They say fortune favours the brave and that has certainly been the case for growers in the region suffering with grass weed issues who delayed wheat drilling until mid October.
Cover crops have an essential role in tackling herbicide resistant blackgrass by improving soil conditions to enable direct drilling of wheat on heavy land in spring.
Results from the second full season of Agrovista trials confirm a spring wheat based system can successfully bring heavily blackgrass-infested land back into productivity.
Drilling a clover companion crop into oilseed rape helps promote better rooting, resulting in crops that deliver up to 1t/ha extra yield and are more tolerant of dry springs.
A settled October has allowed growers to clear seed crops in good time. Ware growers are still harvesting – crops have been slow to skin set, which has added to the delays in lifting after the late growing season.
Most growers have some wheat left to drill and, with care, excellent crops can still be achieved, Says Agrovista’s Craig Green, who points out that many are delaying operations on land affected by difficult black-grass. Others have fields to sow following maize or sugar beet.
Joe Parry, who has just graduated from Harper Adams University, was last night named Agricultural Student of the year at the British Farming Awards.
The switch from soil grown crops to growing in coir substrate has been a feature of the last decade for UK strawberry growers, and many can reflect on what they are looking for now that they have years of experience with the product.
Farmers must embrace change and look at innovative ways to boost profits, according to supporters of the Farm & Rural Business Event.
This site uses cookies - by continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.