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<strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong> <strong>issue</strong>...<br />
Machine might page 46<br />
Hanover highlights heading to LAMMA<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation answer page 36<br />
Resilient rewards page 8<br />
New RL favours low risk types<br />
Spring seeds page 14
Volume 17 Number 10<br />
December 2015<br />
4<br />
6<br />
8<br />
14<br />
Talking Tilth<br />
A word from the editor.<br />
Smith’s Soapbox<br />
Views and opinions from an Essex peasant…..<br />
Robust varieties find favour<br />
High disease-tolerance ratings and untreated yields are the stand-out<br />
characteristics of varieties added to the new Recommended Lists.<br />
Plenty to plan with<br />
spring drilling<br />
SPRING SEEDS<br />
Spring cropping is undergoing a revival, but new options throw up<br />
fresh considerations.<br />
Editor<br />
Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
Sub editor<br />
Charlotte Lord<br />
Writers<br />
Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
Jane Brown<br />
Nick Fone<br />
Robert Harris<br />
Rob Jones<br />
Lucy de la Pasture<br />
Emily Padfield<br />
Mick Roberts<br />
Design and Production<br />
Brooks Design<br />
Advertisement co-ordinator<br />
Peter Walker<br />
Publisher<br />
Angus McKirdy<br />
Business Development Manager<br />
Charlotte Alexander<br />
To claim two crop protection BASIS points, send an email to<br />
assistant@basis-reg.co.uk, quoting reference CP/37178/1415/g.<br />
*the claim ‘best read specialist arable journal’ is based<br />
on independent reader research, conducted by the<br />
National Farm Research Unit 2014<br />
Editorial & advertising sales<br />
White House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY5 8LP<br />
Tel: (01743) 861122 E-mail: angus@cpm-magazine.co.uk<br />
Reader registration hotline 01743 861122<br />
Advertising copy<br />
Brooks Design,<br />
24 Claremont Hill, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1RD<br />
Tel: (01743) 244403 E-mail: fred@brooksdesign.co.uk<br />
CPM Volume 17 No 10. Editorial, advertising and sales offices are at<br />
White House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury SY5 8LP.<br />
Tel: (01743) 861122. CPM is published ten times a year by<br />
CPM Ltd and is available free of charge to qualifying farmers<br />
and farm managers in the United Kingdom.<br />
<strong>In</strong> no way does CPM Ltd endorse, notarise or concur with any of the advice,<br />
recommendations or prescriptions reported in the magazine.<br />
If you are unsure about which recommendations to follow, please consult<br />
a professional agronomist. Always read the label. Use pesticides safely.<br />
CPM Ltd is not responsible for loss or damage to any unsolicited material,<br />
including photographs.<br />
22<br />
26<br />
32<br />
36<br />
40<br />
46<br />
54<br />
58<br />
62<br />
70<br />
74<br />
Daughter of a malting<br />
mainstay<br />
INSIDERS VIEW<br />
Success often breeds success, so have Limagrain found that with<br />
the latest spring barley variety to stem from Concerto?<br />
Mild autumn brings on crop potential<br />
With oilseed rape set up well for the winter, it’s time to plan spring<br />
management to maximise profits.<br />
Bean of bounty<br />
Get the establishment right and you can achieve substantial yields<br />
from a winter bean crop, according to one Suffolk grower.<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation under threat?<br />
There’s an unprecedented push by the European business<br />
community to ensure innovation isn’t stifled by regulation.<br />
Britain’s bumper crop laid bare<br />
A survey of growers has offered an insight into how the 2015 crop<br />
performed and how nutrition plans for next year are shaping up.<br />
New tech draws LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
the crowds<br />
A drop in machinery sales across Europe didn’t dampen the<br />
enthusiasm of the 450,000 visitors to Agritechnica.<br />
Smart thinking on drills and combines<br />
Seeding technology has come on in leaps and bounds recently, while<br />
there s a totally new approach on the cards for combine headers.<br />
Cultivators rise to challenge of fresh thinking<br />
Supersized cultivators to ingenious tools that measure soil strength<br />
on the go.<br />
Rapid pace for a<br />
‘legendary’ drill<br />
Väderstad’s Rapid pioneered the cultivator-drill concept and has<br />
become Europe’s most successful seed drill of all time.<br />
INNOVATION INSIGHT<br />
Brand move brings ON FARM OPINION<br />
multiple benefits<br />
Moving its fleet over to Deutz-Fahr tractors is delivering cost savings<br />
to one Cambs arable business, with no loss of performance.<br />
Boom or bust for spray deposition<br />
Two growers with BoomControl fitted to their sprayers comment on<br />
the difference boom height makes.<br />
crop production magazine december 2015<br />
3
How resilient<br />
are you?<br />
I like the word resilience. It<br />
conjures up a sort of defiance.<br />
It’s a fate-may-be-doing-itsbest-to-sink-me-but-I’mstronger-than-that<br />
kind of word.<br />
It’s the word that rang out loud<br />
and proud at the recent launch of<br />
the new AHDB Cereals and<br />
Oilseeds Recommended Lists<br />
(see page 8). And it underlines<br />
something of a shift in mindset for<br />
the industry.<br />
We’ve always been able to tell<br />
which are the resilient varieties<br />
from their disease ratings and<br />
untreated yields. But in the past,<br />
they’ve been relegated to the<br />
‘cheap-to-grow’ category. The<br />
implication has been that you can<br />
chose those types if you’re a bit<br />
unprofessional, but real farmers<br />
aren’t fazed by a 2 for yellow rust,<br />
while a place on Progression<br />
Platform is only earned by<br />
growers who curb their septoria<br />
by slopping litres of SDHIs all<br />
over their crops.<br />
Well growers are now defiantly<br />
spurning <strong>this</strong> mantra. No longer<br />
should you be shamed if you<br />
didn’t choose the highest-yielding<br />
Group 4 wheat and then spend<br />
the whole of the spring shackled<br />
to your sprayer stalwartly battling<br />
disease. The new mantra is<br />
resilience, and that’s not just in<br />
variety choice, it goes throughout<br />
the arable business.<br />
So as you peruse the<br />
pages of CPM <strong>this</strong> month, it’s<br />
worth bearing in mind how<br />
resilient your business really<br />
is, and whether there are<br />
areas that need a rethink. There<br />
may be chinks in your armour that<br />
need a titanium patch, or perhaps<br />
there are too few baskets in your<br />
business that are just a little bit<br />
overfull with eggs.<br />
For starters, what proportion of<br />
your arable area is down to spring<br />
crops? They may not improve<br />
your margins, but according to<br />
farm business consultants<br />
Andersons, they make for a<br />
more sustainable business (p45).<br />
We’ve a 12-page review of the<br />
spring-drilled options with<br />
agronomy tips (p14), while<br />
<strong>In</strong>siders View reviews Octavia<br />
spring barley (p22).<br />
Oilseed rape gets a fair amount<br />
of criticism for being a crop that<br />
leaves you exposed when<br />
markets take a nosedive, so we’ve<br />
joined a group of progressive<br />
growers as they discuss resilient<br />
strategies for the spring (p26). But<br />
then, if there’s too many eggs in<br />
your oilseeds basket, what about<br />
winter beans? We’ve been to see<br />
a Suffolk grower who’s achieving<br />
impressive results (p32), and<br />
bring you the new pea and bean<br />
Recommended Lists from PGRO.<br />
But perhaps what sets a<br />
resilient arable business aside<br />
from one that’s exposed and<br />
vulnerable is its machineryreplacement<br />
policy. Manufacturers<br />
are acutely aware of <strong>this</strong> and are<br />
competing hard for their share of<br />
a market that’s shrunk as arable<br />
profitability has dropped.<br />
That made <strong>this</strong> year’s<br />
Agritechnica show in Germany<br />
one of the most interesting of<br />
recent times. So in a 16-page<br />
special, we have no less than<br />
three reports from the show<br />
stands and vast halls of Hanover’s<br />
Exhibition Grounds, starting on<br />
p46. We’ve looked specifically not<br />
only for the new ideas that will put<br />
arable businesses in good shape,<br />
but those that are set to come to<br />
LAMMA next month, so those<br />
most relevant to UK arable<br />
businesses. Meanwhile,<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation <strong>In</strong>sight tells the story<br />
of the Väderstad Rapid (p62).<br />
For many CPM readers,<br />
however, all <strong>this</strong> talk of resilience<br />
will be a tad grandmothersucking-eggs.<br />
For those growers,<br />
resilience will be ingrained and<br />
the current downturn in profitability<br />
a predictable part of the arable<br />
cycle, that presents as many<br />
opportunities as challenges.<br />
So if you’re one of those, I’d<br />
urge you to have a read of <strong>this</strong><br />
month’s Protecting Chemistry<br />
(p36), that brings an update on<br />
the latest regulatory politics being<br />
played out in Brussels. The<br />
precautionary principle and, some<br />
may say, the over-zealous way<br />
it’s been adopted have put the<br />
industry and its chemical toolbox<br />
at threat. The interesting<br />
development is the <strong>In</strong>novation<br />
Principle that’s now being tabled<br />
in response.<br />
The really interesting bit,<br />
however, comes when you<br />
turn <strong>this</strong> round and gauge the<br />
implication for your own farm.<br />
Any arable business with a vested<br />
interest in pesticide technology<br />
puts itself in good stead by<br />
staying abreast of these <strong>issue</strong>s.<br />
What’s more, if you demonstrate<br />
good stewardship, you go a long<br />
way to quashing the very fears<br />
some NGOs delight in stirring up.<br />
But have you ever asked<br />
yourself whether your business<br />
uses pesticides or is dependent<br />
on them? That puts a whole new<br />
shine on the word ‘resilience’.<br />
Rooting for resilience<br />
With OSR, it’s not what protrudes above<br />
the ground that is the true mark of a<br />
resilient crop, but the root that lies<br />
beneath it. So is yours bigger than mine?<br />
I took a picture of <strong>this</strong> taproot and<br />
tweeted it on 1 Dec and there’s 10<br />
bottles of quality malt whisky up for<br />
grabs for anyone who’d like to do the<br />
same – CPM has joined with Dupont in<br />
looking for the most burgeoning bulbs<br />
and ravenous radicles.<br />
Dig up a few roots, find one you like,<br />
then take a photo and tweet it, using the<br />
hashtag #root4sure. The ten photos<br />
judged the best by the time the<br />
competition closes on 15 Jan 2016<br />
will earn those who tweeted them<br />
each a bottle of fine malt whisky.<br />
For those not on twitter, you can<br />
still enter by emailing your entry to<br />
competition@cpm-magazine.co.uk. For<br />
full competition terms and conditions,<br />
go to www.cpm-magazine.co.uk<br />
Tom Allen-Stevens has a 170ha<br />
arable farm in Oxon and resilience<br />
is what comes in handy when the<br />
family comes for Christmas.<br />
tom@cpm-magazine.co.uk
As safe as<br />
sausages?<br />
It was quite a relief to see<br />
the key science committee in<br />
the EU, EFSA, give glyphosate<br />
a reasonably clean bill of<br />
health in Nov.<br />
Just as glyphosate was<br />
coming up to having its<br />
licences renewed next year,<br />
it seemed to be coming<br />
under sustained attack from<br />
the anti-pesticide NGOs<br />
questioning its environmental<br />
and human health profiles.<br />
The IARC’s World Health<br />
Committee had concluded in<br />
Aug that glyphosate might be<br />
a category two carcinogen.<br />
But that had rather been<br />
put in context a month later<br />
when the same committee<br />
concluded that sausages<br />
and bacon were a class one<br />
carcinogen. The rationalist in<br />
me could but conclude that if<br />
processed meat might be a<br />
class one carcinogen while<br />
glyphosate might be only a<br />
class two, then we should<br />
conclude that Round Up was<br />
confirmed as safer and less<br />
toxic than sausages. My<br />
breakfast plate was now<br />
officially more hazardous<br />
than my spray store.<br />
Equally curious was a<br />
number of studies coming out<br />
last year warning glyphosate<br />
was proving prone to getting<br />
into watercourses. But when<br />
you consider it’s used<br />
by water authorities to<br />
control pernicious<br />
weeds in water courses<br />
you have to wonder<br />
what the problem is.<br />
One of those weeds<br />
might be wolfsbane which is<br />
extremely poisonous. It was<br />
interesting to note wolfsbane<br />
killed a gardener in Wilts last<br />
year when he brushed a<br />
scratch against its flowers<br />
which led to multiple organ<br />
failure. Quite rightly we all<br />
wear protective clothing when<br />
handling agrochemicals but<br />
how many of us worry about<br />
such things when frolicking in<br />
the flowers?<br />
End of year review<br />
Travelling around I sense<br />
that for many 2015 will be<br />
remembered for the bumper<br />
harvest. But that won’t be the<br />
case in <strong>this</strong> corner of north<br />
east Essex. With only an inch<br />
of rain in June we didn’t have<br />
the necessary moisture to<br />
swell the grain. <strong>In</strong> spite of<br />
the lack of rain, yields were<br />
surprisingly good but certainly<br />
not in the ‘bumper’ class.<br />
But it’s commodity prices<br />
that have really put 2015<br />
into the ‘forget as quickly<br />
as possible’ category. Quite<br />
simply, the margins at the<br />
bottom of the spreadsheets<br />
are glowing as red as the<br />
nose of Rudolph the Reindeer<br />
until you put the BPS payment<br />
into the equation.<br />
We have managed to keep<br />
our total costs down to less<br />
than £1000/ha and even then<br />
I’m not sure I’m depreciating<br />
machinery as accurately as I<br />
should be. Too often I’m lured<br />
into thinking the running costs<br />
on a four-year-old machine<br />
will be much the same as<br />
a three-year-old one, but<br />
I suspect that it’s more<br />
about hope than any proper<br />
business analysis.<br />
There’s an old adage that<br />
goes along the lines of ‘the<br />
first rule of farming is forget<br />
last year’. <strong>In</strong> times of both<br />
price and weather volatility,<br />
I can see the logic of being<br />
wary of managing a farm on<br />
the assumption the coming<br />
year will be similar to last<br />
year. However, when last<br />
year’s performance shows a<br />
loss then it takes a braver<br />
man than me to resolve to<br />
simply repeat the process.<br />
So <strong>this</strong> year, we have half<br />
the farm down to spring<br />
cropping. When blackgrass<br />
control in autumn-sown crops<br />
per acre gets to more than the<br />
cost of half a tonne of wheat it<br />
starts to look unsustainable to<br />
me. And what really adds<br />
With glyphosate now officially<br />
less carcinogenic than sausages,<br />
perhaps you’ll need your PPE<br />
when eating breakfast.<br />
loss-making salt into the<br />
wound of a negative margin<br />
is spraying parts of a crop<br />
off with Round Up in the<br />
spring.<br />
The other attractive thing<br />
about the decision to go for<br />
spring cropping is it doesn’t<br />
rule out the chance of fallow.<br />
If prices in March don’t look<br />
much better than they do<br />
now, then fallow will look<br />
increasingly attractive. <strong>In</strong> all<br />
of <strong>this</strong>, I like to think I might<br />
be playing a genius long<br />
term game. The plan being<br />
to clean up my blackgrass<br />
with fallow when prices are<br />
low and cash in when we go<br />
back to seeing price spikes.<br />
But of course, <strong>this</strong> isn’t so<br />
much a brilliant long term<br />
strategy but rather just doing<br />
what I should have done last<br />
year but a year late.<br />
But enough of <strong>this</strong><br />
un-festive curmudgeonliness.<br />
We’re soon to welcome in a<br />
new year and a new start. The<br />
only way is up. So I’ll sign off<br />
2015 by wishing you a merry<br />
Christmas, a happy New<br />
Year…. and an early BPS<br />
payment.<br />
Guy Smith grows 500ha of<br />
combinable crops on the<br />
north east Essex coast,<br />
namely St. Osyth Marsh ––<br />
officially the driest spot in<br />
the British Isles. Despite<br />
spurious claims from others<br />
that their farms are actually<br />
drier, he points out that his<br />
farm is in the Guinness<br />
Book of Records, whereas<br />
others aren’t. End of.<br />
Email your comments and<br />
ideas to gsmith2692@aol.com<br />
6 crop production magazine december 2015
Robust varieties find favour<br />
High disease-tolerance<br />
ratings and untreated<br />
yields are the stand-out<br />
characteristics of varieties<br />
added to the 2016/17 AHDB<br />
Cereals and Oilseeds<br />
Recommended Lists. CPM<br />
scrutinises the newcomers.<br />
By Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
Resilience and risk management are the<br />
hallmarks stamped across the new AHDB<br />
Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended<br />
Lists. Tricky diseases such as light leaf<br />
spot and Septoria tritici see an average<br />
lift in resistance ratings with one or two<br />
notable disease-shunning stars.<br />
The 2016/17 RL is a slimmer affair too<br />
–– while 32 varieties have been added,<br />
47 have been swept into niche-market<br />
territory. “A lot of varieties have been<br />
removed because their seed area is low,”<br />
explains RL manager Dr Simon Oxley.<br />
And there’s a new RL relative-risk grid.<br />
This charts where a variety scores on its<br />
untreated yield against agronomic merit,<br />
giving the RL committee a quick way<br />
to judge whether it’ll give up the ghost if<br />
it hasn’t seen a sprayer for a couple<br />
of weeks.<br />
A conventional oilseed rape variety is<br />
back at the top of the AHDB East/West<br />
region OSR RL. Elgar from Elsoms sits<br />
atop a list that’s made some striking<br />
average gains for the past three years,<br />
notes Simon Oxley. “But it’s not all about<br />
yield –– there are some other impressive<br />
characteristics.<br />
“Elgar has a very good disease-resistance<br />
package and a stiff stem –– it looks like an<br />
exciting variety.” Perhaps the most notable<br />
score is a 7 for light leaf spot. This is a first<br />
▲<br />
“<br />
It’s not all<br />
about yield – there are<br />
some other impressive<br />
characteristics. ”<br />
8 crop production magazine december 2015
New winter OSRs at a glance<br />
Variety Scope and type Breeder/<br />
contact<br />
Points to note<br />
Alizze UK hybrid RAGT E/W output 108; N output 111;<br />
Lodging 8; LLS 7<br />
Elgar E/W conventional Elsoms E/W output 111; LLS 7<br />
Windozz E/W hybrid RAGT E/W output 109<br />
Wembley E/W hybrid LSPB E/W output 109<br />
Angus UK hybrid LSPB Phoma 8<br />
Barbados N conventional KWS N output 110; phoma and LLS 7;<br />
but earliness 4<br />
Nikita N conventional Limagrain N output 110; LLS 7; but phoma 4<br />
V324OL N hybrid Monsanto HOLL premium<br />
Amalie Specific Limagrain TuYV resistance<br />
Source: AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended List 2016/17 (provisional); N, E/W – Scope of<br />
recommendation limited to North or East/West; see http://cereals.ahdb.org.uk/varieties for full lists.<br />
New winter wheats at a glance<br />
Variety Scope Breeder/<br />
contact<br />
Points to note<br />
RGT Group 1 RAGT Untreated yield 90; yellow rust 9;<br />
Illustrious mildew and eyespot 7<br />
KWS Barrel Group 3 KWS UK yield 105; N region yield [113];<br />
lodging +PGR 8<br />
KWS Basset Group 3 KWS Specific weight 77.5; lodging resistance 8;<br />
yellow rust 9; but mildew 4<br />
Spyder Group 3 Senova UK untreated yield 91; mildew 9;<br />
yellow rust 8; septoria 6<br />
KWS Group 4 hard KWS UK yield 106; yield on light soils [110];<br />
Silverstone specific weight 78.6; but lodging -PGR [5]<br />
KWS Siskin Group 4 hard KWS UK treated yield 105; untreated yield 96;<br />
septoria 7; mildew and yellow rust 9;<br />
ukp for export [Y]<br />
Belgrade Group 4 hard Elsoms UK treated yield 105; maturity -1; but<br />
specific weight 75.4<br />
Graham Group 4 hard Syngenta Septoria and fusarium 7; lodging +PGR 8<br />
KWS Crispin Group 4 hard KWS Mildew and yellow rust 9; OWBM<br />
resistance<br />
Source: AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended List 2016/17 (provisional); [ ] limited data<br />
New barleys at a glance<br />
Variety Type Breeder/<br />
contact<br />
Points to note<br />
Craft Winter 2-row malt Syngenta UK yield 97; lodging 8<br />
KWS Orwell Winter 2-row feed KWS UK yield 102; lodging 8; but mildew 3<br />
Surge Winter 2-row feed Syngenta UK yield 102; untreated yield 89;<br />
rhynchosporium 7; brown rust 8<br />
Bazooka Winter 6-row Syngenta UK yield 107; untreated yield 90; specific<br />
hybrid weight 68.4; lodging 8; rhynchosporium 8<br />
Belfry Winter 6-row Syngenta UK yield 106; untreated yield 90; brown<br />
hybrid rust, rhynchosporium, net blotch 7<br />
Laureate Spring malt + Syngenta UK yield 107; N region yield 109; lodging 7;<br />
brew T but specific weight 66.4<br />
KWS Sassy Spring malt + KWS UK yield 105; N region yield 108; mildew 9<br />
brew T<br />
Origin Spring malt + Limagrain UK yield 104; lodging 7; mildew 8<br />
brew T<br />
Fairing Spring grain Syngenta Grain-distilling potential; specific weight<br />
distilling T<br />
68.3; ripening -2; rhynchosporium and<br />
mildew 8<br />
Ovation Spring feed Limagrain UK yield 107; ramularia [8];<br />
rhynchosporium 7; mildew 8but specific<br />
weight 66.5; brown rust 4<br />
Source: AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended List 2016/17; T – under test for IBD approval;<br />
[ ] limited data<br />
New winter oats at a glance<br />
Variety Scope Breeder/<br />
contact<br />
Points to note<br />
Maestro Husked Senova UK yield 105; but lodging [5]<br />
RGT Lineout Husked RAGT UK yield 102; kernel content [76.7%];<br />
lodging [7]; crown rust 6<br />
Source: AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended List 2016/17; [ ] limited data<br />
Yields have come on, but it’s the disease<br />
resistance ratings that have got Simon Oxley<br />
excited.<br />
for the E/W RL, and an accolade it<br />
shares with RAGT’s hybrid Alizze, the<br />
only newcomer recommended across the<br />
UK, with a N region yield of 111.<br />
▲<br />
Something special<br />
Of two LSPB newcomers on the E/W list,<br />
Angus has a phoma score of 8. “Its yield<br />
isn’t headlining, so needs something<br />
special to get on the RL –– that phoma<br />
score is something special.” <strong>In</strong> the North,<br />
KWS’ Barbados comes in with a shade<br />
less yield than Alizze, but has 7s for both<br />
LLS and phoma. “But it’s relatively late<br />
maturing –– that may be something growers<br />
in Aberdeen will be less than keen on.”<br />
Amalie from Limagrain finally makes it to<br />
the RL on its specific recommendation as<br />
a variety with resistance to turnip yellows<br />
virus (TuYV). “Its yield is just below control,<br />
but the trials aren’t tested without aphicide<br />
and yield can drop by as much as 26%<br />
from TuYV,” notes Simon Oxley.<br />
DK Expower is among four Dekalb<br />
varieties dropped from the OSR lists,<br />
with 11 removed in total.<br />
On the winter wheat RL, one surprise is<br />
A variety can be judged with a new relative-risk<br />
grid that charts where it scores on its untreated<br />
yield against agronomic merit.<br />
▲<br />
10 crop production magazine december 2015
RGTConversion<br />
Costello<br />
KWSTempo<br />
Cougar<br />
Delphi<br />
Cocoon<br />
KWSCroft<br />
Riband<br />
Hereward<br />
Britannia<br />
KWSSolo<br />
--<br />
Icebreaker<br />
Riband<br />
Cubanita<br />
KWSLili<br />
Evolution<br />
Conqueror<br />
Viscount<br />
Cordiale<br />
KWSSantiago<br />
Alchemy<br />
Leeds<br />
Claire<br />
Relay<br />
Beluga<br />
KWSKielder<br />
Skyfall<br />
Grafton<br />
Solace<br />
RGT-llustrious<br />
Reflection<br />
Monterey<br />
<strong>In</strong>victa<br />
Avatar<br />
Scout<br />
Dickens<br />
Solstice<br />
Panorama<br />
JBDiego<br />
Cougar<br />
Gallant<br />
KWSSiskin<br />
Myriad<br />
Istabraq<br />
KWSTrinity<br />
KWSGator<br />
Horatio<br />
Zulu<br />
Revelation<br />
Crusoe<br />
Edgar<br />
<strong>In</strong>itial seed sales figures, represented by <strong>this</strong> word cloud, show JB Diego is just hanging on as the most widely sown wheat variety for 2016 harvest, but it’s<br />
lost about 4% market share, mainly to the Group 1 varieties. Group 4 hard type Reflection has leapt straight into the top three, with KWS quality varieties Lili<br />
and Trinity also strong new entries.<br />
Source: NIAB<br />
be wary of its low resistance to lodging,”<br />
he says.<br />
Up the other end of the wheat RL, RGT<br />
Illustrious makes its debut, but with a UK<br />
treated yield of 100, only one point behind<br />
Group 1 leaders Skyfall and KWS Trinity.<br />
“It’s a provisional Group 1, subject to<br />
macro-scale trials carried out by nabim.<br />
But reports over the past three years are<br />
that it has been consistently good so we<br />
expect <strong>this</strong> to be confirmed next April,”<br />
states Bill Handley.<br />
Amalie finally makes it to the RL on its specific<br />
recommendation as a variety with resistance<br />
to TuYV.<br />
KWS Siskin’s appearance, not as a<br />
Group 2, but as a Group 4 hard type. “It<br />
fell outside nabim’s Group 2 standards for<br />
milling in the UK, with 2015 samples<br />
giving unacceptable results,” reports<br />
AHDB’s Bill Handley. “But it does meet the<br />
ukp bread wheat criteria for export.”<br />
KWS Siskin and Graham from Syngenta<br />
are two varieties with a trail-blazing 7 for<br />
septoria. “All the newcomers are pretty<br />
good for disease, but it’s septoria where<br />
these two stick out, and in untreated trials<br />
they certainly do stick out.” They also<br />
stand out on the new relative-risk grid,<br />
he adds.<br />
KWS Silverstone leads the RL in the<br />
Group 4 hard category. “There’s a yield of<br />
110 for lighter soils, based on limited data,<br />
and that’s where it should be grown in our<br />
view –– those on more fertile sites should<br />
▲<br />
12 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
Achieves the grade<br />
“The RL suggests its protein score is a<br />
shade low, but those figures include data<br />
from plots managed for top yield rather<br />
than top protein and when it’s managed<br />
appropriately it achieves the grade, so we<br />
aren’t too concerned.”<br />
Underpinning its quality credentials is<br />
KWS Siskin fell outside nabim’s Group 2<br />
standards for milling in the UK, reports<br />
Bill Handley.<br />
Graham is one of two wheat varieties with a<br />
trail-blazing 7 for septoria.<br />
a very strong disease package, he notes.<br />
“It’s stiff strawed and gets its high eyespot<br />
rating from the Pch1 gene, believed to<br />
confer resistance. It is relatively late to<br />
mature but that won’t be a big concern<br />
to growers in the areas where it’s likely to<br />
be grown.”<br />
Three new Group 3s join the list, with<br />
KWS Barrel taking the top slot in the<br />
sector. “It’s a soft milling variety with a<br />
North region treated-yield figure of 113, so<br />
it must have a reasonable chance of being<br />
attractive to northern growers.”<br />
Disease-wise the newcomers again<br />
boast some decent ratings, he says, “with<br />
the possible exception of KWS Basset’s 4<br />
for mildew. Spyder from Senova looks<br />
excellent, and sports an untreated yield of<br />
91 –– it’s another one that stands out on<br />
the relative-risk grid.”
