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Benchmarking, new technology, science and research are key themes running through this year’s CropTec seminar programme, which has been developed specifically to help UK arable farmers to be profitable in the increasingly dynamic, volatile and competitive world of global crop production.

Technical excellence is one of the keys to future-proofing any farm business, the need for which has been exacerbated by Brexit, according to Stephen Howe, The CropTec Show’s development director.

“Growers and their suppliers are, quite rightly, concerned about the run up to the UK leaving the EU in less than two years,” he said. “There are also concerns about the level and form of support payments once we are operating outside of the CAP.

“Whatever the future holds, CropTec’s seminar programme is designed to arm growers with the knowledge they need to make the right technical decisions to drive down production costs while increasing productivity.”

Seminar programme:

The CropTec Show opening presentation by Adama Agricultural Solutions UK Ltd

Opening Address: Understanding your Competitors

A snapshot of cereal and oilseed production costs and some constraints faced by the UK’s main competitors. Discover how benchmarking can help you modify your farming business to make it fit for the future.

Speaker: Jack Watts AHDB, lead analyst, AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds

Crop Breeding Sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Session Chair: Russell McKenzie, Cambridgeshire farmer and Nuffield Scholar

Variety recommendations: where to find the information you need?

How to navigate the minefield that is new variety selection? What are the critical factors? What information is available and where?

Speakers: John Purslow, Farmacy Norfolk (day1); Peter Riley, Farmacy Norfolk (day 2)

Selecting for margin, yield or quality?

Selecting varieties based on financial performance achieved under local conditions.

Jock Willmott, partner, Farming, Strutt & Parker

Breaking down resistance

Why resistance breaks down and how new technologies might provide the answer.

James Brown, project leader Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre

Session chair Russell McKenzie says:

“Selecting a variety of wheat used to be a straightforward process. Pick the highest yielding variety on the list and the rest took care of itself. Nowadays, it is a revolving door process and the speed of replacement is much quicker, but is performance better than before or are we running to stand still?

“This exciting session will explore if there is more to variety selection than the status quo, how to get the best margin and returns for varieties under local conditions and how new technologies can help growers pinpoint and avoid potential weaknesses in new varieties.”

Crop Establishment Sponsored by Horsch

Session Chair: Robert Lockhart, Staffordshire farmer and vice-chairman NFU Combinable Crops Board

Soil Health: The keystone of profitability

Looking after your soil’s health and biology is key to maintaining profitability.

Jacqueline Stroud, soil scientist, Rothamsted Research

What’s the drill for drill selection?

Our independent specialist provides technical answers for specific scenarios.

Philip Wright, Independent Consultant

Containing cultivation costs

Getting crops off to the best possible start while keeping an eye on costs.

Brian Barker, Suffolk arable farmer

Session chair Robert Lockhart says:

“This session highlights the importance of looking after and getting the best from farming’s most basic asset, soil. The higher our expectations of the soil, the more we must put back into it for sustainable production.

“Matching drills and cultivation to our soils, and the constraints they impose with regard to weed control, is difficult, especially as farming operations grow and take in different soils.

“Costs of establishment are always a concern to all. Balancing the theory with on farm practice is down to the skill of the farmer and operator, with an eye to work rates and timely establishment.”

Crop Nutrition Sponsored by Yara

Session Chair: Mark Tucker, head of marketing and agronomy, Yara UK

Nutrient management strategies

Long-term or short-term? Which is the best nutritional strategy?

Natalie Wood, country agronomist, Yara UK

Targeting phosphorus for yield and profit

Guidelines on best farm practice.

Roger Sylvester-Bradley, head of crop performance, ADAS

Measuring, managing and utilising nutritional data

Maximising nutritional value and cost savings from cover crops and organic materials.

Ian Matts, farms director and agronomist, Brixworth Farming

Session chair Mark Tucker says:

“The Crop Nutrition panel will outline and discuss the latest advances in soil fertility and guidelines on the best farm practices in soil management, in particular how to target phosphorus for yield and profit discussing how targeting can help you manage soils at Index 1 rather than Index 2.”

