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HARVEST

Harvest 2025: Harvest slows as weather becomes more unsettled

Progress has been steady in some regions due to wet weather, while others are running ahead of schedule. Grain quality appears to be holding up well, and growers remain cautiously…

HARVEST

Top UK egg producer shares why harvest remains special

Harvest at one of the UK’s best-known egg producers, Farmlay Eggs in Aberdeenshire, is well under way. Iain Chapman, managing director of the family business, which has a turnover of…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

An in-depth look at stem- and soil-borne diseases in cereals

While foliar diseases often dominate discussions, stem base and root pathogens in cereals require increasing attention as farming systems evolve. Here, we examine the changing dynamics of these diseases. Managing…

HARVEST

Harvest 2025: Winter barley harvest 92% complete

This year’s harvest got off to a quick start, but intermittent rainfall last week has caused a noticeable slowdown. One thing is for certain, there is no consistent picture of…

COVER CROPS

Farmers advised to choose cover crops mixes carefully

Farmers planting cover crops this year are advised to select seed mixes to optimise the compatibility within the rotation and avoid diseases such as clubroot and take-all. Cover crops are…

HARVEST

Harvest 25: Winter barley yields well in Northern Ireland

Despite the showers, combines are still rolling across the country, with winter barley showing strong quality but variable yields. Oilseed rape and wheat yields are more mixed, although the dry…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Revamping wheat blend to withstand septoria

As the prolonged weather continues, the crops are ripening fast. We are certainly going to be into the wheat by the end of July – not something that happens with…

HARVEST

Video: Kent Grower trials Case IH’s new AF10 combine

Kent farm manager Elliott Waters has trialled the new Case IH AF10 rotary combine, marking the first official UK outing for the machine. Elliott has been pleased with the performance…

BLACKGRASS

Grassweed control - sequencing and timing key

Grassweed control programmes for this autumn need to take account of warmer winters, changing blackgrass behaviour and the increasing threat from brome, say experts. Where wheat drilling is planned for…

AWARDS

FW Awards: Meet the 2025 Arable Adviser of the year finalists

This year’s finalists bring a diverse mix of strengths – from hands-on potato expertise and regenerative precision farming to data-led strategies for building farm resilience. The judges Edward Vipond Suffolk…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Wheat yellow rust ratings set to fall for next season

Winter wheat growers are being warned that disease resistance ratings for yellow rust are set to fall this summer for many leading feed wheat varieties, after a new race of…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Holiday hopes to even up farmer tan

Writing this article poolside on a family holiday on the Costa Blanca, looking out over the Mediterranean, offers a far more pleasant view than the one I usually have of…

VARIETY SELECTION

Harvest 2025: The 5 top-yielding winter barley varieties map

Throughout harvest 2025, we are updating our handy interactive map with the latest data from the AHDB’s winter barley Recommended List harvest results. Use the map below to find the…

Arable news

HARVEST

Cambs OSR crop yields over 4.2t/ha despite drought

Cambridgeshire-based farmer Philip Allen kicked off his oilseed rape harvest on 9 July, 10 days earlier than last year with a seed crop of Pi Pinnacle coming off at 9%…

ARABLE

Adas to pull plug on cereal and oilseed YENs

Crop consultancy Adas has announced it will cease facilitation of the Cereal and Oilseeds Yield Enhancement Networks (YENs) – a move prompted by declining sponsorship. Founded in 2012, YEN has…

PEST MANAGEMENT

Beet growers to gain from emergency approval for beet moth

Beet growers seeing high levels of beet moth are set to benefit from the emergency authorisation of an insecticide used in maize and carrot crops. Sugar beet growers were counting…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Wildfarmed expands into oats and barley markets

Regenerative supply chain brand Wildfarmed has become a formidable force in the UK, with 150 farmers supplying more than 1,000 retail customers, ranging from micro-bakeries to large food businesses. While…

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HARVEST

Top UK egg producer shares why harvest remains special

Harvest at one of the UK’s best-known egg producers, Farmlay Eggs in Aberdeenshire, is well under way. Iain Chapman, managing director of the family business, which has a turnover of…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

An in-depth look at stem- and soil-borne diseases in cereals

While foliar diseases often dominate discussions, stem base and root pathogens in cereals require increasing attention as farming systems evolve. Here, we examine the changing dynamics of these diseases. Managing…

BLACKGRASS

Grassweed control - sequencing and timing key

Grassweed control programmes for this autumn need to take account of warmer winters, changing blackgrass behaviour and the increasing threat from brome, say experts. Where wheat drilling is planned for…

AWARDS

FW Awards: Meet the 2025 Arable Adviser of the year finalists

This year’s finalists bring a diverse mix of strengths – from hands-on potato expertise and regenerative precision farming to data-led strategies for building farm resilience. The judges Edward Vipond Suffolk…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Wheat yellow rust ratings set to fall for next season

Winter wheat growers are being warned that disease resistance ratings for yellow rust are set to fall this summer for many leading feed wheat varieties, after a new race of…

VARIETY SELECTION

Harvest 2025: The 5 top-yielding winter barley varieties map

Throughout harvest 2025, we are updating our handy interactive map with the latest data from the AHDB’s winter barley Recommended List harvest results. Use the map below to find the…

VARIETY SELECTION

Why Essex grower is expanding Scope wheat area this autumn

Essex grower Jeremy Durrant is so impressed with the new top-yielding feed winter wheat variety Scope that it will take up a quarter of his 500ha winter wheat area next…

ENVIRONMENT

Award-winner shows ploughing can go alongside sustainability

Cambridgeshire farmer David Felce has been named this year’s winner of the BASF Rawcliffe Bridge Sustainability Award, for his focus on promoting biodiversity. David, who farms with his wife Hayley…