The Group 2s and 3s have<br />
slimmed down after a “bit of a<br />
sort out” that’s seen the likes of<br />
Cubanita, KWS Cashel and<br />
Twister dropped after just two<br />
years on the RL.<br />
On the winter barley RL,<br />
six-row conventional types have<br />
been swept aside to make way<br />
for two new hybrids from<br />
Syngenta. Bazooka and Belfry<br />
boast a UK treated yield of 107<br />
and 106 respectively, putting<br />
the six-rows comfortably ahead<br />
of any two-row contender.<br />
“This is now the exciting bit<br />
of the RL,” enthuses Simon<br />
Oxley. “The newcomers have<br />
both come in higher than<br />
Volume with impressive disease<br />
scores and specific weight.<br />
For those drawn to the hybrids,<br />
I can’t see anything here that<br />
would disappoint.”<br />
Bazooka has the edge on<br />
rhynchosporium, a slightly<br />
higher specific weight and a<br />
N yield of 108, he adds.<br />
Craft from Syngenta now tops<br />
the 2-row winter malting varieties,<br />
while KWS Orwell and Surge<br />
from Syngenta lead the two-row<br />
feeds. “There’s not a step jump in<br />
yield, but a gradation in the right<br />
direction. Orwell has a good<br />
agronomic package, while Surge<br />
looks particularly interesting with<br />
a 7 for rhynchosporium.”<br />
The spring barley RL has four<br />
new malting varieties. “Three of<br />
these are dual-purpose varieties,<br />
under test for both brewing and<br />
malt-distilling use –– the RL is<br />
now delivering on the market<br />
demand for these types,”<br />
explains Simon Oxley.<br />
There isn’t anything about Bazooka<br />
that would disappoint the hybrid<br />
barley grower.<br />
Reports over the past three years are<br />
that RGT Illustrious has performed<br />
consistently well in baking tests.<br />
Laureate from Syngenta and<br />
KWS Sassy don’t quite meet list<br />
leader RGT Planet’s 108 for UK<br />
treated yield, but both score<br />
above it in the North, at 109 and<br />
108 respectively. “That’s a big<br />
change from current favourite<br />
Concerto.”<br />
Specific recommendation<br />
Fairing from Syngenta has joined<br />
with a specific recommendation<br />
as it’s under test for grain<br />
distilling. “Otherwise there’s<br />
nothing particularly special about<br />
the variety other than its 8 for<br />
rhynchosporium and -2 for<br />
ripening –– it should find favour<br />
further north.”<br />
Ovation from Limagrain has<br />
joined the feed line-up. “It has a<br />
N yield of 108, but a low specific<br />
weight, which may be a problem<br />
unless it’s fed on farm.”<br />
The spring barley list also<br />
gets the biggest clean out, with<br />
11 varieties no longer listed,<br />
including Optic, which departs<br />
after 20 years on the RL.<br />
Two new varieties join the<br />
winter oats list and should satisfy<br />
market needs for kernel content<br />
and specific weight, says<br />
Simon Oxley. “Rhapsody and<br />
Balado had no uptake but<br />
didn’t perform well there and<br />
have been removed. Hopefully<br />
the replacements provide that<br />
balance.<br />
“Maestro from Senova leads<br />
on yield but has weaker straw<br />
and both newcomers yield well<br />
above market favourite Mascani.<br />
But RGT Lineout has a package<br />
that gives it the overall edge and<br />
a -2 for ripening is an important<br />
characteristic,” he notes. ■
Plenty to plan with<br />
spring drilling<br />
SPRING SEEDS<br />
Spring cropping is undergoing a<br />
revival, but new options throw up<br />
fresh considerations. CPM asks<br />
whether the upswing in spring<br />
plantings is likely to<br />
continue, fields the varieties<br />
on trend for 2016, and gathers<br />
a technical update.<br />
By Lucy de la Pasture<br />
After decades in the doldrums, spring<br />
cropping is witnessing something of a<br />
resurgence. The availability of improved<br />
varieties able to compete with winter<br />
types in terms of profitability, along with<br />
a recognition of the agronomic benefits<br />
spring cropping brings to the rotation have<br />
fuelled the change, with a little added help<br />
from the three-crop rule. So what are the<br />
prospects for spring cropping in 2016?<br />
14 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
Colin Button of Hutchinsons reckons<br />
there’s still been a significant amount of<br />
winter wheat planted <strong>this</strong> autumn. “It’s too<br />
early for the stats on autumn planting, but<br />
with good drilling conditions <strong>this</strong> autumn,<br />
people have got on with their winter<br />
cereals. Overall it looks like being a fairly<br />
early planted season,” he reflects.<br />
Big upturn<br />
“Winter barley seems to have had a big<br />
upturn <strong>this</strong> autumn, with a lot of interest in<br />
Syngenta’s Hyvido hybrid, particularly<br />
because of its competitive performance<br />
in blackgrass scenarios.”<br />
Coupled with a further increase in<br />
the area of hybrid rye planted for AD<br />
consumption, on the face of it, the winter<br />
cereals area looks slightly up <strong>this</strong> autumn.<br />
But all may not be as it seems, believes<br />
Colin Button.<br />
“There are already indications of pretty<br />
severe blackgrass problems occurring where<br />
autumn crops have been planted early.<br />
Some of the reasoning for moving towards<br />
later planting and spring cropping in these<br />
situations seems to have slipped, under<br />
the pressure to get on while conditions<br />
were good.”<br />
Colin Button worries that some of the reasoning<br />
for moving towards spring cropping seems to<br />
have slipped.<br />
“<br />
We’re seeing<br />
an increase in spring<br />
wheat types being drilled<br />
in late autumn. ”
There’s an increase in spring wheat being drilled in late autumn.<br />
With a few agronomists<br />
already expressing concern<br />
about the prospects for<br />
controlling some blackgrass<br />
problems conventionally, we may<br />
see a degree of crop destruct<br />
and re-sowing in the spring.<br />
“Where there’s a second phase<br />
of cropping then the crop<br />
planted will need to match the<br />
herbicides already applied to<br />
the failed crop,” he reminds.<br />
Barry Barker of Agrii expects<br />
the winter oilseed rape area to<br />
be down by 10-15% on last<br />
year, so there could potentially<br />
be up to an additional<br />
100,000ha of land available for<br />
spring cropping in 2016. So<br />
how is it likely to play out?<br />
“We’re seeing an increase in<br />
spring wheat types being drilled<br />
in late autumn, partly as an aid<br />
to grassweed management but<br />
they also offer good yield<br />
potential,” he comments.<br />
“The spring wheat market is<br />
fairly polarised with just two<br />
varieties, Mulika and Belepi,<br />
having 75% of the certified<br />
seed area between them.<br />
Mulika is a Group 1 milling<br />
variety and still looks a good<br />
prospect for 2016, even with<br />
lower expectations for decent<br />
milling premiums given the<br />
swing into Group 1 winter<br />
wheat varieties.”<br />
Belepi is a soft feed wheat,<br />
which offers a wide drilling<br />
window from Oct through to<br />
early April and is also early to<br />
harvest. Both varieties share<br />
Robigus in their parentage,<br />
reported to give them a<br />
vigorous, competitive growth<br />
habit which is particularly<br />
beneficial in a blackgrass<br />
situation.<br />
Other noteworthy spring<br />
wheat varieties to consider are<br />
Group 4 feed varieties KWS<br />
Alderon and KWS Kilburn, says<br />
Colin Button. Kilburn is the<br />
highest yielding of all the spring<br />
wheats at 106% of controls and,<br />
in spite of being tall, is stiff<br />
strawed, he says. Kilburn is also<br />
one that seems to perform well<br />
in droughty conditions but C2<br />
seed availability will be very<br />
limited <strong>this</strong> year. Alderon has a<br />
wide drilling window,suiting late<br />
autumn sowing as well as the<br />
spring slot.<br />
Rising stars<br />
According to both seeds<br />
managers, spring barley looks<br />
likely to continue to be a growth<br />
area in the seeds markets, both<br />
highlighting RGT Planet and<br />
KWS Irina as the rising stars<br />
among the malting varieties in<br />
the UK. A newcomer to the<br />
Recommended List in 2015,<br />
RGT Planet, is still under testing<br />
for IBD malting approval but is<br />
widely viewed as the challenger<br />
to the current leading malting<br />
variety, Propino, which accounts<br />
for 27% of seed sales.<br />
“RGT Planet is the top yielding<br />
variety, yielding significantly<br />
higher than Propino,” says Barry<br />
Barker. “Making up 10% of the<br />
seed crop area, there’s every<br />
chance seed stocks will sell out.<br />
There’s been export demand<br />
for KWS Irina, which seems<br />
particularly suited to continental<br />
maltsters. <strong>In</strong>terest is likely to be<br />
▲
SPRING SEEDS<br />
Mulika and Belepi have 75% of the certified seed<br />
area between them, reports Barry Barker.<br />
strongest in the east of England and<br />
south of the M4 corridor with buy-back<br />
contracts available for export,” he believes,<br />
adding that there’s also limited interest<br />
from some maltsters in Odyssey and<br />
Concerto (the major malting variety grown<br />
in Scotland).<br />
“If your ground is too fertile to producing<br />
a malting sample, then there may be an<br />
▲<br />
opportunity for growers in the east of<br />
England to grow Explorer on a high-N<br />
contract.”<br />
There are plenty of feed varieties to<br />
choose from. Looking at some of the<br />
contenders, Barry Barker highlights<br />
Westminster as a popular variety in the<br />
west of England because it produces long<br />
straw. Among the other feed varieties, all of<br />
which are capable of performing more than<br />
adequately in his view, are Hacker, Kelim,<br />
Garner and Sanette, which has now been<br />
reclassified from a potential malting to a<br />
feed variety.<br />
Dominating the market<br />
“As a realistic alternative to spring wheat<br />
and barley, spring oats provide a good<br />
break in the rotation, with Canyon, Aspen<br />
and Firth dominating the market,” he adds.<br />
The seed trade widely expects a lower<br />
area of peas and beans to go in the<br />
ground next spring in the wake of a very<br />
depressed market due to over-supply.<br />
“Where they’re grown for human<br />
Winter and spring crops redefined by CRD<br />
If blackgrass is an <strong>issue</strong> Peter Cowlrick reckons<br />
you’re better off planting spring barley because<br />
there’s more chemistry available.<br />
consumption on a buy-back contract then<br />
peas can be profitable. The most popular<br />
marrowfat pea varieties are Sakura and<br />
Kabuki, which account for 27% of seed,”<br />
When is a winter variety a spring variety? When<br />
it’s drilled on or after Feb 1 2016, according to<br />
a recent change in crop definitions by CRD.<br />
Explaining the change, Stuart Jackson, Dow<br />
AgroSciences’ cereal agronomy expert says,<br />
“Variety used to be the deciding factor in the<br />
regulator’s crop definitions, so a wheat variety<br />
that required a degree of vernalisation was<br />
classified as a winter wheat and one that didn’t,<br />
a spring wheat.”<br />
From Jan 2015, the variety has become<br />
irrelevant and it’s the drilling date that’ll determine<br />
whether a crop is winter or spring. “The new<br />
definitions mean that if you’re planting Mulika<br />
(classified as spring wheat by plant breeders) in<br />
Dec or Jan then it’s winter wheat. If you drill<br />
Mulika in Feb it’s a spring wheat.”<br />
The same applies to late sown winter wheat<br />
varieties (as on the AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds<br />
Recommended List), many of which now have<br />
latest safe sowing dates into Feb. So Skyfall can<br />
be safely drilled until the end of Feb but if the<br />
drilling date is after Jan 31, then it becomes a<br />
spring wheat rather than winter wheat under the<br />
new system.<br />
So what does <strong>this</strong> mean in agronomy terms?<br />
“<strong>In</strong> the short term, the change in crop definitions<br />
may throw up some anomalies with product<br />
labels, particularly where there’s no spring<br />
approval on the label,” explains Stuart Jackson.<br />
Within the Dow portfolio, Broadway Star<br />
(pyroxsulam+ florasulam) and Unite (pyroxsulam+<br />
flupyrsulfuron) only have approval for use on<br />
winter wheat varieties.<br />
“The reason there’s no label approval for<br />
spring wheat varieties is that the selectivity isn’t<br />
as good in spring wheat varieties at label rates,”<br />
he explains, meaning there could be potential<br />
<strong>issue</strong>s with crop damage.<br />
“As things currently stand, although it would be<br />
legal to apply Broadway Star and Unite to Mulika<br />
drilled in Dec under the new crop definitions, it<br />
wouldn’t necessarily be safe to the crop and we<br />
won’t be supporting any applications to varieties<br />
on varieties listed on the spring wheat RL,<br />
regardless of when they’re sown.”<br />
With a late sown winter wheat variety such as<br />
KWS Leeds, drilled on Feb 1, it’ll no longer be legal<br />
to apply Broadway Star or Unite because as a<br />
‘spring crop’ it’s not currently on the product label.<br />
“It’s a short term <strong>issue</strong> that’ll be addressed by<br />
manufacturers as products come up for renewal<br />
and more data is submitted to CRD,” he explains.<br />
“What is important is that growers and advisors<br />
understand the change and check to see if there’s<br />
a spring wheat approval on the label. If not, they<br />
need to find out why. It could just be that sufficient<br />
work wasn’t done for initial approval of product or<br />
there may be an <strong>issue</strong> with crop safety.”<br />
As far as Bayer products are concerned, it’s as<br />
you were, advises Phillippa Overson, campaign<br />
manager for combinable herbicides. “Our labels<br />
for Liberator (diflufenican+ flufenacet) and Atlantis<br />
(iodosulfuron+ mesosulfuron) specify winter wheat<br />
Growers should check there’s a spring wheat<br />
approval on the label before spraying a<br />
pesticide on a crop drilled after Feb 1,<br />
advises Stuart Jackson.<br />
and <strong>this</strong> is what we’ll continue to back.<br />
“As far as Atlantis is concerned, we’re advising<br />
growers to apply according to the existing EAMU<br />
where spring wheat varieties are autumn sown,”<br />
she says, reminding growers the EAMU only<br />
covers crops planted before Feb 1 and is at<br />
growers own risk.<br />
Liberator has full label approval for pre-em use<br />
on winter wheat and winter barley and an EAMU<br />
for spring barley, but Bayer don’t support<br />
Liberator’s use on autumn sown spring wheat<br />
crops (although technically a winter crop under<br />
the change).<br />
16 crop production magazine december 2015
says Barry Barker.<br />
“Of the large blues, Prophet<br />
and Daytona have very similar<br />
yields with promising new variety<br />
Campus available commercially<br />
for the first time <strong>this</strong> year.”<br />
The spring bean market is<br />
likely to remain dominated by<br />
the three established varieties<br />
–– Fuego, Fanfare and Vertigo<br />
(for more on pulses, see article<br />
on p32).<br />
Grassweed control is a major<br />
influencing factor when making<br />
decisions about which crop is<br />
best to plant in the spring on<br />
your farm, advises AICC<br />
agronomist Peter Cowlrick. “If<br />
blackgrass is an <strong>issue</strong> then<br />
you’re better off planting spring<br />
barley because you’ve more<br />
chemistry available. Spring<br />
barley is also earlier to harvest<br />
than spring wheat, so ideal if<br />
you need an early entry for the<br />
following crop.<br />
“Spring barley needs to<br />
be planted from mid-Feb to<br />
mid-March to achieve the<br />
highest yields. If there’s a<br />
major blackgrass problem,<br />
push drilling back to the end<br />
of March to get a flush of<br />
blackgrass through and spray<br />
it off with glyphosate before<br />
planting,” he says, emphasizing<br />
that good cultural control is the<br />
number one weapon when it<br />
comes to blackgrass.<br />
“Propino has been widely<br />
grown but has the disadvantage<br />
of producing lots of straw, being<br />
about 10cm taller than Tipple<br />
used to be. Irina and Planet are<br />
shorter and both look pretty<br />
robust, although rhynchosporium<br />
needs watching carefully,”<br />
he warns.<br />
“Spring barley needs<br />
1100-1200 ears/m 2 numbers to<br />
achieve its yield potential so<br />
seed rates need to be pushed<br />
to 350-400 seeds/m 2 , higher<br />
on very heavy ground. I would<br />
recommend nitrogen of up to<br />
170kgN/ha is applied, taking<br />
into account what’s available<br />
in the soil.”<br />
One factor to bear in mind<br />
when planting spring wheat is<br />
risk of gout fly damage. “It has<br />
been an increasing threat over<br />
the past two seasons as the<br />
acreage of spring wheat has<br />
increased. Gout fly can be very<br />
damaging and control options<br />
are very limited. The risk will be<br />
higher where the sowing date is<br />
deferred until late March/April<br />
for cultural blackgrass control.”<br />
Mulika would be Peter<br />
Cowlrick’s pick of the spring<br />
wheat varieties, but can get<br />
serious infections of yellow rust<br />
so you need to be mindful.<br />
“Mullika tillers well which makes<br />
it competitive but you can get it<br />
too thick and then bushel<br />
weights suffer. I would ease the<br />
seed rate back by 50 seeds/m 2<br />
and plant 325-350 seeds/m 2 .<br />
Nitrogen applications should be<br />
150-180kgN/ha, depending on<br />
the establishment yield<br />
potential.”<br />
Cover crop lessons<br />
Although cover cropping has<br />
been a mainstay in organic<br />
regimes for a number of years,<br />
▲<br />
Two applications of glyphosate may be needed, starting up to six weeks<br />
before the planned drilling date.
Linseed – the forgotten break crop?<br />
Spring linseed offers all the agronomic<br />
advantages of a true break crop and can still<br />
leave a margin that leaves its nearest competitor<br />
trailing in its wake, reckons Sam Deane of<br />
Premium Crops. Modern varieties are earlier and<br />
easier to harvest, he says, making linseed a viable<br />
spring alternative to other options.<br />
“On average, spring linseed produces a<br />
gross margin of £443/ha. This gives a £223/ha<br />
advantage over the nearest combinable break<br />
crop. While many farmers will be planning spring<br />
barley as a low input crop carrying a gross<br />
margin, linseed still leads on the gross margin<br />
stakes by £30/ha.”<br />
When it comes to blackgrass, linseed<br />
shouldn’t be forgotten as a management tool,<br />
he continues. “Spring linseed comes with a<br />
solid chemical armoury, making it an excellent<br />
cleaning crop. By combining Avadex Excel<br />
(triallate) pre-emergence with Centurion Max<br />
(clethodim) post-emergence, linseed offers a<br />
two-pronged attack against blackgrass.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> extreme cases, drilling can be delayed<br />
into May giving growers a chance to get an<br />
additional stale seedbed before the linseed crop<br />
is drilled, he adds.<br />
As well as a strong approach to blackgrass,<br />
linseed comes with a more than adequate toolbox<br />
to deal with broadleaf weeds. “Weeds such as<br />
charlock, cranesbill and runch, which may have<br />
slipped under the radar in OSR rotations, can be<br />
brought to heel with a pre-emergence application<br />
of Callisto (mesotrione). Any survivors can be<br />
mopped up with a wide selection of post-em<br />
options,” explains Sam Deane.<br />
Linseed’s aggressive rooting ability makes it<br />
a good soil conditioner, he maintains. “Its fine<br />
roots will work through the hardest of pans and<br />
restructure soils that have suffered damage.”<br />
French research looking at the role of linseed<br />
in rotations found it gave a yield increase of<br />
4% to the following winter wheat crop when<br />
Spring linseed comes with a solid chemical<br />
armoury against both broadleaf and grassweeds.<br />
compared with wheat following OSR. “This was<br />
attributed to the improved rooting ability of the<br />
wheat in linseed-conditioned ground and the<br />
reduction of slug pressure compared to wheat<br />
following OSR. These two factors combined<br />
allow first wheat crops to get up and away,<br />
with no <strong>issue</strong>s to check growth in the backend<br />
of the year.”<br />
incorporating them into the rotation<br />
is still a steep learning curve for most<br />
growers, seed trade and agronomists,<br />
believes Peter Cowlrick.<br />
“Techniques for the destruction and<br />
removal of the cover crop very much<br />
hinges on the cultivation kit and type of<br />
drills available in any onesituation. Drills<br />
such as the Sumo DD and Cross Slot are<br />
capable of drilling into a tall, bulky crop<br />
which can then be destroyed using<br />
glyphosate. If the cover crop is extremely<br />
bulky then it may be necessary to spray<br />
twice with glyphosate to first open the top<br />
up in order to get enough penetration to kill<br />
weeds underneath the canopy.”<br />
▲<br />
Allelopathic effect<br />
Black oats and vetch mixtures are popular,<br />
with vetches supplying N fixation while the<br />
oats are reported to have an allelopathic<br />
effect on some weeds. Where clovers and<br />
vetches are included in the cover mix then<br />
destruction with glyphosate may not be as<br />
reliable –– legumes are one of the few<br />
weeds poorly controlled by glyphosate.<br />
Peter Cowlrick points out that full control<br />
may not be necessary depending on the<br />
following crop and chemistry available. “An<br />
effective alternative to glyphosate for cover<br />
destruction are products containing 2,4-D<br />
plus glyphosate, which should give better<br />
results on vetch and clover.”<br />
On its trials site at Lamport, Agrovista<br />
has been looking at the role cover<br />
cropping can play in the rotation to<br />
manage difficult blackgrass. Niall Atkinson<br />
is the man with his feet on the ground at<br />
Lamport and stresses that minimal soil<br />
disturbance is absolutely vital when drilling<br />
into a cover crop.