“Visitors to the nutrition seminar can expect to leave with up-to-date knowledge on how they can most effectively use nutrients to boost crop, efficiency, performance and yield, allowing them to assess which is the best nutritional strategy for their business for the long term and short term.”

Crop Protection Sponsored by Belchim Crop Protection

Session Chair: Guy Smith, Essex farmer and NFU vice-president

What’s in the pipeline?

Potential novel solutions for crop protection in the UK.

Emma Hamer, senior plant health adviser, NFU

Application technology

Guidelines on nozzle selection, closed transfer systems and other ways to speed up spraying.

Tom Robinson, independent consultant

Pest and disease forecasting

Benefits of accurate monitoring and forecasting for pests and disease on field scale crops.

Francesca Salinari, R&D projects co-ordinator, Agrii

Session chair Guy Smith says:

“The challenges today's farmers face to produce profitable crops don't seem to diminish – loss of key actives, increasing pest, disease and weed resistance, climate change, political insecurity and burdensome legislation to name but a few.

“It's always good to hear from the experts, and I look forward to finding out more about potential solutions in the pipeline, to help offset our dwindling pesticide armoury.

“We are sure to pick up some valuable tips from the application session, while developments in pest and disease forecasting can only be positive.”

The CropTec Show takes place at the East of England Showground, Peterborough, on Wednesday 29^th and Thursday 30^th November.

The event remains free for farmers and agronomists to attend, provided tickets are booked in advance.

With glyphosate resistance a potential threat to UK arable production there are some key management strategies growers can adopt to maximise its efficacy when controlling black-grass ahead of autumn drilling.

Following the publication of AHDB’s Weed Resistance Action Group guidelines to help protect herbicide efficacy, which identified four simple messages - prevent survivors, maximise efficacy, use alternatives and monitor success - further trials have highlighted key management strategies which could help prevent glyphosate resistance, while optimising black-grass control.

In terms of ‘preventing survivors’, a review of industry trials shows no black-grass control benefit from more than three glyphosate applications pre-drilling. In fact, the results showed only a small benefit of three applications over two.

In ‘maximising efficacy’ of the product, results show there is no benefit from increasing total dose rates above 1080g/ha (437g/acre) of active ingredient.

Initial results from container-based trials also indicate the optimum timing for good black-grass control is GS12 to GS13, (two to three leaves unfolded), with more variable and generally lower control at both later and earlier growth stages of the weed.

WRAG guidelines

Prevent survivors: Avoid repeat applications to surviving plants
Maximise efficacy: Apply the right dose (reduced rates increase the risk of reduced efficacy), at the right timing, in the right conditions
Use alternatives: Use non-chemical options (such as cultivation), where practical, and use other herbicides in sequence
Monitor success: Remove survivors and report potential resistance issues to your advisor and/or the product manufacturer

Source: AHDB

In the same trials, control was further improved by soil disturbance after treatment and simulated deep cultivation was more effective than shallow cultivation, both for ryegrass and black-grass.

Dr Paul Gosling, who manages weed research at AHDB, said: “A complaint on field performance might be the first indication of a resistant population. By this stage, 30 to 40 per cent of the population may be resistant already. So it is clear we must work together to tackle the glyphosate resistance threat head on and stop it arriving in the UK in the first place.”

The full version of the guidelines, as well as a two-page summary (AHDB Information Sheet 03), is available from cereals.ahdb.org.uk/wrag

News content brought to you by Abby Kellet, Arable Farming Magazine. To read more articles like this visit: https://www.fginsight.com/

CropTec 2017: Black-grass Hub

The popular Black-grass hub will return once again to this year's CropTec Show, sponsored by Bayer CropScience.

Whether you need advice on pressing home the advantage after an effective pre-em programme or are dealing with the aftermath of sodden seedbeds, we have resources for you. From herbicides and application technology through to cultivation and crop choice there will be a team of experts at the Hub who can support you with your black-grass decisions.

