UK farmers are expected to see at least a 50% cut in revenue derived from the Basic Payments Scheme December 2024.
Replacing this income is the Environmental Land Management programme and within that structure the Sustainable Farm Incentive (SFI) offers growers the opportunity of payments in exchange for adopting a range of environmentally beneficial measures such as to improve biodiversity, soil health, carbon footprint, and water quality on their farm among others.
Adopting crop management practices that remove the use of insecticides for the lifespan of the crop is one low-risk income stream available, easily adopted simply by switching variety choice.
RGT Grouse winter wheat is genetically resistant to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and orange wheat blossom midge (OWBM). BYDV is a virus carried predominantly in the south of the UK by the overwintering bird cherry-oat aphid and in the midlands and north by the grain aphid each feeding on early drilled cereal crops.
RGT Grouse winter wheat is genetically resistant to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and orange wheat blossom midge (OWBM). BYDV is a virus carried predominantly in the south of the UK by the overwintering bird cherry-oat aphid and in the midlands and north by the grain aphid each feeding on early drilled cereal crops.
- RGT Grouse has a slow, prostrate growth habit with improved disease resistance over its predecessors
- With BYDV resistance, RGT Grouse is suited to early drilling
- RGT Grouse has outyielded Gleam in the presence of BYDV by 10-23% across two years of Breeder trials
- Consider for outlying fields, or your earliest drilled ground
- Being also resistant to OWBM RGT Grouse offers growers the opportunity of adopting IPM4 of an Integrated Pest Management Plan and receive a minimum of £45/ha for the crops included
- Please talk to your Agrovista agronomist for more data
*Breeder data
Use new genetics when early drilling for three-way security
Following the wet autumn of 2023, growers will be very keen to drill as early as the previous crop allows and mitigating risk will be at the forefront of minds. RGT Grouse offers security in three ways.
- RGT Grouse has a slow growth habit with a prostrate tillering attitude – the perfect combination for early drilling as it will not develop overly lush growth and be more prone to disease as a result
- RGT Grouse is genetically resistant to BYDV. For this variety over-wintering aphids carry no virus transmission risks. The trait greatly simplifies crop management and delivers targeted control, removing the need to monitor aphid populations and leaving time for other key farm activities during the busy autumn period. RGT Grouse therefore brings economic, environmental, and managerial benefits across the enterprise
- Several insect groups help regulate pest numbers. Ground-feeding beetles eat pest larvae by example. All harmed by insecticide applications. By adopting genetically resistant varieties growers can both get paid through the Sustainable Farming Incentive and avoid unwittingly killing environmentally beneficial predators