Drill setup key to cover crop success<br />
When it comes to crop establishment after<br />
cover crops, drill setup is extremely important,<br />
says Agrovista’s Niall Atkinson.<br />
“Although direct drilling is preferable, it’s not<br />
essential. Much of the work at Lamport has<br />
been done with the Great Plains Spartan, but<br />
conventional drills can do a good job, provided<br />
they’re adjusted to minimise soil disturbance.<br />
The cover crop has been restructuring and<br />
working the soil so you don’t necessarily need<br />
to direct drill, though a disc drill is preferable to<br />
a tine drill,” he notes.<br />
“To adapt the Väderstad Rapid to drill into<br />
cover, lift the System Disc clear of the soil. If<br />
you have GPS then keep the bout markers up,<br />
To adapt the Väderstad Rapid to drill into cover,<br />
lift the System Disc clear of the soil.<br />
make sure the track eradicators and rear<br />
scratcher tines are also lifted out of the ground.<br />
On the Väderstad Rapid there are different<br />
coulter settings against the disc and <strong>this</strong> is<br />
factory set on the middle setting. You’ll probably<br />
need to adjust <strong>this</strong> to the top setting so that the<br />
disc is cutting the slot and the coulter sits above,<br />
placing the seed.”<br />
For the Claydon hybrid drill, the standard<br />
setup has too much soil disturbance, he advises.<br />
Either change to the wet weather setup or to the<br />
low disturbance option using the disc to cut<br />
through the trash. Dale has also developed a<br />
modification for their Ecodrill especially for use<br />
in cover crops, replacing the opening tine with a<br />
disc instead.<br />
One of the things growers will find really<br />
noticeable is that the seedbed will always look<br />
scruffier than normal, warns Niall Atkinson. “The<br />
cover crop is still fastened to the ground by its<br />
roots and the drill will just comb through the<br />
material on the surface. That means drilling<br />
will probably be slower than usual to avoid soil<br />
disturbance, more likely 8-10km/h instead of<br />
12-14km/h. On the plus side, the roots of<br />
the cover crop hold the soil, minimising soil<br />
movement and therefore blackgrass germination.”<br />
Getting the seed rate right is another key to<br />
successful establishment into a cover crop. “At<br />
A Great Plains Spartan is used at Lamport, but<br />
conventional drills can do a good job, provided<br />
they’re adjusted to minimise soil disturbance.<br />
Lamport we’ve been using up to 500 seeds/m 2<br />
–– you don’t want to be in the conventional<br />
region of 250-350 seeds/m 2 ,” he advises.<br />
As far as fertiliser application goes, he prefers<br />
combined application at drilling if available. If<br />
not, apply fertiliser just ahead of the drill, with<br />
50% of planned nitrogen applied to the seedbed,”<br />
he suggests.<br />
Another point to be aware of is that you may<br />
not get full closure of the drill slots when surface<br />
conditions are slightly damp. “It’s preferable to<br />
run a set of rolls over 24 hours after drilling when<br />
the surface has dried a little to complete closure<br />
of the drill slots and maximise soil-to-seed<br />
contact,” he adds.
The reasoning is simple, he says. The<br />
cover crop (which has to be established by<br />
Oct 1 under the Basic Payment Scheme<br />
rules) allows a healthy population of<br />
blackgrass to establish underneath<br />
the canopy, depleting the seedbank,<br />
▲<br />
he explains. The main objective is to kill<br />
<strong>this</strong> off and not stimulate further blackgrass<br />
germination when drilling the following<br />
spring crop.<br />
“The idea is to collapse the canopy to<br />
gain access to the blackgrass and other<br />
weeds lurking underneath. You generally<br />
need to burn off the cover about six weeks<br />
before the planned drilling date, so to<br />
establish a spring cereal crop you’ll<br />
be looking at a glyphosate (2 l/ha plus<br />
adjuvant, such as Companion Gold)<br />
Diversity key to preventing glyphosate-resistant blackgrass<br />
On the very day the news broke that bacterial<br />
resistance to last-resort antibiotic, colistin, has<br />
been detected in China, a cross-industry group<br />
gathered at Harper Adams University, under the<br />
auspices of the Soil and Water Management<br />
Centre, to discuss the unthinkable –– the<br />
possibility of glyphosate-resistant blackgrass.<br />
It hasn’t happened yet but if we don’t<br />
practice good stewardship then glyphosate<br />
resistance, in some form or other, will appear<br />
in the UK, believes Barrie Hunt of Monsanto.<br />
A sobering thought, with glyphosate currently<br />
forming the last chemical defence for UK<br />
growers against herbicide-resistant blackgrass,<br />
and there are more than 1.2 million ha with<br />
some degree of blackgrass resistance in the UK.<br />
Glyphosate resistance is already a major<br />
problem in the United States, where the<br />
whole-scale switch into transgenic crops<br />
massively increased the selection pressure on<br />
the once stalwart herbicide. Professor Thomas<br />
Mueller, from University of Tennessee, outlined<br />
their experience with glyphosate-resistant<br />
weeds to illustrate how growers in the UK<br />
can perhaps learn lessons and avoid fighting<br />
a desperate rear-guard action.<br />
“The uptake of Roundup Ready was huge in<br />
the US. Farmers liked it because it was easy, it<br />
worked and yields went up,” explained Thomas<br />
Mueller. “Farms got bigger because timeliness<br />
was no longer important and farmers no longer<br />
cared about, or even understood, basic weed<br />
control principles. Glyphosate alone captured<br />
50% of the total herbicide market and we got<br />
resistance.<br />
“<strong>In</strong> the US, our driver weeds are Conyza<br />
canadensis (Canadian fleabane) and Palmer<br />
amaranth (pigweed) and resistance has spread<br />
rapidly across states. The cost of herbicide<br />
programmes has increased by 200-250% in<br />
the effort to control them. Here in the UK, your<br />
driver weed is blackgrass.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> Tennessee, soil erosion is a big problem<br />
and no-till is normal practice because of the<br />
benefits it brings in terms of soil stabilisation,<br />
structure and porosity. “Where we have<br />
glyphosate resistance, some growers have<br />
had to return to tillage, losing all the benefits<br />
of the no-till regime. There’s also a renewed<br />
awareness of the importance of the seed bank,<br />
with some growers resorting to costly hand<br />
weeding to reduce seed return.”<br />
The parallels to the UK are obvious ––<br />
herbicide resistance, a driver weed and reduced<br />
tillage systems. Harper Adams visiting professor,<br />
Dick Godwin, told the assembly that no-till is<br />
seeing a resurgence in popularity in the UK<br />
because of the significant operational and<br />
cost benefits it offers to growers, as well as<br />
improvements to soils and erosion.<br />
“No-till also throws up some big challenges<br />
to growers – one of which is the control of<br />
grassweeds and weeds not controlled by<br />
glyphosate,” he said, explaining that stale<br />
seedbeds and a reliance on glyphosate is one<br />
of the fundamentals in a no-till situation.<br />
Agrii has been looking at the impact of<br />
establishment systems on blackgrass control at<br />
their Stow Longa site. “Given current financial<br />
restraints, every farmer is looking to reduce<br />
establishment costs,” said Andrew Richards<br />
of Agrii.<br />
“Every agronomist is seeing a reduction in<br />
available chemistry and what we do have, in<br />
many cases, has a reduced level of efficacy. We<br />
need sustainable establishment systems that<br />
perform under a range of conditions and we<br />
need to think about the pressure we’re putting<br />
glyphosate under.”<br />
One of the results from the Agrii work that<br />
challenges the beliefs of the most evangelical<br />
of no-tillers, is that rotational ploughing can<br />
bring useful cultural control of blackgrass. “If<br />
ploughing is utilised in a year of high seed return<br />
there are huge benefits in fully inverting the<br />
soil in terms of blackgrass control. If shallow<br />
cultivations are then employed, the majority of<br />
blackgrass seed remains undisturbed at depth,”<br />
said Andrew Richards.<br />
But won’t ploughing lose all the benefits the<br />
no-tillers have strived to obtain? It’s something<br />
Dick Godwin believes we need to find out.<br />
“Although ploughing is contrary to the no-till<br />
religion, we need to find the answer to the<br />
question, what is the effect of occasional<br />
Experts lined up to sound warnings on glyphosate<br />
resistance – (from L to R) Barrie Hunt, Dick<br />
Godwin, no-till farmer Edward Bradley, Thomas<br />
Mueller, Tim Chamen of CTF Europe, Andrew<br />
Richards and Prof Shane Ward of SWMC.<br />
ploughing in a no-till system?”<br />
Barrie Hunt pointed to the new glyphosate<br />
stewardship guidelines which highlight that<br />
one of the high risk factors for developing<br />
glyphosate resistance is ‘no cultivation’, as is<br />
commonplace in the US. “Sustainable use of<br />
glyphosate is business critical for UK growers<br />
and, by using integrated programmes, we’ve a<br />
chance of keeping resistance at bay for a few<br />
years to come.”<br />
It’s a message that’s being shouted from the<br />
rooftops but some growers still want the<br />
answer to resistant blackgrass to come in a<br />
can, suggested some of the speakers. When<br />
asked why we’re not getting new chemistry<br />
coming through, Andrew Richards made a valid<br />
point. “If we had something new, how long<br />
would it last? We need to learn how to make<br />
chemistry last longer and prevent it breaking<br />
down to resistance by changing practices.<br />
The efficacy of Atlantis has lasted less than<br />
10 years.”<br />
Diversity is the key to avoid falling into the<br />
resistance trap, said Thomas Mueller. “Diversity<br />
in the chemistry we use to control blackgrass,<br />
diversity in our cropping and diversity in our<br />
cultivation systems.”<br />
Cultivation system Blackgrass ears/m 2<br />
Min till, Claydon OSR, Claydon Oct, Claydon Sept, Claydon Sept 501<br />
Plough, Claydon OSR, Claydon Oct, Claydon Sept, Claydon Sept 266<br />
Claydon Oct, Plough OSR, Claydon Sept, Plough Oct, Plough Oct 1.3<br />
Source: Agrii Cultivations Systems study 2010-2015. Blackgrass population in 3rd wheat Edgar, 2015<br />
20 crop production magazine december 2015
SPRING SEEDS<br />
Lamport blackgrass trial results<br />
Blackgrass heads/m 2 Year 1 Year 2<br />
(2013/14) (2014/15)<br />
Winter wheat with full herbicide 55 274<br />
Winter wheat – untreated ≥2000 ≥2000<br />
Stale seed bed fb spring wheat 15 36<br />
Cover crop fb spring wheat
Daughter of<br />
a malting<br />
mainstay<br />
INSIDERS VIEW<br />
Success often breeds success, so<br />
have Limagrain found that with<br />
the latest spring barley variety to<br />
stem from Concerto? CPM<br />
reviews Octavia –– a potentially<br />
dual-purpose variety that appears<br />
to meet both farmers’ and<br />
end-users’ needs.<br />
By Jane Brown<br />
“<br />
It really<br />
opens up the<br />
market. ”<br />
Concerto –– and more recently Odyssey<br />
–– have become market favourites for<br />
spring barley growers and maltsters in<br />
the UK over the past six years. But now<br />
their descendent Octavia looks as if it<br />
might steal the limelight.<br />
A cross between Odyssey –– itself a<br />
daughter of Concerto –– and SY Universal,<br />
Octavia appears to bring another step<br />
forward in terms of yield, and could offer<br />
growers notable flexibility as a non-GN<br />
variety with potential for both distilling and<br />
brewing use.<br />
Malting quality<br />
“To have a successful dual-purpose<br />
variety you need the right malting quality<br />
as well as good yields in both England<br />
and Scotland,” says Mark Glew from the<br />
variety’s breeder Limagrain. “Both Odyssey<br />
and SY Universal were high yielding<br />
non-GN varieties in their day, and we<br />
were looking for competitive parents on<br />
both sides.”<br />
Although non-GN varieties lagged<br />
behind conventional variety yields in the<br />
past, they’re now equally competitive, and<br />
don’t carry the risk of glycosidic nitrile<br />
contaminating the resulting whisky.<br />
<strong>In</strong> recent years, the focus on breeding<br />
for yield has led to consistently later<br />
maturing crops –– a trend which<br />
causes considerable difficulties for<br />
Scottish producers, says Mark<br />
Glew. “Often Scottish growers<br />
have to spray crops off with<br />
glyphosate to get them to<br />
ripen, and then the timing of<br />
harvest is even more critical,<br />
as if it’s delayed due to bad<br />
weather, the straw just collapses.”<br />
Octavia scores -1 in terms<br />
of ripening days compared with Concerto,<br />
making it the earliest of the distilling<br />
varieties. However, the ADHB Cereals and<br />
22 crop production magazine december 2015
Oilseeds Recommended List scoring tends<br />
to focus on ear ripening not straw, which in<br />
practice isn’t tremendously helpful for<br />
growers, he adds.<br />
Fitter in the straw<br />
“I went to look at trials in North Scotland<br />
<strong>this</strong> year and in a lot of crops the ears<br />
were ripening before the straw, which isn’t<br />
what you want with malting barley as it<br />
germinates so easily. It wasn’t something<br />
I was expecting to see but the Octavia was<br />
definitely much fitter in the straw than the<br />
other varieties.”<br />
Another problem with a lot of spring<br />
barley varieties is their lack of tillering<br />
–– something which breeders have now<br />
started to focus on. “Concerto is quite low<br />
tillering so you need to keep the seed rate<br />
up,” says Mark Glew. “However, Octavia<br />
and some other new varieties have much<br />
higher tillering –– <strong>this</strong> year some crops had<br />
more than 800 ears/m 2 compared to an<br />
optimum of 775 ears/m 2 . Having lots of<br />
tillers can help crops rebound better from<br />
drought in the spring, but if a crop is too<br />
dense it can present a lodging risk so<br />
we’ll continue our work on tillering and<br />
seed rate trials.”<br />
Although the variety isn’t the highest<br />
scoring in terms of brackling, it’s short<br />
strawed, and the RL scores suggest it<br />
has a fairly robust disease package,<br />
with very good mildew, yellow rust and<br />
rhynchosporium resistance. Its brown rust<br />
and ramularia scores aren’t quite so good,<br />
but are comparable to most other varieties<br />
on the RL.<br />
Limagrain’s Ron Granger says he’s<br />
A cross between Odyssey and SY Universal,<br />
Octavia appears to bring another step forward<br />
in terms of yield.<br />
somewhat surprised at Octavia’s brackling<br />
score of 6, and wonders if it’s the result<br />
of its earlier ripening compared to other<br />
varieties in trials. “You don’t want any<br />
malting barley waiting in the field once it’s<br />
ripe. As soon as a commercial crop is<br />
ready farmers will get it cut straight away<br />
rather than wait for other varieties to ripen,<br />
so I don’t think it’ll be an <strong>issue</strong> on farm,”<br />
he says.<br />
Even so, it’s worth keeping an eye on<br />
seed rates. “Like most spring barleys,<br />
the optimum seed rate is 350 seeds/m 2 .<br />
If conditions are perfect you could drop<br />
it back to 325, and increase it a bit if<br />
conditions aren’t so good, but don’t go<br />
▲<br />
Its early ripening will find favour with Scottish<br />
growers, reckons Mark Glew.<br />
crop production magazine december 2015<br />
23
INSIDERS VIEW<br />
Don’t rush the crop into the ground, advises<br />
Ron Granger –– wait for the right soil conditions<br />
and drill at 350 seeds/m 2 .<br />
too high or you could have problems<br />
with lodging.”<br />
Agronomically, Octavia is very similar to<br />
other spring varieties. “You don’t want to<br />
rush it into the ground –– be patient and<br />
wait for the soil and weather conditions to<br />
be right so it can grow straight away,” says<br />
Ron Granger. “You don’t want any spring<br />
barley sitting in cold soil as it’ll affect<br />
potential yield.”<br />
▲<br />
He recommends applying about<br />
two thirds of its fertiliser requirement at<br />
sowing, with the rest when leaves meet<br />
between the rows. “Get it on early if you’re<br />
aiming for a low nitrogen grain sample.<br />
Most growers in the UK use about<br />
110-120kgN/ha. <strong>In</strong>terestingly, many<br />
growers in Scotland combine fertiliser<br />
and seed application at the time of drilling<br />
both to get the crop off to a good start<br />
and alleviate workloads.”<br />
Healthy plant growth<br />
Manganese fertiliser, either as a seed<br />
treatment or foliar application, is also<br />
advised for spring barley crops to ensure<br />
no check in healthy plant growth. The<br />
fungicide programme for Octavia should<br />
be fairly standard, too. “I’d use an SDHI<br />
and triazole mix at GS 30-31 and a lower<br />
rate top-up at GS 37-39, but applications<br />
need to be well targeted to reduce<br />
significant disease pressure on the<br />
growing crop.”<br />
Octavia’s yields have been stable over<br />
years and in different scenarios, giving a<br />
national average trial score of 103% of the<br />
control. However, the yield results in the<br />
East and North –– where the crop is most<br />
likely to be grown –– both come in at 105,<br />
says Mark Glew. “I wouldn’t grow it in the<br />
West –– it’s just not suited to the region.<br />
“I’d like to say I spotted Octavia’s<br />
potential in trials very early on, but we were<br />
looking for high yield and good malting<br />
performance, so it wasn’t until the combine<br />
went in and the brewing and distilling trials<br />
got under way that I realised how good it<br />
was,” he adds.<br />
Most farmers in the East will be growing<br />
for the brewing market; with a target<br />
specification above 1.6% nitrogen, while<br />
those in the North and Scotland will likely<br />
be growing for the distilling sector, with a<br />
specification below 1.55% nitrogen. “It does<br />
tend to have quite low grain nitrogen, so if<br />
you’re growing it for brewing you might want<br />
to manage the nitrogen up a bit,” says Mark<br />
Glew.<br />
Yields look good in the North and East, but<br />
skinning is often a problem in spring malting<br />
barley and Octavia is no exception.<br />
Yield progression is the main advantage<br />
Pat Atkin has grown Concerto for a long time<br />
and wanted to switch to a variety that was<br />
related to it.<br />
Pat Atkin is the second generation of seed<br />
growers at Field Farm, Thetford, Norfolk, and<br />
has grown Octavia for the past two years.<br />
“We’ve sandy loam soil over chalk, which isn’t<br />
suitable for growing wheat, so we grow both<br />
winter and spring barley for seed,” she says. As<br />
well as 190ha of arable land, she keeps a herd<br />
of Aberdeen Angus cattle, so grows a rotation of<br />
grass, oilseed rape, sugar beet, fodder beet,<br />
maize and potatoes.<br />
“We typically grow 20ha of varying spring<br />
barley varieties for seed –– last year we had<br />
8ha of Octavia for seed and another 8ha which<br />
I grew commercially for the cattle,” says Pat<br />
Atkin. “I’ve grown Concerto for a long time and<br />
really like it, so when Limagrain were talking<br />
of changing varieties I wanted something that<br />
was related to Concerto. It really suits our soil<br />
–– there’s no point growing something that’s<br />
unsuitable for your land.”<br />
Sown in late Feb/early March with a power<br />
harrow drill, Pat Atkin has found Octavia very<br />
straightforward to grow. “We apply potash and<br />
phosphate at drilling, and then 180kg/ha of<br />
a 38:19 nitrogen/sulphur fertiliser in March,<br />
followed by 100kg/ha of 46% nitrogen in April,”<br />
she says.<br />
“The agronomy depends on the year, and we<br />
just tend to follow Hutchinsons’ advice, but we<br />
haven’t had any particular problems with Octavia<br />
or Concerto.” As a seed crop, plant growth<br />
regulators are prohibited, but despite Octavia’s<br />
You need an increase in yield to pay for growing<br />
costs that have risen, points out Pat Atkin.<br />
score of 6 for lodging, Pat Atkin hasn’t had any<br />
problems with its standing ability. “It stands well<br />
and is easy to combine,” she says.<br />
“For me, yield is very important. If it doesn’t<br />
yield I soon start to complain because it costs<br />
the same to grow. And it has to cope with our<br />
standard care.” Over the years, Pat Atkin and<br />
her father have seen many varieties come and<br />
go, and they’ve learnt what works well on the<br />
farm.<br />
“My father would have been happy with<br />
4.9t/ha –– now we expect about 6.2t/ha ––<br />
although <strong>this</strong> year I think we’ll have achieved<br />
7.4t/ha. You need that increase in yield because<br />
all other costs have increased over the years so<br />
it has to pay for itself.”<br />
24 crop production magazine december 2015
“However, if you’re growing it on strong<br />
land as part of measures to control<br />
blackgrass, that should naturally boost<br />
the nitrogen content a bit anyway.”<br />
One potential slight drawback is<br />
Octavia’s bushel weight score, which is a<br />
touch on the low side at 66.7kg/hl. “On<br />
average, bushel weights have come down<br />
over the years, which is what made Sienna<br />
so good last year,” he adds. “Octavia is<br />
much in line with the other varieties on the<br />
list, but ideally, we’d like varieties to have<br />
higher bushel weights, and there’s a push<br />
towards <strong>this</strong>.”<br />
Despite the variety’s promising<br />
performance, Gleadell’s Stuart Shand<br />
doesn’t expect it to command much of the<br />
market just yet. “We’ve had three fantastic<br />
malting barley years in Europe, and in that<br />
time global beer sales have been going<br />
down. Distilling sales have also fallen<br />
End users note there’s currently an over-reliance<br />
on Concerto in the Scottish distilling industry.<br />
Octavia at a glance<br />
UK treated yield (% control) 103.1<br />
UK untreated yield (% treated control) 87.3<br />
Nitrogen content (%) 1.4<br />
Screenings (% through 2.5mm sieve) 3.2<br />
Bushel weight (kg/hl) 66.7<br />
Hot water extract (l deg/kg) 316.6<br />
Resistance to lodging 6.3<br />
Disease resistance<br />
Mildew 8.9<br />
Yellow rust [7]<br />
Brown rust 4.7<br />
Rhynchosporium 6.2<br />
Ramularia 6.8<br />
Source: 2015/16 HGCA Recommended List; [ ]<br />
– limited data.<br />
–– and although the latest report points<br />
to them going back up again there’s still<br />
far too much malting barley around,”<br />
he says.<br />
At one point following harvest 2015,<br />
the UK had a malting barley surplus of<br />
750,000t –– and Stuart Shand anticipates<br />
another large crop next year. “If farmers<br />
want a chance of getting a premium they<br />
should be putting their spring barley on<br />
contract. There are plenty around, but<br />
Octavia is still in trials so we don’t have<br />
any contracts available for it. There may<br />
be others available, but if a farmer can’t<br />
get a contract for anything they shouldn’t<br />
grow it.”<br />
Farmers getting average yields,<br />
excluding Basic Payments, will likely<br />
have made a loss on spring barley <strong>this</strong><br />
year, he adds. “But a lot of people have<br />
been getting 7-7.5t/ha compared to the<br />
average of 5.3t/ha –– and then it does<br />
pay.” <strong>In</strong> Gleadell trials Octavia has<br />
yielded well and produced good quality,<br />
but there are plenty of other competitors<br />
coming through.<br />
“Our growers are very happy with it,<br />
but there are a lot of good spring barley<br />
varieties out there. Breeders have done<br />
a very good job and varieties are a<br />
lot more robust than they were a few<br />
years ago.”<br />
Dual-purpose<br />
One of the big advantages of<br />
Octavia is that it’s being trialled as a<br />
dual-purpose variety –– so if growers get<br />
low nitrogen it can be used for distilling<br />
and real ales, while if it produces high<br />
nitrogen it can go for lager brewing. “It<br />
really opens up the market. Customers<br />
also like dual-purpose varieties because<br />
there are fewer segregation <strong>issue</strong>s<br />
in store.”<br />
Simon Barry at Highland Grain didn’t<br />
handle any Octavia <strong>this</strong> year, but did see<br />
a sample from one of his members.<br />
“Skinning was a common factor across<br />
all varieties <strong>this</strong> year, and Octavia was no<br />
exception,” he says. “Quality-wise it looks<br />
very similar to Concerto, but we don’t yet<br />
know how it performs for the end user as<br />
the trials take so long to carry out. It’ll be<br />
a good six months before the trials data<br />
is published, which will be too late for<br />
