Archive Article: 2000/06/30
Simon Thompson
Simon Thompson is farm
manager on John Nicholsons
Rectory Farm, Lower Benefield,
Northants. Soils are heavy
clays, growing 190ha
(460 acres) of wheat, beans
and oilseed rape, including
industrial crops on set-aside
THE agricultural show season is upon us and for me a day at Cereals 2000 and three days at the East of England shows clearly the direction that these events are taking. The East of England Agricultural Society is involved with both these events, Cereals 2000 supplying the latest technical advice and support to farmers as well as the chance to view the latest mechanical advances.
In contrast, the East of England Show promotes the benefits and excellence of British farming and the food it produces to the consumer. This sort of publicity initiative is of paramount importance as food safety and animal welfare are of increasing concern. Many farmers may feel that they are too far removed from the consumer and dont need to be involved in this kind of marketing initiative, but I believe it is essential that we play an active role.
Since completing the flag leaf spray, my own sprayer has hardly moved. An earwash of 0.25 litres/ha of Amistar (azoxysrobin) plus 0.35 litres/ha of Folicur (tebuconazole) was applied to the seed crop of Claire, which has passed its crop inspection so the promised premium should be realised.
A neighbours high clearance 24m sprayer has been busy on our Clipper beans, applying 0.75 litres/ha of Folicur (tebuconazole) and 2.0 litres/ha of Bravo (chlorothalonil). Seeing the light work that machine made, we both agreed that we should pool our resources more often. On the otherhand, we could wait until the other goes bankrupt and then take on their land!
Any spare time recently has been spent studying for my BASIS exam, which I sat earlier this week. The course, run by James Islett in Lincoln has been interesting and factual. If successful, I intend to do my own fieldwalking with an annual meeting and telephone advice with an agronomist. Chemical will be purchased at cash and carry price from the cheapest source thus continuing to drive down the cost of production.
Northants grower Simon Thompson aims to drive down input costs next season by doing his own crop-walking, after passing his BASIS exam that is.