Steve Tuer’s bumper 7.2t/ha crop of oilseed rape may well be the highest yielding crop in the world ever recorded. The unofficial record attempt took place on 21 August at Mr Tuer’s Hutton Grange farm, near Northallerton. The national average oilseed rape yield consistently runs at under 4t/ha.
The restored hybrid variety, Incentive, is well suited to performance in the north, scoring 109% on the HGCA’s North Region Recommended List, but Mr Tuer said that the yield resulted from the farm’s soil and the attention to detail of the agronomy.
“This used to be a dairy farm, so there is a lot of inherent fertility in the soil, plus all the slurry from our 600-sow and pig fattening unit is spread back onto the 1000 acres of arable land,” he explained. “The soil is also very heavy, so crops do very well in a dry year like the one we’ve had.”
He added that his close working relationship with his agronomist, Chris Martin, of Agrovista, has allowed them to perfect the farm’s agronomy programmes to get the management “spot-on” in input choice and timings. The crop was sown at a very low seed rate, using simple cultivations but ensuring maximum attention to detail in achieving good seed to soil contact and post-sowing consolidation.
“I don’t believe in early sowing of oilseed rape,” Mr Tuer explained. “This crop wasn’t sown until the 6th September at a rate of 35 seed/m2 with a Vaderstad drill, after min-tilling with a Heva Combilift, followed by shallow discs and a packer.”
Following on-farm trials developed by Chris Martin, the fertiliser applied in four splits totalling 220kg of nitrogen as urea. The application dates were 10 March, 20 March + sulphur, 28 March and 12 April + sulphur. “We also applied foliar nitrogen in June with the second sclerotinia spray,” he noted.
Chris Martin took what he describes as a “conventional spray programme” of an autumn phoma and Light Leaf Spot spray of Frelizon (pentiopyrad + picoxystrobin), followed by an early spring application of Monkey (tebuconazole + Prochloraz), and combined with the nutrition product Headland Bo-La (boron + molybdenum). The scelertonia programme then consisted of Recital (Fluopyram + Protioconazole) at early flower, followed up three weeks later with Proline (prothioconazole) in tank mix with Nufol (foliar nitrogen), which Mr Tuer described as a “Rolls Royce Agrovista programme.”
“I’ve fallen in love with growing oilseed rape! But I invest to yield, make sure my soils are in good condition and keep everything simple – my rotation, cultivations and my agronomy,” Mr Tuer said. He also yielded 12.2t/ha from a crop of Glacier winter barley. He has also registered with the ADAS Yield Enhancement Network project with a field of the variety, Kielder. “This field previously yielded 16t/ha in 2010,” so he is very hopeful that it should do very well this year.
Agrovista UK is totally committed to providing unrivalled value and innovative solutions for British farmers, both now and in the future. This commitment is focused on customer service, research driven advice and technical innovation. It relies strongly on the dedication, expertise and professionalism of all employees as well as the company’s many global and local suppliers. It also embraces care for the wider countryside with an understanding of the politically important environmental role now played by farmers. www.agrovista.co.uk
CropTec 2015
Agrovista are one of the many exhibitors at this year’s CropTec event.
Are you looking to new technology to reduce your unit cost of production, improve competitiveness and boost profitability? make sure you visit CropTec on Tuesday 24th & Wednesday 25th November, East of England Showgorund, Peterborough.
To encourage knowledge exchange among the British farming community further, this year’s event is FREE for farmers to attend. You MUST pre-register online to ensure you receive your free place.
As year one of the zero metaldehyde pilot catchment projects draw to a close, Arable Farming Editor Teresa Rush caught up with one of the participating growers.
Harvest 2015 at Dyrham Park Farm, in Hertfordshire, marks the end of a cropping year in which no metaldehyde was used on the farm.
Water contamination with slug pellet active ingredient metaldehyde means new approaches to slug control must be developed.
