costs may be in for a shock next spring and summer when supply is far short of demand.

On the farm, I’m looking back on our achievements and successes, as well as reflecting on the areas where we didn’t reach our goals. Our winter crops last year did very well

but our spring crops, especially spring beans, were disappointing due to the lack of rain. The summer’s drought influenced changes in our rotation and refocused our efforts on getting our spring crops in as early as possible. Over the past few years, as our soil has improved so has its ability to carry machinery, so hopefully, we will catch an early window to plant the spring crops.

As farmers, we know all too well that short-term decisions have long-term impacts. If the market fails us or the proper support isn’t there, the immediate decisions we make on the farm come to fruition years later. I believe many politicians and buyers of supply chains neglect to consider that the changes farmers make to cropping now will have bearings long after

Food security has been the topic of much debate this year, and the assessments of how we achieve it have brought mixed messages about its genuine contributors. While it’s easy to assume food production is synonymous with food security, in reality, the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Agricultural land is continually degraded through unsustainable farming practices, undermining the natural assets farms rely on to produce food. Over the past two years, COVID-19, Brexit and global market turmoil have revealed the fragility of our food system. At a time when the war in Ukraine is driving price rises and shortages, food production is far from siloed from the consequences of unpredictable markets, economic shocks or the weather. At the same time, we have experienced the threat and reality of empty shelves and supply chain disruptions. Nature is in freefall in the UK, and levels of greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere continue to mount. As the threat of climate change grows greater, the question of how we ensure food security for all could not be more urgent. The protection offered by intact ecosystems is lacking across much of our farmland. We need healthy soil, weather resilience and abundant biodiversity to produce food sustainably and viably at a farm business level. The more we farm in balance with the natural environment, the less we depend on inputs. The more work within the capacity of the land, the less we erode its ability to handle extreme weather events. The greater diversity we build into our systems, the lesser the risk to our outputs. And most importantly of all, the sooner supply chains and the government support farmers in their transition to nature-friendly systems, the sooner we can ensure our self-sufficiency is built to last the trying times ahead.

I often hear farmers saying their role is solely about food production and feeding a growing global population. Yet only focusing on food production when more than half of what we produce does not directly feed people is the wrong campaign. Farmers have always produced a range of goods and services from the assets they manage from the landscape. Only focusing on one misses the vast opportunity to get support and funding for the other goods and services our land management provides.

Is a farmer who produces flowers, fibre, nature or timber not a real farmer because they produce less or no consumable food? Farmers not only feed the population’s stomach but also their hearts and minds. A farm is a multifunctional landscape, and no one is better positioned to deliver these multifaceted outputs as a farmer.

We must show governments

Martin Lines is an arable farmer and contractor in South Cambridgeshire with more than 500ha of arable land in his care. His special interest is in farm conservation management and demonstrating that farmers can profitably produce food in harmony with nature and the environment. He’s also chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network UK.

@LinesMartin martin.lines@nffn.org.uk

and policymakers across the UK what we can deliver to provide lasting security through harnessing our natural assets in diverse ways. Without farmers, governments couldn’t deliver legally binding and international targets for climate mitigation, biodiversity recovery, and clean air and water. We need to rethink our food production and balance the outputs of what we produce.

As government budgets become under increased pressure over the next few years, we can demonstrate that a healthy landscape can not only feed people, but also protect them. Enjoying our British countryside can help with mental and physical health. Hopefully, we will see the Department of Health prescribing the benefits of nature and landscapes in improving public health. Defra’s budget is not the only budget agriculture should focus on for support in delivering land management.

Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, Defra will have made it clear ELMs is staying and will clearly set out the different elements of the schemes and when they will be available. I wish everyone enjoyable Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Regen Pioneers

Advice from the fathers of regen

Regenerative agriculture royalty Gabe Brown and colleagues spoke to 250 farmers and advisers at a special Groundswell workshop in October,hosted by the Cherry family. CPM was there.

By Mike Abram

The first thing US regenerative pioneers Gabe Brown, Dr Allen Williams and Shane New do when they start talking to the 250-strong sell out audience at John and Paul Cherry’s farm in Hertfordshire ––site of the Groundswell event –– is to take a picture.

Gabe jokes his wife once said she wouldn’t cross the road to hear him talk, so he wants evidence that UK farmers are happy to travel to hear him speak.

He and his colleagues are visiting the UK for the first time, thanks to a collaboration with Regenerate Outcomes, 3LM (UK Savory Hub) and their consulting business, Understanding Ag.

“Regenerative agriculture is a thinking person’s game,” begins Gabe. “You have to be able to think, and you have to be able to observe. This is one of the missing links in agriculture today Farmers have lost the power to observe how nature functions.

“In nature there are six principles that are constant. Put us on any continent, you will find these six principles: context, least

amount of mechanical and chemical disturbance, armour on the soil, diversity, living roots in the soil, and livestock/animal integration”.

Healthy ecosystems

“These are just constant everywhere –– you must have them to have a healthy functioning ecosystem.

“It’s these six principles, along with the three rules of adaptive stewardship, that drive the four ecosystem processes: the energy, water and nutrient cycles, and community dynamics, or as we call it, biodiversity.”

Gabe admits all of this isn’t rocket science. It’s time-tested ecological principles that drive healthy, functioning ecosystems, he says.

That’s what makes it possible, in his eyes, for three American farmers to provide relevant advice to farmers in very different environments across the world.

“We’re not here to tell you how to run your operation. We share our experiences on how to regenerate soils, and then it’s up to you to apply those principles, rules and processes.

“It’s your management, or stewardship, that makes the difference. Every single decision you make on the farm either has positive compounding effects or negative cascading effects. You need to take those into consideration before changing any practices,” suggests Gabe.

But the number one reason the team works with farmers is to help them make money, he stresses. “We’re not farming for the sake of it. You have to be profitable. Yes, we want to do what’s right for the environment but we have to be able to make

Regenerative agriculture is a thinking person’s game. ” “

a living. We shouldn’t be embarrassed about making a reasonable profit.”

Talking through their 6-3-4 framework, Shane New begins with the four ecosystem processes, explaining how a plant captures sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and produces root exudates which feed bacteria and fungi in the soil.

It’s that soil biology that helps build soil structure, starting with the bacteria creating microaggregates which the fungi tie together into macroaggregates, he says. “Once we develop that, we develop a means to enable

The special Groundswell seminar was a sell out as growers flocked to hear from the man whose book has been an inspiration to many of them.

Every single decision you make on the farm either has positive compounding effects or negative cascading effects.You need to take those into consideration before changing any practices, suggests Gabe.

mobility for not only the bacteria and fungi, but also their predators, protozoa and nematodes, which are important for nutrient cycling.”

Good soil structure gives the predators access to the most abundant area for soil biology –– the rhizosheath around the roots. “They’re consuming bacteria and fungi, and the immobilised nutrients tied up in them, and mineralising the excess close to the plant, which can then be captured by its roots. That’s the nutrient cycle.

“Our friend Ray Archuleta said it best:

The questions from attendees flowed during the 45-minute group discussions in the field. Here are four of the best to Gabe Brown.

How do you deal with slugs?

Slugs tend to proliferate if you have too much thatch building up on the soil surface –– too much soil armour, Gabe says. “That’s a carbon:nitrogen ratio problem.You need to change your crop rotation to increase lower carbon plants and decrease higher carbon plants to cycle through the residue quicker.That will help alleviate some of the slug issues.”

He also notes that the larvae of glow worms are a key predator of slugs,but numbers in the UK have declined.“You have to provide the home and habitat for them both in field and on the edge.”

How quickly can you wean soils off applied nitrogen?

Gabe says they use Haney and PLFA (phospholipid

‘the plant and soil are one’. We can’t build aggregation without plants; we can’t have a plant without soil; and we can’t have microbiology without either one of these, together with a functioning ecosystem.”

Gabe returns to run through the reasonably well-known six principles of soil health, highlighting that ecological, financial, social and environmental contexts must be taken into account when developing a holistic approach.

Recreational tillage

When talking about minimal disturbance he tells a story of how his father-in-law loved recreational tillage. “When he retired, he sold all the farm kit except a tractor. He bought a brand-new disc cultivator and spent his retirement discing for neighbours for free.

When he passed away, he bequeathed Gabe not the tractor but the discs in his will. “I’d been no-tilling for over a decade by that point,” he laughs.

But the serious point is that tillage destroys the biological and ecological integrity of soil, collapsing the pore spaces that allow soil biology to move around, and killing the mycorrhizal fungi that are needed to develop soil aggregates, he explains. Gabe also says that fertilisers kill mycorrhizal fungi.

“Soil aggregates only last about four weeks,” he points out. “I don’t think most growers understand the power of mycorrhizal fungi in building soil aggregates and transferring nutrients.

“No-till systems are the beginning of soil health. But when we consult with clients, are we going to move them immediately to no-till if they’re doing tillage? No, it has to fit their context, but eventually we will move them down the no-till path, over time.”

Over-application of synthetic pesticides and even manures can also be damaging to the soil, he adds. “Manures stored in pits and lagoons can contain a high level of antibiotics, and you can do more harm to the soil by applying it. It’s a real challenge. They need to be applied to living cover crops that can take in and mediate some of those compounds.”

He moves onto the importance of armouring the soil, highlighting that there can be around 7-150C difference in soil temperature between a field with bare soil and one with cover.

“At 210C soil temperature, 100% of moisture can be used for plant growth. As soil temperatures increase, the plant starts shutting down. At 370C, 85% of the soil moisture is lost through evaporation and transpiration and at higher temperatures soil biology is killed. How many farmers are taking soil temperatures into consideration?”

The UK enjoys some environmental advantages, he notes, with usually adequate amounts of moisture and a long growing season. But there are still gaps that could be filled by growing cover crops. “Aim for 12 months of living roots,” he suggests.

Early on when growing cover crops, there’s likely to be too much residue with too

fatty acid analysis) soil tests to help determine the level of nutrient cycling.The PLFA helps determine the total viable microbial biomass and gives a general profile –– important for determining whether the bacterial/fungal predators that help cycle nutrients are present.

The Haney test helps determine the quantity of soil nutrients available to soil microbes.Previously this test was not available in the UK,though Understanding Ag is working with a couple of laboratories to change that.

“We also do a total nutrient digestion test to prove there is plenty of nutrients available. According to what these tests show,we’re able to give guidance on how quickly you can back off. We normally see that in the first year you can cut by 25%,the next year another 25%,the third year another We can back off fairly rapidly,but it depends on where your system is at.

“You can’t take a heavily tilled system and do it that quickly –– it will be a wreck.”

What’s the one thing you must get right in this system?

“Having soil armour. You have to keep the soil covered,” says Gabe.

That helps retain moisture which is vital for soil biology and protects the biology from extreme temperatures, he explains. “The weak point in my system is moisture.I can control having that armour to keep what little moisture I have in the soil.

“But we’re finding that soil armour is critical everywhere.In higher rainfall areas you still need to keep the soil covered to protect the home for the biology.”

What are you most concerned about in UK systems?

Theamount of brassicas in the rotation is a concern, says Gabe.“You have to watch out for oilseed rape as it non-mycorrhizal. I’m not saying not to grow it, but without mycorrhizal fungi you won’t build soil aggregates and therefore soil health.”

Shane New highlights that the plant and soil are one – aggregation can’t be built without plants; plant can’t grow without soil; microbiology can’t live without either of these,together with a functioning ecosystem.

much carbon and not enough nitrogen, adds Gabe. “As your systems become biologically active, it will go the other way. But how do you feed that much biology?”

Cover crops are also the way of introducing diversity into rotations. Monoculture cash crops following monoculture cash crops will continue to degrade soils, he says. “Diversity means warm and cool season broadleaved and grasses within your context. The way to

Just as with diversity of approach helps with weed control, and diversity in cropping and living roots helps improve soil health, flexibility in managing livestock is crucial,says Dr Allen Williams.

“Adaptive grazing –– being flexible to changing conditions –– brings the greatest results in the shortest period of time,” he explains.

“We’re aiming to re-establish a fully functioning carbon cycle. To do that,we use livestock to stimulate and emulate nature.”

Using different stock densities is a key requirement. “We use all stock densities some of the time, but we use no one stock density all of the time,” he stresses.

“The reason farmers will fail with mob grazing is if you use the same stock density over and over. You’re no longer adaptive and regenerative, you are now prescriptive.”

Other tips for creating disruption in livestock management included altering grazing heights, the length of rest periods for fields,change the pattern of grazing within the rotation and altering

get that in arable systems is growing cover crops.

“It’s the cover crops that cycle solar energy and help drive the system for the years of cash crops.”

When designing cover crops, each species should be used to address a specific resource concern, he says. “Your top resource concern should be feeding biology and cycling carbon. But then consider what was the last crop, whether any herbicide used will carry over, and which of the six principles is lacking.