farmers’ spring-sowing decisions.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> Scotland, producers and end users<br />
are crying out for a variety that can cope<br />
with wet, extended harvests like 2012<br />
and 2015, he adds. “Optic is the only<br />
variety that resists skinning –– it’s been<br />
given a stay of execution for one year but<br />
Octavia is coming into a malting barley market<br />
that’s carrying a surplus and has a choice of<br />
good varieties, notes Stuart Shand.<br />
is so outclassed in other ways. Virtually all<br />
other varieties have <strong>this</strong> propensity to skin<br />
–– we’re desperate for breeders to find<br />
something that resists it.”<br />
Given that Octavia only made it onto<br />
the RL last year, and will be undergoing<br />
full tests with the <strong>In</strong>stitute of Brewing<br />
and Distilling <strong>this</strong> winter, it’s unlikely to<br />
command much of the market until 2017 at<br />
the earliest. “It’s due full IBD approval next<br />
May. If the end users like it, they’ll add it to<br />
their buying lists,” says Mark Glew.<br />
“They love Concerto because it’s such<br />
good quality –– and at 316.6 l deg/kg<br />
Octavia has the highest hot water extract<br />
of any variety on the list, so it’s very<br />
promising. But you can’t push a malting<br />
variety into the market –– it has be drawn<br />
in by demand.”<br />
Simpsons Malt is one of the end users<br />
taking part in the IBD trials, and has<br />
been involved with carrying out micro-malt<br />
evaluation trials with Octavia. “It’s<br />
performed very well in distilling trials to<br />
date, with a hot water extract above<br />
Concerto, and its brewing performance is<br />
on par with the controls,” says the firm’s<br />
Paul Huntley.<br />
“We’re very interested in looking at the<br />
variety because there’s an over-reliance on<br />
Concerto in the Scottish distilling industry.<br />
It takes a huge acreage in Scotland and<br />
most people feel a little uncomfortable<br />
having all of their eggs in one basket.<br />
As an early maturing variety it just helps<br />
to spread the risk.” ■<br />
Search the CPM Article Archive<br />
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variety? The search facility on the CPM<br />
website allows you to find and download<br />
articles from previous <strong>issue</strong>s using keywords,<br />
such as ‘Reflection’. www.cpm-magazine.co.uk<br />
crop production magazine december 2015<br />
25
“<br />
Those in<br />
the top 10% are<br />
achieving better returns<br />
because they get<br />
everything spot on with<br />
their crop, from corner<br />
to corner.<br />
”<br />
Mild autumn brings on<br />
crop potential<br />
With oilseed rape set up well<br />
for the winter, it’s time to<br />
plan spring management to<br />
maximise profits. CPM joins<br />
the discussion with a group<br />
of progressive growers.<br />
By Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
As winter closes in, the growers taking<br />
part in the Driving Up Oilseed Rape Yields<br />
initiative are upbeat about the crop.<br />
“It’s looking marvellous,” comments<br />
John Haynes on the Essex/Herts border.<br />
26 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
“There’s a good soil structure, and we’ve<br />
had ideal growing conditions <strong>this</strong> autumn,<br />
so it’s all set up for the winter.”<br />
The exceptionally mild Nov has made<br />
all the difference, notes Lincs-based<br />
Andrew Ward. “The amount of growth is<br />
nothing short of staggering. We had some<br />
backward crops that are now looking<br />
quite proud.”<br />
And it’s the same in the Cotswolds,<br />
reports Hamish Campbell. “All of our<br />
OSR has just kicked into life –– even the<br />
later-drilled crop has really romped on.<br />
The mild weather means it’s put down a<br />
good taproot, but there’s not too much leaf.”<br />
Farming in a joint venture with Cotswold<br />
Farm Park, farms manager Martin<br />
Parkinson notes the early drilled crop<br />
needed some canopy management early<br />
on. “We had to apply some metconazole<br />
to the forward-looking crop at the<br />
beginning of Oct,” he reports.<br />
Derby grower James Chamberlain<br />
agrees. “The crop started to grow and<br />
never looked back. It’s now fully charged<br />
up, ready for the winter.”<br />
But just six weeks previously, it was<br />
quite a different picture. The growers are<br />
part of a group that’s come together at<br />
meetings over the year to consider how<br />
new and different agronomy techniques<br />
can enhance field performance, with a<br />
view to achieving an OSR crop that has<br />
the potential to yield more, and yield more<br />
consistently.<br />
The last time the group gathered in mid
of an unnerving start to the season, is<br />
Richard Means from Strutt and Parker.<br />
With him, he’s brought client data on<br />
yields and crop performance <strong>this</strong> year,<br />
compared with previous seasons (see<br />
charts below).<br />
A late harvest meant Martin Parkinson didn’t<br />
manage to drill 20% of his planned crop.<br />
Oct, a late harvest had meant a delayed<br />
establishment. <strong>In</strong> the Cotswolds, most of<br />
the crop lies 1000 feet above sea level.<br />
That means a timely establishment is<br />
crucial, says farms manager Martin<br />
Parkinson.<br />
“We were still combining spring barley<br />
well into Sept, so the OSR was never<br />
going to be established on time. <strong>In</strong> the<br />
end we stopped drilling on 11 Sept –– we<br />
were aiming for 400ha, but only managed<br />
320ha. Where we are, we’ve learned<br />
there’s no point putting in a late crop.”<br />
John Haynes had his now familiar<br />
trouble with cabbage stem flea beetle.<br />
“Some of the crop was treated with Cruiser<br />
(thiamethoxam), but in the end we took the<br />
decision to take out 63ha of the worst<br />
affected fields and replant with winter<br />
beans.”<br />
Joining the group, against <strong>this</strong> backdrop<br />
Record year<br />
“It’s been a record year for both wheat and<br />
barley yields, but the picture doesn’t look<br />
quite so rosy for OSR. Yields are slightly<br />
down and below the five-year average.<br />
The loss of neonicotinoid seed dressings<br />
has surely paid a price,”he comments.<br />
“We may now be seeing a yield plateau,<br />
and with the drop off in price, <strong>this</strong> is<br />
bound to curtail the progression of the<br />
crop. It’s also the most costly crop to<br />
grow when considering input costs.”<br />
The difficulty, he points out, is that the<br />
crop typically remains the best option as a<br />
rotational break. “Break crops are very<br />
volatile (see chart) and unlike other crops,<br />
there are no real trends. Where there’s no<br />
consistency, as is the case with pulses,<br />
12.00<br />
10.00<br />
8.00<br />
6.00<br />
4.00<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
OSR is the most costly crop to grow<br />
when considering input costs, points out<br />
Richard Means.<br />
it’s difficult to make the case for proper<br />
investment in a crop. Spring beans could<br />
be an option, however, if you’re prepared<br />
Average crop yields for cereals and break crops in East Anglia<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
1st Wheat<br />
2nd Wheat<br />
s Winter Barley<br />
Spring Barley<br />
▲<br />
2.00<br />
0.00<br />
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015<br />
6.0<br />
5.00<br />
4.00<br />
3.00<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s s s<br />
s<br />
s s s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
s<br />
Winter OSR<br />
HEAR OSR<br />
Winter Beans<br />
2.00<br />
s<br />
Spring Beans<br />
Harvest Peas<br />
1.00<br />
Once they’d polished off 63ha of John Haynes<br />
OSR, the cabbage stem flea beetle started on<br />
other activities.<br />
0.00<br />
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015<br />
Source: Strutt and Parker<br />
crop production magazine december 2015<br />
27
Prospects for the OSR crop<br />
Harvest 2016 00 OSR LEAF Premium HEAR V316 OL<br />
HOLL<br />
Yield (t/ha)* 1 3.75 3.76 3.38 3.76<br />
Price (£/t) 250 265 315 275<br />
Oil Bonus (£/t) 20 20 0 20<br />
Output (£/ha) 1,015 1,072 1,065 1,109<br />
Seed (£/ha) 68 68 105 91<br />
Fertiliser (£/ha) 243 243 243 243<br />
Sprays (£/ha) 234 124 234 234<br />
Variable costs (£/ha) 545 545 582 568<br />
Gross Margin (£/ha) 470 527 483 541<br />
Fixed Costs (£/ha) 491 491 491 491<br />
Net Margin (£/ha) -21 36 -8 50<br />
Net margin excludes Basic Payment and other income; *1 Strutt & Parker five-year average yields for East Anglia; HEAR £65/t<br />
premium over 00, harvest move; HOLL £25/t premium plus oil bonus, harvest move.<br />
for the later harvest.”<br />
This isn’t an option Hamish Campbell<br />
would entertain. “Where we are, you can<br />
forget peas, and you’d probably have to<br />
drill beans at a higher rate than you’d<br />
combine them. There’s no sugar beet and<br />
there are no anaerobic digesters, so we<br />
have to make the most of the OSR crop.”<br />
▲<br />
The OSR area across East Anglia has<br />
dropped, according to Strutt and Parker<br />
figures, reports Richard Means. “And with<br />
good reason –– OSR gross margins and<br />
net returns are not overly exciting (see<br />
table above). With greater pressure from<br />
CSFB, turnip yellows virus, slugs and<br />
pigeons compared with all other crops,<br />
John Haynes’ backward crop received a<br />
biostimulant and now it’s all looking pretty even.<br />
you need a premium to justify the added<br />
risk and extra management.”<br />
Aiming for the premium markets is one<br />
▲<br />
Prepare for thick crops and high disease levels<br />
The biggest effect noticed was on how Toprex<br />
evened up the crop, says James Southgate.<br />
Reports suggest it’s been a high phoma year,<br />
says Syngenta technical manager James<br />
Southgate. “The disease came in early and<br />
the mild conditions have been ideal for its<br />
development. Crops that started the season<br />
small would have been particularly vulnerable.”<br />
Unlike light leaf spot, phoma will only go<br />
through one life cycle in the crop, but unprotected<br />
leaves can be infected at any time from<br />
ascospores landing on the crop. Early infections<br />
and those coming into backward crops can lead<br />
to damaging stem canker later in the season.<br />
“Fungicides tend to offer about 4-5 weeks<br />
protection, but susceptible varieties not treated<br />
until Nov, may already have the fungus moving<br />
down towards stems.”<br />
But he believes a bigger concern coming<br />
into the spring will be managing canopies<br />
that have now thickened up. “We reckon a lot<br />
of these crops will need a fungicide with<br />
growth regulatory activity, such as Toprex<br />
(difenoconazole+ paclobutrazol).”<br />
<strong>In</strong>troduced <strong>this</strong> year, Toprex can be applied<br />
between stem extension (GS31) and green bud<br />
(GS51). ADAS trials have shown a yield benefit<br />
of almost 0.5t/ha. “The earlier you apply it the<br />
bigger the effect on reducing the height of the<br />
main raceme and therefore less likelihood of<br />
lodging. The later timings are more suited to the<br />
smaller crops coming out of winter to encourage<br />
side branching,” he explains.<br />
“But the feedback we got from those who<br />
used it <strong>this</strong> year was that the biggest effect<br />
was on how Toprex evened up the crop. That<br />
means you can target sclerotinia sprays better<br />
–– potentially saving a fungicide application<br />
Phoma infections appear as pale leaf spots from<br />
which the fungus spreads via the petiole to reach<br />
the stem.<br />
–– and a crop that ripens evenly.”<br />
Martin Parkinson tried some and agrees.<br />
“We used it at the later timing and it made the<br />
flowering window shorter, which was the whole<br />
idea –– OSR can go on flowering forever.”<br />
As for LLS, the difenaconazole in Toprex gives<br />
good protection, points out James Southgate. “If<br />
LLS pressure is high, growers should consider<br />
starting their defence as soon as symptoms are<br />
seen, which might be earlier in the spring than<br />
stem extension. Alternatively, in very high<br />
pressure situations, adding tebuconazole to<br />
Toprex boosts activity against the disease.”<br />
28 crop production magazine december 2015
Andrew Ward (right) questions whether expensive<br />
fungicides at high rates at both stem extension<br />
and flowering will bring the necessary payback.<br />
way to maintain profitability, he<br />
suggests. “If you’re LEAF (Linking<br />
Environment and Farming) accredited,<br />
it’s worth trying for the £15/t premium<br />
available through ADM. There’s also the<br />
HOLL market, although premiums have<br />
dropped with the introduction of better<br />
varieties, which has caused a swing<br />
towards them. There’s £65/t available on<br />
HEAR contracts, although you suffer a<br />
yield penalty.”<br />
Andrew Ward has been growing HOLL<br />
OSR for many years and is uncomfortable<br />
at the prospect of more growers diluting<br />
the premium. Half of the rapeseed grown<br />
for the Cotswolds joint venture is the<br />
variety Molten. This is grown for R-Oil, a<br />
cold-pressed rapeseed oil, which contains<br />
a unique balance of Omega 3, 6 and 9<br />
fatty acids, that’s earned it some premium<br />
markets.<br />
▲<br />
Significantly better<br />
Another way to improve the net return<br />
is to grow the crop well, continues<br />
Richard Means. “Those in the top 10% are<br />
achieving significantly better returns. It’s<br />
because they get everything spot on with<br />
their crop, from corner to corner.”<br />
So how will that affect decision-making<br />
<strong>this</strong> winter? “It’s important to assess your<br />
crop and its potential. You should start to<br />
gauge how hard you can push it, and if<br />
the canopy varies, how much can be<br />
pushed and how you can then keep the<br />
canopy under control if it’s forward. The<br />
good news for OSR is that there’s plenty<br />
of options in terms of product choice and<br />
agronomy know-how to get it right, so<br />
while there’s little you can do to alter the<br />
price, there’s little excuse not to maximise<br />
its potential.”<br />
The rest of John Haynes crop has<br />
come on well since Oct, he reports.<br />
There’s 265ha, of which 100ha received<br />
a biostimulant. “We applied <strong>this</strong> to the<br />
crop that wasn’t treated with Cruiser and<br />
the difference it made was remarkable<br />
–– it’s all looking pretty even now.”<br />
Disease pressure was high, with both<br />
light leaf spot and phoma found in the<br />
crop. “We treated the most forward<br />
areas with metconazole then applied<br />
prothioconazole to the entire crop by<br />
16 Nov. We haven’t seen any aphids and<br />
the crop’s now looking very strong.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> the Cotswolds, conditions have been<br />
mild enough to bring on the crop, but it’s<br />
also brought in the aphids, reports Hamish<br />
Campbell. “We very rarely have to spray,<br />
and I pride myself on how little insecticide<br />
we use on the crop. But it came under<br />
pressure and we had to use an aphicide<br />
<strong>this</strong> year. Otherwise, it all received 0.5 l/ha<br />
of prothioconazole plus tebuconazole on<br />
18 Nov.”<br />
James Chamberlain had a crop of two<br />
halves, but that’s no longer the case. 45ha<br />
of SY Harnas was drilled at the end of Aug<br />
at 35 seeds/m 2 with a further 55ha of<br />
Harper drilled almost a month later at<br />
45 seeds/m 2 .<br />
“What was forward is now very forward,<br />
Driving up oilseed rape yields<br />
Striving for better oilseed rape yields,<br />
however incremental, can deliver big returns.<br />
It’s for <strong>this</strong> reason that Syngenta has brought<br />
together eleven of the country’s leading OSR<br />
growers as part of the ‘Driving Up Yields’<br />
Hamish Campbell is keeping an open mind and<br />
an eye on crop progress.<br />
while the backward crop has caught up,”<br />
he says. “It was all sprayed by the end<br />
of Nov with prothioconazole plus<br />
tebuconazole and charged up with<br />
micronutrients.”<br />
Andrew Ward had a similarly split crop of<br />
his V316 OL and V324 OL, with earlier<br />
drilled heathland put in at 25 seeds/m 2 ,<br />
while the heavy land was established in the<br />
first week of Sept at 30-45 seeds/m 2 .<br />
“We saw some phoma and LLS, but not at<br />
alarming levels. We went with prothioconazole<br />
James Chamberlain started the season with a crop of two halves – SY Harnas drilled on 28 Aug (left)<br />
and Harper drilled on 19 Sept (right).<br />
initiative, with the aim of challenging current<br />
conventions, promoting best practice and<br />
stimulating uptake of innovations. Meeting<br />
throughout the season with industry experts,<br />
the group is voicing its concerns and sharing<br />
its thoughts in an online forum – you can<br />
follow the discussion and debate at<br />
www.syngenta.co.uk/drivingyields.<br />
30 crop production magazine december 2015
The earlier you apply it, the bigger the effect on reducing the height of the<br />
main raceme and therefore less likelihood of lodging.<br />
plus tebuconazole on the forward<br />
crop, while the less forward area<br />
got just straight prothioconazole<br />
around 10 Nov.”<br />
Disease tolerance<br />
His spring planning will take<br />
more than crop growth into<br />
account. “With prices so low,<br />
we’ve got to make the most of<br />
disease tolerance –– fungicides<br />
at high rates at both stem<br />
extension and flowering is<br />
questionable, and with good<br />
planning we can make some<br />
savings.<br />
“We can make use of the<br />
crop’s advance growth stage<br />
and use less N, tailoring<br />
applications closely to growth.<br />
But it’s not all bad news<br />
–– nitrogen and fuel costs<br />
are lower <strong>this</strong> season.”<br />
That’s one aspect John<br />
Haynes has taken advantage<br />
of. “We’ve bought nitrogen well,<br />
and OSR doesn’t need fancy<br />
chemistry, so you don’t have to<br />
spend a fortune –– just keep an<br />
eye on the crop and give it<br />
what it needs.<br />
“But you wouldn’t want to<br />
Search the CPM Article<br />
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series? The search facility on the<br />
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previous <strong>issue</strong>s using keywords.<br />
For Driving Up Oilseed Rape<br />
Yields, type in ‘DUOSRY’.<br />
www.cpm-magazine.co.uk<br />
scrimp and save as you’d risk<br />
wasting everything you’d spent<br />
on the crop in the autumn, and<br />
if you end up with a low yield<br />
and low price, then you would<br />
be in trouble.”<br />
Equally, if the price does<br />
climb, those who hadn’t<br />
invested in the crop would<br />
regret the decision, points out<br />
Hamish Campbell. “It wouldn’t<br />
take much to turn the market<br />
round and the biggest return<br />
comes from yield.<br />
“So I’m keeping an open<br />
mind and an eye on crop<br />
progress –– OSR is so<br />
susceptible to many in-crop<br />
<strong>issue</strong>s and I’m prepared to<br />
spend on it to maintain<br />
its potential. We’re also<br />
prepared to try some PGR.”<br />
James Chamberlain isn’t<br />
so sure, however. “Certainly<br />
the most forward crops would<br />
warrant a PGR, but crop<br />
growth is often varied, and so<br />
I’d question the benefit of a<br />
dedicated PGR. You also<br />
need the fungicide for LLS<br />
protection, so one with PGR<br />
activity may be best.”<br />
That doesn’t mean to say<br />
he’s cutting back on inputs,<br />
though. “I don’t see the<br />
advantage in cutting back and<br />
potentially compromising your<br />
yield potential. It won’t improve<br />
the price of your crop, it’ll just<br />
mean you’ll have less to sell.<br />
But there’s many a slip ‘twixt<br />
the cup and the lip –– there’s<br />
a long way to go until harvest<br />
and a lot can happen.” ■
Bean of bounty<br />
Standing in the Norton Dog pub, near Bury<br />
St Edmunds in Suffolk, and enjoying a pint<br />
with Charles Mathieson, you’d expect that<br />
here, of all places, he’d brag about the<br />
yield he’s achieved from his winter<br />
bean crop.<br />
But he’s remaining remarkably reticent.<br />
“We did get a fantastic yield in 2014, but<br />
I wouldn’t like to give the impression that’s<br />
the norm,” he says. “However there’s no<br />
reason why any decent grower shouldn’t<br />
consistently get over 5t/ha every year from<br />
their bean crop.”<br />
Farming 300ha of sandy clay loam, the<br />
winter bean crop currently in the ground at<br />
Crawley Hall Farm has taken 34ha in a<br />
rotation where the one-in-three year break is<br />
shared with winter oilseed rape. “I’ve never<br />
been a great fan of OSR –– costs keep<br />
going up and yields aren’t. Beans bring a<br />
higher yield from the following wheat crop<br />
and a balance to the rotation. We’ve always<br />
grown them and that means we’ve never<br />
had too much trouble from slugs and<br />
blackgrass.”<br />
The secret to his success with the<br />
crop crouches in a field behind the farm<br />
buildings, however –– it’s a seven-leg Blench<br />
subsoiler modified with seeder tubes running<br />
down the back of its winged Sumo feet.<br />
“Establishment is the key –– get that one<br />
thing right and the rest falls into place,”<br />
says Charles Mathieson.<br />
The subsoiler seeder establishes both<br />
OSR and beans with an Accord DF1 front<br />
hopper that blows the seed through to its<br />
distribution head. “I’ve spent enough hours<br />
in the workshop and enough years in the<br />
field refining <strong>this</strong> tool, and people say I<br />
have it sussed now,” he claims. <strong>In</strong>deed,<br />
Get the establishment<br />
right and you can achieve<br />
substantial yields from a<br />
winter bean crop, according<br />
to one Suffolk grower.<br />
CPM visits to find out.<br />
By Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
he’s drilled a fair few acres with it for other<br />
farmers.<br />
For beans, it’s set to run at 150-200mm<br />
depth. “We run on an angle to the previous<br />
year’s wheat tramlines, but go straight into<br />
the stubble, aiming to drill in the second<br />
week of Oct. The seed does go deep, but<br />
I reckon beans like that –– it slows them up<br />
so they put down a decent root, and they<br />
find their way up easy enough through the<br />
subsoiler channel.”<br />
Behind the legs, a tyre packer (there’s a<br />
Guttler roller for the OSR) consolidates the<br />
ground, closing the channel to minimise slug<br />
and rook damage. But <strong>this</strong> leaves the<br />
“<br />
Give them<br />
the attention at<br />
planting they<br />
deserve and they’ll<br />
perform. ”<br />
32 crop production magazine december 2015
400mm rows in between little ridges across<br />
the field. The crop then takes around three<br />
weeks to a month to emerge.<br />
“I reckon the ridges protect the crop from<br />
cold weather –– they seem to keep the<br />
stems sheltered when a cold wind is<br />
blowing,” he comments.<br />
Drilled at 150-155kg/ha, <strong>this</strong> puts in<br />
20-25 seeds/m 2 of Tundra –– the variety he’s<br />
grown for the past three years for seed.<br />
“It’s one that does perform well and can<br />
bring exceptional yields. It’s not as tall as<br />
Clipper, but grows about the same height<br />
as Wizard.”<br />
Minimal ground disturbance<br />
With minimal ground disturbance, weeds<br />
aren’t too much of a problem, although<br />
Centium (clomazone) plus pendimethalin are<br />
A seven-leg Blench subsoiler modified with<br />
seeder tubes running down the back of its winged<br />
Sumo feet establishes the bean crop.<br />
The seeder puts the crop into 400mm rows in<br />
between little ridges across the field.<br />
applied pre-emergence. “We’ll put Lingo<br />
(clomazone+ linuron) with the PDM for more<br />
broad-spectrum activity, especially if<br />
cleavers or mayweed are bad.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> the spring, the first priority for the<br />
bean crop is pea and bean weevil. “We’ll<br />
usually spray for <strong>this</strong> just before early<br />
flowering, usually with a pyrethroid such<br />
as cypermethrin. However, the pest could<br />
become more of a challenge now that<br />
resistance has been confirmed –– it’s not<br />
as if there are a lot of alternatives available<br />
these days.”<br />
A dressing of potash may be applied at<br />
the same time, depending on soil indices,<br />
although phosphate levels are naturally high.<br />
“We’ll also apply a cheap fungicide, such as<br />
tebuconazole to keep chocolate spot at bay,<br />
and will add manganese to keep the crop<br />
healthy,” notes Charles Mathieson.<br />
At early flowering, depending on<br />
weather pressure, there’s another fungicide<br />
–– usually Alto Elite (chlorothalonil+<br />
cyproconazole), applied with more<br />
manganese –– with the main spray timing<br />