Andrew Gray is one of a number of growers participating in the first year of the four ‘zero metaldehyde’ catchment projects taking place across England. He and his family farm close to Barnet, just north of London, and within Affinity Water’s Mimmshall Brook catchment. He is no stranger to the challenges of balancing commercial farming with growing pressure to meet water quality standards; he exited dairying in 2002 when increasingly onerous water protection legislation restricted slurry spreading on the farm to the extent the dairy enterprise was no longer viable.
Mr Gray farms 122 hectares of arable on the mixed beef/arable unit. Cropping on predominantly London clay soils comprises winter wheat, winter oilseed rape and winter beans. Mimmshall Brook and two of its tributaries run through the farm, which is one of 11 holdings with fields identified as being ‘high risk’ in terms of the potential for pesticides, including slug pellet active ingredient metaldehyde, to move into water. There are 55 holdings in total within the catchment.
Mapping exercise
Already involved with an existing Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) project, Mr Gray worked with Affinity Water and another local grower, Alastair White, on a mapping exercise to identify the highest risk fields across the Mimmshall Brook catchment. Some 85% of his fields are affected. He says: “Only a couple of outlying fields are not within the [zero metaldehyde] catchment.” The mapping process is to be further developed as the project enters its second year. Mr Gray believes it threw up a few anomalies this season; some fields which would appear to be obvious candidates for inclusion in the pilot on the grounds of their soil type, slope or proximity to a watercourse were omitted, for example. He is also sceptical about the practical value of identifying a part-field for inclusion, and in addition feels the presence or absence of under-drainage should be included in the risk assessment criteria.
However, after seeing the results of the mapping for 2014-15 and with most of his arable land identified as high risk, he took the difficult decision not to use metaldehyde on the whole of the main farm. “We are on heavy clay, a high risk soil type for slugs. Our biggest use of metaldehyde was in wheat after oilseed rape and sometimes in oilseed rape to get crops through the first few weeks. “Our ‘best case’ scenario would be a standard dose just as wheat had germinated. As soon as it had chitted we would put bait on and follow up in high risk areas or the whole field if it was really bad.”
During 2014-15 Mr Gray has used ferric phosphate slug pellets Sluxx in place of metaldehyde. He has been a firm believer in using longer-lasting quality metaldehyde pellets – cheaper materials break down more quickly and so the cost/day can in fact be higher than that of materials which are more expensive in the first instance, he says – and so he found there was little difference between the cost of the metaldehyde pellets he had been using and the ferric phosphate pellets. “It was a straightforward switch. It [Sluxx] is a good quality pellet. The only criticism I would have is the dye seems to fade quickly and so it can be hard to see if the bait is still there, or it is hard for your agronomist to tell if it has been applied.”
No subsidy
Mr Gray received no subsidy from Affinity Water to switch to ferric phosphate and purchased his supplies through his normal distributor, but the water company did pay for participating growers’ slug pellet applicators to be calibrated. He reports no problems with slug control this year, although slug pressure has not been particularly high – it was rated low-average across the catchment. Cultural control methods are also an important part of the slug control strategy, particularly rolling after drilling, he adds. “I didn’t have to resort to metaldehyde anywhere. I’m not even sure if we applied [ferric phosphate] twice anywhere.” He admits ferric phosphate’s mode of action takes a little getting used to – slugs will die within three to six days of ingesting the material but not on the soil surface, as is the case with metaldehyde.
“It is easier to go out and see dead slugs and a few blue pellets,” he says.
Sarah Asberry, agricultural advisor with Affinity Water and Hertfordshire farmer Andrew Gray have been working with other growers in the Mimmshall Brook zero metaldehyde pilot catchment
Good engagement between water companies and farmers has been identified as one of the key factors where the zero catchment projects have been successful and Mr Gray also believes this is vital.
“A big advantage is we all know each other. If there is to be legislation in the future it is better if we all know what is going on. “Our biggest worry is there will be legislation to stop us using metaldehyde in this area and then we will be at a disadvantage and could even cease to be an arable catchment. Keeping it voluntary and keeping everyone talking is critical.”