“If it’s soil armour, you need to grow cover crops higher in carbon. If it’s cycling more nitrogen, then grow more legumes,” he explains.

Usually he would aim for at least six or seven different species as the more diversity, the more benefit to the soils and ultimately better production.

Out in the field, Gabe uses one of John Cherry’s fields as a backdrop to expand on the principles outlined in the morning. The field had come out of oats and is now sown with a multi-species cover crop before a planned winter bean crop. It’s been no-tilled with very little synthetic fertiliser applied.

He highlights that over-applying any synthetic or organic nutrient can be problematic, that it’s difficult to go ‘cold turkey’ on reducing fertility inputs, and that there’s plentiful availability of nutrients from

Gabe Brown’s book Dirt to Soil has been inspirational to many growers as they contemplate changing their farming system.

the atmosphere and in the soil. The key to unlocking that supply is soil biology, he says, stimulated by growing diverse crops and plants.

He’s pretty impressed by the Cherry’s progress. “Anybody that has a green living cover cycling solar energy and has cut back significantly on their inputs to drive soil health is a lot further on than most.

“Where I would give them grief, is having a field this size and to not have livestock on it. I don’t care what it took, I’d get livestock grazing. As this grows there is a lot of forage.”

Livestock would help cycle nutrients, he explains. “An average-sized cow cycles 0.23lbs (0.1kg) of nitrogen, 0.15lbs (0.07kg) of phosphorus and 0.5lbs (0.23kg) potassium per day. Start putting 100 head of beef cattle or 500 sheep on here, think of the amount of nutrients you’re cycling.

“And with proper dung beetle populations, that’s going to cycle through very quickly. People wonder how we can grow the yields we do without any synthetics, it’s a combination of the biology in the soil, the earthworms and the livestock.”

One of the Understanding Ag team, Dr Allen Williams pioneered many of the early regenerative grazing protocols and forage finishing techniques and now teaches those practices and principles to farmers globally.

the paddock shape,and using different combinations of such tactics.

He suggests that while you can significantly advance soils without livestock integration, you will never reach full potential without it. “Obviously there will be arable farmers who don’t want to work with livestock, but isn’t there a young person in your community who would love the chance? Why not work with them–– it’s to your benefit.” ■

Flexibility in managing livestock is crucial

Real Results Pioneers

Finding a better balance

particularly outstanding in any one of these areas –– but his competence in achieving success in all three was part of the reason he won the inaugural BASF Rawcliffe Bridge Award for Sustainability earlier this year.

The farm is a mixture of owned, contracted and tenanted land covering 810ha, while also doing 75% of the work on a further 140ha. Much of the farm is on what Colin describes as “tough soil”, including some areas with an up to 62% clay fraction.

More sustainable path

One thing becomes clear early on in conversation with Colin Chappell –– he’s not afraid to try new things to improve the economic, environmental, and social outcomes for his farm.

The three are often the pillars used to measure sustainability but getting the balance between them is not always straightforward. Understandably, many farmers will try to maximise one of the three, and that’s usually –– but not always ––economic success. But this can often inadvertently come to the detriment of the other two pillars.

It’s perhaps telling then that Colin, who farms in the Ancholme Valley, near Brigg in North Lincolnshire, doesn’t see himself as

His path towards farming more sustainably has been helped by two industry initiatives, he says. Entering ADAS’ YEN (Yield Enhancement Network) programme five years ago opened his eyes initially “I was thinking I knew everything. Our wheat was doing 10t/ha every year and I thought I’d cracked it –– put on a bit more nitrogen, a bit more chemistry and I’ll get to 12.5-15t/ha.

“But I got 52% –– Mr Middleman. And I realised the system of putting more and more on to achieve that little bit extra didn’t fit –– there’s often a point where you’ve reached the maximum your soils will do, while there’s something that will be holding you back, for example, blackgrass.

“So I realised I needed a more targeted approach to try to sort out problems one by one.”

That’s where the second initiative helped,

says Colin –– becoming an AHDB Monitor Farm from 2017 to 2021. It provided some of the tools, access to expertise, and conversations to improve farming skills and confidence to try new practices.

Agronomically, his three interlinked key challenges have been to improve blackgrass control, increase soil health and reduce nitrogen inputs after a carbon audit three years ago highlighted that improvements could be made to reduce carbon emissions.

“I’m not where I want to be with my carbon footprint –– we’re still the wrong side –– but I learned nitrogen was the key. You either sequester carbon in your soils or reduce emissions. When you look at growing a tonne of wheat, 50% of the emissions are associated with nitrogen.”

Colin Chappell has proven his competence in achieving success in balancing the economic, environmental,and social outcomes of his farm.

There’s a lot of talk about farming in a more sustainable way but how does this translate into practice? CPM visits the winner of BASF’s inaugural Rawcliffe Bridge Award for Sustainability to find out.

By Mike Abram

“ ▲

Nitrogen use has been cut across the farm by 20% but grain monitoring suggests nitrogen use efficiency in wheat last season was 84%,up from 60%.

With 8% organic matter in some soils, sequestering more carbon into the soils is likely to be a challenge so he’s concentrated on trying to reduce emissions by monitoring nitrogen use through the season. He’s cut nitrogen across the farm by 20% and adds a carbon source in the form of molasses to make its use more efficient.

Grain monitoring suggests nitrogen use efficiency in wheat last season was 84%, a marked improvement on the previous 60%.

He also grows crops that have minimal or no nitrogen requirements as part of the rotation, which is now much more diverse –– including combining or vining peas, beans, canary seed, spring oats, winter oats, forage maize and forage barley, alongside the arable staples of oilseed rape and winter wheat.

“Winter wheat is still our bread and

butter –– we grow mostly milling wheat for Warburtons, but also some feed and biscuit wheat,” says Colin.

As well as reducing nitrogen requirements, the diverse rotation is part of the blackgrass strategy, growing three spring crops consecutively to get on top of the weed, followed by winter wheat, OSR, then winter wheat again and winter barley. “We’re on a seven to eight-year cycle,” he adds.

The forage barley crop plays a crucial role in “walking the blackgrass off the farm”, he says. “It’s a cultural control that not many others use.”

Forage crops

Originally, he was growing hybrid rye for a local anaerobic digestion plant, but discovered that blackgrass was already shedding by the time of harvest. “Growing barley for forage moves the harvesting period forward two weeks in June.

“It’s a hybrid crop as that has thicker stems to generate more methane, and we grow it slightly differently as growth regulation is minimal. We ease back on herbicides and only use one fungicide instead of two. Around 120kg/ha of nitrogen is applied,” he says.

He also grows forage maize with its late drilling date helping control blackgrass before drilling.

It’s important to change tactics regularly, he stresses. “Blackgrass is a clever plant ––it follows what you do. If you grow tall crops,

it grows tall. If you grow spring crops, it germinates in the spring. If you plant early, it will come early.

“Ben Taylor-Davies, whom I follow for advice, always says you need to mix it up to get on top of it.”

Chemistry is the last resort, but he’s pleased new chemistry is arriving to bolster and diversify the armoury. He’s finding, even after three years of spring crops and other cultural controls, he still needs more than a cheap pre-emergence of Liberator (flufenacet+ diflufenican) to keep on top of it in wheat.

A Real Results trial this season will compare Liberator plus Proclus (aclonifen) with Luxinum Plus (cinmethylin) plus pendimethalin, he confirms.

One of the other things that has changed in recent years is his soil management, he says. “I want to do as little as I can to get the crop established, but as much as required, so I’m not a 100% direct driller.”

He’s trying to get to a one-pass system where one drill does everything. Currently he uses either a Väderstad Rapid with a set of system discs on the front, or a Triton Side-Press. “We use the Väderstad where we can, although it probably moves too much soil for true direct drillers, and when it gets too wet, we move to the Triton.

“Recently we’ve started using a Grange low-disturbance subsoiler, which runs well in tandem with both drills by improving drainage channels in the soil.”

Combined with the diverse rotation

BASF’s Rawcliffe Bridge Award for Sustainability was launched to mark the 20-year anniversary of BASF partnering with Rawcliffe Bridge Farm in East Yorkshire,which aims to help demonstrate how to balance productive farming with wildlife management,says Mia Belfield,BASF Marketing Communications Manager.

“It’s part of the work we do to help give farmers a platform to advocate for themselves and the industry,”she says.

“Our view is that sustainable food production must go hand-in-hand with preserving the environment.”

This year’s award had around 20 initial applications,with two standing out –– Colin and the runner-up Guy Prudom,from Northfields Farm in North Yorkshire.

“Colin just edged the judging through his approach to the environmental,economic and social aspects to sustainability –– he had the full package to move forward with this idea of

people,planet and profit.”

Winning the award is already opening doors for Colin,with his local MP contacting him for a visit to the farm after hearing about him winning the award.

“That’s exactly the kind of thing we’re looking to achieve,”says Mia.

She adds that the award fits into the global BASF campaign,Biggest Job on Earth.“The idea with Biggest Job on Earth is to allow farmers to share their success stories, their challenges, and their impact on food production and the environment.

“In the UK, we’re using it as a platform for farmers to share their story,and the Rawcliffe Bridge Award fits perfectly into the initiative.”

Entries for next year’s Sustainability Award will be open in the spring.“Our hope is to create a group of like-minded farmers through the award who can learn from each other and share their knowledge and strategies

Two applications for the Award for Sustainability stood out – Colin (left) and runner-up Guy Prudom.

for sustainability more broadly.”

To find out more about Biggest Job on Earth and to show your support visit www.agricentre.basf.co.uk/en/Biggest-Job-on-Earth/

What is the Rawcliffe Bridge Award?

and use of cover crops, he’s finding improvements in water infiltration rates and water holding capacity, allowing him to drill beans and wheat into November, which wasn’t possible previously.

Economic health is benchmarked against other farms, including those in his local group, using AHDB Farmbench. His full costs of production per tonne compare well with his peers, he says.

The strong financial position is part of the reason he’s been able to take on the 110ha tenancy without extra labour or machinery, and also purchase 16ha of land, a self-propelled spray and tractor without any finance in the past three years.

That doesn’t mean improvements couldn’t be made, he adds. Farmbench data suggests his fungicide costs are still relatively high, considering he’s using less nitrogen and sap and tissue analysis to bolster disease control with trace element applications.

He’s experimented with applying a “cocktail” of fish hydrolysate, humic acid and Carbon Balancer (enhanced molasses) just after a crop comes through the ground. “It feeds the microbes in the soil so they can then feed my plants. On spring beans last year, it lifted yields by 2.5t/ha, and 1t/ha on canary seed.”

Around 5.5% of his area is in environmental measures, situated in awkward and/or low performing fields or in areas taken out of production to create wildlife corridors around the farm.

“We’ve all got parts of the farm that aren’t as productive as others. For example, I have an 11ha field, where 2ha routinely floods. When the whole 11ha was last cropped with wheat, it averaged 8.25t/ha. We took that 2ha out and devoted it to biodiversity. The next time we cropped the 9ha left, it did 10t/ha.”

Identifying those areas started in 2006,

with four fields planted with miscanthus, and further areas now in the Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier scheme.

“One part of the farm is effectively a link from the River Ancholme to the village of Hibaldstow so wildlife can move between the two.”

He’s sited wild bird food mixes under powerlines to give birds a place to escape to when predators are around, with insect mixes next to them. It seems to be working, with an increase in wildlife being seen on the farm.

“The RSPB did a survey on the farm and the miscanthus was holding a lot of red list species, which hadn’t been seen here before. Last year, I saw egrets and the ditches now have fish in them again, so we are moving in the right direction.”

Reducing insecticides

It’s also helping to build “an army of minibeasts” that can get into crops and potentially help him reduce insecticides. He’s not completely there yet –– barley yellow dwarf virus is a challenge, but he doesn’t spray for cabbage stem flea beetle or bruchid beetles.

The social benefit of the environmental areas on the farm plays into one of his driving passions –– helping to educate the public and especially children about agriculture.

“I’m trying to counter a lot of the criticism levelled at farmers by educating the public about what we do and attempting to drive the narrative, rather than sitting back and listening to the backlash against us.”

The primary activity he’s involved with is working in partnership with the Country Trust to bring schoolchildren on to his farm. The

The Real Results Circle

BASF’s Real Results Circle farmer-led trials are now in their sixth year.The initiative is focused on working with farmers to conduct field-scale trials on their own farms using their own kit and management systems.The trials are all assessed using ADAS’ Agronomics tool which delivers statistical confidence to tramline,or field-wide treatment comparisons –– an important part of Real Results.

In this series we follow the journey, thinking and results from farmers involved in the programme. The features also look at some other related

Real Results Pioneers

charity helps organise visits to real working farms for disadvantaged young people and Colin hosts 8-10 visits per year from schools in the surrounding area, including from Hull, Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

“We walk around the farm and explain what we do and why,” says Colin. “The first thing you see is these children’s faces when they step off the bus and see the wide-open spaces.”

