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Know How / Rotations

Advice for growers on building the best crop rotation plan to keep disease, pest and weed pressure down, while maximising return on cereals, oilseed rape, beans, sugar beet and potatoes. Find out how other farmers are managing the switch to spring cropping to get on top of blackgrass.

Advice and tips

ROTATIONS

How to successfully grow a crop of winter linseed

Farmers growing winter linseed as an alternative break crop to oilseed rape are advised to focus on their autumn management, as treating it like OSR can increase the lodging risk…

CROP SELECTION

Why arable farmers should consider growing rye for pig feed

Cheaper to grow than a second wheat or winter barley and with high yields, hybrid rye offers a better margin and can help in the battle against grass weeds. In…

CROP SELECTION

Pros and cons of alternative breakcrops to OSR

Many oilseed rape growers will be weighing up what alternative breakcrops to grow, with early forecasts suggesting the UK area could struggle to reach 300,000ha next season, a drop of…

OILSEED RAPE

The drastic action growers can take to save oilseed rape

Oilseed rape growers may have to abandon the crop for two years and then return with longer rotations if the valuable break crop is to survive in the long term.…

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Case studies

ROTATIONS

How one Northants farmer is using cost maps to cut crop risk

Mapping which parts of a field will lose money for a given crop is proving to be a valuable risk management tool for one Northants farmer, leading to better cropping…

ENVIRONMENT

How to promote wildlife and have a profitable arable farm

Farmers are looking at ways to tie environmental practices into commercial operations without affecting their bottom line, as the Basic Payment Scheme is phased out in favour of providing public…

SOILS

Organic arable farm goes carbon negative for Brexit future

Rising soil organic matter levels are soaking up greenhouse gases, giving one Cambridgeshire organic farm a negative carbon balance and preparing it for a no-subsidy Brexit future. Less ploughing and…

OILSEED RAPE

Longer rotations and soil moisture at heart of OSR success

Suffolk grower Samuel Steward grows his oilseed rape crop in a six-year rotation and is achieving yields of more than 4t/ha with a firm focus on drilling seed into adequate…

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Insights

SUGAR BEET

How the new sugar beet contract shares virus yellows risk

Sugar beet growers are set to benefit from some brand new features contained in the 2021 contract, which resulted from negotiations between British Sugar and NFU Sugar. Described as ground-breaking…

ROTATIONS

Why whole-field stewardship has a place in arable rotations

A re-think of arable rotations is seeing greater integration of whole-field stewardship options, as growers look for ways to deliver both environmental and economic returns ahead of the arrival of…

CROP SELECTION

What to consider before replacing OSR with a specialist crop

Farmers looking to reduce their oilseed rape area by growing specialist crops should consider the wider impact of their cropping changes to avoid potential new weed, disease and pest problems…

PULSES

Is bruchid beetle making spring beans less attractive?

Despite increasing concern over uncontrollable bruchid beetle in some parts of the UK, rotational benefits and a reasonable feed market shouldn’t put growers off drilling spring beans for harvest 2021.…

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News

ROTATIONS

Cereals 2020: Two key crop questions for growers this autumn

Cropping plans will be influenced by the need to get rotations back on track after such a disruptive year, say experts at Cereals LIVE. Minimising the legacy of this year’s…

CROP SELECTION

Survey reveals slump in OSR area and Group 3 wheat revival

The oilseed rape area in England and Scotland is 11% down on last year, making it the smallest area of the crop for 16 years, according to new AHDB figures.…

WEED MANAGEMENT

First signs of resistance found to key herbicide flufenacet

The first signs of ryegrass and blackgrass resistance to the widely used used herbicide flufenacet are being detected, with growers being urged to use other methods of control as well…

ARABLE

Video: Hertfordshire grower introduces livestock to rotation

One grower's experiences of introducing livestock into the rotation of a Hertfordshire arable farm have been discussed in a new video from AHDB Cereal and Oilseeds. Royston Monitor Farm host Jo…

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Video

ARABLE

Video: Hertfordshire grower introduces livestock to rotation

One grower's experiences of introducing livestock into the rotation of a Hertfordshire arable farm have been discussed in a new video from AHDB Cereal and Oilseeds. Royston Monitor Farm host Jo…

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