Beet the Best Competition
There is still time to enter the Beet the Best competition and join the flood of entries competing for an expenses-paid trip to the Castilla y León region of northern Spain.
Farmers Weekly and British Sugar are asking entrants to use their knowledge and skill to nurture a virtual sugar beet crop in a bid to maximise yield potential and top the 100t/ha-plus growers’ achievements.
So if you know your sugar beet diseases or what establishment technique and timing it takes to maximise sugar beet yields, then test your skills and have a chance of winning the trip.
And the team, of up to four people, that achieves the highest yields in each category, will win places on the trip.
There are four categories: Sugar beet growers, Young Farmers’ clubs, university teams and agronomists/advisers. The agronomist/adviser category will be open to individual entries only.
Questions will be split into three rounds, which will take place in October, November and December, and each will focus on a different stage of crop management (see panel).
There will be a mixture of multiple choice and open questions and answers will be scored according to the impact they will have on crop yield. Answers that give the greatest chance of maximising yield and topping the 100t/ha target will return the highest number of points.
From these data a panel of experts from British Sugar, BBRO, Newcastle University and the NFU will select a winner from each category.
BASIS-registered entrants will receive two CPD points for each round they complete and there will also be four NRoSO points awarded for each of the three rounds.
Teams must register and complete the first round by 31 October to be able to compete in all three rounds. To enter, go to www.fwi.co.uk/beetthebest
| The rounds: Round 1 (1-31 October) PREPARATION You will be asked to make management decisions that will set the crop up to achieve maximum yields. These will include soil management, crop nutrition, rotations and management plans. Round 2 (1-30 November) CROP PROTECTION Questions will be based around weed, pest and disease control, plant populations and pest and weed identification. Round 3 (1-31 December) DELIVERY You and your team will need to give your thoughts on efficient harvesting strategy as well as field and clamp storage techniques. Minimising beet damage and late season challenges are also covered here. |
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The prize
Winners from each of the categories (including all team members) and the winning individual will be invited to join the judges on a trip to the Castilla y León’ region in northern Spain in April 2010.
sugar production in that area and other parts of the country.
Visits will include a sugar factory tour, a visit to a beet research centre as well as tours to Spanish farms growing beet. Entrants should ensure they would be available to attend or provide a representative.