SOILS

How trial is cracking calcite problem in high-calcium soils

A trial is looking at how to break up the hardened calcite layer which is being increasingly seen in some high-calcium soils. Independent soil consultant David Purdy highlights that the…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why straw removal requires rethink for future nutrient plans

Farmers baling straw this summer are reminded to tailor nutrient plans for the following crop to compensate for the removal of phosphate and potash. It is recorded by the AHDB…

HARVEST

Harvest round-up: A season of record-breaking early starts

It has been a record-breaking harvest – unfortunately not in yield terms. Rather, combines have been clearing fields across the UK weeks ahead of usual timings. The prolonged dry weather…

LAND PREPARATION

Grower uses drone to sow catch crop into standing wheat

An East Yorkshire regen farmer is trialling the establishment of a multispecies catch crop into a standing crop of wheat, using the largest UK spraying and spreading drone. Jonathon Hodgson…

ARABLE

How plant breeding tech will benefit farmers over next decade

A decade might sound a long time, but in the plant breeding world it’s not that far off. Plant breeders are already working on wheat varieties that farmers will be growing…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

4 key steps to reduce the risk of ergot in grain

Researchers have identified four key areas where farmers can reduce ergot disease pressure, limit crop infection and keep clean grain clean. Adas experts have carried out an AHDB-funded review which…

SOILS

Grower's insights from four-year clover living mulch trial

Matt England, estate manager at the Fring Estate in Norfolk, has been exploring the potential of clover living mulches, testing how ground-hugging clovers can accumulate nitrogen and suppress weeds. The…

SOILS

Why two returning farmers pressed for regenerative change

After 18 years working in sports marketing in London and for the Department of Health, Jennie Tatlock returned to the family farm in the Yorkshire Wolds in 2022, along with…

Farmer Focus

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FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: A good job the wheat isn’t ready yet

I can’t help but feel we have been left out of the early flying start to harvest. We have not started as of yet (22 July) as we don’t grow…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Revamping wheat blend to withstand septoria

As the prolonged weather continues, the crops are ripening fast. We are certainly going to be into the wheat by the end of July – not something that happens with…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Holiday hopes to even up farmer tan

Writing this article poolside on a family holiday on the Costa Blanca, looking out over the Mediterranean, offers a far more pleasant view than the one I usually have of…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Harvest is in the lap of the gods

For combinable crop farmers July is the month when we are bystanders as our senescent crops ready themselves for harvest. Our work is done, fortunes are in the lap of…

Markets

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CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Promising OSR crop revives industry calls for new growers

Many farmers have moved away from growing oilseed rape (OSR) in recent years, with the total GB planted area estimated at 236,000ha in 2025, which would make it the smallest…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

UK potato growers challenged by low prices and crop concerns

Ex-farm potato prices have fallen sharply in recent months, with an abundance of potatoes across Europe weighing heavily on domestic markets. An exceptionally dry spring aided earlier plantings this year.…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Feed beans slip to £210/t with early harvest under way

Prolonged dry conditions have brought harvest forward, with growers starting to cut winter beans in southern regions of England several weeks earlier than usual this year. Feed beans have fallen…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Wheat slips to £160/t as harvest approaches

Domestic wheat markets remain under pressure, with a bearish global outlook and exchange rates making imports even more competitive versus UK grain. The spot price for ex-farm feed wheat collected…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Standing straw auctions kick off season on a high

Auctioneers have reported exceptional demand for standing straw ahead of harvest, although there seems to be a great deal of variation between locations. A “tremendous” trade was observed by auctioneering…

MARKETS AND TRENDS

Ag markets react sharply to conflict in Middle East

Fuel, fertiliser and oilseeds markets have experienced considerable volatility in recent days, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Initial reports of conflict caused markets to rally last…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Ex-farm spot wheat outperforms futures prices

A hefty premium has emerged in the last year between ex-farm spot prices and UK feed wheat futures contracts, according to analysis by grain trading platform Hectare. Ex-farm prices for…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

New crop wheat at £176/t sparks concern for growers

Sentiment among arable farmers has been downbeat for much of the past year, with farmgate prices in descent and persistent weather challenges weighing on the sector. A strong pound has…

Spot and forward prices (£/t ex-farm)
Each set of prices comes from a single merchant, co-op or broker, and are the latest prices being paid to farmers. Ranges of prices, within one category relate to the distance of the farm from the buyer. Oilseed rape prices are latest spot and forward prices, not contract prices. Ex farm prices vary with the distance from Hull, Liverpool and Erith, crushing factories.

Arable machinery

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CEREAL DRILLS

Horizon Ag takes mounted MDSX no-till drill to 9m

Having taken the trailed DSX no-till drill to 9m last year, Horizon Agricultural Machinery has followed suit with the mounted variant, now available in 7.5m, 8m and 9m sizes for…

CEREAL DRILLS

Sky adds lower-cost coulters to Progress harrow drill

Simpler and lighter single-disc coulters are a new option for the Sky Agriculture (formerly Sulky) Progress piggy-back air drill. The established P30 coulter design is already used on the manufacturer’s…

COMBINES

Power hike for flagship Claas Trion 760 combine harvester

There’s a new top dog in Claas’s Trion 700 combine harvester range, packing a gutsier engine, bigger grain tank and higher-spec cab than its predecessor. Primarily aimed at customers who…

CULTIVATORS

Amtec introduces Torox 'old-school' disc cultivators

The advent of minimum tillage and regenerative farming practices sounded the death knell for “old-school” heavy-duty disc cultivators from the likes of Simba and Gregoire-Besson. But Amtec, the Warwickshire-based used…

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