For a more detailed discussion about some of the main developments in black-grass control, the Hub is hosting a series of seminars with specialists from inside and outside Bayer so that visitors get the freshest perspectives on black-grass control.

https://www.croptecshow.com/black-grass-hub/

Tickets are free to attend, providing you pre-register here

Forward-thinking farmers and agronomists will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of novel science and innovative technology when the CropTec show returns to Peterborough at the end of November.

CropTec is now recognised as one of the key diary dates in the arable calendar, gaining a reputation as the UK’s leading knowledge exchange event in the sector.

Farmers and their advisers are attracted by CropTec’s unique informal atmosphere that creates the ideal forum to exchange ideas and experiences, according to Elisabeth Mork-Eidem, group head of events at Briefing Media, which organises the CropTec show.

“Content and knowledge exchange will remain the focus of CropTec. We want to build on being the show where visitors come armed with questions and leave with useful practical advice on how to become better at what they do,” she said.

“We would urge all those farmers and agronomists who are looking to the future to come to Peterborough in November to discuss adaptation of new technology, cutting edge agronomy and best business practices.

“They can get that advice from networking with like-minded industry peers, from the well researched, topical seminars and from visiting the exhibition hall and having the right conversations with relevant companies who have brought their best technical staff.”

CropTec’s key features include the trade stand exhibition which features a wide range of innovative products and thinking.

The popular seminar programme returns, featuring over a dozen leading speakers covering the four key technical areas of crop breeding, crop establishment, crop nutrition and crop protection. Seminar content is based on feedback and extensive research with farmers and agronomists to ensure it is both relevant and timely.

Four knowledge hubs, which consist of short, sharp presentations delivering key-take away messages, will also feature at CropTec 2017. The popular black-grass hub returns, and three new hubs covering oilseed rape quality and weed management, biostimulants, and data & analytics also feature.

CropTec also includes a sprayer demo area where visitors can drive some of the most advanced sprayers in the market.

New for 2017 alongside the hubs is a Farm Innovation Zone, where visitors can speak to a range of leading agritech innovators.

Adama Agricultural Solutions returns as CropTec headline sponsor. “We are once again extremely pleased to be the headline sponsor for what we are sure will be another exceptionally successful CropTec show,” said Ali Bosher, marketing director for Adama.

“With a wide selection of industry-leading speakers covering a range of technical, practical and business issues, CropTec provides the perfect opportunity for farmers, agronomists and professional spray operators to learn more about the very latest developments in crop establishment, protection, nutrition, and yield enhancement.

“We look forward to the 2017 event and are proud to be able to support such a focused, professional and well-targeted event.”

A maximium of six BASIS and six NRoSO points are available each day. FACTS CPD points will also be available.

The CropTec show is free for visitors to attend, provided tickets are booked in advance.

The event will take place at the East of England Showground, Peterborough, on Wednesday 29^th and Thursday 30^th November.

Tickets to attend are FREE providing you pre-register in advance: BOOK NOW

GROWERS can improve the overall performance of late blight control programmes by using Proxanil® as a preventative product.

Proxanil, by Arysta LifeScience, combines the power of two complementary active ingredients – Cymoxanil and Propamocarb. Together they offer an improved synergistic performance for both preventative and curative control of potato late blight.

The product is highly effective and consistent when used preventatively, at a reduced rate of 1.5L /ha in conjunction with a contact fungicide. Under high pressure conditions, Proxanil performed well during recent trials.

Arysta LifeScience Product Development & Technical Manager for UK & Ireland, Don Pendergrast, said: “Historically, we have seen Proxanil being used as a curative product, when the onset of blight has really taken hold. But trials have shown that it can also offer great benefit to the overall blight programme when it is used preventatively.

“Late blight thrives in wet, humid conditions, so you could say that currently, growers have been experiencing ‘classic’ blight weather. Use Proxanil from the rapid growth stage onwards at seven day intervals, to ensure you maximize the potential of your control programme.”