at early pod set. “That’s when you want to<br />
have a good look at the crop and decide its<br />
yield potential. If it’s going to yield, it’s worth<br />
putting on some Amistar (azoxystrobin).<br />
But if it’s not looking so good, we’ll go with<br />
▲<br />
Winter beans: how the<br />
finances stack up<br />
(/ha)<br />
Seed £70<br />
Fungicides £30<br />
Herbicides £70<br />
<strong>In</strong>secticides £15<br />
Trace Elements £5<br />
Fertiliser £38<br />
Variable costs £228<br />
Yield (t/ha) 5.2<br />
Price (/t) £155<br />
Output £806<br />
Gross Margin £578<br />
Note: typical figures, based on yields and conditions at<br />
Crawley Hall Farm
<strong>In</strong>creased supply brings a pulse of optimism<br />
Don’t be disheartened by the drop in pulse<br />
prices –– a rise in demand is meeting the<br />
recent increase in domestic supply. That’s the<br />
message from Franek Smith of Dunns, who’s<br />
also vice president of the British Edible Pulse<br />
Association (BEPA).<br />
The UK area planted to beans grew by 59%<br />
in 2015, with the pea area swelling by 37%, he<br />
says. For 2016, the pulse area is projected to<br />
rise again by 15% to 242,000ha. “But it’s<br />
not going to be a problem to sell <strong>this</strong> crop,”<br />
he assures. “There are lots of new markets<br />
and feed compounders are coming back<br />
into beans.”<br />
The price of feed peas and beans at the end<br />
of Nov stood at a dismal £111/t and £121/t<br />
respectively, however –– prices for both have<br />
dropped by around a third in a year. But feed<br />
wheat has lost just 10% of its Nov 2014 value.<br />
“There hasn’t been enough supply for feed<br />
compounders to consider using pulses, but<br />
that’s changing –– they need continuity of<br />
just some cyproconazole or tebuconazole<br />
again.”<br />
Bruchid beetle is the other pest to stay<br />
on top of from pod set onwards, he believes.<br />
Charles Mathieson follows the Bruchid Cast<br />
forecast and will usually apply two<br />
▲<br />
supply,” notes Franek Smith.<br />
The market for human consumption has<br />
really opened for UK bean growers, he says.<br />
“France, the UK’s main competitor, had a terrible<br />
harvest <strong>this</strong> year, whereas conversely, a good<br />
proportion of the UK crop is fit for human<br />
consumption.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> the short term, Sudan has a big demand<br />
for beans, but <strong>this</strong> ends in Feb, which is when<br />
its import tariff closes. Currency problems in<br />
Egypt has meant buyers haven’t been able to<br />
buy in bulk, reports Franek Smith. “But that’s<br />
given traders the opportunity to process and<br />
add value in the UK.”<br />
There are also opportunities in peas,<br />
he says, with a new marrowfat variety joining<br />
the PGRO Recommended List, and interest in<br />
large blue peas picking up. “The price was so<br />
high, pet food manufacturers reduced the<br />
percentage inclusion. But now the price has<br />
settled down we’re seeing them increase<br />
their demand.”<br />
pyrethroids about a week to ten days apart.<br />
“It’s not so much of a problem on a seed<br />
crop, however,” he notes. Black bean aphid<br />
can also be an <strong>issue</strong>, and may need a dose<br />
of Aphox (pirimicarb).<br />
“You need to look after a bean crop,<br />
Franek Smith (centre) at the BEPA annual dinner<br />
in pulse-themed costume to raise money for<br />
charity with Barry Reed (left) and Paddy Barrett<br />
(right).<br />
● 2016 is the <strong>In</strong>ternational Year of Pulses, with a<br />
range of activities planned globally to promote them<br />
as healthy, nutritious, affordable and sustainable.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the UK, BEPA is co-ordinating pro-pulse events,<br />
such as a falafel festival in May and attending<br />
12-15 farm-school events to educate schoolchildren.<br />
but what you apply to it is not the big<br />
influencing factor for success ––<br />
establishment is far more important.”<br />
The rest is up to the weather, and he<br />
reckons dry conditions around pod fill<br />
pegged his yield back slightly <strong>this</strong> year,<br />
Newcomers nudge alongside RL leaders<br />
RL Peas 2016<br />
It’s been a year of consolidation for the PGRO<br />
Recommended List, reports Stephen Belcher of<br />
PGRO. “We haven’t seen the big yield increases<br />
we had in previous years on the spring bean<br />
list, but then list-leader Vertigo is now a control<br />
variety, so sets the standard.”<br />
Lynx from breeder LSPB joins the list, with a<br />
yield just a shade below Vertigo. “It has a downy<br />
mildew score of 7 –– which is significantly<br />
higher than most and on a par with good old<br />
Maris Bead,” he comments.<br />
Standing ability, maturity and straw length of<br />
the newcomer is similar to the list leaders, but<br />
seed size is slightly smaller.<br />
Bumble from Wherry comes in at the top of<br />
the winter bean list, just a shade above Tundra,<br />
earning its full recommendation <strong>this</strong> year.<br />
“Bumble has a 6 for standing ability, but my<br />
gut feeling is that it stands better than the data<br />
suggests. The two leaders yield significantly<br />
ahead of market leader Wizard,” notes<br />
Stephen Belcher.<br />
Wizard’s 90% market share is estimated to<br />
have dropped to 80% on the back of strong<br />
Tundra sales in its first commercial year. “Wizard<br />
will continue –– it has a strong following and<br />
nothing can match it for seed size. But its lower<br />
pods are close to the ground, and that’s where<br />
Tundra has a distinct advantage.”<br />
Kareni from Senova now tops the white pea<br />
list, offering a slim yield advantage in a small<br />
market. Kingfisher from Limagrain, at just 98%<br />
of controls, has “been given the benefit of the<br />
doubt” and joins the large blues.<br />
Aikido debuts as the highest-yielding<br />
marrowfat pea variety. “Its standing ability is<br />
better than Sakura but not as good as Genki.<br />
Its downfall is a downy mildew score of 4, but<br />
all the marrowfats need a Wakil (cymoxanil+<br />
fludioxonil+ metalaxyl-M) seed dressing,”<br />
notes Stephen Belcher.<br />
10t challenge<br />
Could you produce a 10t bean crop? There’s a<br />
four-night trip for four to France including an<br />
overnight stay in Paris for you if you can –– the<br />
prize has been put up by PGRO in a bid to<br />
improve the performance of the crop on farm.<br />
“We think the crop now has the genetic<br />
potential to achieve 10t/ha, and we’ve anecdotal<br />
feedback there are growers getting close to that.<br />
It’s an ambitious challenge and we’re keen to<br />
learn the lessons from those who achieve high<br />
yields, which is why we’ve put up the prize,”<br />
says Roger Vickers of PGRO.<br />
RL Spring beans 2016<br />
RL Winter beans 2016<br />
34 crop production magazine december 2015
although it came wetter towards the end<br />
and that may have helped the pods fill out.<br />
“What I look for near harvest time is pods<br />
with five seeds –– if you have plenty of those,<br />
you get a bit more confident about how it’s<br />
going to yield.”<br />
He rarely desiccates the crop, allowing<br />
it to mature naturally, although <strong>this</strong> year<br />
Reglone (diquat) was applied to keep<br />
black bindweed in check. “The crop’s best<br />
combined first thing in the morning when it’s<br />
a bit damp. For a seed crop it generally<br />
doesn’t need drying as they like to take it at<br />
16%. But an on-floor store that you can get<br />
a decent airflow through, without having to<br />
heat the crop, is best for beans.”<br />
Following the bean crop, it’s an easy<br />
cultivation routine into winter wheat –– a<br />
A pod with five seeds is a good sign near harvest<br />
and an indication of a healthy yield.<br />
Simba Xpress or Kongskilde Vibroflex<br />
precedes a Simba Toptilth in front of the 4.8m<br />
Kverneland Tine Seeder Evo. “The great<br />
advantage of beans is the tilth they create ––<br />
–– you get a lovely seedbed for the wheat.”<br />
This year’s yield didn’t reach near the<br />
impressive output of his 2014 crop, but<br />
current attention is on how the 2016 crop is<br />
coming through. “This autumn’s crop has got<br />
off to good start –– I’ve had comments from a<br />
number of people on how good it looks.<br />
“But getting the crop in at the right time<br />
and in the right conditions is all important.<br />
Beans often get a bad reputation among<br />
growers who say they get variable yields.<br />
But that’s often because they’re only<br />
planted when it’s too wet to drill wheat,<br />
Farm Facts<br />
WA Howes and Son, Crawley Hall Farm,<br />
Norton, Suffolk<br />
● Area farmed: 300ha<br />
● Staff: One full time<br />
● Soil type: Sandy clay loam<br />
● Cropping: Winter wheat (Leeds, KWS<br />
Santiago), winter barley (SY Venture), spring<br />
barley (Propino), winter beans (Tundra),<br />
winter oilseed rape (Nikita, Trinity)<br />
● Mainline tractors: John Deere 6930,<br />
7530<br />
Charles Mathieson is growing Tundra for seed,<br />
which performs well and can bring exceptional<br />
yields.<br />
so they’re treated unfairly. Give them<br />
the attention at planting they deserve<br />
and they’ll perform. ■<br />
● Combine harvester: Massey<br />
Fergusson 7274 with 6.7m Power Flow<br />
header<br />
● Sprayer: Househam Air Ride 3000 with<br />
24m boom<br />
● Drill: 4.8m Kverneland Tine Seeder Evo<br />
● Cultivation: 5.5m Kongskilde Vibroflex,<br />
4.6m Simba Xpress, 7m Simba Toptilth,<br />
6f Kverneland LD85 plough<br />
● Spreader: 3200 litre Kuhn Axera<br />
● Telehandler: JD 3400
<strong>In</strong> association with<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation under<br />
threat?<br />
An unprecedented push by<br />
the European business<br />
community to ensure<br />
innovation isn’t stifled by<br />
regulation has cast into<br />
question whether the EU<br />
regulatory system is fit for<br />
purpose. CPM gets an<br />
update from Brussels.<br />
By Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
What would you do if your subsoiler<br />
seeder was banned? Let’s say the<br />
European Commission (EC) decided there<br />
should be a moratorium on such on-farm<br />
innovations until the impact on declining<br />
earthworm numbers could be properly<br />
assessed.<br />
How about if visual soil assessments,<br />
plough-pan inspections and digging up<br />
36 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
crop roots were curtailed on the basis<br />
that properly defined Health and Safety<br />
guidance for the use of a spade had not yet<br />
been drawn up? Then how would you feel if<br />
the anti-resistance, integrated weed control<br />
strategy you’d evolved for your farm was<br />
outlawed on the tenuous suggestion that the<br />
one herbicide it relied on might possibly be<br />
linked with cancer?<br />
Chances are you’d feel like packing up<br />
operations in the UK and seek to farm<br />
somewhere where the approach to<br />
innovation wasn’t quite so blinkered.<br />
Well that’s exactly how some of the largest<br />
global companies feel they’re being treated<br />
by Europe. 24 of them, representing a<br />
workforce of 1.5 million people and a<br />
combined R&D spend of €30 billion/yr, have<br />
now come together in an unprecedented<br />
show of solidarity to address what they see<br />
as a regulatory system that stifles innovation.<br />
At the heart of the tussle lies the way in<br />
which technological risks are perceived<br />
and regulated within Europe. The<br />
precautionary principle, included in both<br />
the Rio Declaration and the Lisbon Treaty,<br />
provides a legal basis for policy makers to<br />
act to protect the environment, even in the<br />
absence of clear scientific evidence. But<br />
European legislators and regulators have<br />
taken <strong>this</strong> one step further, according to<br />
Europe’s business community, passing<br />
regulations that assess substances on the<br />
basis of the intrinsic hazard they pose to<br />
human health or the environment.<br />
“The difficulty when it comes to crop<br />
protection products is that <strong>this</strong> ignores the<br />
precautionary action taken to minimise<br />
exposure, and means products are<br />
potentially disallowed with no real evidence<br />
“<br />
Science<br />
needs a voice and it<br />
must be listened to<br />
both at an EU level<br />
and within member<br />
states.<br />
”
John Peck warns that Europe’s approach to<br />
regulation ignores the precautionary action taken<br />
to minimise exposure to potential hazards.<br />
that they cause any harm,” explains<br />
John Peck of BASF.<br />
“It’s interesting to note that these concerns<br />
cut across many different industrial sectors,<br />
including: IT, electronics, chemicals, seed<br />
breeding, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals<br />
and consumer products. Their growth is<br />
fundamentally affected by the way in which<br />
regulators balance protection of human<br />
health and the environment with the need to<br />
stimulate innovation, jobs and growth.”<br />
So a year ago, 24 CEOs of leading<br />
innovative companies –– among them BASF<br />
–– jointly signed a letter that was presented<br />
to the EC’s president Jean-Claude Juncker.<br />
“The letter strongly encouraged the<br />
Commission to readjust the regulatory<br />
environment to include the ‘<strong>In</strong>novation<br />
Principle’. Essentially we’re asking the EC to<br />
consider a decision –– say on the approval<br />
of a new fungicide –– based on the science<br />
supporting use of a technology, not just<br />
on its potential hazard assessment”<br />
says John Peck.<br />
The need for precaution is not being<br />
questioned by the <strong>In</strong>novation Principle<br />
initiative. But the companies behind it stress<br />
the need for policy to also protect Europe’s<br />
ability to innovate.<br />
Sound science<br />
“These 24 companies are committed to<br />
investing in innovation for the future, but<br />
they need a policy environment which is<br />
receptive to approving new products based<br />
upon sound science and, at <strong>this</strong> point in<br />
time, we are a long way from <strong>this</strong> position.”<br />
This show of concern has had quite an<br />
impact, reports Paul Leonard of BASF. He<br />
heads up the <strong>In</strong>novation Principle Task Force<br />
for the European Risk Forum (ERF) –– a<br />
not-for-profit think tank that promotes<br />
risk-based decision-making at an EU level.<br />
“A big step forward in June <strong>this</strong> year was<br />
a joint statement from BusinessEurope,<br />
ERF and the European Round Table of<br />
<strong>In</strong>dustrialists supporting the innovation<br />
principle and detailing how it can be<br />
incorporated into policy decisions. This<br />
has now gone far wider than just the 24<br />
original companies –– it’s an unprecedented<br />
statement from the entire European business<br />
community.”<br />
At stake is their vast combined private<br />
R&D budget. The €80 billion Horizon 2020<br />
programme, which represents over 90% of<br />
the public funds going into EU research and<br />
innovation, is little more than a third of the<br />
amount that these commercial companies<br />
will invest over the same period. And while<br />
Europe was once seen as an innovation<br />
leader, economies such as China, South<br />
Maintain margins to protect products<br />
Korea and North America are now<br />
competing for global innovation leadership,<br />
warns Europe’s business community. With<br />
R&D intensity growing in these countries,<br />
and already twice as great as it is in Europe,<br />
budgets are being drawn away, and <strong>this</strong><br />
will ultimately reduce Europe’s ability to<br />
compete, say businesses.<br />
“The good news is that the message<br />
hasn’t gone unheard,” continues Paul<br />
Leonard. “The EU Commissioner for<br />
research and <strong>In</strong>novation Carlos Moedas<br />
has publicly stated we need the <strong>In</strong>novation<br />
Principle, and Commissioner Günther<br />
Oettinger, who heads up Digital Economy<br />
and Society, also publicly supports it.<br />
“It’s been a recurring theme in the<br />
context of Juncker’s Better Regulation<br />
Agenda, while in Jan 2016 there’s due<br />
to be a top-level meeting at which the<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation Principle will be a key theme.”<br />
So what exactly is the <strong>In</strong>novation<br />
Principle? “Essentially it’s a paradigm shift or<br />
Up to €30 billion/yr of commercial R&D spend<br />
may be directed away from Europe unless the<br />
EC considers how policy changes impact on<br />
innovation.<br />
▲<br />
Farmers, especially those coming out of Entry<br />
Level Stewardship, have been urged to take on<br />
board crop protection measures encouraged by<br />
the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.<br />
With 11,000 ELS schemes coming to an end<br />
<strong>this</strong> month, Natural England has received just<br />
2300 applications for the new Countryside<br />
Stewardship Scheme. There’s now concern that<br />
<strong>this</strong> may be perceived as a move by farmers<br />
away from environmental stewardship.<br />
“Non-farmed field margins are a crucial part<br />
of protecting water quality,” notes Guy Smith of<br />
NFU. “Metaldehyde is still being detected in<br />
water abstracted for drinking and actives such<br />
as propyzamide and metazachlor are still very<br />
much under threat of revocation.<br />
“If farmers can show they are being responsible<br />
and taking proactive steps to minimise the<br />
impact of crop protection products, that goes a<br />
long way to helping us put forward the case in<br />
Brussels to retain the actives that remain.”<br />
The CFE has released a new six-page leaflet<br />
to help farmers demonstrate cross compliance<br />
and protect water quality. Crop protection for<br />
arable and livestock farms is a summary of key<br />
information put forward by the 14 organisations<br />
involved.<br />
Phil Jarvis, farm manager at the Allerton<br />
Project in Leics, points out the guidelines have<br />
broad industry backing and that the CFE is<br />
underpinned by its partnership with Defra. “As a<br />
farmer, it gives you confidence that you’re part of<br />
Farmers have been urged to retain ELS field<br />
margins to demonstrate environmental<br />
responsibility.<br />
a campaign that’s delivering benefits. And if you<br />
don’t want to be part of a bureaucratic scheme,<br />
but still want to demonstrate best practice, <strong>this</strong><br />
is a good place to start.”<br />
crop production magazine december 2015 37 Xx
Paul Leonard hopes that the <strong>In</strong>novation Principle<br />
has gathered enough momentum to carry itself<br />
forward.<br />
culture change. It’s taken 20 years for the<br />
precautionary principle to become so well<br />
established in EU policy making, and we’re<br />
not looking to reduce any of the safeguards<br />
<strong>this</strong> has put in place. But the system is<br />
broken –– it’s scaring people away from<br />
innovating in Europe. Policy makers know<br />
that, but they just don’t know what to do<br />
about it. <strong>In</strong>novation is supposed to lie at<br />
the heart of European policy. This initiative<br />
provides a positive basis for reforming policy<br />
making in the long term.”<br />
The principle requires that whenever EU<br />
institutions consider policy or regulatory<br />
proposals, the impact on innovation should<br />
be fully assessed and addressed. An<br />
“innovation checklist” has been drawn up,<br />
providing guidance as to how <strong>this</strong> can<br />
be done:<br />
Improving implementation of existing<br />
legislation: aiming to reduce the tendency<br />
for member states to “goldplate” EU<br />
▲<br />
Principle partners<br />
The companies behind the <strong>In</strong>novation<br />
Principle are:<br />
AiCuris GmbH Airbus Group<br />
Arthur D Little Aurubis<br />
BASF Bayer<br />
CEPSA Dow AgroSciences<br />
Dow Corning Dow Europe<br />
DSM Dupont De Nemours<br />
Henkel IBM<br />
JohnDeere Novartis<br />
Philips Sabic<br />
Sanofi Solvay<br />
Statoil Syngenta<br />
Yara<br />
38 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
legislation, allowing leeway to take into<br />
account the needs of businesses at a<br />
national level.<br />
Keeping pace with a changing world: a<br />
shift of emphasis from prescriptive regulation<br />
to a more dynamic and adaptive model.<br />
This would include a pragmatic approach<br />
to reviews, which keeps pace with rapidly<br />
evolving technologies but also provides<br />
predictability.<br />
Creating space for innovators to measure<br />
and manage technological risk: with<br />
companies directing too much of limited<br />
resources at “defensive R&D”, <strong>this</strong> puts<br />
positive encouragement on more innovative<br />
and discovery-oriented research.<br />
Weighing risks of alternative solutions<br />
in comparison: rather than focusing on<br />
the downsides of a single approach or<br />
solution when deciding regulation, other<br />
available options should always be part<br />
of the analysis.<br />
New products<br />
There are some challenges ahead, notes<br />
Paul Leonard, but the hope is that the<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation Principle has gathered enough<br />
momentum to carry itself forward. “Once<br />
established, it would help to ensure that<br />
drafting of new legislation and revision of<br />
existing regulations, such as 1107/2009<br />
concerning plant protection products,<br />
would systematically evaluate and account<br />
for the impact on innovation. This alone<br />
would create confidence for those who<br />
invest in innovation.”<br />
But there’s strong opposition to the<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation Principle within Europe. Critics<br />
argue innovation by its nature favours<br />
product function, while neglecting other<br />
important risk factors in the longevity<br />
of the product’s lifecycle. Cost/benefit<br />
arguments should always be approached<br />
cautiously by decision-makers, they say, as<br />
the relative benefits are often overstated<br />
and potential downsides unknown at the<br />
point of product approval.<br />
“There’s been a tendency in the past<br />
for the risk-based approach to under<br />
rather than over-estimate the risk<br />
posed by particular products and<br />
technologies,” says Paul Whaley, a<br />
chemical risk-assessment researcher<br />
at Lancaster University and advisor to the<br />
Cancer Prevention and Education Society.<br />
He believes that science alone cannot<br />
be relied on as the basis for good<br />
policy-making as it doesn’t consider two<br />
types of uncertainty –– ambiguity, where<br />
what is factually known could be consistent<br />
with two or more resulting choices,<br />
and ignorance, where the possible<br />
consequences (good or bad) are beyond<br />
the limit of current understanding.<br />
He cites asbestos, PCBs, CFCs and DDT<br />
as examples of “regrettable innovation”,<br />
where policy-makers got it wrong. “I don’t<br />
see that the innovation principle will prevent<br />
bad decisions being made in future, but the<br />
precautionary principle can.”<br />
Rather than discouraging innovation, the<br />
precautionary principle stimulates it by<br />
encouraging investment in anticipating<br />
hazards from emerging products, he says.<br />
“What we have in the precautionary<br />
principle should enhance innovation<br />
while safeguarding society’s concerns.<br />
It just needs to be managed better at a<br />
political level.”<br />
He dismisses suggestions that Europe’s<br />
more cautious approach to regulation puts<br />
it at a competitive disadvantage, pointing<br />
out it’s a product of the way Europeans<br />
prefer to live their lives. “Other nations<br />
accept lower standards of air quality, for<br />
example. People in Europe rightfully have<br />
a higher expectation of the technologies<br />
introduced here.”<br />
But it’s <strong>this</strong> “higher expectation” that’s<br />
putting pressure on chemical companies<br />
and consequently farmers, according to a<br />
report launched by the Andersons Centre<br />
late last year. This highlights that 40 of the<br />
250 active substances currently approved<br />
in the UK are highly likely to be lost or<br />
restricted as a result of the EU’s current<br />
agrochemical approval process. This will<br />
make weeds, diseases and pests far more<br />
difficult to control and lead to a realistic<br />
loss in farm profit of £1.73 billion (36%),<br />
concludes the report.<br />
“A lot of MEPs have been led to believe<br />
there’s new chemistry to replace lost actives,<br />
but there’s nothing in the pipeline,” notes<br />
NFU vice president Guy Smith.<br />
“What’s worrying is when a product like<br />
glyphosate is questioned in <strong>this</strong> uncertain<br />
There should be positive encouragement on more<br />
innovative and discovery-oriented research.
