IN BRIEF
IN BRIEF
• A world record for sugar output from beet has been set by a sister line of rhizomania-tolerant variety Concept. The crop of Beta 4430R at Imperial Valley, California, yielded 146.6t/ha (59.3t/acre) at 15.87% sugar, according to breeder Betaseed. That produced 23.274t/ha (9.419t/acre) of sugar.
• A NEW seed testing laboratory 25% larger than its predecessor at Defford, Worcs, illustrates Countrywide Farmers commitment to agricultural supply, says the firm. The Defford plant processes 16,000t of cereal seeds and herbage mixtures for 35,000 acres each year.
• CLEVELAND Potash, the UKs only potash mine, has been awarded certification to international quality standard ISO9001:2000 by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance. The development has taken two years to achieve and covers production, handling, sales and distribution.
• UK grain ambassador Barclay Forrest has won the National Agricultural Award for 2002 from the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Under his leadership from 1994-2000 the British Cereal Exports division of the Home Grown Cereals Authority helped move the UK from being a net grain importer to being a top 10 world exporter. *