Neil Buchanan: Time for strategy and planning

Article taken from the Arable Farming

Another new year always seems to bring a fresh set of challenges.  The Single Farm Payment is no more and we now have to understand and comply with a raft of new measures which underpin the new Basic Payment Scheme.  Online registration issues are already causing concern and adherence to crop diversification and Ecological Focus Area requirements will provide many pitfalls for the unwary.  Check and double check, as unnecessary fines will be most unwelcome, particularly in our current economic climate.

In an industry already beleaguered with weak worldwide commodity prices, I was somewhat dismayed to read we need to up our game.  The recent OFC report suggests we are starting to lag behind some of our overseas competitors.  I have always believed we in the UK are good farmers and I still hold that view.  But maybe we have lost our edge in the management of our businesses.  Increased competition will drive us all to seek improvements, but it is only the correct use of appropriate management tools which will tell us where to concentrate our efforts.

For agronomy to become more effective, integration with this crucial side of our industry must be a key aim.  Knowledge transfer has also been highlighted as an area with scope for improvement and I have to agree, and accept, some of the blame lies within my sector.  We have some cracking scientific brains in this country and the work they do is world class, but key findings are not always communicated to the grower in plain, practical English.  Highly relevant conclusions of good research are getting lost or diluted before they reach the growers who need to put them into practice.  It is an area in which all agronomists should become more proactive.

The long-term contentious issue of genetically modified crops looks set to return centre stage this month.  By the time you read this, it is likely the EU will have ratified a proposal to allow member states to implement their own decisions on this topic.  Those which oppose will effect a ban, but will no longer stand in the way of those who wish to proceed, and it seems probable Westminster will embrace this technology.

The debates will resume, but I suspect they will become more sophisticated and the stance from many environmentalists will perhaps be more conciliatory.  I am sure 20 years of deadlock and bitter wrangling has stimulated conventional plant breeding to progress and develop much faster than might otherwise have been expected.

Meetings

Fieldwork at this time of year does not take up too much of my time, which is allocated more towards strategy and planning for the forthcoming spring.  Meetings galore help me keep up-to-speed with the latest thinking on new developments and technology.  NRoSO topical updates are also underway, primarily for sprayer operators.  These key people are a vitally important part of the agronomy chain.  The benefits of good timeliness and correct application must never be undervalued.

We also need to remember grandfather rights on PA1/PA2 cease to be legal this November.  There are plenty of first class operators out there working under this exemption, but without that all important piece of paper protocol compliance will cease abruptly.  I think I need to get some courses organised before spring kicks off.


Agronomist facts

- Neil Buchanan is an Agrovista agronomist based in Shropshire.  He advises clients across the West Midlands, growing cereals, oilseed rape, pulses and potatoes