The good working relationship farmers have developed with Affinity Water in the Mimmshall Brook catchment has also seen them providing extra information to the water company in terms of when they have applied slug pellets. “The principle could be applied to other chemicals as well. It’s a bit retrospective at the moment but there is potential to do it in advance. But it has to be voluntary,” says Mr Gray.
He admits to being concerned about the potential impact of water quality legislation on the availability of other agrochemicals, particularly with several oilseed rape herbicides currently under the spotlight. Their loss could see oilseed rape going the way of the dairy cows, he says.
This could pose a serious threat to the long-term future of his arable business, as alternative crop options are limited and with spring beans, for example, a number of the herbicides used are the same as those used in oilseed rape. An unintended consequence of spring cropping as part of an integrated black-grass control programme or to comply with the three crop rule, could be more herbicides finding their way into water, he adds.
Achievement
The commitment of the growers involved in the Mimmshall Brook zero metaldehyde pilot is underlined by the fact all of the growers affected have agreed in principle to participate in the project during 2015-16. And perhaps one of its most significant achievements is raising awareness of the risks associated with metaldehyde use, says Mr Gray.
However, he does not rule out using metaldehyde in seasons of high slug pressure. “It may be we have to use metaldehyde in a really bad year.” “But I think the scheme has made people more aware of when and how they apply slug pellets; they might think a bit more about the weather and they might now consider delaying applications.”
Mimmshall Brook catchment project 2015-16 Affinity Water agricultural adviser Sarah Asberry is hopeful growers in the catchment will go into year two of the project with more confidence after their experiences and success in year one. Extra sampling is being done during 2015-16 to build on the data generated this far and sampling will also be done in fields not within the risk map.
Mimmshall Brook catchment, Hertfordshire • 57sq.km catchment area • 18% of catchment area high risk from diffuse pesticides (arable fields only) • One water treatment works supplying 250,000+ people • Agriculture accounts for 64% of land use • Established Catchment Sensitive Farming project and extensive water quality monitoring programme • 11 holdings with high risk land in catchment Source: Affinity Water/Water UK
First year of zero metaldehyde pilots delivers mixed results
Results from the first year of the industry-led Metaldehyde Stewardship Group’s zero metaldehyde pilot projects have highlighted the importance of farmer engagement in keeping the slug pellet active ingredient out of watercourses. Water companies reported on results obtained from the four water catchments involved in the project at Cereals.
Overall, autumn last year proved challenging in terms of managing metaldehyde exceedances, with the first spikes measured shortly after heavy October rainfall. More catchments were affected by metaldehyde losses than in previous years and there were record short-lived metaldehyde spikes in several catchments. There were, however, fewer regulatory sample failures.
The results reported from the pilot catchments ranged from no evidence of reductions to significant reductions in exceedances of metaldehyde in raw water compared to those seen in 2013. The first year findings come as metaldehyde continues to be subject to pressure as a result of its detection in water, threatening non-compliance with Water Framework Directive standards.
Speaking at Cereals, Affinity Water’s Alister Leggatt said: “These pilot projects trialled an approach where farmers with land located within a handful of high risk catchments were asked not to apply metaldehyde on selected fields.” The level of engagement and dialogue with farmers is seen as a critical factor. “The best results were achieved where farmers got actively involved and were engaged in the risk mapping process. Where they were not engaged, it was clear making a treatment decision according to field risk had not been happening.”
Essex farmer and NFU combinable crops board member Tom Bradshaw, who represents the NFU on the Metaldehyde Stewardship Group (MSG), said it was important farmers were proactive in the management of metaldehyde. “We can make a difference by targeting applications in the right ground conditions and at the right timing,” he said. Three of the four catchments involved with the pilot project are to continue with the same approach in 2015, reflecting a wider indication from Defra targeted legislative restrictions remain an option for policymakers.
