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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

ARABLE

How arable farmers can turn things around this spring

It may feel like doom and gloom at present, as any rare dry days are predictably followed by another spell of rain – a cycle that has limited field work…

OTHER CROPS

Round-up of the niche crop options for UK growers

Introducing alternative break crops to an arable rotation can help growers improve soil health, spread market risk and further financial gain. As pesticide actives are lost and resistance fears build,…

BLACKGRASS

10 learnings from more than 21 years of blackgrass trials

More than two decades of work at Agrii’s Stow Longa site have shown how blackgrass can be successfully managed with plots getting as low as zero ears/sq m on a…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Cereals 2021: E-tools to help plan environmental options

Three e-tools to help with the on-farm planning and delivery of environmental schemes were being demonstrated by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) at Cereals 2021. Developed as…

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Case studies

HARVEST

'Average at best' harvest for most Arable Insights farmers

After a tricky growing season, has harvest surprised or confirmed worst fears for our Arable Insights’ farmer panel? Farmers Weekly finds out. See also: Why Herts farming family are moving…

OTHER CROPS

How estate uses niche crops to broaden risk and flexibility

Farming across 15 different soil types, along with three seasons of extreme weather, has made rotation planning an interesting exercise for Ragley Estate farm manager Andrew Keyte. This has not…

COVER CROPS

How a lucerne living mulch is working in Denmark

A living mulch based on the perennial crop lucerne is allowing Danish farmer and agronomist Frederik Larsen to harvest more sunlight and produce two crops each year, while reducing costs…

ROTATIONS

Long-term spring OSR grower reveals his approach

Graham Bell has grown spring oilseed rape for more than two-and-a-half decades, and, with the right approach, is achieving higher margins than the winter crop it replaced. While spring OSR…

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Insights

ROTATIONS

Why beans may have a place in Scottish rotations

With many growers looking for alternative break crops to extend rotations, nitrogen-fixing beans could be the answer for some this season. Through careful variety choice, establishment methods and inputs, Scottish…

SUGAR BEET

Why the sugar beet deal could see a reduced 2026 crop area

At £30/t, the sugar beet price for next year is enough to keep the crop in the rotation, but most growers will scale back a bit, reduce the area grown…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

What are OSR prospects for the 2025-26 growing season?

Rapeseed production fell to a 41-year low in the UK in 2024 and another challenging growing season led to a further 17% fall in area for 2025, according to AHDB…

PULSES

Is there still a place for pulse crops on UK arable farms?

As the decarbonisation of farming gathers pace and greater scrutiny is given to sustainable supply chains, it’s never been easier to make a compelling case for growing peas and beans.…

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News

ARABLE

Smallest barley area in 11 years as wheat rises, says Defra

Harvest 2025 saw the smallest barley area in England for 11 years and the first increase in wheat since 2022, according to Defra’s latest statistics. There was also a sharp…

ARABLE

Cereals 2024: UK wheat area set for big bounce back in autumn

Winter wheat drilling is forecast to recover strongly this autumn, with the area set to be up by as much as 30% as growers are tempted to sow early after…

OTHER CROPS

Hemp growing made simpler with changes to licensing rules

Changes to hemp licensing rules are set to make it easier for farmers to plan their rotations, thereby making it a more viable break crop on UK farms. Hemp is…

ARABLE

Trial sees 9.7t/ha yield from zero-input bean-oat bicrop

A crop of oats grown with no inputs apart from seed and a companion crop of winter beans has produced an exceptional yield in a Northamptonshire trial. Bicropping is gaining…

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Video

POTATOES

Video: Potato planting races ahead in rejigged farm rotation

Potato planting was racing ahead in south Somerset this month, after farm manager Ollie Blackburn rejigged his crop rotation to improve soil fertility and structure for his spuds. He hopes…

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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