He puts all the crops he grows on a table to explain the connection to the food they eat, and why there are nettles all over his farm. “Look at the ladybirds and the caterpillars and the biodiversity that is enhanced by just one nettle,” he says.

Equally important is the understanding the teachers and assistants gain from the visits.

“The narrative is coming from other people at the moment, and we need to tell our story to turn the tide on negative things we’re hearing. By educating the kids, hopefully in 10-15 years that generation will grow up to understand what we’re doing and why,” he concludes. ■

topics, such as environmental stewardship and return on investment.

We want farmers to share their knowledge and conduct on-farm trials. By coming together to face challenges as one,we can find out what really works and shape the future of UK agriculture.

To keep in touch with the progress of these growers and the trials,go to https://www.agricentre.basf.co.uk/en/ Real-Results-Circle/ or scan the QR code.

Flowering margins build “an army of minibeasts” that can get into crops and potentially help reduce insecticides.

Frequent visits to the farm help Colin Chappell tell the story of how he farms to turn the tide on negative things he hears about farming.

Time is ticking on the carbon carrot

Climate Change Champions

By Tom Allen-Stevens

It’s time for all farmers to address the challenge of climate change,to drive forward the sustainability of their own business,and to help society progress towards net zero.

That was the resolve of the CPM Climate Change Champions who came together at a round table event in Kent last month with industry representatives and NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw. The eight champion farmers, all of whom have comfortably reached net zero and are sequestering carbon in their soils, agreed that it takes commitment and a change of mindset to achieve this target, but there are “happy benefits” for those who take the journey.

Tom Bradshaw said it was “critical” that the drive for net zero moves into the mainstream. “The scale of the sustainability challenge is massive. We must help farmers position their businesses to meet this challenge, and get the full value from doing so.”

Michael Kavanagh, of DGF & MAM

Michael Kavanagh, CPM Climate Change Champion 2022

Thompson Farms, Shropshire, received the accolade of CPM Climate Change Champion 2022 (see panel on p60). He spoke of the “happy consequence” of reducing costs, moving away from synthetic inputs and introducing grazed cover and companion crops. He now capitalises on his natural capital gains and completed his first carbon trade earlier this year.

“I’ve got the farm to where it is today through farmer-to-farmer learning, talking to other farmers, listening to them, sharing mistakes as well as successes. The more we share what we learn, the faster we will get to net zero as an industry,” he said.

Guy Eckley of Eckley Farms, Kent, underlined the importance of “the three free resources” –– sunlight, water and air –– in the production of healthy food that goes hand-in-hand with the drive to net zero.

“Cover crops capture the sunlight available after harvest and put sugars down into your soil; Soil structure is key to water-holding capacity. And that also helps the soil breathe, so that our underground biology is able to function and operate to the best of its ability.”

Tom Jewers of GD Jewers & Son, Suffolk, highlighted how “simple starts” on the journey to net zero include addressing fuel use, reducing cultivations and on-farm trials to find the “tipping point” beyond which lowering fertiliser usage starts to reduce yield. And he has novel plans for further fertiliser savings.

“Artificial intelligence will be the way forward. We want to get to a per-plant farming system where every single plant in the field can be tested for nutrient level and we can feed exactly what that plant needs.”

John Pawsey of Shimpling Park Farms, Suffolk, has doubled his soil organic matter (SOM) following a conversion to organic

production 20 years ago. Critical to this are the sheep that graze the 2-3 year leys. The natural fertility he’s building in his soils has carbon benefits, and there’s now 20ha of agroforestry.

“Diversity of cropping is another way we can mitigate against extreme weather. We grow lots of novel bits and pieces but also lots of different winter and spring crops, which help us protect our business against any specific weather events and market risk.”

Robert Moore of Agricycle, Lincolnshire, has built a nationwide business around helping farmers recycle, and ties this to restoring biodiversity to the family farm.

“Over the past five years, we’ve set about reducing our reliance on mainstream services such as water and power. We’ve put solar panels on both rooves and field which provide two thirds of our power. And we’ve taken all the poorer ground out of production and put down 80ha of long-term leys,” he said.

Toby Hogsbjerg of The Wicken Farms Co, Norfolk, has set about securing a long-term future for the estate’s pivotal root crops from its fragile soils through cover crops, reduced cultivations and introducing livestock. “We have reduced fuel consumption, reduced hours giving staff better pay and more time at home through the different farming practices we have adopted,” he said.

“But every farm is different and we cannot all be measured on the same parameters and be deemed to fail if these don’t show the right results. We need more flexibility.”

Robin Aird of Charlton Park Farms, Wiltshire, bases his approach to the estate’s natural assets on a solid grasp of the underlying figures. He plans to bring nitrogen applications from 210kgN/ha for a typical

“ ”

Some of the UK’s most progressive pioneers in farming’s quest for net zero came together at CPM’s Climate Change Champions round table event in Kent,to discuss bringing it into mainstream farming,the benefits that accrue,and the urgency that it happens.

wheat crop to just 100kgN/ha through the use of digestate from the estate’s AD plant.

“Our approach has always been to keep the land in good heart, but we’ll sweat the estate’s assets, and ensure first and foremost that it’s a profitable business. That goes as much for its natural capital as it does for the crops we grow,” he said.

Carbon trade conundrum

So should you trade the carbon you sequester? Opinions among the champions were split. Along with Michael, 2020 champion John Hawkins of Bagber Farm, Dorset, has taken the step. “If somebody doesn’t make a start to get it off the ground, like you do when direct drilling, then it’ll never happen. And all of those large companies [looking for offsets] will walk away,” he said.

“Compared with the risk of putting an extra 50kgN/ha into a wheat crop to get an extra £20/t milling premium, I’d say it’s a reasonable risk to take.”

Host farmer of the event, held at Bank Farm, near Ashford, and overall CPM champion of 2021 Doug Wanstall has helped set up the UK Carbon Code of Conduct (UKCCC). This is a central set of standards to

help whole landholdings enter projects and benefit from restoring carbon.

“I would implore everybody to look very carefully at what you’re signing up to, and if it doesn’t adhere to the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), don’t do it. Because someone will come and knock on your door and say they want their money back,” he advised.

John Pawsey also advised caution, noting “massive variability” in SOM analysis of samples from his fields, depending on place in the rotation and year.

Rutland farmer Sarah Bell views the carbon in her soils as part of the natural capital balance sheet and the carbon in the crops as the turnover. “But if I trade carbon, what am I trading and am I putting the assets of the business at risk?” she asked.

“It’s important to differentiate between insetting, where the carbon is traded within the same supply chain, and offsetting, where you trade it on the open market.”

Insetting is the route favoured by Tom Jewers, who believes carbon “should not be for sale” as it’s “morally wrong” to support a company that wishes to continue “pumping out oil”.

How to capitalise on climate change opportunities

An afternoon workshop at the CPM round table event brought together the champion farmers and other attendees to explore ways arable farming could accelerate the pace towards net zero and the positive changes growers and the industry could take.

Splitting into three groups, they discussed:

1.Productivity push – with a key focus on nutrient use efficiency (NUE)

2. Cultivation care – sequestering soil carbon with confidence

3.Biobased boldness – societal benefits beyond carbon

Eight champion farmers met with industry representatives and the NFU at Bank Farm,near Ashford,Kent,to discuss progress of the arable sector to net zero.

“Rather than buy the carbon, the company looking to offset should pay for the practice which generates that carbon sequestering. Nestlé have started doing this with farmers, which to me is something I feel more comfortable with.”

Sarra Mander of Small Robot Company also noted the opportunity. “Judging by the people we’re being approached by to accurately measure and record some of the metrics we’ve talked about, we feel there will be opportunities with the supply chain to sell produce you can guarantee has been produced in a sustainable way.”

Ideas came together in three categories:

● Now – represents unoriginal ideas which are familiar,easy to implement, and proven to work well.

● Wow – represents new ideas that are easy to implement and executable ideas that can be actualised.

● How – represents ideas that are innovative,but difficult to implement so they are not yet feasible,but might be worth considering as future goals.

Attendees then decided on the Three Big Ideas that would bring the boldest opportunities for farming as well as the biggest benefits for society.

Production pushCultivation careBiobased boldness Now

Manage the nutrient-cycling ability of weeds

Foliar feeding with nutrients other than N as a catalyst

Encourage healthy soils for nutrient-dense food

On-farm trials to test NUE

Manage crop canopy to capture sunlight

Hydroponics & vertical farming systems

Understanding how soils can increase nutrient density

Gather and utilise data better

Nitrogen-fixing microbes

Learn from hydroponics & vertical farming

Plant breeding for nutrient efficiency

Relate plant genetics to soil science/health

Understand multispecies cropping & permaculture

Understand what the data tells us about NUE

Green/recycled fertiliser

The Three Big Ideas

1.Harness the full potential of the soil

2.Develop green ammonia and fertiliser from waste

3. Explore the potential of nitrogen-fixing microbes

Change of attitude to ‘can do’

Learn from trend towards min till & direct drill

Do the numbers – diesel + carbon savings Overcome aesthetics barrier

Relay cropping

Understory crops

Green manures

Companion cropping Robots for weed-mapping

Satellite mapping & ground-truthing

Harvest weed seed control

Better knowledge exchange

Take opportunities for farmer-to-farmer learning Overcome aversity to risk

Take green finance opportunities

Adopt biorenewable innovations in solar, wind, AD Translating data into economics

Innovations to harness N from the atmosphere at low carbon cost

Carbon capture and storage Develop understanding of biochar

The outcome of the workshop and the full discussion has been fed back to the NFU Net Zero team and to Defra farming minister Mark Spencer,at the request of his office.

Stalling on standards

Emma Ralph of Interagro voiced her frustration at a lack of common standards across the industry on how a carbon footprint is assessed, with “massive variances” with the three audits the business has undertaken.

“We need a joined-up approach on this not just for farmers but also on the manufacturing side. We do need some guidelines and there needs to be legislation. I want to be able to work with farmers to make sure they have the right information on carbon footprinting and at the moment, I’m not confident I can give that –– it’s a potential issue for the whole agchem industry.”

Tom Bradshaw noted the added complication is that Emma’s business comes under Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) while farming comes under Defra. When it comes to carbon calculators, he believes there needs to be better standardisation across the set of tools available to reduce variation, and allow farmers to understand their true footprint as accurately as possible. These developments will take time, he said, and in the short term encouraged farmers to choose the tool which best fits their operation in order to monitor and manage their operations’

emissions where possible.

Ben Makowiecki of Lloyds Bank doesn’t feel standardisation is likely to come from Defra. “But that’s not to say that the carbon calculators we’re already using aren’t useful. The most important thing is that businesses use a calculator to baseline their emissions . There are financial and environmental benefits for all parts of the farm business.”

Data deadlock

The digital divide threatens to slow the pace to net zero, warned Tom Bradshaw. “Decision-making must be underpinned by data. Information has to be widely available and widely recorded to enable more farmers to make informed choices and reduce the footprint of the products they produce. Data will be critical to making this ambition a reality and enabling evidence-driven farming systems that other people can adopt.”

He said the NFU is keen for Defra to support farm businesses in understanding their carbon footprint, to help establish the industry baseline. This is especially important within the new ELM SFI scheme, where there are few actions so far to support monitoring and managing farm carbon footprints.

John Pawsey noted the value of a good, independent platform to record yield-mapping

and crop quality data. “Data is increasingly important to display what is going on beneath the surface,” he said.

But he pointed out the “massive amount of information you have to bring together” for an accurate carbon calculation, and that time-poor farmers have little time or appetite for it, once they’ve completed Red Tractor and other paperwork. “Even if you get a free audit, it’s never free because you have to invest a huge amount of time and put in all the information. This is a big bit of work,” he said.

Summing up, Tom Bradshaw noted that “the sustainability agenda, and the pressure coming there, is like I have never known and it’s not going away. Farmers must be on the front foot to make sure they gain their fair reward for the good work they do.

“With a population increasingly live to the risks of climate change, carbon will likely be an ever more important factor in markets moving forwards, and farmers will need to move with demand while continuing to supply the market place with the same high quality food consumers can trust –– not a small task but I know our industry can rise to the challenge,” Tom stated. ■

Carbon opportunities underlined by Climate Change Champion

Michael Kavanagh has been awarded the accolade of CPM Climate Change Champion 2022.

A keen advocate of regenerative agriculture and one of the founder farmers of the Green Farm Collective, he was selected by CPM readers from the seven growers whose progress on their journey to net zero has been profiled in the magazine.

Michael’s been improving soil health through reduced cultivations,cover cropping and integrating sheep into the 245ha business he manages near Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.

Having measured his progress through Sandy, by Trinity AgTech,confirming he’s comfortably climate-positive, he became one of the first farmers in the UK to trade carbon earlier this year.