Propamocarb penetrates the leaf tissue to prevent blight infections and ensure protection for new plant growth. Complementing this is Cymoxanil, which acts rapidly to provide a 48hr kick-back cure of infections, whilst providing ongoing curative control for around two days.

Mr Pendergrast added: “Late blight has a huge impact on the potato industry, costing around £50M in crop protection products each year. It’s aggressive and once symptoms are visible, it has already taken hold.

“Using versatile products such as Proxanil in a preventative spray programme gives growers the reassurance that they are doing all that they can to protect and improve the quality of their yields.”

Arysta LifeScience sponsors Blightwatch service – an alert scheme offered by the Met Office in conjunction with the AHDB. For more information, visit http://blightwatch.co.uk/home/

Join Arysta LifeScience this November in Peterborough at The CropTec Show, sponsoring the new Bio-stimulant hub.

Registration is free for all those who pre-register before the event.

Farming Minister George Eustice has admitted there is a ‘possibility’ the new Agriculture Bill could be hijacked by the green lobby.

Written by Abi Kay, Chief Reporter, Farmers Guardian

Mr Eustice made the comments in an exclusive interview with Farmers Guardian.

Pressed on whether people with extreme views on issues such as crop protection could seek to amend the legislation, he said: “Obviously that is always a possibility with any legislation, but there is quite an emerging consensus about what the direction of travel should be and quite an emerging consensus that we should not do any radical change overnight.

“What parliament exists to do is to drive out compromises, and I actually think it is entirely possible for us to come up with a plan which starts a transition from where we are now to where we want to get to.”

Rural Payments Agency

The Bill will give the Government the power to make payments to farmers – with the Rural Payments Agency and Natural England continuing to administer the cash – but Mr Eustice said he also wanted to prepare for future changes.

“We want to start putting the provisions there to begin the transition from the system we have got now, which is largely an area-based system, to something which over time becomes better targeted, more focused on helping farmers manage risks and more focused on farm productivity”, he added.

“We also want to put in place more effective agri-environment schemes which are tailored to local needs.”

Mr Eustice said there would be a ‘very intense phase of engagement’ with non-governmental organisations and farming unions during the autumn, with ‘quite clear indications’ of the scope of the legislation early next year.

The Bill itself is expected to follow later on in the two-year session of parliament.

OTHER COMMENTS FROM MR EUSTICE

Red tape

“I have always been very clear that as we develop a new system, I want to move away from the whole current cross-compliance system we have, which is far too rules-based.

“It is about more than just individual regulations; it is much more fundamental. We want to get a culture change in the way we approach the governance of agriculture policy, so it is less about people coming around with clip boards and a 120-page rulebook they judge farmers against, and much more around having a smaller number of more significant interventions which make a difference for our environment.

“If we can get that culture change, it will be a really important step forward for agricultural legislation.”

Devolved powers

“This is an issue we have made no final decisions on, but we are really keen to ensure there are powers for the devolved administrations to design schemes which work for their own agriculture and their own environment. Everybody recognises you also need to maintain some kind of UK framework in order to ensure the integrity of the UK single market is safeguarded.

“You could not have a complete free-for-all with different parts of the UK pursuing totally different policies, but we certainly want to make sure they have got more powers than they have now to be able to design policies which work for them.”

Devolved funding

“What we have been very clear on in the manifesto is the budget stays the same, so we are not looking for any changes to the agricultural budget over the next five years.

“When it comes to allocations in the UK, this is an issue we have still got to resolve with the devolved administrations, but I suspect in the first instance, we will retain a framework which is UK-wide because there is an existing CAP scheme which is EU-wide. We do not want to have overnight revolution; we want an evolution.”

Funding for Defra

“We have made a lot of progress within Defra bringing all of the different agencies and bodies closer together to join up back office functions to make savings. This is a work in progress and there are further savings we can make through the process.

“Separate to that, we have got a huge amount of work to do in terms of policy development and we have been recruiting additional people to support those teams.