interpretation of the precautionary principle<br />
is already having a direct impact on some<br />
growers across Europe. While Defra and<br />
CRD in the UK have been credited with<br />
taking a pragmatic approach to regulation,<br />
their equivalents in France have driven<br />
farmers to protest.<br />
“On 3 Sept, Paris was brought to a<br />
standstill by farmers who were fed up with<br />
over-zealous regulation,” notes Pascal<br />
Lacroix, responsible for public affairs for<br />
BASF in France.<br />
The precautionary principle ought to be helping<br />
policy makers avoid regrettable innovation,<br />
argues Paul Whaley.<br />
EU climate of product approvals. It’s been<br />
demonised by NGOs since the IARC<br />
suggested it was probably a carcinogen,<br />
and millers have been under pressure to<br />
ban its use pre-harvest. The good news is<br />
that EFSA has now concluded it’s unlikely to<br />
pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans.”<br />
But there’s concern that a dogmatic<br />
On-farm priorities to<br />
protect chemistry<br />
● Stay informed – keep abreast of<br />
regulatory <strong>issue</strong>s, and assess how<br />
policies being discussed at a European<br />
level may impact on your business.<br />
● Get involved – Encourage your MEP to<br />
find out about the innovation principle and<br />
its potential to resolve the current<br />
stalemate in the EU regulatory process.<br />
● Demonstrate best practice – Find out<br />
what measures you can implement on<br />
your farm that will help show how the<br />
industry collectively takes responsibility for<br />
environmental <strong>issue</strong>s (see panel on p37).<br />
www.cfeonline.org.uk<br />
Paul Leonard will be speaking about the<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation Principle at a fringe event of the<br />
Oxford Farming Conference on Tues 5 Jan<br />
www.ofc.org.uk<br />
Excessive application<br />
One of their main grievances is France’s<br />
Ecophyto Plan, which they see as an<br />
example of the consequence of an<br />
excessive application of the precautionary<br />
principle into French law. Launched in<br />
2008 the plan aimed to cut pesticide use<br />
by 50% over ten years. A second version<br />
superseded it one month ago, now seeking<br />
a 25% reduction by 2020, with a further 25%<br />
the aim by 2025.<br />
“This goes beyond what happens in the<br />
rest of the EU –– farmers already pay a tax<br />
on pesticides in France, while distributors of<br />
crop protection products will almost certainly<br />
pay an additional levy as they face severe<br />
penalties if reduction targets aren’t met,”<br />
he says.<br />
So farmers' unions have declared a<br />
moratorium on adopting any more regulation<br />
from the French government for six months,<br />
and demanded that any further regulation<br />
falls in line with the rest of EU. While the<br />
French ministry of agriculture appears<br />
unswerved, several parliamentary initiatives<br />
have been launched to introduce the<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation Principle to counterbalance the<br />
precautionary principle. “Farmers remain<br />
sceptical, however –– they want to see<br />
concrete proof that the situation will change,”<br />
says Pascal Lacroix.<br />
Farming, the biggest job on earth<br />
British farmers and growers can’t produce<br />
the quantity and quality of food our society<br />
needs without access to the best advances in<br />
technology, chemistry and plant traits. <strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong><br />
CPM Protecting Chemistry series, industry<br />
contributors discuss the <strong>issue</strong>s surrounding<br />
the discovery, use and retention of active<br />
ingredients; it also explores the policy<br />
decisions affecting production agriculture.<br />
For agrochemical products, the dual<br />
challenges of increasing biological<br />
resistance and an ever-toughening<br />
regulatory environment make the<br />
Farmers in France have imposed a moratorium<br />
on adopting any more regulation, reports<br />
Pascal Lacroix.<br />
“What we’ve lost in France is a culture that<br />
values science –– you still have that in the<br />
UK and it shows in your approach to<br />
pesticide regulation. Science needs a<br />
voice and it must be listened to both at<br />
an EU level and within member states.”<br />
For BASF and its investment in<br />
agricultural solutions, the shift in mindset is<br />
crucial, says John Peck. “We reinvest 9% of<br />
our revenues back into R&D, and agriculture<br />
accounts for over a quarter of our global<br />
R&D spend. But it takes ten years and costs<br />
us over €200 million to develop a new active<br />
ingredient, so we need to know that the<br />
regulatory environment in ten years’ time is<br />
going to be receptive to us develop a new<br />
active ingredient, so we need to know that<br />
the regulatory environment in ten years’ time<br />
is going to be receptive to us launching the<br />
product and recouping our investment.” ■<br />
breakthroughs into novel solutions fundamental<br />
for the future of farming.<br />
Have your say and get involved...<br />
Farming – The Biggest Job on Earth<br />
www.thebiggestjobonearth.co.uk<br />
crop production magazine december 2015 39
Britain’s bumper<br />
crop laid bare<br />
David Beck wonders whether growers’N<br />
applications are now catching up with the<br />
potential of their crop.<br />
“<br />
Growers are<br />
recognising that newer<br />
varieties respond well to<br />
N and are adjusting<br />
rates accordingly. ”<br />
their grain protein levels reported a lift.<br />
While most growers put higher yields<br />
down to favourable weather, nitrogen<br />
rates were credited for the higher proteins<br />
–– of the 37% of those who said they’d<br />
increased their N applications, the<br />
average rise was around 16kgN/ha,<br />
while most growers (56%) had<br />
kept applications the same.<br />
For David Beck of CF<br />
Fertilisers, it’s a sign that<br />
growers are responding<br />
to greater crop potential.<br />
“The nitrogen fertiliser<br />
market rose by 8-9% in<br />
2014, and the survey<br />
suggests a further rise for<br />
2015. It seems growers may<br />
be recognising that newer<br />
varieties respond well to N and<br />
are adjusting rates accordingly.”<br />
It’s a similar picture on sulphur –– levels<br />
of applied S have risen on about 13% of<br />
arable crops on average, according to<br />
survey results, with almost 20% of oilseed<br />
rape crops seeing higher applications.<br />
“Sulphur is equally as important as<br />
nitrogen as the more N a plant takes<br />
up, the more S it needs to utilise the<br />
nitrogen,” points out David Beck.<br />
A survey of growers has<br />
offered an insight into how<br />
the 2015 crop performed and<br />
how plans for next year are<br />
shaping up. CPM pulls apart<br />
the findings and asks what it<br />
is that makes a huge harvest.<br />
By Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
40 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
UK growers have achieved higher<br />
yields and grain proteins <strong>this</strong> year and<br />
appear to be feeding the crop more<br />
fertiliser. Almost 40% of the growers who<br />
responded to a CPM/CF Fertilisers survey<br />
on fertiliser practice revealed they had<br />
applied more nitrogen to their 2015<br />
crop compared with 2014 applications<br />
(see charts opposite).<br />
A whopping 75% of growers achieved a<br />
higher wheat yield <strong>this</strong> year, with a lucky<br />
10% getting at least 2t/ha extra from the<br />
wheat crop, and half of those who knew<br />
Rebalancing<br />
“But we may be seeing a rebalancing<br />
here –– growers have held back N<br />
applications for the past few years, and<br />
it could be that the development of new<br />
varieties has outpaced progress in applied<br />
N rates. The survey may indicate that<br />
growers are now catching up with the<br />
potential of their crop.”<br />
But the correlation between higher<br />
yields and applied N may not be quite so<br />
clear cut. Of those who reported higher N<br />
applications, only two thirds achieved<br />
higher yields, compared with the 75%<br />
overall who saw a yield increase.
On-farm practice, 2015<br />
How did your yields in<br />
harvest 2015 vary<br />
from harvest 2014?<br />
At least 2.0t/ha lower<br />
1.5t/ha lower<br />
1t/ha lower<br />
0.5t/ha lower<br />
The same<br />
0.5t/ha higher<br />
1t/ha higher<br />
1.5t/ha higher<br />
At least 2.0t/ha higher<br />
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%<br />
How did your protein<br />
levels in harvest 2015<br />
compare to harvest<br />
2014?<br />
At least 0.8% lower<br />
0.6% lower<br />
0.4% lower<br />
0.2% lower<br />
The same<br />
0.2% higher<br />
0.4% higher<br />
0.6% higher<br />
At least 0.8% higher<br />
Understanding a wheat variety’s protein switch is<br />
a key aspect of knowing how to feed a crop to<br />
build yield, says Roger Sylvester-Bradley.<br />
How did your nitrogen<br />
applications compare<br />
in spring 2015 to<br />
spring 2014?<br />
For these crops,<br />
were your sulphur<br />
rates higher or lower<br />
in spring 2015?<br />
What do you think<br />
generally led to good<br />
wheat yields and<br />
protein levels in<br />
2015?<br />
Not known<br />
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%<br />
At least 30kgN/ha lower<br />
20kgN/ha lower<br />
10kgN/ha lower<br />
The same<br />
10kgN/ha higher<br />
20kgN/ha higher<br />
At least 30kgN/ha higher<br />
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%<br />
Milling wheat<br />
Feed wheat<br />
Winter barley<br />
Spring barley<br />
Oilseed rape<br />
Grassland<br />
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%<br />
Higher The same Lower Not in rotation<br />
Low disease level<br />
Rainfall<br />
Nitrogen rate<br />
Sulphur rate<br />
Sunlight<br />
Crop establishment<br />
Plant numbers in spring<br />
Tiller number in spring<br />
Variety<br />
Least important<br />
Most important<br />
Yields Protein<br />
Prof Roger Sylvester-Bradley of ADAS<br />
reckons the higher yields may have more<br />
to do with N utilisation. “I haven’t seen<br />
any signs that growers are applying more<br />
N –– if they were, it would be a major<br />
change in practice. But I do think we may<br />
be improving our ability at getting it into<br />
the crop.”<br />
Varietal performance<br />
Overall applied rates of N haven’t<br />
changed much since the early 1980s,<br />
he points out, but UK average yields have<br />
risen by around 2t/ha. Much of <strong>this</strong> is<br />
down to varietal performance, and that<br />
certainly has changed.<br />
“These days, the lifespan of a<br />
high-performing wheat is longer and it has<br />
the capacity to produce more biomass ––<br />
the same amount of straw and chaff, but<br />
more grain. The flowering date hasn’t<br />
changed much, though, so growers need<br />
to think about the end of the growth period<br />
and how to feed that.”<br />
There’s been plenty of trials work carried<br />
out over many decades to determine the<br />
optimum N for wheat crops, and <strong>this</strong><br />
information is distilled into the Fertiliser<br />
Manual. “But RB209 is a crude average of<br />
these experiments. What we’re learning<br />
through recent trials is the variation<br />
between farms, between fields and within<br />
those fields. On-farm strip trials have<br />
shown that as many as half of arable fields<br />
may be receiving the wrong amount of<br />
nitrogen by more than 50kgN/ha.”<br />
So how can growers get it right?<br />
“The bottom line is we simply don’t know<br />
enough about how fertiliser is applied<br />
crop production magazine december 2015 41<br />
▲
Getting everything right for a bumper crop<br />
Do something different in 2016 to aim for a<br />
bumper crop, suggests Allison Grundy.<br />
on farm and how it’s then taken up,”<br />
he says. “It was recent experiments using<br />
‘chessboard’ trials that proved to be<br />
something of a Damascus moment<br />
for me.”<br />
▲<br />
●<br />
●<br />
●<br />
Monitor your soils – assess soil nutrient<br />
levels, in particular N Min<br />
Explore your options – think carefully<br />
about crop requirements and plan<br />
applications and timings to match best<br />
response<br />
Look at grain protein levels – assess past<br />
performance and adjust applications to suit<br />
variety<br />
Varied N requirement<br />
Four different N rates were criss-crossed<br />
in a grid of 10x10m squares within a wheat<br />
field and optimum N assessed for each<br />
square. “The N requirement in one field<br />
varied as much as you’d see over many<br />
series of trials over many sites and years.<br />
It comes down to the subtle effect of the<br />
soil –– there’s as much variation below<br />
ground as there is above it.”<br />
The ADAS-led Yield Enhancement<br />
Network (YEN), in which about 100<br />
growers work with researchers to achieve<br />
the ‘bio-physical’ potential of their crops,<br />
has shown similar variation, explains<br />
Roger Sylvester-Bradley. “What we’ve<br />
seen is that the growers who consistently<br />
achieve the high percentages are the<br />
hard-thinking farmers –– those who really<br />
●<br />
●<br />
Consider product choice – ammonium<br />
nitrate is best at building protein and<br />
sulphur/nitrogen compounds work well at<br />
keeping both nutrients at the right level<br />
Keep an eye on the weather – monitor<br />
conditions and crop growth and tailor<br />
practice accordingly<br />
strive to understand what’s going on,<br />
recognising the importance of light<br />
energy and water, as well as nutrition.”<br />
On nutrition, understanding grain<br />
protein is one fundamental aspect of<br />
knowing what’s happening, he believes.<br />
“If a wheat crop isn’t fed right, protein is<br />
hit more than yield. But the point at which<br />
a wheat variety switches from laying down<br />
yield to building protein varies. We need<br />
to understand the protein switch better,<br />
but values in the AHDB Cereals and<br />
Oilseeds Recommended List probably<br />
provide the best guide to gauging the<br />
performance of your wheat.”<br />
If you get 10.6% from Reflection, that’s<br />
probably about right, but 10.6% on<br />
Costello means you’ve underdone it, he<br />
explains. “Too much grain protein can be
Growers switch on to barley’s early boost<br />
Barley growers are altering nitrogen timings to<br />
exploit the potential of new varieties, according<br />
to the survey. Almost 60% of those growing<br />
barley had adjusted the proportion of N applied<br />
early. Of these, more than half were putting<br />
50% on at GS14-25.<br />
“This is really encouraging,” says Allison<br />
Grundy of CF Fertilisers. “Recent research has<br />
shown the best yield response comes from<br />
applying 50% of the N early and the survey<br />
suggests the benefits of that research are now<br />
being felt on farm.”<br />
just as costly as too little, depending on<br />
the variety. Also, growers aiming for a<br />
high feed yield could save on nitrogen by<br />
seeking out the low protein varieties.”<br />
But getting nitrogen right is notoriously<br />
difficult, he concedes. A recent project<br />
monitored protein levels achieved by<br />
growers in grain co-ops over several<br />
seasons. While some growers consistently<br />
achieved high levels in their milling<br />
samples, others frequently failed to<br />
do so, with no rational explanation as<br />
to why.<br />
“Those growers might have been<br />
getting the nutrition right if the farm was<br />
‘average’, but the protein levels are telling<br />
them something’s working differently<br />
on their farm. Routinely analysing and<br />
monitoring what you’re doing could tell you<br />
a lot about how to improve performance<br />
–– if you’ve a milling wheat at 11% you’re<br />
underfertilising, but a feed wheat at 12%<br />
may indicate some N was unnecessary.”<br />
Realising both high yield and high<br />
protein puts the emphasis in wheat crops<br />
on the later N applications. “The difficulty<br />
is that an application at the end of May<br />
needs rain in June and July to get it into<br />
the ear.”<br />
Bonanza yields<br />
And that may be what’s behind the<br />
high yields and good proteins growers<br />
experienced <strong>this</strong> year. According to the<br />
survey, most growers put <strong>this</strong> year’s<br />
bonanza yields down to crop establishment<br />
and sunlight, with rainfall coming a close<br />
third. Nitrogen rate was credited for the high<br />
protein, followed by rainfall and sunlight.<br />
“It’s the good light levels and the<br />
pattern of rainfall that top my list,” says<br />
Roger Sylvester-Bradley. He cites research<br />
that has drawn observations on spring and<br />
summer rainfall and resulting yields.<br />
“There have been high yields in years with<br />
low rainfall in March and April but there<br />
has been high proteins in years with<br />
relatively high precipitation in June and<br />
The barley project, led by ADAS and funded<br />
by AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds, CF Fertilisers<br />
and Syngenta, is taking a fresh look at data<br />
and conducting new trials to update RB209<br />
recommendations for winter barley.<br />
“The earlier timing supports work done<br />
previously. What we now also know is how<br />
best to feed these high-yielding barley crops,”<br />
says Allison Grundy.<br />
The project has determined a barley crop<br />
needs an extra 30kgN/ha per tonne of yield<br />
above RB209’s standard 8t/ha crop. “With many<br />
July. This year we got both.<br />
“The other striking feature of <strong>this</strong> year<br />
was ear numbers –– some crops produced<br />
a massive number of grain sites. It could<br />
farms achieving 10-11t/ha crops, they need<br />
to apply an extra 60-90kgN/ha.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> practice, <strong>this</strong> could mean an extra<br />
application, splitting the total dressing three<br />
ways rather than using the traditional two.<br />
“And then half of it also needs to go on before<br />
GS31. There’ll be knock-on implications for<br />
disease control and PGR use, too. So for<br />
growers looking to maximise returns on their<br />
barley crop, there’s plenty to plan for next<br />
spring,” concludes Allison Grundy.<br />
be that dry weather in early spring,<br />
combined with plenty of sunshine,<br />
combined to boost photosynthesis and<br />
rooting, setting up the crop to produce<br />
▲
Planning a bumper crop<br />
Which aspects of crop<br />
nutrition do you<br />
intend to look closer<br />
at for spring 2016?<br />
What advice or information<br />
source is most likely to<br />
influence your approach to<br />
crop nutrition?<br />
Where do you see the<br />
most significant<br />
advances in crop<br />
production coming<br />
in the next year?<br />
Have you adjusted the<br />
proportion of N applied<br />
early to winter barley,<br />
and if so, by how<br />
much?<br />
Soil analysis for<br />
phosphate/potash<br />
Soil nitrogen<br />
measurement<br />
Nitrogen product type<br />
Nitrogen timings<br />
Sulphur product type<br />
Yes<br />
No<br />
Not applicable<br />
Sulphur timings<br />
None<br />
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%<br />
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%<br />
10% 25% 50%<br />
the high biomass hence high yields.”<br />
Rainfall and sunlight can’t be controlled,<br />
but they can be monitored, and then other<br />
aspects can be tailored more closely for<br />
those aiming for a bumper harvest in<br />
2016. Over 90% of growers responding to<br />
the survey said soil analysis for P&K would<br />
be a key aspect they’d be looking at<br />
(see charts left).<br />
While <strong>this</strong> is important, David Beck’s<br />
concerned that less than half of growers<br />
feel soil nitrogen measurement warrants<br />
attention. “I’m surprised that growers put<br />
nitrogen timings as more important than<br />
finding out what’s left in the soil. A high<br />
yield means the crop will have drawn on<br />
soil nitrogen reserves, so it’s worth taking<br />
some N Min samples to gauge what’s left<br />
as well as looking at timings.”<br />
For almost 80% of growers, it’ll be either<br />
the farm agronomist or their own<br />
experience that will be the main influence<br />
on the nutrition approach in spring 2016.<br />
But David Beck notes there are other<br />
avenues worth exploring.<br />
“There can be a tendency simply to<br />
do the same thing, but a manufacturer<br />
website can be a good place to start to<br />
explore other avenues. So far only 70%<br />
of growers have bought some of their<br />
requirements for 2016, so the market’s a<br />
little way behind where it usually is. That<br />
means there’s plenty more product to<br />
bring onto farm, and that’s where you can<br />
open out your purchasing decisions.”<br />
CF Fertilisers agronomist Allison Grundy<br />
agrees that 2016 could be the ideal year<br />
to do something different. “One thing to<br />
try for instance is to make a sulphur<br />
application with every N application, rather<br />
than applying in one dressing –– Single<br />
Top (27N 12SO 3 ), for instance, allows that<br />
flexibility. With N/S compounds currently<br />
priced at parity with Nitram, it’s a very<br />
simple way to improve your system.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> the longer term, she tends to agree<br />
with growers that soil and cultivation<br />
methods are where the most significant<br />
advances in crop production may lie<br />
(see chart left). “We don’t give soil the<br />
attention it deserves, on average only 60%<br />
of applied N is recovered by the crop ––<br />
meaning 40% of your fertiliser investment<br />
is being recycled in thesoil system.<br />
“But getting it right means getting<br />
everything right (see panel on p43)<br />
–– monitoring not only your soils, but<br />
your crop and ensuring all planets are<br />
in alignment and all marginal gains are<br />
explored. If we can exploit the genetic<br />
potential of current varieties by developing<br />
the agronomy and adapting to seasonal<br />
conditions, we have a good chance of<br />
achieving those higher yields.” ■<br />
▲<br />
44 crop production magazine december 2015
Profits under pressure as markets remain depressed<br />
CropTec was a chance for growers to catch up with experts on the state of the industry.<br />
Two good years for global crop production and<br />
comfortable world stocks will keep commodity<br />
markets in the doldrums, but prepare for<br />
volatile times ahead. That was the message<br />
from Sebastian Mallet, market analyst with<br />
ODA, at a BASF breakfast meeting at CropTec<br />
last month.<br />
Now in its third year, the event, that<br />
has Adama as its headline sponsor, is believed<br />
to have drawn as many visitors to the East of<br />
England showground at Peterborough as last<br />
year –– around 3000. As well as a series of<br />
seminars and static exhibits, it was a chance<br />
for growers to catch up with experts on the<br />
state of the industry.<br />
Globally the trend on commodity markets<br />
is bearish, reports Sebastian Mallet. “The<br />
world balance sheet was at 30% and now<br />
stands at 30.8%, and there’s a comfortable<br />
supply/demand position. <strong>In</strong> the UK, the<br />
problem is a weak Euro –– European prices are<br />
currently the lowest in the world, but a relatively<br />
strong sterling keeps the UK as net importers,<br />
depressing prices.”<br />
Many of the exhibits at CropTec offered visitors<br />
the opportunity to find out about new arable<br />
technology.<br />
His advice to wheat growers is to sit tight for<br />
the time being. “The wheat market is on carry<br />
–– it’ll pay to store. But the oilseed market is in<br />
backwardation. Prices are already lower than<br />
they were at harvest and there’s no storage<br />
value for the 2015 crop.<br />
“But speculators are already looking at<br />
next year’s crop –– many traders are short<br />
on the market and are looking to recover their<br />
positions, which may drive prices up. Whatever<br />
happens, expect volatility.”<br />
There are five global production areas, he<br />
explains, North and South America, the Black<br />
Sea, Europe and Australia. A 1% drop in<br />
production in these countries represents<br />
a 5% drop in exports.<br />
“The US exports less wheat than Europe and<br />
the Black Sea, so it’s not such a big player. But<br />
Ukraine, that normally produces 25M tonnes<br />
and exports 13M tonnes, is currently looking<br />
at a 2016 crop that could be as low as<br />
15M tonnes.”<br />
Wheat has a strong ability to recover in<br />
Ukraine, he cautions, but the politics currently<br />
being played out in the crude oil markets adds<br />
further uncertainty. “Oil prices are fundamental<br />
to crop-market stability.”<br />
Current low wheat prices have seen<br />
profitability slide in the arable sector, warns<br />
George Cook of Andersons. “With on-farm<br />
margins gradually being eroded, a change of<br />
mindset is needed,” he states.<br />
Andersons’ Loam Farm model, with 600ha<br />
of combinable crops, faces a net loss before<br />
subsidy of £62/ha in 2015 and <strong>this</strong> will<br />
deepen to £107/ha in 2016, he reports.<br />
“The classic mantra is to spread costs over<br />
a bigger area, but a reduction of unit cost<br />
would be a considerable challenge for most<br />
arable businesses, especially with land of<br />
questionable quality coming on the market<br />
and rental value high.”<br />
Taking on an extra 200ha would increase<br />
Loam Farm’s loss for 2016 to £131/ha, he<br />
predicts. <strong>In</strong>stead, he advocates a move towards<br />
more spring cropping, with overall reductions<br />
in input costs. Larger tractor should be traded<br />
out for smaller models and the dedicated<br />
telehandler should go, resulting in a net<br />
projected loss of £108/ha.<br />
“The changes won’t increase margins,<br />
but they’ll ease management and make the<br />
farm less dependent on autumn cropping and<br />
in-crop chemistry –– that’s a business that’s<br />