Full details of Michael’s farming system and his

progress to net zero were featured in CPM March 2022 issue.

Tom Bradshaw congratulated the farmers on their achievements,noting there are many others around the country also taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“This event shows that we have in the UK some incredible and very passionate farmers running some brilliant businesses,”he said.

“The industry faces some real challenges and there are questions and uncertainties around issues such as carbon markets.These farmers have not only shone a beacon to where others can head as they progress to net zero,but they continue to pioneer,to take the risks that we’ll all benefit from.To my mind,that’s what makes them

true champions.”

Climate Change Champions supports the NFU’s bold ambition for agriculture to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. CPM would like to thank our sponsors,leading agricultural suppliers who have a credible net zero aspiration and are working with farmers in a partnership approach to meet this challenging target. cpm-magazine.co.uk/ climatechangechampions

A vodka still at Bank Farm is a new diversification which complements the other biobased enterprises.

Host farmer Doug Wanstall (left) introduced the visiting farmers to nutrient-rich frass he’s been applying to crops and the black soldier fly larvae (right) that produce it.

The basis for the right balance

Green Horizons

A soil-led approach links the progress of two large, productive arable systems in Wiltshire and Kent. CPM visits the two farms in Agrii’s Green Horizons network to find out how environmental improvements go hand-in-hand with a firm focus on arable profitability.

By Tom Allen-Stevens and Rob Jones

Alan Clifton-Holt sinks his spade into the ground and eases up a clod. As he breaks open the soil, a profusion of worms startled by the intrusion,attempt to escape the exposure.

“You asked how we know the system’s working,” he says. “I don’t think you can get much better proof than that.”

With soils that range from Grade one silts, through heavier silty clays, to sands in Ashford Valley, AA Clifton Farms covers 1520ha of arable land spread over 50 miles from Canterbury to Romney Marsh in Kent.

These are capable of pushing out winter wheat yields in excess of 12t/ha, but by the mid-2000s, problems with blackgrass in particular had seen them dip as low as 5t/ha. “Blackgrass is the biggest risk,” says

Alan, director of the family business with brother Toby and parents Robert and Anne. “We also wanted to get a grip on costs without damaging productivity.”

From 2006-2010, badly infested fields were put into grass leys, with forage taken by a local dairy farmer. “This helped the blackgrass, but the margin wasn’t good. We also made changes to the rotation and to cultivation.”

Cover crops

The key introduction was a double spring break crop, within a six-year rotation that also includes two winter wheats, winter barley and oilseed rape. Spring oats and spring beans are the favoured crops, and there’s 350ha of cover crops grown in front of them.

“We started in cover crops ten years ago with radishes and mustards, but quickly realised mustard attracts slugs while radishes don’t help the blackgrass.” Over the past three seasons the species mix and agronomy of the covers has been finetuned with the help of on-farm trials overseen by Agrii agronomist Neil Harper.

“We’re looking for a mix that will pull the water out of the soil, ready for spring cropping, add some structure, hold nutrients, return organic matter to the soil as well as help with the blackgrass,” explains Neil. “So we start with a base mix of phacelia, buckwheat and linseed. Buckwheat also helps to mine the phosphate.

“Then in front of the beans we add rye to the mix, while vetch goes in front of the oats.

It’s important to select the right varieties, too. Some buckwheats will flower too early, while trials have shown a marked difference with the type of vetch used.”

This was a trial conducted two years ago, notes Alan. “You could see to a line the difference between varieties, because

▲

It only works where you have a relationship built on trust.

“ ”

A profusion of worms show the system’s working.

the oats went flat in places.”

A local flock of sheep come in to graze the cover crops in January and February, but Alan’s in two minds about their value. “We did another trial comparing grazed and ungrazed cover crops with a weedy overwinter stubble, that was also ungrazed. The yield of the following spring oats was actually best in the stubble, while the grazed area was 1.5t/ha behind.”

Neil puts this down to surface compaction. “The sheep came off late and it’s also about soil type. A high silt content means it can cap badly if put under pressure when it’s wet, and spring cereal yields can then suffer if direct drilled.”

Cultivations currently follow a strategy of deep loosening and “tickling the top”, leaving as much undisturbed in between as possible. Alan explains that he assesses each field soon after harvest, with a Grange low-disturbance subsoiler used to lift areas that need it. A Pöttinger Terradisc finishes the top 50mm.

“We have two drills. We try to drill all the cereals with the Väderstad Rapid, that does an excellent job on the Marsh. The OSR, beans and cover crops are established with a 6m Amazone Cayena with its rigid tines.”

A straw-for-muck deal brings in manure and there’s also poultry litter and compost spread judiciously in front of OSR. “All manures are tested before it’s spread ––organic amendments work best when you make the most of what you have and assess its value before it goes on,” notes Neil.

Payment by results

Alan is switching his wheat variety focus more to Group 1 and 2 to benefit from improved disease resistance and consistency of performance in newer varieties. He’s also looking to phase out insecticides and molluscicides altogether. “Insecticides are a nuclear bomb for the soil,” he comments.

He also has a novel payment-by-results arrangement for his agronomy advice. The farm is benchmarked through Agrii’s Measuring Arable Performance (MAP) service. Neil then receives a greater reward if crops perform in the top 25% of Agrii farms in the MAP programme and a lower one if they don’t.

“It only works where you have a relationship built on trust,” says Alan. “As much as I am ruthless on price for inputs, I have no problem paying for the right advice and technical expertise.

“We get really good data for a detailed discussion, and Neil is a part of that. We then share the risks of the decisions we take. This forces us to justify every step, and we’re finding more often than not, it helps reach the right decision.”

Alan’s convinced the farm is in a good position to ride out the transition as the Basic Payment falls away and take advantage of any opportunity that arises. “You have to get a grip on costs, farm efficiently and to the best of the land’s ability, but it’s also about leaving the land in a better state and learning as you go,” he says.

“We may not have all the answers, and may be farming in a very different way in five years’ time. But I’d hope the way we make decisions ensure it’s a continual improvement on all fronts.”

Balance central to Wiltshire farm approach

Environmental improvement and arable profitability go hand-in-hand at Manor Farm, Wilton in the heart of the North Wessex Downs just south of Marlborough. With 1200ha of arable under a broad range of share-farming to stubble-to-stubble agreements, each aspect increasingly has to support the other in a world of unprecedented change, says director David Lemon.

“Climate change makes it imperative we build more resilience into everything we do,” he says. “Our records show in the 30 years to 2006 there were only five occasions when we had more than 25mm of rain in 24hrs. Yet in the 16 years since, we’ve experienced this more than 11 times.”

The progressive loss of Single Farm Payments and escalating fertiliser, fuel and other input prices have added to the pressure on margins. So he works with Agrii agronomist Russell Frost to substantially improve the health, alongside productivity, of the farm’s seven distinctly different soil types – from greensand to chalk and clay

The business revolves around its feed wheats averaging 10t/ha and spring barleys (8t/ha). While rapid change mustn’t compromise a recipe developed over the years to deliver a good return from these, David sees substantial change as inevitable. He views healthier, better-structured soils as key elements in assuring future farming profitability alongside wider sustainability goals.

“Wider rotations, less tillage, regular manuring and, most recently, cover cropping have been central to our improvement efforts,” explains Russell.

“We have extended the main winter wheat/spring barley/winter OSR regime to include winter barley, and we’re now also growing winter rye and maize in some areas, both for a local AD plant.” While pulses have never performed, these options, along with spring oats have opened up the rotation and reduced frequency of OSR.

“Being contract-foraged, the maize and rye also reduce our harvest workload pressures,” adds David. “We’ve also introduced AB15 legume fallows, taking 200ha or so out of our combining area. This will enable us to replace our two existing combines with a single larger machine, saving substantially on diesel as well as time.”

The changes also have benefits for the tillage regime. The business is moving away

Organic amendments at AA Clifton Farms are tested before they’re spread to ensure the most is made of their value.

A payment-by-results arrangement rewards Neil Harper (left) based on how the farm has performed,benchmarked through Agrii’s MAP service.

Ten years of cover crops at AA Clifton Farms have brought benefits throughout the rotation.

from cereal establishment based on primary cultivation with a Simba SL ahead of seedbed preparation with a Väderstad Carrier. This has seen worm counts improve, but required a QuadTrac and 800 litres of diesel every 50ha, says David.

“Although we still have to deal with some areas of compaction, we no longer need to move so much soil every year. This means we can afford a much lighter-touch cultivation approach with the Carrier complemented with the Weaving LD Top-soiler we’ve just acquired.

“The LD will allow us to subsoil wherever necessary and sow both OSR and cover crops in a single pass if conditions are right. We will also be able to replace the QuadTrac and our other 200hp tractor with a single 300hp unit for greater all-round economies.”

A 320hp low ground pressure Bateman RB-Trac platform has been switched from Horsch Pronto disc coulters to Weaving Sabre Tines, allowing direct drilling into stubbles, even where there’s plenty of trash.

“We’ve always taken pride in only working the ground at the right time and in the right way to leave our soils in the best possible order,” stresses David. “We all carr y spades whenever we cultivate to ensure this. The new regime will give us even more ability to get our crop establishment spot-on, coupled with altogether less pressure on the ground.”

Around 160ha of the arable ground gets a 22t/ha application of sewage cake from Thames Water ever y year. Transpor t costs unfortunately make digestate from the AD plant prohibitive. So there’s also a straw-for-muck deal with a local dairy unit.

This may be brought in house through a planned bed-and-breakfast par tnership for up to 50 beef cattle with a local rearer. This will see an extra 40ha of short-term leys

in the rotation while the AB15 areas will provide a final cut of big bale silage every two years.

The areas of AB15 are part of a Stewardship scheme that brings in carefully-sited grass, pollen and nectar, and wild bird margins, providing links to woodland and other valuable habitats. The business is one of the founder members of the Southern Streams cluster group of farmers managing 9000 ha of land in the River Kennet catchment.

The cover crop mixes of linseed, berseem clover, black oats, phacelia, buckwheat and vetches are all mixed on-farm to a recipe developed with Agrii from straights bought-in or home-grown for the greatest value.

Key aims

“We grow them for their roots and ground cover, more than anything else,” points out Russell. “We don’t want a massive biomass to have to get rid of ahead of early barley sowing. Stow Longa research underlines that the real value of cover cropping lies in holding rather than improving soil structure as well as protecting the soil surface. So, these are our key aims.”

The spring planting opportunity, later wheat sowing and minimum soil movement at drilling help a robust pre-emergence herbicide programme keep on top of grassweeds, he adds.

“Our nutrient use efficiency focus is first and foremost on planting as early as we can in the autumn –– with the OSR, in par ticular –– and winter cereals wherever

the blackgrass risk isn’t too high,” explains David. “That way we get as much nutrition into our crops as possible from increasingly healthy soils so we can be less reliant on fertiliser.

“We’ve also switched all our N application to liquid applied through the Bateman for the greatest accuracy across our 40m tramlines. We’re well on course to achieve our current target of a 10-15% reduction in nitrogen use with no loss in yield,” he says.

Crops are fed for potential, however, so he wouldn’t shy from an oppor tunity to produce more. “After all, productivity is all about the output we can achieve per unit of input. And the more we do this, the more land and resource we can afford to put into the environmental benefits we all want.” ■

The farmer network is part of Agrii’s ambitious Green Horizons plan of practical action to improve the sustainability of UK food and farming.

Focussed on increasing farm productivity and viability,providing integrated whole farm solutions, improving soil resilience,enhancing the environment, and extending stakeholder engagement,this initiative brings together the best scientific intelligence and farm experience to inform future improvement action.

Network growers are working alongside Agrii’s extensive variety,soil resilience,IPM and other trial work, and collaborative projects with a range of partners to share ideas,test approaches and showcase progress.

Up-to-date information and a series of specialist insight reports is available from www.agrii.co.uk/greenhorizons

Green Horizons

David Lemon (right) and Russell Frost check their OSR companion crop mix.

Fitting the Bateman platform with Weaving Sabre Tine coulters gives much more direct drilling flexibility at Manor Farm,especially where trash levels are high.

What kind of tiller are you?

The harvest for this year in the Côte d’Azur of sunny Suffolk went without a hitch, long summer days,no drying costs,good quality grain and lots of it. Having finished on 6 August,my attention then turned to cultivations. It was far too dr y to contemplate anything deep, so we decided to tr y a range of techniques to improve our soil. In my view, there are five epochs of tillage.