But according to Simon McMunn, of the MSG, the door is still very much open for targeted voluntary restrictions, where the desired reductions in metaldehyde can be achieved. He said: “If this field-targeted approach does become adopted on a more official basis in future years, it could allow for metaldehyde to continue to be available to farmers outside of the highest risk areas.”
Anglian Water, which saw disappointing results in its Pitsford reservoir catchment, in Northamptonshire, is developing a new strategy involving a dedicated catchment adviser and an incentivised metaldehyde substitution trial.
The company’s Slug it Out campaign aims to reduce the levels of metaldehyde in rivers and reservoirs.
Reservoirs
As part of the campaign the company is carrying out a trial project around six key reservoirs helping farmers to move away from metaldehyde and use an alternative chemical instead. Farmers will receive payments to cover their costs and for taking part.
In addition, a new team of five catchment advisers will be talking to farmers and agronomists about ways they can help reduce the amount of metaldehyde which finds its way into rivers and reservoirs.
Lucinda Gilfoyle, who is heading the campaign, said: “This is a whole new way of working for Anglian Water, so it’s exciting for us. Our aim is to work in partnership with the farming community to improve the region’s water quality. “We have gathered a great team of experienced advisers and they will be talking to all the farmers in the target areas over the coming days and weeks. We will be watching the results of this trial closely to plan the way forward.”
Farmers eligible to take part in the trial project have land within the natural catchments of six reservoirs – Alton Water, Suffolk; Ardleigh Reservoir, near Colchester; Hollowell Reservoir, Ravensthorpe Reservoir and Pitsford Water, Northamptonshire, and Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire.
CropTec 2015
Want to find out more about the latest slug control and advice? make sure you visitCropTec on Tuesday 24th & Wednesday 25th November, East of England Showgorund, Peterborough.
To encourage knowledge exchange among the British farming community further, this year’s event is FREE for farmers to attend. You MUST pre-register online to ensure you receive your free place.
Blog by David Lines
Twitter: @LinesDavid
Biog: An agronomist for 35 years, independent for nine years, a member of AICC, including on the council and AICC trials committee. Covering North Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Powys and Shropshire. Mainly advising mixed farms growing cereals, OSR, pulses, forage crops including maize, fodder beet and grassland. David worked for a distribution company until 2006. David is a member of Farmadvisors’ buying group, is married with three daughters and Max, a mad Cocker spaniel!
Western cropping choices and business outlook
The biggest single issue for my customers is making a profit from the current prices and from an agronomic point of view, black-grass is a growing headache. Both of these issues are driving a reduction in the oilseed rape area and a switch to more spring barley. The costs of production for spring barley are lower and it’s a very useful way to reduce blackgrass, as are stubble turnips on mixed farms. With the combined challenge of flea beetle and tight margins, oilseed rape is most definitely in question on a growing number of farms.
Variety choice over here in the west is driven by consistency in performance and the practicalities of the rotation, for example, Leeds is a very useful option for late drilled wheat after maize. JB Diego is popular because it ‘does’ well over here in the wetter west where good disease resistance – particularly Septoria – and consistent yields are crucial. Also popular wheat choices are Reflection, Skyfall, Costello and Lili. For winter barley, Glacier, Tower and Volume are by far the most popular.
Looking ahead to the coming years, cropping on mixed farms is likely to remain pretty much as it is, but there is a real drive to look for more profitable options and approaches. I fully envisage that arable ground may be let out, or cropped on a share-farming/contract basis as machinery costs continue to rise and skilled labour becomes in shorter supply.
Precision farming is certainly going to play an important part in the future, despite the challenges of our small field sizes and extensive applications of farm yard manure over here. Certainly variable rate seed and nitrogen applications are increasingly being used and will play a vital role in maximising margins as well as environmental compliance.
As pressure on farmers grows to produce more from less (land, water and profit), the investment in technology for the future of farming is vital. For me this needs to focus on no-til farming and a real concerted effort at ensuring a decent, workable broadband OR mobile service in rural areas.
