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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

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.…

COVER CROPS

How to manage fallow land hit by wet winter weather

Many growers will be forced to leave land fallow this season and, although that means no income, there are big benefits from higher crop yields in the future and herbicide…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why growers should sign up for greening ahead of new scheme

Arable farmers are being urged to sign up for environmental subsidy schemes, such as growing cover crops and wildflower mixes, to prepare for a post-Brexit farm support package. These schemes…

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Case studies

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…

SOILS

How two arable farms are tackling extreme weather

Improving soil health and establishing a cover crop is helping farmers overcome the effects of extreme weather on their cropping system. The past few months have seen big swings in…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Greening farms prepare for radical switch in farm policy

Rutland farm manager Matt Houldcroft is set to put his least productive land into environmental schemes to prepare for a future “public money for public good” farm policy. He is…

PEST MANAGEMENT

How a grower slashed insecticide use by splitting fields

A Cambridgeshire grower is reaping the rewards of encouraging beneficial insects, having eliminated the need to use any slug pellets or insecticides in his cropping system for more than a…

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Insights

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.…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How wet weather is affecting cropping plans and farm finances

One of the most difficult autumns in memory for arable farmers is causing widespread disruption to fieldwork and rotations, threatening to put a giant dent in 2020 crop performance and…

ROTATIONS

Why herbal leys have been added to arable rotation trial

The benefits of adding sugar beet and herbal leys in arable rotations are being investigated in a long-term rotational study in Suffolk, reflecting the changing challenges faced by growers.  After…

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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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