Emotional tillage – this is where the oldest child, having for many a year been told that they weren’t old enough to drive a tractor for some bizarre legal reason, or were in fact unable to reach the pedals, has reached a height and age where they keep pestering you constantly for a tractor driving job. You find an old springtine from the nettles or, even better, an even older set of gang rolls and set them off, with clear instructions on how to put them together. You’ll tell them this job is ver y impor tant as the straw left behind the combine needs to be flat to stop the flea beetle climbing up into the stalks and hiding. They aren’t actually achieving much except some peace of mind for you and an undisturbed snooze after lunch, but they are as happy as a sandboy*. They will be costing quite a lot of fuel, but you can console yourself that this is still

cheaper than a family day out at a ‘fun park’. Always remember to mislay your phone after they have gone. The walk home is good for them.

Recreational tillage – this happens because either your ‘in-law’ has popped over for the day, or that blasted machinery dealer rep keeps hassling you to buy that combine you can’t really justify. Or worse, your partner insists that the washing machine really ought to be plumbed in after four months sitting in the hall. On reflection, Bottom Acres does need that extra pass with a cultivator just to make the perfect seed bed and off you go –– forgetting, of course, your phone in the process. You’ll be sure to take food and drink with you to make sure of being undisturbed.

Therapeutic tillage – you’re stuck in the office by enforced deadlines at your busiest time of the year by one of the many government quangos that need to check any or all of the following. The RPA needs your field maps updating as one of them has been lost and is now registered to the local vicar. Your cattle passport has been filled in using the wrong colour ink. One of the pigs has eaten another’s ear tag as it thought it might be lemon flavoured. Your sheep numbers were being monitored by satellite, but the animals went under a tree for some shade and now don’t exist. Your head is full to bursting with all this as you trundle out with a tractor and sense an almost ethereal feeling of well-being as you till the land. On no account take your mobile phone with you.

Competitive tillage – on a warm sunny Sunday, just after

an excellent cooked breakfast, you spy your neighbour on his new tractor pulling his, also brand new, Badistan multi-disc/tine/press. You feel compelled to be out in your field as well and show him that have a similar implement, a well-used Bimpo Uptop, which uses less fuel and is wider than his tool. Plus your large tractor is 75hp more than his, so you can show him you can pull your tool faster and deeper as well. What you haven’t considered as you set off, is that his new tractor has a horsepower boost system, making his even more powerful, provided that he travels over 30mph or is pulling a large baler.

No tillage at all - this puts you in something of a quandary as after harvest is completed, you have little or nothing to do until you start sowing wheat in the first week of October. This leaves you with eight weeks of being stuck at home. A straw harrow is bought, 12m wide ought to do it, and your neighbours see you whizzing about at high speed, covering some 100ha a day. Remember, a fully suspended seat is a must. Alternatively, you spend much time and money sowing cover crops, and then destroy them again six weeks later.

Richard Styles is a third-generation farmer in central Suffolk who, dispute his best efforts, is still managing to farm and says he loves his job: tilling land and growing crops. His land is Hanslope Clay and will produce some eye watering yields –– though mostly for his neighbours, as he’s never reached the apex of an average 13t/ha of wheat, yet. But perhaps he should visit the pub more often…

This gives you a good feeling of achievement and allows you to sleep at night. This feeling of contentment goes some way to mitigating the cost.

Now, I wonder how many of you have actually done any of the above. I have, but I’ll leave you to guess which one.

* N Noottee: : Happy as a Sandboy. An old established expression from the days when sandboys (or men) drove their donkeys, mules or horses onto the beach to collect sand and hawk it on the streets to sand the floors of houses, or sold it to builders, or gardeners. They normally finished at the local publicans and took liquid refreshment instead of money, hence the term. Happy as a Sandboy.

(Brewers Dictionary)

Emotional tillage - rolling is often the first ever tractor driving job on the farm.

European shows provide plenty of innovation

European Shows

With the move of France’s SIMA international farm machinery exhibition to a November date in ‘even’ years,manufacturers were spoilt for choice when it came to unveiling new developments, with Italy’s EIMA in the same month. With both nations having strong machinery manufacturing bases, the crowded calendar didn’t affect the flow of innovation.

By Martin Rickatson

Accounting for 37% of tractor sales across Europe in the first half of 2022,the French tractor market is a good bellwether for the state of the country’s –– and perhaps the continent’s –– agriculture. As an extension of that,the country’s biennial SIMA farm machinery exhibition,which attracts visitors and exhibitors from across Europe,

provides a good measure of the mood of the nation’s farmers.

A new show timing –– in November of ‘even’ years rather than its traditional slot in February of ‘odd’ ones –– meant the past autumn was a little crowded with international machinery exhibitions, with the Italian EIMA exhibition taking place in the same week. Nevertheless, the two events provided the opportunity for different windows on the current state of agriculture in two of Europe’s most significant crop-producing nations, and plenty of new developments across the arable machinery sector were launched at both.

In France, first-time tractor registrations were down 3% in the first half of 2022, compared with the same period last year. However, that was still well above the average for the same period over the previous five years, with 2021 having been exceptional in terms of investment in agricultural equipment, according to CEMA, the European agricultural machinery association.

After a good first quarter as French farmers chose to invest with cautious optimism, new tractor registrations began to decline in April. CEMA suggests supply and delivery difficulties were among the key factors behind the decline in the volume of registrations, although it’s not clear to what extent. Splitting apart the specialist crop

sectors and removing the smaller and specialist tractors, CEMA calculates that the agricultural tractor market for the first half of 2022 was down by around 5%.

Italian market holding up Meanwhile, although the Italian market for agricultural machinery of all types is on a downturn, according to industry association FederUnacoma, this is from a strong performance in 2021. It recorded registrations of 15,800 agricultural tractors in the nine months from January to September 2022, down on the same period in 2021 but still higher than the average of the last four years. At EIMA’s opening press conference, association president Alessandro Malavolti

Despite both SIMA and EIMA falling in November, manufacturers – such as New Holland with its new T7.300 – had plenty to show.

European shows

suggested delays in the supply chain, rising production costs and the resulting increase in list prices are holding back the agricultural machinery market.

“Despite these issues, machinery sales levels are holding up well,” he said.

“Registration statistics processed by FederUnacoma on the basis of data provided by Italy’s Ministry of Transport indicate a 15.3% drop for tractor

registration volumes in the first ten months of the year. But as the average over those months in recent years was around 14,000 units, farmers here are clearly still prioritising investment over consolidation.”

FederUnacoma also recorded a 14% drop in registrations of combines for the past harvest season, with 335 units recorded, an 11.6% drop compared with a market that had broken the 350

barrier the previous year. Telescopic handler sales into agriculture closed the ten months with a drop of 24% at 964 units.

New in sprayers

In the sprayer sector, introductions at SIMA spanned everything from mounted machines to self-propelled ones. In the latter category, Dutch manufacturer Agrifac introduced the Vanguard to its Condor range, as a companion to the Condor V and Condor Endurance. Despite a 6000-litre tank, a key attribute is reckoned to be its overall width of 2.55m, while it also offers 75cm of adjustable track width. Maximum available track widths are either 1.8m on StabiloPlus chassis models or 3.0m on WideTrackPlus versions. Its engine is a 6.7-litre six-cylinder Cummins producing 288hp, and top travel speed is 50 km/hr with a maximum tyre size of 480/95 R50 (2.2m diameter).

With Balance Plus stabilisation the boom can work as close as 30cm from the ground, says the maker. Boom widths are from 24-48m, and options include Agrifac’s AirFlowPlus air assistance system, which boosts crop penetration by using fans sited every three metres along the boom.

French firm Berthoud’s latest mounted machine is targeted at mid-sized farms with hilly ground that doesn’t suit typical hydrostatic SP sprayers or the trailed type, which tend to require complex and expensive steering systems to track true behind the tractor. The company claims that when combined with a front tank a modern mounted sprayer can match a small self-propelled for output.

The new Heracles Evo replaces its Elyte model and can be had with a tank capacity of up to 2000 litres, a jump of 500 litres on the largest Elyte. It can be paired with a newly-designed 1000- or 1500-litre front tank, with attributes said to include improved emptying and enhanced vision. Booms are a

new ASLR three- or four-section design from 21-30m, and the sprayer’s specification can include individual nozzle control and pulse width modulation while quad nozzle bodies are standard, as is ISOBUS control. There’s also a new front-rear transfer system which keeps the relative content of both tanks equal as the liquid is applied, to aid weight distribution and traction.

John Deere chose SIMA to announce that its ‘See & Spray’ system, already offered in the USA, will be an option for its R900i trailed sprayers from 2023. It uses camera technology integrated into the sprayer boom to detect colour differences in the field, with one camera per metre of working width. Processors assess the images and the nozzles are triggered individually for spot treatment. Green detection on the field soil enables targeted application of pre-emergence herbicides, suggests Deere. Beyond pre-em use, the system is also suited to work in row crops post-emergence.

Crop establishment innovations

French firm Sulky showed a prototype of a new consolidation arrangement for use with drill combinations, designed to extend the established idea of a set of press wheels carried on the tractor’s front linkage. With the displayed arrangement, which operates in combination with its Xeos TF front-mounted hopper, pairs of press wheels are extended hydraulically out beyond the tractor to consolidate the soil ahead of the outer reaches of the drill behind. The units pivot upwards for transport. Sulky says that the idea is currently still in the testing and development stage.

Those seeking a shallow cultivator for slicing through combinable crop root matter at depths of around 5cm (2in) now have another option with the launch of the new Methys PCS from Sky Agriculture, whose

Sulky’s prototype press wheels extend hydraulically out beyond the tractor to consolidate the soil ahead of the outer reaches of the drill behind.

Dutch manufacturer Agrifac introduced the Vanguard to its Condor range, with a 6000-litre tank but an overall width of 2.55m.

Maschio Gaspardo’s Alitalia combination drill now features upgrades including a redesigned hopper and external distribution heads.

products come into the UK via Opico. Available currently in 6m and 8m trailed folding versions, mounted models from 3m are in development. A 6m unit features 29 A-shareequipped tines set across seven rows, with each transport/carrying wheel being followed by a tine so that

cultivated ground does not become recompressed. Three rows of finishing tines follow up at the rear, designed to ensure that as much soil as possible is removed from plant root material to speed drying and degradation. The tandem front wheels help ensure accurate depth control, says Sky

Drill developments

Sold in the UK by importer Opico, Maschio Gaspardo’s Alitalia combination drill now features a number of upgrades for next season. A redesigned hopper means easier access and new external distribution heads, with the unit now holding 2000 litres of seed. Each head has its own volumetric distributor with electric transmission, which Maschio says boosts seed movement precision and means automatic GPS-governed shut-off of the right or left half of the coulter bar is possible, according to the drill’s location detected by the GPS sensor. Electric metering for each side also means variable rate sowing is possible. Coulter choice spans Suffolk, single disc, double concave disc or double straight disc types.

Other drill news at EIMA included the purchase by Austria’s Pöttinger of Italian precision drill specialist MaterMacc, formerly part of the Chinese Lovol group which has withdrawn its Arbos tractor operation from Europe. Matermacc remains an independent brand and business for now, with Pöttingerretaining its factory, workforce and product line. The firm won an EIMA Innovation Award for its new MiPlus EVA precision drill control terminal, which allows key functions to be operated and altered via voice commands.

Tractor news

Both Case IH (Puma) and New Holland (T7) launched new 280hp long wheelbase tractors at SIMA and EIMA. New Holland’s T7.300 features an FPT Industrial NEF 6 delivering 280hp maximum power for draft work and300hp for PTO and haulage tasks. Fitted with a new electronically-controlled variable geometry turbo, it meets Stage V emissions standards using New Holland’s Hi-eSCR after-treatment system, with no exhaust gas recirculation.

Further engine-related details include 18% more fuel capacity and lengthened service intervals. New Holland has also extended

the tractor’s overall capabilities with increased axle capacities and a higher gross vehicle weight. Maximum rear tyre diameter is 2.05m. There is a larger, quieter (66 decibels) cab interior with enhanced materials and a new Comfort Ride suspension that co-ordinates cab and front axle damping.

Other new features include decouple-under-pressure remote valves with configurable controls. The tractor also features Tractor Implement Management (TIM), which allows two way communication between tractor and implement and for the latter to control functions of the former.

Elsewhere in terms of tractor developments, Indian firm BKT, which has built a significant presence in agricultural tyres over recent years from a standing start, is now in the replacement rubber track market. Its Agriforce BK T71 units are manufactured from what it describes as a ‘high performance’ formulation designed to provide strong resistance against cuts, tears and abrasion. An optimised tread pattern, resulting from the firm’s own research, is reckoned to maximise traction and ride comfort. The shape of the positive-drive lugs ensures full positive engagement, and the carcase is reinforced with four layers of high-tensile steel cord.