Future R&D needs to focus on ALL aspects of production, not just the reliance on chemicals. The current blackgrass situation has brought it home to a lot of farmers that their current cropping approach is not sustainable. Also, we might all have to accept that countries like Ukraine has become more developed and that they can produce wheat more competitively than we can in the UK. If this is the case, farmers will need to 1) specialise in other crops/systems and 2) collaborate much more than they are. The move of some farmers into niche markets such as crisps, vodka, or herbs for the domestic Asian markets, will certainly increase in the quest for added value and better returns.
Over the coming decades the political and environmental pressure from Westminster and the EU will become tougher I’m sure – including restrictions on cropping and the use of chemistry. Added to this, some of these decisions will make the EU and the UK less competitive versus countries with less restriction.
One final thought on something that’s of fundamental importance to the future of British production agriculture – we all need to play our part in educating the public that food comes from farms, not the supermarkets, and that this is really important for the future of food supply.
CropTec 2015
Want to find out more about the latest technology & innovation, precision farming and research and development in the arable sector? make sure you visit CropTec on Tuesday 24th & Wednesday 25th November, East of England Showgorund, Peterborough.
To encourage knowledge exchange among the British farming community further, this year’s event is FREE for farmers to attend. You MUST pre-register online to ensure you receive your free place.
Resistance is a familiar word in the arable farming lexicon, but its use in the same sentence as ‘glyphosate’ is not to be taken lightly.
Incidences of resistance to non-selective herbicide glyphosate have been recorded in other parts of the world, including Europe, but not yet in the UK.
Now new guidelines have been published aimed at preventing the development of resistance to the herbicide in UK weeds and significantly, they highlight the increased resistance threat posed by a number of recently-adopted practices, including multiple stale seedbeds and inter-row applications.
The guidelines have been produced by the Weed Research Action Group (WRAG) and are published by AHDB.
WRAG chairman and ADAS science and business development manager James Clarke says the publication of the guidelines is a proactive move ahead of there being any confirmed resistance in the UK.
“The aim is to ensure the efficacy of this important active in weed control is maintained when a number of practices are increasingly being deployed on-farm which could drive the evolution of glyphosate resistance in UK weeds – including multiple glyphosate applications, sub-lethal doses and suboptimal application timing – and we wanted to be proactive in highlighting the risks and promoting best practice.”
Stale seedbeds
One of the main concerns is the recent practice of using multiple stale seedbeds ahead of drilling in autumn in a bid to control large infestations of black-grass or black-grass resistant to selective herbicides.
“We know people are using multiple applications in this pre-drilling window. We also know they are using low rates [of glyphosate],” says Mr Clarke.
He underlines growers’ current reliance on glyphosate, particularly where they are faced with controlling herbicide-resistant black-grass.
David Ellerton, technical director with agchem distributor and agronomy advice business Hutchinsons, acknowledges the increasing use of multiple stale seedbeds. However, growers are being advised also to use other control methods, including cultivations, herbicides with different modes of action and competitive crops, he says.
Work at the company’s black-grass site at Brampton, Cambridgeshire, is enabling Hutchinsons to monitor the impact of glyphosate use over several years on the same field area, he adds.
“We are seeing zero failures, we aren’t picking up any changes,” says Dr Ellerton.
Monsanto, which supplies glyphosate under the Roundup brand, is supportive of the guidelines.
In a statement released at Cereals, the company said the new WRAG guidelines were ‘just what UK growers and agronomists need to safeguard the single most vital weapon in their grass-weed control armoury’.
The guidelines should form the basis for all glyphosate use from now on, says Monsanto northern European technical manager for Roundup Barrie Hunt, who highlights the pivotal value of glyphosate in the face of growing resistance to other herbicide chemistry.
Products
But the close-to 200 different glyphosate products currently approved for professional use in the UK, based on different salts, loadings and adjuvant mixtures and contents made less-than-ideal usage and less-than-effective treatment, which were key drivers of resistance development, more of a risk, he adds.