sustainable and better equipped to profit from<br />
any market upturns that may occur,” concludes<br />
George Cook.<br />
George Cook advises arable businesses to seek<br />
a more sustainable system.<br />
crop production magazine december 2015 45
New tech draws the crowds<br />
LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
A drop in machinery sales<br />
across Europe didn’t dampen<br />
the enthusiasm of the<br />
450,000 visitors to<br />
Agritechnica, held in<br />
Hanover last month. <strong>In</strong><br />
the first of three special<br />
reports, CPM casts its<br />
eye over the highlights likely<br />
to also be on show in the<br />
UK at LAMMA in Jan.<br />
By Mick Roberts<br />
While sprayer sales declined in 2015, the<br />
good news for manufacturers, according<br />
to CEMA, the European trade organisation,<br />
is it’s likely to be the only product group<br />
expected to rise next year.<br />
Whether by luck or design, or probably<br />
a bit of both, sprayer makers have been<br />
gearing up to meet <strong>this</strong> demand, with a<br />
huge array of significant new machines on<br />
46 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
show at Agritechnica. Most, from well<br />
known multi-national companies, will be<br />
making their way across the channel.<br />
While not all are predicted to make it<br />
here in time for the LAMMA show in Jan,<br />
most will arrive some time in 2016.<br />
Potential buyers can expect to see<br />
completely new trailed and self-propelled<br />
machines joining some manufacturer’s<br />
ranges for the first time.<br />
At the same time, Agritechnica provided<br />
a fascinating look into the near and further<br />
future with some interesting technology<br />
and controls being shown for the first time.<br />
Challenger used Agritechnica for its first<br />
foray into the competitive trailed sector<br />
with the launch of two new models –– the<br />
RG333 and RG344, offering tank capacities<br />
of 3300 and 4400 litres, respectively.<br />
Both are offered with 24m to 30m wide<br />
aluminium booms. Air-operated quin<br />
nozzles are fitted as standard, allowing for<br />
auto-control of up to 30 sections. Spraying<br />
pressure is generated by a 785 l/min<br />
centrifugal pump.<br />
The new RoGator 300 Series inherits<br />
many of the features from the RoGator 600<br />
self-propelled machines. <strong>In</strong>deed,<br />
“<br />
The integration<br />
of smart phone apps to<br />
monitor and also operate<br />
machine functions<br />
continues. ”<br />
Challenger says, about two thirds of the<br />
technology is the same including the<br />
boom and suspension, centre frame,<br />
boom lift arm, plumbing and induction<br />
hopper.<br />
These components are now incorporated<br />
onto a new single-beam chassis. The narrow<br />
design allows the same 35° steering angle<br />
as the self-propelled to be maintained on the<br />
50km/h-rated axle. This provides a 7.6m<br />
radius of turning, as well as manual track<br />
width adjustments between 1.5-2.25m.<br />
A few years ago Horsch Leeb also<br />
transferred technology from its self-propelled<br />
to its first top-end trailed Leeb GS sprayer<br />
and now, with the launch of its LT range, it<br />
takes aim at the more mainstream market.<br />
The most notable difference is a new<br />
sculpted plastic 4000 or 5000 litre tank in<br />
place of the stainless steel version used<br />
on the GS models. The high Horsch Leeb<br />
specification is still available, but offered<br />
▲
LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
Challenger’s first ever trailed sprayers, the RG<br />
300 Series have similar technology to the<br />
self-propelled machines.<br />
as options to reduce starting price.<br />
The entry-level Eco model has manually<br />
operated valves for both the suction and<br />
pressure sides. For those looking for more<br />
sophistication, the mid-spec models offer<br />
automatic tank rinsing with the Continuous<br />
Cleaning System (CCS), while the Pro<br />
version comes with electronic valve control<br />
similar to that on the GS models.<br />
All models in the new LT Series are<br />
available with 18m to 42m wide booms<br />
and Boom Control, which won a Silver<br />
Medal at the previous Agritechnica, is<br />
standard. This active system allows the<br />
boom to travel at high speeds at less than<br />
30cm above the crop.<br />
A piston diaphragm pump is driven by<br />
▲<br />
an on-board load-sensing hydraulic<br />
system and the machine is controlled by<br />
the firm’s own ISOBUS terminal or via a<br />
compatible system.<br />
Horsch Leeb won a Silver Medal at<br />
<strong>this</strong> year’s Agritechnica for its novel<br />
BoomSight system, which uses a special<br />
laser scanner mounted on the cab to scan<br />
up to 15m in front of and across the whole<br />
boom width.<br />
Detect gaps<br />
This allows the system to help maintain<br />
boom height more accurately and, for<br />
example, detect gaps in crops that could<br />
result in the boom diving into the rest of<br />
crop. Conversely it can ‘see’ obstacles<br />
coming up and raise the boom to clear<br />
them. If the obstruction is too high to<br />
be cleared, it sends a warning to the<br />
operator.<br />
Kuhn continues to update the sprayer<br />
range it acquired when it bought<br />
Blanchard in 2008. The latest Lexis 3000<br />
model, which made its debut at<br />
Agritechnica, is aimed squarely the<br />
popular 3000-litre capacity trailed sector.<br />
It’ll eventually replace the Atlantis<br />
models, but currently it’s available only<br />
in entry-level specification with a 3000-litre<br />
polyethylene tank and 24m wide aluminium,<br />
hydraulically folding boom, although wider<br />
units are on the way. A steering drawbar,<br />
to replace the ‘headland assistance’ is<br />
also coming in the future.<br />
The Lexis 3000 comes with a choice of<br />
three control systems which start with the<br />
fully manual Manuset, which provides two<br />
rotary valves. Diluset has a manual spray<br />
control valve but electronic control for<br />
auto-fill, plus the ability to control the<br />
cleaning sequence with buttons in<br />
the cab.<br />
E-Set delivers fully automatic control<br />
of both valves, providing auto-filling and<br />
automatic control of the whole rinsing<br />
cycle. There’s also the option of the new<br />
Horsch Leeb’s new LT sprayers extend its range<br />
of trailed machines into the mainstream.<br />
48 crop production magazine december 2015
BoomSight won Horsch Leeb a Silver Medal for<br />
its ability to scan up to 15m ahead of the boom.<br />
7in colour-screen VisioReb terminal, which<br />
provides full set-up, control and monitoring<br />
as well as auto-section control.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the face of the onslaught in the<br />
trailed market, Vicon is hitting back with<br />
the launch of its completely new iXdrive<br />
self-propelled sprayer.<br />
Available with either a 4000 or 5000-litre<br />
tank, the iXdrive effectively merges spraying<br />
technology from its trailed iXtrack machines<br />
onto a skid unit supplied by Italian maker,<br />
Mazzotti.<br />
This is offered with three different<br />
ground clearance and track width options<br />
– 1.3m clearance, providing widths from<br />
1.8m to 2.25m, or 1.5m and 1.7m<br />
clearance models, both with a 2.25m to<br />
2.95m track widths. Four-wheel steer is<br />
standard, while disc brakes are an option.<br />
Powered by 240hp Perkins engine,<br />
the machine has a Sauer hydrostatic<br />
transmission pump with Poclain motors<br />
on each wheel. There’s a choice of HSA<br />
aluminium booms or steel, HSS boom ––<br />
both with the iXflow sprayer line recirculation<br />
and pneumatic nozzle control.<br />
Carbon-fibre boom<br />
John Deere introduced a new<br />
carbon-fibre boom on its new 5000-litre<br />
capacity R4050i self-propelled sprayer.<br />
While the boom, in 36-40m widths, is<br />
standard on the R4050i, carbon-fibre<br />
booms will become options on other<br />
models, but they’re not expected to be in<br />
Europe for two years, following extensive<br />
testing.<br />
Carbon fibre, explains John Deere, isn’t<br />
only lighter and stronger than steel and<br />
aluminium, it doesn’t suffer from ‘fatigue’.<br />
The material is now much cheaper to<br />
produce, which makes it a practical<br />
alternative to steel. John Deere is still<br />
developing folding systems, mountings for<br />
nozzles, hydraulics and spraylines as well<br />
as nozzle protection. The centre frame is<br />
also likely to see changes, because the<br />
boom is about 1t lighter than its steel<br />
counterpart.<br />
Removing weight from the back of the<br />
machine, adds John Deere, improves the<br />
weight distribution, which also reduces<br />
compaction. But, even with the new<br />
boom, <strong>this</strong> is largest tank that can be<br />
accommodated on the existing vehicle<br />
chassis.<br />
John Deere won a Gold Medal at the<br />
show for its PAM –– Pesticide Application<br />
Manager system. Developed in conjunction<br />
with partners, including BASF, the system<br />
helps operators protect watercourses and<br />
other important areas and comply with buffer<br />
zone restrictions.<br />
Using PAM, operators can create field<br />
Kuhn ise xtending its trailed range with the new<br />
entry-level Lexis 3000.<br />
▲
LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
The carbon-fibre boom on the new John Deere<br />
R4050i self-propelled is 1t lighter than the steel<br />
equivalent.<br />
and product-specific application maps,<br />
which include any necessary buffer zones<br />
etc. The software then refers to databases<br />
containing the relevant restrictions to<br />
create a map for each product or field.<br />
Using a reader on a smart phone the<br />
operator can also scan the product bar<br />
code to not only check it’s the correct<br />
chemical, but also download a suggested<br />
filling order if it’s being used in a tank mix.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the field, provided the sprayer is<br />
equipped with GPS and section control,<br />
the controller refers to the instructions<br />
on the application map to automate the<br />
application. It also produces an as applied<br />
map for record keeping.<br />
▲<br />
Hardi has expanded its Alpha Evo<br />
range with the addition of a 5000-litre<br />
capacity model with new sliding hydraulic<br />
track width adjustment and pneumatic<br />
suspension.<br />
Track widths<br />
The sprayer has two half axles that are<br />
mounted parallel to each other on the front<br />
and rear. These can telescope in and out<br />
across a distance of 1m to offer track<br />
widths from 1.8m to 2.8m, which are<br />
adjustable from the cab.<br />
Hardi’s new suspension is similar to the<br />
existing system, but now uses a large air<br />
bag in place of the previous coil spring<br />
on the rear axle. Up front independent<br />
pneumatic suspension allows each wheel<br />
to move up and down individually.<br />
The sprayer is powered by a 245hp<br />
Deutz engine and has a hydrostatic<br />
transmission that employs two Sauer<br />
pumps that drive individual Poclain<br />
wheel motors. A top speed of 40km/h<br />
is achieved at reduced engine speeds.<br />
The integration of smart phone apps to<br />
monitor and, more recently, also operate<br />
machine functions continues with Agrifac<br />
ElectronicPlus, which communicates with<br />
the firm’s EcoTronicPlus terminal. Users<br />
A new app from Agrifac allows operators to use<br />
their smart phones to operate functions such as<br />
turning pumps and sections on or off.<br />
must first couple the devices by scanning<br />
a unique QR code on the terminal.<br />
Then, via the app, <strong>this</strong> turns the phone<br />
into a remote controller allowing operators<br />
to turn pumps on/off and even start and<br />
stop the boom sections to, for example,<br />
check for blocked nozzles. On machines<br />
equipped with individual nozzle control<br />
it’ll also turn these on/off. The app also<br />
contains the operator’s manual and other<br />
useful information.<br />
A new front and rear demount sprayer<br />
developed by Landquip specifically for the<br />
new JCB 4000 Fastrac made its debut in<br />
the tractor maker’s livery at Agritechnica.<br />
The design of the new rear demount<br />
enables Landquip to fit its Alu-light tri-fold<br />
▲
The latest Hardi Alpha has new adjustable track<br />
widths from 1.8m to 2.8m, along with a new<br />
pneumatic suspension system.<br />
boom for the first time in widths up to<br />
36m. Other widths include 30m, 32m and<br />
34m –– all of which can also operate at<br />
24m. These are fitted to a close-coupled<br />
high lift mast providing working heights of<br />
0.5m to 2.4m.<br />
The rear 2500-litre capacity demount<br />
tank, together with a 1900-litre front tank<br />
provides up to 4400-litre capacity. With<br />
wider booms mounted to the new Fastrac<br />
4000 the combination, says the firm,<br />
provides a versatile high capacity, high<br />
road-speed sprayer for those looking to<br />
increase output without moving to a<br />
self-propelled.<br />
Electronic control includes individual<br />
▲<br />
nozzle section switching using Landquip’s<br />
Poziflow continuous recirculation,<br />
auto-section control, variable rate fertiliser<br />
applications as well as guidance.<br />
Landquip also offers the option of Seletron<br />
twin or quad spray quality control, which<br />
automatically selects the most appropriate<br />
nozzle to apply at the optimum pressure.<br />
While disposing of washings in biobeds<br />
and by evaporation isn’t new, a modular<br />
system that combines the two looks like a<br />
practical new idea.<br />
Phytobac, developed by Beutech-Agro<br />
in conjunction with Bayer, is a totally<br />
enclosed system that runs automatically.<br />
Biological conditions<br />
The relatively simple set-up uses an<br />
impermeable container to hold a substrate<br />
mix of 70% soil and 30% straw to provide<br />
the biological conditions to break down<br />
chemicals –– as they would in the fields.<br />
Nothing comes out because the waste<br />
degrades into basic elements or<br />
compounds, such as nitrogen, oxygen,<br />
carbon dioxide and water.<br />
Washings are irrigated over the<br />
substrate surface through an array of<br />
nozzles and dribble hoses. The liquid flow<br />
is regulated by a moisture sensor, via the<br />
controller, which starts or stops the pump<br />
in the buffer tank to maintain optimum<br />
conditions for the soil micro-organisms to<br />
break down the chemicals.<br />
Clear plastic roofing sheets cover the<br />
Phytobac to protect it from rainwater as<br />
well as enhancing the evaporation of the<br />
clean water produced. Air flowing under<br />
the roof also helps to move away the<br />
moist air.<br />
One Phytobac will handle about 2500<br />
litres of effluent in a year. Those needing<br />
to process higher volumes simply need to<br />
add more modules to suit the capacity. ■<br />
The modular Phytobac system runs automatically<br />
and processes sprayer washings through a<br />
soil/straw bed.
Smart thinking on drills<br />
and combines<br />
LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
“<br />
Nothing about<br />
the Seagull is<br />
conventional. ”<br />
Seeding technology has<br />
come on in leaps and<br />
bounds recently, while<br />
there’s a totally new<br />
approach on the cards<br />
for combine headers.<br />
CPM reports.<br />
By Nick Fone<br />
What’s on show at Agritechnica one year<br />
is generally a good indicator of what’ll be<br />
appearing on farms in the next two to<br />
three years. And in the drill department<br />
ultra-sophisticated technology certainly<br />
seems to be the way things are going.<br />
Great Plains has been developing some<br />
clever new seedbed fertiliser application<br />
technology in the US for a number of years<br />
and is now bringing it to Europe. Designed<br />
principally for row crops such as maize,<br />
sunflowers and possibly sugar-beet, the<br />
AccuShot system applies a measured dose<br />
of liquid following each seed dropped in the<br />
drill row.<br />
Sensors on the precision planter’s seed<br />
outlets are triggered each time a grain<br />
passes. The system them calculates the<br />
required delay and fires a solenoid valve<br />
54 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
to release a predefined shot of liquid down<br />
the fertiliser line. Positioned in line with the<br />
coulter outlet, in the shadow of the opener<br />
disc, the fertiliser nozzle incorporates a<br />
check valve that’s only triggered to open<br />
when the pressure of liquid in the line pulses<br />
as the solenoid fires. Critically <strong>this</strong> means<br />
dust blockages are minimized, according<br />
to the firm.<br />
Blanket applied<br />
The key advantages of <strong>this</strong> approach are<br />
that fertiliser doesn’t have to be blanket<br />
applied and by targeting it with the seed<br />
there are significant savings to be had. <strong>In</strong><br />
addition, because it’s placed so precisely<br />
alongside the seed, scorching is apparently<br />
no longer an <strong>issue</strong> for the young plants.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the main it’s P&K that are used<br />
although the actual makeup of the liquid<br />
can be varied to include a small amount of<br />
nitrogen and micro-nutrients. Two units will<br />
go under evaluation in Europe next spring so<br />
pricing isn’t yet confirmed. All Great Plains<br />
would say was that the payback period<br />
for the system would be approximately<br />
two years based on the potential fertiliser<br />
savings.<br />
Väderstad had a number of high tech<br />
options for its drills it its stand. First up was a<br />
system to automatically adjust the depth of<br />
the leading cultivations elements, primarily<br />
the Crossboard levelling paddles. The<br />
system works by monitoring the height of<br />
soil being carried in front of the drill and<br />
then making small tweaks to the depth<br />
control rams.<br />
This ensures no bulldozing occurs but at<br />
the same time makes sure the tines are<br />
doing a decent job of levelling the seedbed.<br />
It’s all controlled via the Swedish firm’s iPad<br />
app which allows the operator to alter the<br />
speed of response and limit the maximum<br />
working depth. Currently it’s a prototype<br />
concept that’ll be evaluated over the<br />
forthcoming season.<br />
Around at the back of the drill it’s metering<br />
and calibration that get the most radical<br />
revamp. Väderstad has worked with<br />
Hungarian firm Digitroll (probably best<br />
known for its blockage sensors) to develop<br />
an advanced system to accurately count<br />
individual seeds as they travel from the<br />
distribution head to the coulters and enable<br />
automatic calibration of the drill.<br />
Dubbed SeedEye, it can deal with up<br />
to 170 seeds per sec and will re-calibrate<br />
the metering system twice a second. The<br />
company says normal manual calibration<br />
generally achieves +/-5% accuracy whereas<br />
the SeedEye runs at between 1-2%. At<br />
€7000 for a 6m drill it might seem expensive<br />
but Väderstad points out that a standard<br />
blockage sensor system will add €5000 to
Collars within each of four distribution heads on<br />
Lemken’s Solitair drills are lifted and lowered by<br />
rams plumbed into the same circuit as the<br />
tramline markers.<br />
The Great Plains AccuShot system applies a<br />
measured dose of liquid following each seed<br />
dropped in the drill row.<br />
the price tag so having auto-calibration only<br />
puts an additional €2000 on the bill, in<br />
effect. (see article on p62 for more on the<br />
Väderstad Rapid).<br />
Although it’s been on offer for a little<br />
while now, Horsch was keen to show off its<br />
Seed Control self-calibration system too.<br />
Ultra-sonic sensors around the distribution<br />
head detect each seed as it heads down<br />
the coulter pipes and send a signal to the<br />
controller which adjusts the metering system<br />
according to the pre-set seed rate/m 2 . The<br />
set-up has been developed in combination<br />
with Muller and costs approximately £4000<br />
for a 3m machine.<br />
If you’re keen on getting ultra-precise<br />
however, the German company suggests<br />
you might also want to take a look at its seed<br />
singulation system. Fitted at the end of each<br />
coulter tube over the seed outlet, enclosed<br />
plastic metering wheels separate individual<br />
seeds to ensure they drop one at a time into<br />
the drill row.<br />
Capable of running at working speeds<br />
of up to 14km/h, Horsch says the system<br />
can have a significant impact on yields,<br />
particularly in crops that are stressed by<br />
drought, flooding etc. <strong>In</strong> such situations,<br />
harvested tonnages have apparently been<br />
shown to increase by up to 10%. This is put<br />
simply down to the improved accuracy in<br />
seed spacing and the subsequent reduction<br />
in plant-to-plant competition.<br />
Lemken had its brand new 6m Solitair<br />
25 drill taking pride of place on its stand.<br />
Available in semi-mounted or trailed<br />
formats, it has a goose-neck drawbar with<br />
under-slung coupling that allows tined or<br />
disc cultivators to be carried ahead of the<br />
seeder elements.<br />
As before, four metering units feed four<br />
individual distribution heads spaced evenly<br />
along the drill’s coulter toolbar. However the<br />
metering units themselves have changed<br />
from fluted rollers to a clever conical set-up<br />
with adjustable vanes that can be extended<br />
or retracted depending on seed size. This<br />
does away with the need to switch rollers<br />
when changing crops. The distribution<br />
heads have also been altered to simplify<br />
tramline shut-offs. A simple collar system lifts<br />
up and down within each dome on the same<br />
hydraulic circuit as the marker arms to blank<br />
off the appropriate coulter pipes.<br />
Lemken also has its own auto-calibration<br />
system which works in a very different way<br />
to both Horsch’s and Väderstad’s. Seed<br />
comes out of the metering units into a venturi<br />
and is then diverted up a separate pipe to<br />
drop into a weigh cell. The drill controller<br />
▲<br />
crop production magazine december 2015<br />
55
LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
Now optional on Horsch drills, individual seed<br />
singulation units fitted to the end of the delivery<br />
pipes mean the accuracy of seed placement is<br />
no longer random.<br />
assesses the amount delivered and then<br />
automatically adjusts rates.<br />
A relative newcomer to the UK, Italian<br />
▲<br />
firm MaterMacc also adopts the split<br />
metering-unit approach. By using four<br />
mechanically-driven rollers feeding separate<br />
distribution heads, each serving a quarter of<br />
the drill width, it says coulter pipe lengths<br />
can be kept the same, resulting in much<br />
more even air-flows and therefore more<br />
uniform delivery of seed.<br />
The MSD 2.0 comes in 4m and 6m<br />
working widths (we’re told an 8m is in<br />
development) and is described as a min-till<br />
drill with the ability to work into ploughed<br />
ground so long as it’s level and flat.<br />
Single-disc, double-disc and Suffolk coulters<br />
are all on the options list, followed by<br />
individual press wheels. MaterMacc uses its<br />
own in-house developed control boxes and<br />
Recently bought out by John Deere, French firm<br />
Monosem had an electrically driven precision<br />
planter on display on its stand.<br />
CX-series combines get a refresh<br />
There was just one piece of major news in the<br />
combine front –– the announcement of a<br />
refresh of New Holland’s CX-series five and<br />
six-walker machines. The company is making<br />
some pretty bold claims for the new flagship in<br />
the range claiming it’s now the highest capacity<br />
conventional straw-walker combine in the world.<br />
Coming back down to earth, the major<br />
changes come from an operator’s perspective.<br />
Most obviously, CXs now get the same cab as<br />
the firm’s latest rotary CR-series combines.<br />
It’s bigger inside and is reckoned to have a<br />
much improved layout with a revised colour<br />
touchscreen that can be positioned in various<br />
locations around the armrest. The joystick<br />
no longer runs forwards and back in a slot,<br />
instead acting more like the controls on<br />
New Holland’s AutoCommand CVT tractors<br />
–– the harder you push the stick forward,<br />
the faster the combine will accelerate.<br />
Down in the guts of the machine, sectional<br />
concaves can now be slipped out through<br />
the stone-trap and there’s variable-speed<br />
straw-walker drive called Optispeed. This<br />
automatically ups the pace of the walkers when<br />
the machine starts to head downhill and hauls it<br />
back when travelling up a gradient.<br />
The company says the key reason for<br />
introducing <strong>this</strong> system is that typically the<br />
walkers are run too fast in a move to avoid any<br />
chance of blockages. However <strong>this</strong> can result in<br />
straw travelling too rapidly out the back of the<br />
machine, carrying some grain with it. Varying it<br />
automatically does away with <strong>this</strong> <strong>issue</strong>, it says.<br />
To further deal with crops on banks and<br />
slopes, New Holland has a variable-speed fan<br />
and self-levelling cleaning shoe, although we<br />
gather it’s working on a full body levelling option.<br />
New Holland’s CX-series combines get a new<br />
cab, controls and automatically adjusting variable<br />
speed straw walkers.<br />
The line-up remains much the same as before<br />
with the addition of one new model –– the CX<br />
8.85. Unlike the range-topping 8.90 which uses<br />
a 10-litre FPT engine to generate up to 490hp,<br />
it brings in a 9-litre power plant capable of<br />
pumping out a maximum of 449hp. This is<br />
said to have a major impact of fuel use without<br />
impacting significantly on output.