Deutz-Fahr has added three new 136-156hp 6.4 designation models to its existing 6 series, between the 6C and 6 ranges. The four-cylinder tractors, which have a 2.56m wheelbase, are built around SDF’s own powertrain and front axle, with electro-hydraulically engaged 4wd and 100% lockable diff lock. Transmission options comprise SDF’s continuously-variable TTV and the recently-introduced RVshift CVT/powershift hybrid, a full powershift concept with definable pre-determined ratios that can also be customised according to task and preference. ■

Sky’s Methys PCS shallow cultivator is designed for slicing through root matter at depths of around around 5cm (2in).A 6m unit features 29 A-shareequipped tines set across seven rows.

Italian precision drill specialist Matermacc is now under the ownership of Austria’s Pöttinger, it was announced just prior to the EIMA show

Tyre manufacturer BKT has now entered the market for replacement rubber tracks,with these Agriforce BK T71 units.

Starting January boldly

LAMMA preview

LAMMA will kick-start the new year as the first show of 2023,returning to its January timeslot at the NEC in Birmingham. CPM previews some of the show’s features and the machinery, technology and innovation that will be on display.

By Melanie Jenkins

LAMMA will once again open the doors of the NEC to to farmers and industry professionals on 10-11 January 2023, to showcase some of the best-known names in the world of agricultural machinery,equipment and technology.

“We look forward to welcoming the farming community back to LAMMA once again,” says Nichola Bell, of Agriconnect, which organises the event. “With sustainability, production efficiency and food security at the top of the industry’s priority list, LAMMA is the perfect place for farmers and business owners to find the right tools and strategies help them achieve their goals.”

Show features

It’s anticipated that more than 700 manufacturers, dealers and distributors will fill 11 halls at the NEC, to display some of the latest products, knowledge and services available to farmers and producers across the arable, horticulture and livestock sectors.

Alongside exhibitors, visitors can expect a number of other features at the show which will offer a chance to learn, network and explore new ideas.

Visitors will see a return of familiar features like the Farm Safety Zone, the ability to earn CPD points and a wide range of seminars on contemporary topics in agriculture.

They can also anticipate another Future Farming Trail –– formerly known as the Farming 4.0 Trail –– which will highlight exhibitors and products at the show with the

potential to revolutionise the industry. The trail aims to explore the role of data, robotics, autonomous machines and advanced devices, and how these are becoming more important on-farm, particularly as the UK works towards the net zero goal. By taking part in the trail, visitors will get a first look at the machines and technology that could help to redefine farming and help re-imagine what’s possible.

The show will also be hosting LAMMA Torques, which will include speaker sessions and debates on the latest industry developments and issues.

Data and machine automation can reduce fuel costs and save valuable time.

“ ”

Syngenta will be presenting its new EvoPac product packaging in the UK for the first time.

In other news, LAMMA’s Innovation Awards are back for 2023. According to show organisers, the awards are returning

due to popular demand. For years the Innovation Awards recognised and rewarded innovation and advances inside the agricultural industry and now they are back to help celebrate new advances.

Award aims

As before, the entries will be judged by an independent panel of industry experts according to a range of criteria including design innovation, practical impact, the sustainability of the product and its impact on the environment. The awards aim to provide a quality platform for exhibitors to introduce ground-breaking innovation in agricultural machinery, technology, equipment and services to the market.

There are six categories in total: arable innovation, livestock innovation, digital innovation, future farming innovation, the IagRE Ivel Award best environmental award and the LAMMA founders trophy for best innovation 2023.

Another award returning for 2023 is the Young Engineer Award. Like last year, the award will be aiming to champion an individual or collective of young engineers who have created or worked on a piece of agricultural machinery, equipment or technology which significantly improves

efficiency, profitability or sustainability on-farm.

The show will also be hosting LAMMA Torques, which will include speaker sessions and debates on the latest industry developments and issues, plus visitors will have the chance to put questions to experts.

Topics being discussed at the show include silage management, regen agriculture and carbon, future farming and alternative fuels, getting in and out of farming, the future of agricultural policy and cost-saving sessions.

And aside from all the wealth of information and innovation promised to be available at the show, a number of exhibitors plan to present some of their latest developments and launches.

Syngenta is one of these and the company will be presenting its new EvoPac product packaging in the UK for the first time. Designed in collaboration with growers, the aim is that the packaging should significantly reduce operator exposure while filling.

The EvoPac features a central high flow opening to provide a stable coupling onto the easyconnect closed transfer unit. EvoPac is made from a rigid recyclable polymer, with integral moulded grips for

It’s anticipated that more than 700 manufacturers, dealers and distributors will fill 11 halls at the NEC.

quick and safe handling. The translucent packaging has been designed to be easy clean and should also enable operators to see precisely how much has been transferred during sprayer filling, and when the packs are fully clean with the system’s auto rinse.

The new packaging will be available for a range of Syngenta products this year, with a transition to replace all liquid packaging over the coming seasons.

And this isn’t all. Syngenta will also be introducing the GranuPac, developed specifically for Nemathorin granules to enable faster and cleaner operation during potato planting. The 20kg packs include moulded grips for safer handling and a new fast ring-pull opening. The system fits all existing hopper connectors. The new GranuPac will start to appear on farms during the 2023 season.

New developments

Syngenta will also use LAMMA to launch developments in the company’s digital agronomy toolbox to advance precision crop management and that further help operators work more effectively and efficiently, it claims. This season will see major advances in the BlightCast disease forecasting system for potato growers, as well as the Quantis Heat Stress Forecast to optimise timing of applications.

The show will see Fendt return to the halls of the NEC and the company brings with it the new 700 Vario Gen 7 which features a 7.5-litre AGCO Power engine with outputs of 203hp for the 720 model and more than 300hp for the top 728 model.

According to Richard Miller of Fendt, LAMMA is the ideal place in the UK to launch the tractor. “The NEC is a fitting location for the show. It helps to raise the overall profile of the agricultural industry in the UK and enables Fendt to show the best that we have to offer the farming public.”

Larger machines including the new Katana 850 forage harvester and latest Ideal combine will also be on show, as well as the Tigo VR forage wagon and the Rotana round baler.

Technology will again be a hot topic at LAMMA and the FendtONE onboard/offboard concept will be available for visitors to experience. Data-driven farming is being more widely adopted as a precision-led method to improve agricultural efficiencies and FendtONE demonstrates how data collected by machines in the field can help make operational decisions in the farm office, says Richard.

“Data and machine automation can

reduce fuel costs and save valuable time. FendtONE has been designed to offer the data needed to make important decisions that will drive the efficiencies needed in today’s market,” he adds.

Valtra will be fillings its stand with members of its fifth generation models, the latest of which is the Q Series, a 230-305hp range of tractors. These have redesigned cabs, the latest transmission and engine features, remodelled smart display and a new look. The firm will also be demonstrating a number of its SmartFarming tools live for visitors.

Claydon is another manufacturer which is planning to highlight new models, in the form of its Evolution range of mounted drills. Each of the drills in the collection is designed for direct drilling but can also be used after consolidation in both ploughing

Fendt returns to the halls of the NEC bringing with it the new 700 Vario Gen 7.

and min-till situations.

There are a total of nine models in the Evolution range, with working widths of 3m, 4m, 4.5m, 4.8m, 5m and 6m, which incorporate nine, 13, 15 or 19 tines. Most models feature a 1910-litre hopper, but the 3m Evolution 3MF and 4m 4MRF versions

Claydon is planning to highlight new models at LAMMA,in the form of its Evolution range of mounted drills.

include a 2700-litre tank with a 50:50 split between seed and fertiliser. The larger hopper is designed to help increase productivity, while second and third hopper options are for applying multiple types, varieties and sizes of seed.

All Claydon Evolution models feature a hydraulic fan, Artemis metering control, tramlining facility, front tine/17.8cm A-share configuration, double rear toolbar and road lights. Typical daily outputs range from 20ha for the 3m Evolution, which requires a minimum of 150hp, up to 40ha for the 6m version, which needs a minimum of 300hp.

The new range incorporates additional features which aim to improve operational functionality. Seed depth adjustment is controlled hydraulically, improved access to the metering unit allows easier calibration, while front-mounted discs which are operated hydraulically from the tractor seat can be specified as

an optional extra.

Other features include quick-fit knock-on/knock-off coulter options for the standard leading tine and A-Share to low disturbance twin disc and tine options. Multiple seed tool options allow a wide range of crops to be drilled across different soil types and situations, while the quick-change facility allows fast, easy modification when required. A large, easily accessible toolbox incorporated into the step frame is also standard.

The firm will be showcasing its 3m seed and fertiliser version alongside a 4m hydrid T4 trailed drill. Claydon will also present a 7.5m straw harrow and a 4m TerraBlade inter-row hoe.

Additionally, visitors can expect to see machines from Dale Drills’ range at the show Specifically, the firm will be taking its 6m Eco M Seed Drill, Mounted Tine Drill and its Meir Soil Conditioner.

Hi-Spec Engineering plans to bring its new high-capacity compact tanker, the TS-R, to the show.

Specialist sprayer manufacturer Micron will also be exhibiting at the event, and visitors to its stand can expect to see a range of products from the firm, including the Varidome –– a band sprayer for cost-effective inter-row weed control in vegetables, sugar beet, oilseed rape and other row crops.

In addition, the firm will be bringing its Micron Envrio shielded sprayers, which are tractor mounted and designed for eliminating persistent weeds such as blackgrass in field margins and general weed control in vineyards, orchards, as well as along fence lines and pathways.

The firm’s WeedWiper will also be on display. This non-drip tractor/vehiclemounted weedwiper is for treating bolters in sugar beet and tall weed control in grassland, arable and environmentally sensitive areas.

Moving to tankers, Hi-Spec Engineering plans to bring its new high-capacity compact tanker, the TS-R, to the show. This is available in a range of capacities from over 9000 litres, up to just shy of 18,200 litres.

Spreading options

Spreading options for the TS-R include the Hi-Spec Trailing Shoe applicator, which is offered in working widths of 7.5m, 9.0m and 10.5m. Alternatively, there is the 7.5m wide Hi-Spec Dribble Bar, which folds down to just 2.55m for transport.

With a narrower width and fitted with a commercial tandem-axle on 710/50-R26.5 tyres and semi-recessed mudguards, this means that overall width and height are reduced allowing the tanker to be manoeuvrable in restricted operating spaces.

Also on display will be a Hi-Spec SA-R (single axle recessed) tanker, which has capacities from 6100 litres up to 13,600 litres, and the XCEL 1250 rear discharge spreader. This spreader uses a combination of a shredding rotor fitted with 22 heavy duty chains and 12mm Hardox flail heads. The machine is designed to achieve an even spread pattern up to 24m, with a 12t capacity and typical discharge time of three to five minutes. It’s also able to spread all material types, such as farmyard manure, sludge cake, muck lime, wood mulch and chicken compost.

Centre stage on the BvL stand at LAMMA will be a 33m3 V-Mix Plus 3S. According to the firm it’s seen a considerable increase in UK sales of its Plus triple auger mixers in recent years. “It’s not uncommon to see a 17m3 or 20m3 diet feeder being replaced by

a 30m3 plus triple auger machine,” says BvL’s John Molton. “Not only does it save a lot of time, but because users are perhaps only doing three mixes instead of six, overall ration consistency is improved considerably.”

At the other end of the size scale the firm will also be displaying a 12m3 single auger machine and information on the Dairy Feeder Go app. This is a new entry-level version of the cloud-based BvL V-Connect Dairy Feeder system. ■

Centre stage on the BvL stand at LAMMA will be a 33m3 V-Mix Plus 3S triple auger mixer.

Target: outstanding emergence

Väderstad launches

Väderstad has bold ambitions when it comes to seed emergence and celebrated its 60th birthday with the launch of a raft of new machines.

CPM went to Germany to take a look firsthand.

By Melanie Jenkins

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to wonder whether there’ll come a point where cultivators are as good as they can get, where any changes are simply a case of ‘new and improved’ marketing spiel. But Väderstad claims it has a tradition of advancing groundworks started by its founders,Rune and Siw Stark,60 years ago,through marrying both mechanical and technological breakthroughs.

At an international event in Magdeburg, Germany, in early October, Väderstad set out to celebrate its 60th anniversary with the launch a number of new products aimed at taking cultivations and establishment to “new levels”.

“We believe that we have a very important job –– one of the most important jobs in the world: to make sure all farmers can provide a growing population with food in an efficient and sustainable way. Our aim is to be a world-leading partner in outstanding emergence,” announces the firm’s CEO, Henrik Gilstring.

Ambition and vision

“In these challenging times, this matters. It’s more critical than ever before and we have an ambition and vision for Väderstad. Buying a machine from Väderstad should mean entering into a partnership with us, so we want our machines to be reliable and with accessible service wherever they are sold.”

As Henrik points out, being able to use machines to their full potential is down to the concept combined with effective agronomy “We will challenge what is today and make it better tomorrow.”

The company’s chief agronomist, Nina Pettersson, outlines future developments based on autonomy and digitalisation, keeping productivity for farmers firmly in mind. “Precision is the key factor in this equation: minimising inputs and the impact of farming and maximising outputs.”