According to AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds, a potential loss of yield and quality would occur across all cropping systems without the use of glyphosate. In particular, it has been estimated a 20% yield loss would occur without the use of glyphosate pre-drilling.
For guidelines for minimising the risk of glyphosate resistance in the UK, visit http://tinyurl.com/weedrag
Monitoring success
Reducing the risk of glyphosate resistance
Prevent survivors
Repeat application to surviving plants presents the highest risk
Maximise efficacy
Use the right dose rate for the target weed on actively-growing plants
Reduced dose rates up the risk of reduced efficacy
Use alternatives
Use cultivation or other non-chemical control options when practical
Use other herbicides in sequence (or in mixture, only if recommended)
Monitor success
Consult your agronomist or supplier
Remove survivors to prevent spread
Test seed samples of survivors
Source: WRAG/AHDB
Glyphosate
Commercially available for 40 years
One of the most frequently-used herbicides in the UK
Currently no known resistance cases in the UK
Resistance has evolved globally as a result of repeated use and over-reliance
31 weed species known to have evolved resistance globally
Changes in usage patterns in the UK are potentially increasing the risk of resistance developing
Source: WRAG/AHDB
Maximising the efficacy of glyphosate
Spray at the right dose rate, at the right growth stage, in the right conditions
Dose rate: Get dose rate right for the weed and growth stage. Annual grasses typically require 540g active ingredient/ha for seedlings up to six tillers and 1,080g ai/ha when flowering
Water volume: 80-250 litres/ha. Lower volumes give best results providing correct nozzles are used
Spray quality: Medium-coarse BCPC (200-400 microns). Use droplets on finer side of medium for optimum wetting of spike and seedling black-grass. Conventional flat fan (F110-03 or F110-04) are most suitable for seedlings
Hard water can lock up glyphosate, effectively reducing the applied dose rate. Addition of a proprietary water conditioner, choosing a low water volume and maintaining the correct dose will mitigate the effect
Growth stage: Ideally apply when plants are at least 5cm but before the start of rapid stem extension. Apply prior to ‘shading’ from other plants
Conditions: Apply to actively-growing plants, in warm conditions (15-25degC), with at least six hours before any rainfall
Source: WRAG/AHDB
We are writing to ask you to support an exciting project Farmers Guardian, in association with BASF, is running this summer.
On Thursday, August 20 this year, 24 hours of farming’s activities will be collected and shared by – and with – the world, thanks to 24 Hours in Farming.
From 5am on August 20, 2015, until the same time the following day, we at Farmers Guardian will be working around the clock to collect and share on-line a huge number of submissions anticipated via twitter and other social media channels.
We are encouraging farmers and anyone involved in UK agriculture to upload their photos, videos and stories of the day’s farming activities.
Farmers Guardian editor, Emma Penny, says while this is a fun way to promote farming, it has a serious side to it too. “We want to highlight everything farmers, their families and the farming industry does, to show how hard-working the industry is, and how much effort goes into producing food, energy and shaping the countryside that we all enjoy.
“We’ll be compiling a live story over the 24 hours to give a live picture of how much passion, determination and work goes into farming and maintaining rural Britain.”
Please support us
We would very much welcome your support by encouraging as many people as possible from within your organisation and your members or farming clients to post on social media (using #farm24) or email us throughout the day telling us what they are doing. In addition we are asking people to send us photographs or short films of themselves undertaking any farming-related activities on August 20.
If you think you can support us, please send between 250-300 words about your organisation to farm24@fginsight.com by August 14, which we can use to support our posts for the benefit of the wider general public.
We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your time.
Steve Tuer’s bumper 7.2t/ha crop of oilseed rape may well be the highest yielding crop in the world ever recorded. The unofficial record attempt took place on 21 August at Mr Tuer’s Hutton Grange farm, near Northallerton. The national average oilseed rape yield consistently runs at under 4t/ha.
