Arable Farmer Focus FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Time to dust down the irrigation equipmentHere in Cornwall our potato planting was finished in good time. Soil conditions were generally good although they have taken a while to warm up. Having said that, the earliest… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Mid-tier stewardship already deliveringI am in the process of putting my mid-tier countryside stewardship in place. It’s great to see that before the scheme is delivering on farm I already have an abundance… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Are high input trials relevant anymore?I am facing a moral quandary. Like a lot of us I love experimenting with new techniques and, despite the fact that it usually costs me money, occasionally it’s well… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Wheat in, lambs on, flights bookedWith the harvest behind us and clover and grass crops established, our focus has changed to drilling wheat and getting the winter lambs on farm. We have about 15km of… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Surely a three-week weather forecast is possible?At this time of year, it really feels like you have a crucial influence on the potential outcome, both physical and financial, of the crops come harvest. The decisions made… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: First malting barley crop in 30 yearsWe seem to live in a world of varying degrees of extremes. One of the worst examples happened recently just 3.5 miles from our farm. An extremist decided to fire… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Well done Natural England over ‘Bird Gate’The fantastic early spring has let itself down recently. The return of the cold north and easterly winds and early morning frosts has slowed that early start in crop growth.… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Aerially seeded cover thriving after droughtWhen it rains, it pours. This summer has proved to be a very dry and challenging season in South Africa. Ironically, it is now so wet that we are now… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: How connected am I with my customers?I recently spent a day with an inspirational organic farmer in west Wales who is flying the flag for sustainable farming. A real example of challenging the norm but having… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Are dirty or ‘green’ varieties the way forward...After frosty mornings and no rain, all our crops have had a stuttering start to their growing season. T0s consisted of the dependable and relatively cheap chlorothalonil (CTL) with a… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Less than 40% of OSR will make harvestBack in February I reported I couldn’t find many cabbage stem flea beetle larvae, well I ought to get my eyes tested because now I can find lots. Pretty much… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Low weed burden allows savings on weedingWe finished sowing our remaining 250ha of spring barley by the end of March and like our earlier February drilling, seed-beds have been excellent and the last fields sown are… More articles