This vision of the proverbial ‘tomorrow’ is echoed by colleague Johan von Mecklenburg: “Tomorrow our machines need to be autonomy ready –– performing whether

there’s a human in the tractor cab or not.”

One action the firm is taking to try to make continual, useful improvements to its catalogue is its on-farm project, which involves trialling and testing its concept and new machines on a 52ha working unit in Lower Saxony.

“The original idea for this project was to just run it in Germany but now there’s a lot of interest from other countries and companies,” explains Väderstad’s Karl-Hubertus Reher. “The site is used for serious farming, for training and networking. A lot of different crops are grown each year, in different ways and

Väderstad aims to be a world-leading partner in outstanding crop emergence,says Henrik Gilstring.

We will challenge what is today and make it better tomorrow.

“ ”

with different machine settings.

“Field trials are conducted with external partners –– including Syngenta and Strübe –– and these have involved moving from a continuous wheat rotation to a multi-crop one, permanently integrating cover crops and having a machine demo plot throughout the year.”

But what about Väderstad’s new machine offerings?

Proceed

Väderstad’s prototype drill, the Proceed, was presented live to an audience for the first time in Magdeburg, sparking much interest. The Proceed is part of the company’s ambition to create “outstanding emergence for plants” and according to the firm’s Maria Cornelius, it does this through better seed placement.

“This means even seed placement between the rows, a good distribution of seeds within the row –– avoiding too many seeds in one spot –– and then there’s depth placement. Getting this right is a big part of the challenge to get a uniform emergence,” she says.

The Proceed has a two-point linkage and pivot packer to allow for redistribution of machine weight, meaning tyre pressure can

be adjusted and contours can be followed more closely.

The prototype has a 2200-litre capacity seed hopper with two integrated fans. One transports seeds from the hopper to the row units and the other is for singulation within the row units. “Users might think the hopper is a bit small but Väderstad field trials of the Proceed suggest they could lower seed rates and get better results,” explains the company’s Lars Thylén.

The trailed seed drill offers row spacings for cereals of 225mm or 250mm, but a quick change of the seed discs alters this to 450mm or 500mm for crops such as sugar beet or oilseed rape. Additionally, a further switch means maize or sunflowers can be planted with 750mm row spacings.

The row units are at the heart of the machine, according to Lars. “Prior to seed placement, individual pre-seeding wheels consolidate the field to ensure the same conditions for each seed. These are individually mounted, using hydraulic down-force to ensure high performance.”

Once seeds reach the row units, an adapted version of Väderstad’s PowerShoot singulation system takes control. Once a seed has left the seed tube, it’s received by a stop wheel to optimise seed-to-soil

Väderstad launches

contact, he adds.

“Each row unit is electrically driven and controlled via the iPad-based control system, Väderstad E-Control. Functions include ▲

The Proceed is a prototype drill from Väderstad, aimed at fine-tuning seed placement.

Väderstad’s new Inspire seed drill is the first 12m model the firm has produced.

The latest disc cultivator from Väderstad comes in the form of its Carrier XL 725 – a 7.25m machine that bridges a gap in the current models.

▲

row-by-row shut-off and variable rate, dynamic tramlining, individual calibration, as well as real-time precision monitoring and control.”

Inspire 1200S/C

The Inspire 1200 is a new seed drill from Väderstad and it’s the firm’s first 12m model. The Inspire S is a seed-only version and is equipped with a 5000-litre hopper. The Inspire C is a combi version which has a 7200-litre hopper and can hold both seed and fertiliser in separate chambers. After leaving the hopper, seed and fertiliser are mixed in the same airstream and will have the same placement in the coulter

“You might have to be careful about how much fertiliser you put with the seed but this is a normal challenge for contact fertiliser units,” advises Väderstad’s Björn Jeansson.

The drill has eight distribution towers and the ability to control the seeding output in eight separate sections, with 1.5m per section, explains Björn. “To ensure a constant and even product flow from the large hopper to the seed coulters, the seeds and fertiliser are metered

out from the hopper via eight Fenix III metering units.”

Row spacings are set at 12.5cm, with 96 coulters on the machine. Seeding is controlled via E-Control from an iPad in the cab, and this can be connected with an ISOBUS task control system. The machine requires 250-300hp, according to Björn, has a low draft requirement and can fold up to a 3m transport width. The Inspire will be available from the end of 2022.

CrossCutter Disc Aggressive

Back in 2017, Väderstad first introduced its CrossCutter Disc to the market for ultra-shallow tillage at high working speeds, and for 2022 it has launched the CrossCutter Disc Aggressive. This new addition has sharpened TrueCut, cut outs that provide higher penetrative capabilities in challenging field conditions. “These cut outs reduce the surface that the disc has on the ground, and so increases the penetration ability,” explains the company’s Magnus Samuelsson. “This is needed when conditions might prohibit penetration of the soil.”

Working at a depth of 2-5cm,

The new Carrier XT is Väderstad’s next generation of compact disc cultivators.

it should move a lot less soil than a conventional disc, according to Magnus. The CrossCutter Disc Aggressive comes in two sizes: 450mm intended for a working depth of 2-3cm with the Carrier range of disc cultivators, as well as 510mm for a working depth of 3-5cm with Carrier XL. Both can be operated at working speeds of up to 20km/h. “The pressure on tillage is here to stay and we see this as a crucial advancement,” adds Magnus.

Carrier XL 725

Väderstad’s latest disc cultivator comes in the form of its Carrier XL 725 –– a 7.25m machine that bridges a gap in the current models, which range from 4.25m to 12.25m. “The machine actually has a working width of 7.1m,” says Magnus. “We chose to add this to improve the current range of Carrier XLs and because it should help reduce passes and cut machine-use costs.”

Carrier XL 725 is available with 510mm TrueCut discs, CrossCutter Disc or the new CrossCutter Disc Aggressive. To suit different farming needs, it can be equipped with a full range of front tools and packer options, as well as the small seeder BioDrill 360.

According to Magnus, it’s important on machines like this to counteract the forces going into it so there isn’t movement in the wings at all. “We’ve made the machine stiffer to improve working depth and have made frame improvements with a strengthened packer parallel linkage.”

Carrier XT

The new Carrier XT is Väderstad’s next generation of compact disc cultivators, says the firm’s Wolfrom Hastolz. “There are three different types and three different working widths. It’s available in a mounted, mounted galvanised and in a trailed version, and has working widths of 4.25m, 5.25m and 6.25m.

“The Carrier XT is based on the former

The Cultus HD 525 is part of a new family of foldable cultivators from Väderstad.

mounted Carrier X, but we have increased the strength of the mainframe and also of the rings, so it can hold both different front tool options and different runner options at the back,” explains Wolfrom.

A main feature of Carrier XT is its hydraulically rotating disc axles, he says. “There are two different disc set-ups; a W shape or an X shape. If the machine is equipped with CrossCutter discs or the new CrossCutter Aggressive disc, it always comes in a W-shape to improve the ultrashallow work result. But if equipped with a 450mm or 470mm TrueCut disc, then it always comes in an X-shape.”

Those machines with the CrossCutter disc also come with cylinder protection, for incorporation of slurry.

When it comes to roller options, there’s modularity to the frame design, meaning that if a user wanted to change from a single runner to a double runner, it’s easily possible, says Wolfram. “A cage runner, single soil runner, a double soil runner, a single steel runner and a double steel runner are available. But the mounted versions come with a double soil runner.

“The machine is easy to fold and easy to set, folding vertically with a hydraulic wing lock,” he adds.

Mounted machines come with a Category 3 three-point linkage and trailed machines have two drawbar options; a stiff or a hydraulic drawbar, while users can choose between Category 2 or Category 3 three-point linkage.

Cultus HD 425 and 525

The Cultus HD 425 and 525 represent an entirely new family of foldable cultivators for Väderstad, says the company’s Daniel Feilhaber. “Mounted cultivators have a long tradition all over our European markets, and the tractors and demands for mid-sized farms and contractors have grown over the

years. But with the Cultus HD we have the answer to this and to working heavy soils.”

Available in working widths of 4.25m or 5.25m, the Cultus HD can work to depths of 30cm and is equipped with three tine axles, resulting in a tine spacing of 27cm.

The heart of the machine is made up of the new heavy-duty tines which have a release force of up to 680kg, allowing the machine to work in a full range of conditions, explains Wolfram. “If a tine meets a heavy obstacle in the soil, it is fully released from the soil to pass the obstacle. When the tine re-enters the soil, it keeps its full power to quickly return to its working position.”

The depth is set from the cab and is equipped with a hydraulic wing lock and new leveller adjustment system –– called Dynamic Control –– to enhance the performance, he explains. “Dynamic Control ensures the levellers are always in the optimal working position and removes the requirement for manual adjustment, so they don’t have to be changed when switching working depths. The distance between the discs and tines moves as the depth changes, so working depth alters but the discs only need setting once.”

According to Väderstad’s Erik Vagbrant, it’s the strongest cultivator on the market. “We needed this machine to be as low weight, but as strong as possible. To do this we have tubes in the machine with a bigger outer dimension than most of our competitors,” he explains. “This makes the tubes 30% stronger.”

The Cultus HD is available with number of roller options: a Single SteelRunner, a CageRunner, a Single Soil Runner or a Double SoilRunner

Väderstad expects to start delivering the machine from October 2023 and has a limited number of demo models available before then. ■

Väderstad’s farm project in Lower Saxony, Germany,hosts trials and testing of the company’s concept and new machines.

Potatoes

Foresight means minimising surprises

Potato agronomy is complex and requires a lot of planning,monitoring and evaluation throughout the production process.

CPM finds out how digital agronomy tool Crop4Sight can help in all three areas as preparation for the 2023 season gathers pace.

By

‘If you fail to prepare,you prepare to fail’ –– an adage that is very relevant when thinking about potato crop establishment, with half the agronomy done and dusted before a seed piece even drops into a ridge.

There are now tools that assist in this crucial planning process, including the dynamic seed module of Crop4Sight’s precision potato agronomy system, which takes the guesswork out of seed rate calculations for any given variety

Getting seed rates right is one of the most important decisions a grower can make, and the nifty software can sort out all the details

–– tailoring seed rates to customer requirement, planting date and proposed burndown and harvest date. On top of that, it allows growers to model several scenarios to see how altering seed rate or planting date will affect yield and size distribution of the tubers in their ware crops.

Marketable yield

Produce Solutions potato specialist

Jamie Lee says it helps growers lay a solid foundation on which to build maximum marketable yield, whether for a pre-pack or processing crop.

“If you don’t get things right on the day you plant, in almost all cases it won’t matter what you do for the rest of the season, you won’t achieve what you should set out to achieve,” he explains.

Planting density –– dictated by seed rate, or within row spacing –– is key to hitting target yield and tuber size. It also reduces waste and ensures costly seed is used efficiently. Lower rates give established plants more space and generally result in fewer, larger tubers suitable for baking. Conversely, tighter spacing results in more, smaller tubers ideal for salad and seed crops.

It’s also possible to influence harvest date with seed rate, adds Jamie. “Lowering plant density can help tubers bulk faster for earlier lifting where it’s desired, either by the customer or sometimes the landlord.”

He advises that several factors have to be considered when calculating seed rates, including variety –– as some produce more stems per plant and tubers per stem than others –– planting date and seed size, determined by tuber count per 50kg of seed.

Historically, growers and agronomists would have worked out seed rates using experience and variety-specific seed rate tables based on data from breeders and AHDB-funded trials. The Crop4Sight seed module combines all these factors with data from independent variety trials and historic

John Weir explains he can now manage crops much better in the first instance, as well as use in-season data to evaluate crop management and fine tune it for the future.

Lucy de la Pasture

If you don’t get things right on the day you plant,in almost all cases it won’t matter what you do for the rest of the season.

“ ”

commercial data collected by the potato agronomy platform.

But it also takes things on a stage. Critically, it factors in the seed lot’s chronological age, which is the amount of time between emergence of the seed crop and planting of the ware crop.

Chronologically older seed produces more stems/plant, whereas chronologically younger seed tends to throw fewer stems/plant. This response is consistent across varieties, but some are more sensitive than others, he says.

The system also outputs a stem and tuber count prediction for the early part of the growing season to benchmark establishment success.

It’s a feature Jamie says has been particularly useful where cultivars are sensitive to chronological aging –– like main crop variety Jelly – to help achieve the correct stem and tuber populations and to maximise marketable yield.

“The optimum tuber population for the contracted size specification and yield of a crop of Jelly is 350,000 tubers/ha and we know how many stems are needed to hit that target. Knowing the seed age means you have a better idea how many stems are likely to be produced from each seed tuber, which leads to a more accurate seed rate calculation.

“It avoids planting and then just hoping we get what we want at the end of the season, because quite often, with a lot of varieties, it won’t happen,” he explains.

