Yellow water traps are helping growers win the battle against cabbage stem flea beetle in oilseed rape. Flea beetle was not much in evidence in MagicTraps deployed last autumn by farm manager Jake Freestone. Trap counts were low in what was generally a low pressure season for the oilseed... Read more
• Good choice for cleaning crops • Robust performance in the field • Comparable yields are possible Oilseed rape growers moving on from HEAR varieties are being encouraged to consider growing a Clearfield variety instead. Volunteers rape plants left from HEAR varieties could see high levels of erucic acid... Read more
Precision guidance takes hoe to next level
Arable 06/08/2025
Advanced crop guidance has transformed inter-row hoeing on an arable farm operating the latest Fendt tractors with VarioGuide RTK. Accurate to +/-2cm, the system on the 942 Vario is used to direct drill cereal crops in bands with a 6m Claydon Evolution, while that on the 724 Vario guides... Read more
Britain’s growers have embraced changes to sugar beet seed purchasing arrangements, says global sugar beet breeder SESVanderHave. Since 2024, farmers can purchase sugar beet seed direct from plant breeders, as well as from British Sugar. “We launched our campaign to supply growers direct for the 2026 sowing at the... Read more
• Blackgrass now emerging later • Implications for cultural control • Spray sequences are important The later and more protracted emergence of blackgrass is prompting a shift in control strategies. Continued use of successful management strategies for blackgrass control developed by agronomy company Hutchinsons is starting to lead to... Read more
Emissions from wheat ‘can be halved’
Arable 06/08/2025
Carbon emissions from wheat production can be halved, suggest trials by growers supplying grain to Weetabix. The Lower Carbon Wheat Project was conducted on behalf of the Weetabix Grower’s Group, a collective of over 120 local farmers who grow 75,000 tonnes of wheat annually within 50 miles of the... Read more
UK cereal harvest ‘variable at best’
Arable 06/08/2025
Huge differences reported in yields Early yields this harvest are better than expected on some farms – but other crops coming off the field are disappointing. After a rollercoaster growing season marked by prolonged drought followed by sudden downpours, combine harvesters rolled into barley crops in late June –... Read more
• Tax ‘betrayal’ of farming families • Government unveils finance bill • Ministers refuse to discuss plan Industry leaders have again warned that imposing inheritance tax on farming families will fail to achieve the government’s aims. The NFU issued the warning as the government laid out draft legislation for... Read more
Tax threatens fields that feed us
Opinion 05/08/2025
At a time when the government claims to champion a resilient, sustainable food system, its inheritance tax reform proposals risk undermining the very foundation of that vision: Britain’s family farms. Draft legislation, due to take effect in April 2026, would see a 20% inheritance tax levied on farming assets... Read more
Future of family farms under threat
Opinion 09/07/2025
Without government support, family farms will be driven out of existence, says Clodhopper One attack by Rachel Reeves was more than enough. But the Chancellor and the Labour government seem hell bent on destroying family farms. The Chancellor has repeatedly pulled the rug of financial support from farmers –... Read more