Boosting main crop winter wheat quality

Article taken from South East Farmer Magazine
By Alice Dyer

Agrovista took a back to basics approach at their winter conference where growers were encouraged to add value to crops through management practices, adopting new technology and crop selection. 

With wheat crop margins tight, and the average farm losing £25,000 last year, Rob Purvis, agronomist for Agrovista, told growers to consider growing a feed wheat variety instead of milling wheat after an ADHB survey revealed that less than 50% of group one grain made full specification. One calculation showed the cost of production for Crusoe milling wheat was £108.59 per tonne, but just £99 per tonne for Reflection feed wheat giving growers some serious reconsideration of their current systems. Reducing and optimising input prices will also see margins improve with nitrogen use high on the agenda as Mr Purvis explored peak rates on September and October sown wheat concluding an optimum of 241 kilo-grams a hectare, with chemical spread pat-terns being inaccurate by 15% before visibly obvious to the grower. Grain nitrogen concentration is the best guide to determine crop fertilisation levels accurately, with a figure of 1.9% for feed wheat and 2.1% for milling wheat with the potential to increase or decrease by 30kg/ha for each 0.1% difference in grain nitrogen levels. Growers should not assume that a 10 tonnes/ha crop requires more nitrogen than recommended by the RB209 fertiliser manual. The discussion, which was not so much about improving yields but optimising growing conditions, heard Tom Nickerson of Ebbage Seeds advise: ""do not be swayed by one per cent yield differences"" as he high-lighted consistent varieties with good resistance ratings as a more important key factor when choosing  a variety. Mr Nickerson focussed on the yield competitive long eared wheat variety of winter wheat, Belepi.

This very early maturing seed has a six month showing window, black-grass control, orange wheat blossom midge resistance, and robust disease resistance, but did not make the ADHB recommended list due to how trial data is collated, maturing much earlier than other varieties, and therefore being left in the field until the trial end subsequently losing quality. Classed as a spring wheat variety under the three crop rule, growers showed an interest in the grain which is drilled October to March, maturing two to three days earlier than any varieties on the recommended list. With subsidies a hot topic on everyone's lips and around 16,000 entry level scheme (ELS) payments ending this year, Agrogate business consultant, Phil Edenborough spoke of his disdain over having ""eartag readers"" from the Rural Payments Agency conducting all inspections on farms. With just 2,314 applications being received out of 6,000 sent out, he described the process as ""tender," saying the new mid tier scheme was a step up in concept but a step down in nearly all other aspects. Opportunities are available within rural development programme for England schemes and Countryside Stewardships as a way to replace lost income from past schemes. However, up to seven per cent of land could be taken up by these programmes so only unproductive plots should be selected. Some plots of conservation land might even be penalised for being ""too good"" and therefore not qualifying for funds. Growers were encouraged to instead look into the feasibility of Axis and other precision farming tools including a broad range of technology from variable rate application, seed technology, GPS, the use of drones, mapping software and weather and disease forecasting. Veris MSP3, exclusive to Agrovista is a soil analysis tool focussing on soil pH, organic matter content, and electro conductivity. It can also be used as a viable tool to give detailed zones of nitrogen leaching and holding capacity all in one pass. The MSP3's organic matter sensor uses the brightness of the soil to detect how much organic matter is present, compared with hand samples taken from the field through ground troughing.

The electro conductivity disks create a circuit in the soil from one end of the machine to the other and measure resistance, which determines soil type. The pH sensor channels soil through a funnel as the machine is moving, pushing it into the soil and then lifting it out to be cleaned before repeating the process every seven to 10 seconds. Data is then taken from the MSP3 and linked to Map PRO, where Agrovista can create nitrogen and water leeching zones to minimise loss to the environment and save input costs. Adopting this data means growers can make variable rate seeds, lime or yield forecasting plans. Using a case study, Jack Harris of Agrovista's precision services department outlined economics of precision farming technology available, including soil mapping, yield mapping, variable rates, fertiliser spreading and software totalling E26.25/ha/year, meaning just a 0.25t/ha yield increase in wheat will mean a break even with a L1101 tonne crop. This will work in improving margins, reducing waste and overlaps and target inputs, with the Agrovista package aiming to reduce cost and maintain manageable outgoings.