“This decision to leave the EU is the biggest decision we have taken for half a century as a country. We have got to get it right, that is why it is a priority and we will make sure we have the resources we need in Defra to deliver it.”

Access to labour

“At the moment, while we are still in the EU, there is free movement of people and actually the statistics from the Home Office are showing more people than ever are coming to the UK to work.

“There have been specific issues affecting some agricultural sectors, which is more of those people coming here are going into other sectors rather than agriculture.

“This not an issue related Brexit, it is an issue related to the fact it is quite hard work and the level of pay they are able to offer in the agricultural sector.

“But we have always been clear that as we take back control of immigration policy, we are not going to pull up the drawbridge. We will be looking at all sorts of issues such as seasonal work permits, looking at what we can learn from the old seasonal agricultural workers scheme and looking to ensure we have in place the necessary provisions for the labour we need.”

For all the latest farming news and updates from Farmers Guardian, make sure to visit: FGinsight.com https://www.fginsight.com/news

www.croptecshow.com

HORSCH has revealed its advanced coulter control system, AutoForce, that automatically adjusts coulter pressure on the move to varying soil conditions. Drill operators typically set coulter pressure to their heaviest soil conditions, but detailed research by Horsch has revealed this can lead to increased compaction when moving into lighter soils.

The 300kg per row unit coulter pressure on the Horsch Maestro maize drill is the highest in the industry. This is ideal for heavy land but the research, conducted across Europe in the past three years, has shown a more even seed germination by reducing coulter pressure in lighter soils. Using hydraulic rams, AutoForce is the only system available to continuously adapt coulter pressure while drilling to prevent compaction on light land or reduced sowing depth on heavy land.

Buckinghamshire-based Robert Tuckwell Contractors were one of the first in Europe to have the system fitted when they took delivery of a new 12m Maestro 16 SW in 2016. Drilling more than 3200 acres of maize to feed two local anaerobic digester plants, the contractors were impressed with the Maestro drill and the large increase in capacity it offered over their existing 8-row 6m drill.

“AutoForce was not a feature that we specified when choosing the Maestro and I was initially sceptical of its value,” admits Scott Hosking, main drill operator for Robert Tuckwell. “However, having worked with it for a season I would certainly specify it on my next drill.”

Autoforce uses sensors to monitor two 8-row sections on the 16-row machine. Separate hydraulic arms provide down pressure for each section, enabling the dedicated software to adapt each section independently. The system, which can also be specified as one section for smaller machines, maintains accurate seed depth placement at higher speeds and offers greater control over the standard system that provides uniform pressure across all rows.

“We have a wide range of soil types to consider and often we would set the drill to a heavier soil only to find the coulters would become buried on the lighter land,” explains Scott. Horsch’s engineers enhanced the system response time during the season allowing it to react to change more rapidly.

“Now, with AutoForce in place, we can maintain our desired drilling depth of 2.5 to 3 inches far more easily and it has also allowed us to increase our speed too. We run about 8kph in heavy clay pushing up to 12kph when the seed-bed condition allows, and all with a seed placement accuracy of 98% or above,” adds Scott. Maize is renowned for its lazy root structure and ensuring accurate seed and fertiliser placement is essential for good yields.

Covering 160 acres per day with the Maestro, the drill has improved the contractor’s logistics operations too. “We can get about 120 acres of seed in the tank which means we only need one top-up during the day. We have also moved to big bag seed and big bag micro-granular fertiliser which has further simplified operations,” says Scott.

“The presence of such a big drill on some of the smaller farms raised concerns to start with but once they saw how even the planting was and how good the crop looked, we haven’t had any complaints. I think AutoForce has certainly enhanced the seed placement,” concludes Scott.

Notes to Editors

· More information on the company and its products can be found at www.horsch.com

WRAG guidelines

OTHER COMMENTS FROM MR EUSTICE

Red tape

Devolved powers

Devolved funding

Funding for Defra

Access to labour

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