One grower who has used the seed module to his advantage is John Weir, who grows 70ha of pre-pack potatoes at Gateside in Fife.

He’s been growing Cygnet PB’s variety Saxon on his light sandy soils for more than 20 years, so the business is well-versed in how to establish the second early to reach its full potential.

However, John recently started to grow two new varieties –– early-maturing baker Tyson from STET and exclusive Greenvale Seed low input variety Soraya –– so had little knowledge of how they might behave in the field.

As the platform draws on data from independent variety trials, which investigate stem numbers and tubers per stem across a variety of planting dates and seed sizes, it can make an informed seed rate recommendations for new varieties.

For John, access to the module meant he was able to hit the ground running. As the crop modelling functionality of the main Crop4Sight programme collects data on field performance, he’ll also build up a databank to inform management of future crops.

“In the past, you might have an indication

Processing grower benefits from in-season data insights

Crop4Sight’s seed module and in-season crop development insights are helping John Bubb hit his target of getting all of his 200ha of processing potatoes out of the ground by 20 October.

Near Newport in Shropshire,he grows for McCain,supplying Shepody and Morene off the field early, with the remainder –– Royal, Maris Piper and King Russet –– out of bulk storage from February to June.

Pre-season planning is critical for the business and alongside his agronomist Jamie Lee,he has used the seed module to calculate the appropriate seed rates to hit his contract specifications.

This commences when seed arrives on the farm in January,with the seed supplier often providing information on seed age.Then Jamie gathers tuber counts and uses the digital tool to make seed rate recommendations for each lot.

The information in the seed module, including seed age and predictions on plant and stem counts,will give an early indication of which crops will be further forward later in the season.This is critical for both grower and McCain,as they can plan when the crop will be harvested and moved, he says.

For John,one of the most interesting parts of

using Crop4Sight is at emergence, when it’s time to ground truth the plant and stem count predictions.He notes that prediction versus reality has been close in most instances.

Once the data has been gathered and entered into Crop4Sight,the tool produces a yield forecast, predicts tuber population,and forecasts final marketable yield and size distribution.

John is also using satellite imagery uploaded to the platform to monitor canopy development, enabling him to pick up any issues early if the actual canopy starts to fall behind the prediction.

The forecasts quickly show which crops have smaller tuber numbers, so will develop faster,and might be harvested earlier,he adds.Other crops may have more tubers and yield potential,so will need growing on and require more nitrogen to get there, so nutrition programmes can be adjusted.

John says that data from mid-season yield digs to check crop progress informs scheduling of key tasks, such as maleic hydrazide applications and timing burndown when the crop is at optimum yield.

“Crop4Sight’s prediction of tuber initiation has also been useful,as we get an idea of when we need to start irrigating.

on what to do with new varieties from the seed house, but you didn’t really know if you’d got things right until the end of the season.

“We can now manage crops much better in the first instance, then with plant counts, stem counts and tuber counts, and by monitoring canopy development through the season, we can evaluate what we’ve done and fine tune our management in the future,” explains John.

His Produce Solutions agronomist, Nathan Edgar, adds that in a tricky spring, like the season before last when planting was delayed, a simple change to planting date in the “live” system will automatically adjust seed rate accordingly.

The system’s output has given the pair confidence to reduce the farm’s seed rates more than they would have done in the past, which has cut seed costs in some varieties and ensured that target harvest dates have been met.

Nathan adds that Crop4Sight data is consistently challenging their decision making and driving discussion during the season and while planning for the next.

“First and foremost, it’s a tool for the grower to better manage their crops and increase marketable yield. But its full potential is extracted when the grower, agronomist and Crop4Sight all work together,” he says. ■

John Bubb says inputting field data into Crop4Sight informs scheduling of key tasks, such as maleic hydrazide applications and timing burndown when the crop is at optimum yield.

“We’ve also invested in the system’s irrigation module, which is a live cloud-based scheduling tool that’s easy to use and can be accessed by anybody at any time of day or night.

“We enter our local weather and irrigation data throughout the season and it will tell us the soil moisture deficit and when irrigation is required. The previous system relied on another data source and was far less flexible,” says John.

When the chips are down

You know how Mother Nature always pays her dues? Up until the end of September,this year’s rainfall totalled 375mm. As I write this in the third week of November,we have received nearly 50% of that figure again since the start of October ––168mm in seven weeks is more than double the weekly average for the year to date. It looks like we’re on track to hit our 10-year average of 760mm (omitting 2012) after all.

Fortunately, we finished what was an uninspiring potato harvest on 18 October in decent conditions. Machinery mostly behaved, we only had a few wet days, and the apprentice earned his stripes for mistake of the season when he didn’t apply the handbrake sufficiently to hold his load of potatoes and finished up with humiliation and a lot of shovelling to cope with! It’s character building, he who never ailed owt, never did owt. Nobody or no machinery was damaged, just pride and a valuable lesson learned (we’ve all done it).

Yields, as predicted last month, were nothing exciting, and wholly dependent on the rainfall received. The worst was on unirrigated light land and just got

into double figures per acre. The best had over £800/ha spent on its irrigation and just scraped past the 50t/ha mark. Variety heat tolerance was also a contributing factor, as was growth stage at the point the +300C temperatures hit. Interestingly, our last planted field (13 May) was the best yielding. It was north facing, had two varieties, both chitted, a small amount of muck and no irrigation.

A fault with the DAP applicator facilitated an untreated plot with no applied phosphate. Normally this could be spotted in the crop as if it had a luminous stripe down it, but not this year. The muck had clearly done its thing. The cover crop material mixed into the ridge with the muck visibly contributed to the soil’s water holding capacity, which undoubtedly also helped. A comparable field hamstrung from cover cropping via over winter stubble stewardship didn’t fare so well, and was also harder to harvest, with a lot of hard clod to separate early on.

Storage is a challenge, as expected. Dormancy hasn’t been as bad so far as feared, but is showing in some varieties, particularly those from fields that were under too much stress to apply MH. High temperatures up until very recently haven’t helped in this regard either, pulldown is impossible with double figure temperatures overnight.

We have stuck with ethylene as a sprout suppressant on our chipping crops, and DMN on our crispers. So far, so good with the new kid on the block, but it’s early days yet.

Movement of November contract material is imminent from short-term storage which has kept

okay. Our overdraft could certainly do with the relief –– it’s a long time since we had two-week payment for our year of outlay, some customers like to keep us waiting for another two months after delivery.

It’s often noted in business seminars that it’s lack of cashflow that kills businesses. This is evident right now, in many sectors. Huge input price rises, and long payment terms squeeze every last penny and that does damage, exacerbated by lack of profit. Pigs and poultry have had a kicking recently, alongside potatoes, and it doesn’t look rosy for the dairy farmers. This invariably has a knock-on effect on demand for our combinable crops, and when put alongside a certain tyrant to the east controlling to a large extent world wheat and fertilizer prices, it takes a certain grit to cling on tight for the bumpy road ahead.

The processing and retail sectors need to wake up to the plight of its raw material suppliers while we still exist, or the consequences to the nation’s food supply will get serious with more empty shelves. In much the same way as we farmers can’t reach for a can of chemical to solve every problem, the retailers can’t simply expect to import produce to replace the gap created by driving British producers out of business.

We all need to make money to survive, adapt and thrive into the future. A sustainable business is a profitable one, and that includes farmers. I fear the ride will get worse before it gets better

One of the hardest things to deal with is the unknown, particularly weather and prices. When to buy and when to sell is much harder than even two years

Andrew Wilson is a fourthgeneration tenant of the Castle Howard Estate in North Yorkshire.

He has a strategic approach to direct drilling on his varied soil types and grows a wide variety of crops.He’s passionate about the potato industry and having been utilising cover crops to reduce cultivation and chemical use since 2011,dipped his toe in the water of regenerative potatoes in 2021.

@SpudSlingsby

ago. Everyone seems to want more money for less goods, paying quicker, and with much longer lead times. It’s easy to think as a farmer that you’re alone in this, and somehow everyone else is okay. This isn’t the case at all. It was said to me a while back that a bigger farmer often has a bigger overdraft than a small one, and no doubt in some cases that is true. What is also true is that when the chips are down, there is nowhere better than the farming community to find people that will step up and help. Don’t be alone. It will get better. Change sometimes has to happen.

For me, after my potato area increasing almost every year for 20 years since coming home in 1997, I now find myself with less than half the area we grew at the peak in 2017. The reduction has happened in stages, and for sound financial reasons. No regrets yet.

Will @SpudSlingsby become @NoSpudSlingsby? He might if the Solanum tuberosum fortunes don’t improve sharpish! Watch this space.

The world on your shoulders?

Having managed to avoid looking ‘Rona’ in the eyes since the start of the pandemic,she spiked me last month,well and truly kicking the legs out from underneath me. My thanks go to Tom Allen-Stevens,who briefly stepped back into his old role and took away the worry about how on earth the magazine was going to get put together this month. It’s only at times like that that you realise you’re carrying a weight on your shoulders…

Sometimes I think it’s good to question our motivations for doing something and that goes for farming too. While some fall into the role that’s expected of them, giving up on their personal ambitions, others relish the opportunity and do what they were born to do. Some feel a moral obligation to ‘feed the world’ and it strikes me that that must be a tremendous burden to carry and perhaps it’s time we questioned that premise, something Martin Lines touched on in Nature Natters (page 50) this month.

The ‘feeding the world’ argument pushes productivity as the key metric in crop production and has long been used to justify high input

systems and the need to keep producing more per hectare. It’s become a conditioned way of thinking. On the face of it, with a world population that has just surpassed eight billion, it doesn’t seem an unreasonable assumption. Look a little closer, and the sums look different when you break down overall production into calories consumed by people.

On a world scale, which we have to consider when using the argument that we must maintain productivity to feed the world, the majority of global food is produced on smallholdings. And it’s these that provide the majority of calories to the world population and not large-scale farming businesses.

A paper by Samberg et al* (2016) looked at smallholder agriculture in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and South and East Asia, where on average there are less than five hectares of agricultural land per farming household. It’s important to consider these continents because it’s here that the population is still growing, where in more developed parts of the world population growth is slow or negative.

These smallholder farming systems are home to more than 380 million farming households, making up roughly 30% of the agricultural land and produce more than 70% of the food calories produced in these regions. Note the contribution to food calories here.

More importantly, these smallholders are responsible for more than half of the food calories produced globally, as well as more than half of global production of several major food crops. Smallholder systems in these three regions direct a greater percentage of calories

produced toward direct human consumption, with 70% of calories produced in these units consumed as food compared with 55% globally.

In the UK, approximately 60% of the cereals we grow is for animal feed, which while still contributing to food security is a highly inefficient way of converting grain into calories for human consumption.

According to GRAIN and IATP estimates, for every 100 calories fed to animals, only 17-30 ends up in the meat that humans consume.

We live in a market-based economy where we consider everything in terms of stocks and balances and perhaps it’s more accurate to think in terms of feeding the nation as a UK farmer rather than taking on the mantle of feeding the world. Or can we break that down further? Feeding the local community, feeding the family? Farms are a business so the number one priority should be profitability and not just productivity –– the relationship between the two isn’t the same on any one farm.

Is being productivity-led holding back change in farming practices? For instance, nitrogen fertiliser applications where the emphasis moves to form, function and efficiency of use and applying ‘just enough’ rather than routine applications to industry guidelines with a bit extra, just in case. Add in the hefty responsibility of feeling like the world could starve if you make the wrong decision then that’s a lot of pressure.

A government report into national food security released last year cites the major risks to UK food production as degradation of the soil, loss of biodiversity and climate change. We have ongoing debates at whether the sustainable approach to

Based in Ludlow, Shrops, Lucy de la Pasture has worked as an agronomist, while among the Twitterati, she’s @Lucy_delaP.

lucy@cpm-magazine.co.uk

agriculture involves land sparing or land sharing, where each sit at either end of the continuum. A land sparing system involves large, separate areas ofsustainably intensified agriculture, whereas land sharing involves a patchwork of low-intensity agriculture incorporating natural features such as ponds and hedgerows, in other words more nature-friendly farming. We see these two options playing out today with land being bought up to be ‘rewilded’ and the move to more regenerative or agroecological systems. The reality is that it doesn’t have to be one or the other

Of course, the elephant in the room when it comes to feeding the world is the amount of food that is wasted, the vast majority after leaving the farmgate (30%). According to government, food waste declined during the pandemic when lockdowns resulted in better food management but things are now sliding back to pre-pandemic levels.

It all adds up to the fact that farmers aren’t responsible for feeding the world, they facilitate the production of food but it’s ultimately society and governments that determine what happens to it. It’s an important and potentially liberating distinction.

*Ref: Leah H Samberg et al 2016, Subnational distribution of average farm size and smallholder contributions to global food production, Environmental Research Letters 11 124010