is currently working on a GPS-controlled unit<br />
capable of variable rate drilling. The 6m<br />
mounted machine apparently needs just<br />
120hp to pull it and costs in the region of<br />
€38,000.<br />
On the precision-drilling front, following<br />
its recent acquisition by John Deere,<br />
Monosem had its first electrically driven<br />
planter on display. Called the Meca V4E it<br />
uses individual electric motors driving<br />
through rubber belts to power each metering<br />
unit. The key advantage of adopting <strong>this</strong><br />
approach is said to be greater accuracy in<br />
seed placement –– slippage through<br />
ground-wheel driven metering is eliminated<br />
resulting in a uniform in-row spacing and a<br />
precise number of seeds per ha.<br />
For tramlines, with individual units shut off<br />
for sprayer wheelings, seed rates in the rows<br />
either side can be automatically increased to<br />
make the most of the available light and<br />
nutrients made available by the unplanted<br />
strips. More critically, with it now possible to<br />
switch separate units on and off at will, GPS<br />
Header innovations show way forward<br />
control makes auto sectioning possible on<br />
the headlands, eliminating overlaps and<br />
drill misses.<br />
The electrical requirement is said to be<br />
relatively light –– 50Amps per unit –– with the<br />
implement taking its power direct from the<br />
tractor battery. Pneumatic versions employ<br />
a pto or hydraulically powered generator.<br />
Prices aren’t yet finalized but the French firm<br />
says the electrically powered Meca is likely<br />
to cost €1000 more per row than standard<br />
versions. ■<br />
While news might have been fairly thin on the<br />
ground in the harvester department, there<br />
were plenty of developments from specialist<br />
header makers.<br />
Perhaps the most striking was a folding<br />
telescopic header concept from Italian tech<br />
start-up STW. Dubbed the Seagull because of<br />
its wingspan, its main frame is divided into<br />
three segments. This allows the bed sections<br />
of the outer two to fold up and over the centre<br />
for transport.<br />
But of course there’s still the reel to deal<br />
with. Its central spindle is made up of telescopic<br />
box-section so that it can concertina down<br />
to a 3.2m road width. <strong>In</strong> a move to limit<br />
protuberances at the extremities, reel drive<br />
comes from a pair of chains and sprockets<br />
at the centre.<br />
Nothing about the Seagull is conventional.<br />
The cutterbar bed sections are split down into<br />
free-floating modules supported on skids to<br />
track ground contours. Each is driven by its<br />
own hydraulic motor. And, rather than an<br />
auger to draw crop to the centre (making a<br />
telecopic version would be some challenge), a<br />
chain-and-slat system is used.<br />
Currently the Seagull is very much a design<br />
concept but full-scale prototype units will go<br />
into production for field evaluation next year.<br />
Taking centre stage in Canada’s exhibition<br />
area was the Honeybee AirFlex header. Available<br />
in working widths from 7.6-15.2m, the unit’s<br />
unique feature is a flexible contour-following<br />
knife cushioned by air-suspension. With support<br />
arms cantilevered on truck-type air-bags from<br />
the header back-board, the cutterbar has up to<br />
23cm of flex, allowing it to scoop up laid crops<br />
on the most undulating terrain.<br />
Sourced from Schumacher, the knife is split<br />
in the centre into left and right sections with<br />
drive coming up through the bed via cams<br />
and pitman arms to power the knives from<br />
the middle. <strong>In</strong> the style of other Draper-type<br />
headers, rubber belts draw the crop inwards to<br />
the intake elevator. Fitted with integrated Zurn<br />
side-knives and an in-built air-compressor, a 9m<br />
version costs approximately €85,000.<br />
John Deere subsidiary Zurn was showing off<br />
an electrically driven header that it’s developed<br />
in collaboration with the University of Dresden<br />
and knife supplier Schumacher. By replacing<br />
belts, pulleys, chains and sprockets with<br />
individual electric motors for auger, knife, reel<br />
and belt drives, the whole driveline becomes less<br />
mechanically complex but more importantly it<br />
allows independent adjustment of all the various<br />
elements, according to the firm.<br />
That means knife speed can be varied<br />
separately to the table auger and, with each of<br />
the adapted Premium Flow table’s rubber belts<br />
powered by its own motor, it’s now possible to<br />
reverse them or speed them up independently to<br />
clear blockages and maintain even crop flow.<br />
But it’s cleverer than that –– every motor<br />
incorporates sensors which can be used to monitor<br />
torque loading. Zurn says it’s now working with<br />
its partners on software and a controller that<br />
can process that information and use it to<br />
automatically adjust all the other parameters<br />
to ensure the header is being used to the max.<br />
A further development from the University of<br />
Dresden came in the form of an intriguing-looking<br />
harvester design-study model. Tagged as<br />
‘Combine Concept 2025’, the initial brief was to<br />
work up an idea of how harvesters of the future<br />
might look and operate. It has two cabs –– one<br />
front and rear –– three axles to spread the weight<br />
and a monster folding cutterbar.<br />
Clearly the students involved know a little<br />
about the hassles of hitching and un-hitching<br />
headers so they went for the radical option of a<br />
folding 18m table. Once swung round into its<br />
transport position on its castor support wheels,<br />
the driver then jumps down from his normal<br />
harvesting position, lowers the rearward-facing<br />
cabin down from up over the straw hood and<br />
climbs in ready for the road. With the whole rig<br />
running in reverse, the folded header effectively<br />
becomes a free-swinging trailed implement,<br />
9m long.<br />
Built in Canada, the Honeybee AirFlex header has<br />
a flexible contour-hugging cutterbar supported by<br />
truck-type air-bag suspension.<br />
All the mechanical drives on Zurn’s iFlow header<br />
have been replaced by individual electric motors<br />
allowing all the different elements to be<br />
controlled<br />
The Dresden University concept has two cabs<br />
– front and rear – and travels in reverse on<br />
the road.<br />
Although it might not appear in production<br />
in exactly <strong>this</strong> form, the university says often<br />
individual ideas are taken from projects such as<br />
these and integrated into commercial production<br />
machines. Watch <strong>this</strong> space…<br />
crop production magazine december 2015 57
Cultivators rise<br />
to challenge of<br />
fresh thinking<br />
adjusted when working depth is altered.<br />
This new semi-mounted Karat 12 is<br />
available in working widths from 4-7m.<br />
The company has also completed its<br />
trial phase for the world’s largest compact<br />
harrow, the Gigant Heliodor, which has a<br />
working width of 16m and the capability of<br />
cultivating an impressive 25ha/hr.<br />
This is achieved by teaming up the<br />
Heliodor 9 with the Gigant 12 system<br />
carrier. Two 4m sections are attached to<br />
the tractor via the two three-point linkages<br />
of the Gigant system in two 8m widths.<br />
LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
From supersized cultivators<br />
to ingenious tools that<br />
measure soil strength on the<br />
go, Agritechnica ensured soil<br />
engagement was a hot topic.<br />
CPM reports.<br />
By Emily Padfield<br />
You’d have thought that we’ve now<br />
seen every permutation of the humble<br />
cultivator, but German manufacturer<br />
Lemken used its stand at Agritechnica<br />
to show that’s not the case.<br />
It’s launched the Karat 12, which now<br />
features four rows of tines. There’s a<br />
distance between the rows of 23cm and it’s<br />
designed for both shallow and deep tillage<br />
up to 30cm in depth. With eight different<br />
share types and Lemken’s quick-change<br />
system, the machine can be quickly<br />
tailored to suit different conditions.<br />
There’s an underframe clearance of<br />
80cm and interbody gap of 90cm, meaning<br />
high levels of trash can be tackled, while<br />
both concave discs and trailing roller are<br />
a single unit so discs don’t have to be<br />
Folding sections<br />
With a disc diameter of 510mm and a<br />
maximum working depth of 14cm, the<br />
Heliodor 9 alongside the Gigant 12 S<br />
system carrier can be folded to 3.5m<br />
transport width and 4m height (watch<br />
out for bridges) and is shod with 800mm<br />
wide tyres.<br />
Väderstad won a silver medal at<br />
Agritechnica for its automatic crossboard,<br />
which it says delivers a more level field<br />
with reduced fuel and power use. The<br />
innovation involves a small skid, which<br />
constantly measures the height of the soil<br />
wall. This skid is fitted with a gyroscope<br />
that senses the angle of the crossboard,<br />
and <strong>this</strong> data is then used to maintain the<br />
optimum angle. The system will be rolled<br />
out to other features in the range but will<br />
be available first in <strong>this</strong> guise and will be<br />
controlled via E-Control.<br />
The Swedish company has also<br />
introduced two new models of its Opus<br />
cultivator. The Opus 400 and 500 feature<br />
the same strong frame as the larger 600<br />
and 700 and have tine spacings of 27cm<br />
and clearance of 80cm. A range of tines<br />
and shims are available, while each tine<br />
has a variable release force of up to<br />
700kg. The Opus can work down to<br />
a depth of 40cm and is fitted with<br />
hydraulically adjustable<br />
levelling units.<br />
Cultivation specialists are falling over<br />
themselves to develop machines that help<br />
farmers create stale seedbeds, often at<br />
“<br />
Cultivation<br />
specialists are falling<br />
over themselves to<br />
develop machines that<br />
help farmers create stale<br />
seedbeds.”<br />
58 crop production magazine december 2015
Lemken launched the Karat 12, designed for both<br />
shallow and deep tillage up to 30cm depth.<br />
speed. The 12m Catros + 12003-2TS<br />
offers just <strong>this</strong>, and can be specced<br />
with an impressive list of features.<br />
If extra penetration is required, the<br />
machine’s two outer sections can be folded<br />
on top to give a 7m working width for<br />
tougher areas like trafficked headlands<br />
for example, says Amazone UK’s Simon<br />
Brown. “As you would expect, all <strong>this</strong><br />
folds to a manageable 3m for transport.”<br />
The four-segment contour frame is fitted<br />
with maintenance-free disc bearings.<br />
The Catros 12003-2TS will be on show at<br />
Lamma after being trialled <strong>this</strong> season on<br />
a farm in Essex.<br />
Mulch cultivator<br />
The company also had a new Cenius<br />
Super mounted mulch-cultivator with<br />
automatic stone-safetyprotection. The<br />
new style overload safety device is now<br />
integrated into the mounted Cenius Super<br />
models in working widths of 3m, 3.5m<br />
and 4m.<br />
On the C-Mix Super tines, the stone<br />
protection is provided via a pressure<br />
spring with a release force of 600kg and a<br />
spring lifting height of 300mm. For bigger<br />
obstacles, which require a lifting height of<br />
more than 300mm, an additional shear<br />
bolt, allowing the tine to move upwards,<br />
provides additional safety.<br />
Also, under heavy soil conditions, the<br />
release force of 600kg maintains the<br />
working depth right down to 30cm.<br />
Claydon showcased its first lowdisturbance<br />
shallow cultivator in Germany.<br />
Designed to complement the company’s<br />
straw harrow, the TerraStar is a simple<br />
low-cost machine that creates a fine tilth<br />
to encourage a weed chit. Weighing just<br />
1750kg with a working width of 6m, the<br />
machine has two knife bars on each side<br />
and uses star-shaped points that cut<br />
divots from the top layer of soil to create<br />
a shallow cultivation pass.<br />
Power requirement is at least 150hp,<br />
for effective operation, and work rates of<br />
9ha/hr are possible. The TerraStar can<br />
also be used as a mechanical weeder<br />
with multiple passes at different depths.<br />
Geoprospectors’ Topsoil Mapper (TSM)<br />
is the first tool for recording extensive soil<br />
If extra penetration is required, the 12m Catros’<br />
two outer sections can be folded on top to give<br />
a 7m working width.<br />
parameters and for variable machine<br />
control in real time, according to the<br />
company which specialises in geophysical<br />
measuring systems for near-surface layers.<br />
The TSM system is mounted on the front<br />
▲<br />
Väderstad has introduced two new models of its<br />
Opus cultivator – the 400 and 500.<br />
crop production magazine december 2015 59
Great Plains to show all-new X-Press range<br />
Those familiar with the X-Press stubble cultivator will<br />
notice some major changes to Great Plains’ latest<br />
generation at Lamma 2016.<br />
The most noticeable difference is the re-designed<br />
chassis. Taken from the SLD cultivator, the new<br />
X-Press range features a more tubular structure<br />
designed to absorb stresses and reduce overall<br />
weight. This curvy new chassis has also been<br />
designed to accommodate more spec options, whilst<br />
still maintaining high levels of trash clearance.<br />
According to UK sales director David Holmes, the<br />
key to the new range lies in its flexibility for farmers<br />
not wanting to be tied into one system. Although the<br />
range was originally designed for primary cultivations,<br />
the X-Press is equally effective as a secondary<br />
cultivator for plough-based systems, he maintains.<br />
Although the new X-press line-up will follow the<br />
previous range when it comes to working widths in<br />
both mounted and trailed guises, the number of<br />
options available has drastically increased, meaning<br />
buyers can really tailor the machine to deliver what<br />
suits their system.<br />
Firstly, the X-Press features several disc-angling<br />
options. While limited disc-angling offers three fixed<br />
disc settings, full disc-angling allows the operator<br />
adjustability up to 25°. This can either be carried out<br />
manually by a turnbuckle system or hydraulically from<br />
the tractor cab.<br />
Depth control is made easy using colour-coded<br />
spacers and delivered by adjusting the rear rollers,<br />
whilst there’s an extensive range of six rollers to<br />
choose from.<br />
There are also a number of disc specifications<br />
available, including notched cultivation and SoilRazor<br />
options, available in 508mm and 560mm diameters.<br />
There are several disc-angling options allowing<br />
adjustability up to 25°, either manually by a<br />
turnbuckle system or hydraulically from the<br />
tractor cab.<br />
SoilRazors are a good option for those needing to<br />
chop through tough crop residues like maize,<br />
explains David Holmes.<br />
“Turbo Coulter discs will also be available. These<br />
are suited to minimal soil disturbance, as fluted<br />
edges enter the soil perpendicular to the ground<br />
giving maximum cutting performance, yet needing<br />
less downward pressure. These are the same discs<br />
fitted on Great Plains’ new Saxon drill and come in<br />
515mm diameter.”<br />
Disc spacings remain at 250mm on both front<br />
and rear gangs (with the exception of models fitted<br />
with Turbo Coulter blades) and there’s a spacing of<br />
125mm between front and rear rows.<br />
All new mounted and trailed X-Press models will<br />
have the option of a levelling board, with the aim of<br />
guiding soil more evenly into the rear roller, creating<br />
a finer tilth, useful when used as a secondary<br />
cultivator in plough-based systems, explains<br />
David Holmes.<br />
Trailed X-Press models have an articulated<br />
headstock design for tighter headland turns, while<br />
the long drawbar also allows for the use of wider<br />
wheel widths and dual wheels.<br />
Mounted units can be specced with an ST Bar<br />
at the front of the machine, turning the X-Press into<br />
a one-pass machine capable of restructuring soil to<br />
a depth of 250mm.<br />
New X-Press models are available in 3m, 3.5m<br />
60 crop production magazine december 2015
LAMMA PREVIEW<br />
The VarioGrip Pro tyre features an inner tyre<br />
integrated into the outer tyre of the rear<br />
wheel, allowing operators to adjust tyre<br />
pressure on the go.<br />
The new X-Press range features a more tubular<br />
structure designed to absorb stresses and reduce<br />
overall weight.<br />
and 4m mounted and 5m, 6m and 7m trailed<br />
versions, while David Holmes adds that the 8m<br />
and 10m models from the existing range will still be<br />
available.<br />
Also shown in Hannover was the Saxon minimal<br />
disturbance drill. <strong>In</strong>itially available in 3m and 4m<br />
working widths, the Saxon features Turbo Coulter<br />
discs designed for minimal disturbance but suited to<br />
high levels of trash. This makes it possible to drill<br />
straight into cover crops after they’ve been sprayed<br />
off, with a reduced risk of grassweed germination.<br />
The 3m drill has 18 rows at 167mm spacings and<br />
24 rows at 125mm spacings, while the larger 4m<br />
version has 24 and 32 rows respectively. Both models<br />
come with the same 3000-litre capacity hopper as<br />
their Centurian cousins, while a<br />
4000-litre hopper is optional for the Saxon 400. The<br />
Saxon drill range will be available in limited numbers<br />
from early next year.<br />
VarioGrip Pro tyre pressure regulation<br />
system at Agritechnica. Developed in<br />
collaboration with Mitas, the system<br />
features an inner tyre integrated into the<br />
outer tyre of the rear wheel, which not only<br />
reduces the net volume of the outer tyre<br />
by 30%, but also serves as a pressure<br />
reservoir for filling the outer tyre.<br />
Continuous monitoring of the pressures<br />
and setting can all be accessed via the<br />
VarioTerminal and the system is available<br />
as an option for the Fendt 900 Vario<br />
with a tyre size of 710/75R42 from<br />
next autumn. ■<br />
of the tractor and records information<br />
on the rooting soil layer with numerous<br />
measurements per second, passing <strong>this</strong><br />
information onto the operator in real time<br />
as either a map or it can be transferred<br />
directly to the tillage machine on the back.<br />
The simple measurement enables growers<br />
to constantly monitor soil long-term and<br />
target tillage appropriately. The TSM uses<br />
customary data and interface standards,<br />
meaning it interacts with pretty much every<br />
tractor and terminal.<br />
Often, operators are faced with the<br />
dilemma of knowing they need to adjust<br />
tyre pressures but not really having the<br />
time to do it. Fendt showcased its<br />
▲<br />
The Topsoil Mapper is the first tool for recording<br />
extensive soil parameters and for variable<br />
machine control in real time.<br />
crop production magazine december 2015<br />
61
Rapid pace for a<br />
‘legendary’ drill<br />
INNOVATION<br />
INSIGHT<br />
Väderstad’s Rapid<br />
pioneered the cultivator-drill<br />
concept and has become<br />
Europe’s most successful<br />
seed drill of all time. CPM<br />
tells the story.<br />
By Tom Allen-Stevens<br />
Crister Stark was 11 when the doors of his<br />
father’s workshop on their small, 30ha<br />
farm near Väderstad in Sweden swung<br />
open one day, to reveal a steel rigid-tine<br />
harrow. “He’d bought the material for it<br />
from a scrapyard,” recalls Crister Stark.<br />
“He was fed up with the traditional<br />
wooden harrows breaking all the time, so<br />
decided to make himself a set of steel<br />
harrows that was made to last.” Neighbouring<br />
farmers soon heard about the harrows and<br />
asked Rune Stark to make a set for them,<br />
and it wasn’t long before Rune Stark’s<br />
Mekaniska Workshop was in business.<br />
62 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
“His vision was to ensure that everything<br />
he made delivered a clear benefit to his<br />
customers. It’s a vision he impressed on me<br />
–– I’ve never wanted to do anything else but<br />
work for the family business and it’s kept me<br />
very motivated.”<br />
Tough patch<br />
But by the early 1990s, farming in Sweden<br />
was going through a tough patch. “There<br />
was a crisis with a fall in currency and it<br />
became expensive for farmers to buy<br />
machinery. There was a need to simplify the<br />
system and make crop establishment more<br />
cost effective,” notes Crister Stark.<br />
The inspiration came from England, where<br />
during the 1980s direct drilling had drawn a<br />
strong following. Väderstad introduced the<br />
DS drill, which featured a single-disc seeder<br />
unit mounted on a frame with rubber<br />
cushioning –– seen as a pioneering<br />
innovation at the time.<br />
But it was in traditionally cultivated fields<br />
that Crister Stark was convinced a greater<br />
opportunity lay. “The cultivations farmers<br />
were doing –– were they for the drill or for<br />
the crop, I asked myself. They were clearly<br />
for the drill. So I set about developing a<br />
machine that would create the right<br />
microclimate for a seed to germinate.”<br />
Not only should the drill ensure the seed<br />
is placed in the ideal conditions, but it<br />
should work in a wide range of seedbeds,<br />
from direct drilling through to a ploughed<br />
field. “We realised there was a need to put<br />
some form of soil preparation at the front of<br />
the drill –– a big step forward was when<br />
we fitted one of the early designs with a<br />
crossboard,” says Crister Stark.<br />
The small team of engineers at Väderstad<br />
worked round the clock to develop the new<br />
system, and eventually there were two new<br />
prototypes to take to farmers –– the<br />
Concorde and the Rapid. The Rapid was<br />
based on the DS drill, while the Concorde<br />
incorporated elements drawn from<br />
Väderstad’s NZ tined cultivator.<br />
Once again it was in England where the<br />
drill took another crucial step forward. It<br />
was summer 1992 and Suffolk farmer and<br />
contractor David Baker was at Cereals on<br />
the lookout for a new type of drill. “I was the
they really were revolutionary. I decided to<br />
go with an 8m Concorde as <strong>this</strong> one would<br />
do more of a cultivation job –– at the time the<br />
Rapid had only the CrossBoard on the front.”<br />
But the first autumn didn’t go well. “The<br />
Concorde maintained a good depth but it<br />
would pull to one side. Crister’s agronomist<br />
came out and suggested we try the Rapid<br />
instead –– they’d moved the design on,<br />
he said.”<br />
So the first Rapid arrived in the following<br />
spring, <strong>this</strong> time with two sets of tines<br />
preceding the single-disc seeders. “It<br />
proved to be the right tool, but there was<br />
a problem with seed delivery. We were<br />
drilling peas at 320kg/ha and the seed<br />
would bridge.”<br />
Crister Stark came out to resolve the <strong>issue</strong><br />
–– pipes and distributor head were stripped<br />
down and the design was refined. Before<br />
The Concorde (pictured) and the Rapid were<br />
the first cultivator drills developed by the<br />
Väderstad engineers.<br />
long the problem was solved. “That was it<br />
–– that was the drill that subsequently<br />
became the legend,” notes David Baker.<br />
That same spring there was a press<br />
event to launch the Rapid A. David Baker<br />
demonstrated the new tool, putting peas<br />
into strong Suffolk soil farmed by the Kerr<br />
▲<br />
“<br />
I came<br />
across the Rapid<br />
and realised I was<br />
looking at a totally<br />
new concept. ”<br />
first farmer in the UK to have a Challenger<br />
tractor and was looking for something for it<br />
to pull,” he recalls.<br />
“I came across the Concorde and the<br />
Rapid on the Väderstad stand and realised<br />
I was looking at a totally new concept ––<br />
Crister Stark (driving tractor) was inspired into<br />
designing farm machinery when his father<br />
developed the first steel harrows in 1962.
The Rapid cultivator-drill concept<br />
The forward speed of the seed drill is measured<br />
by radar (R) and <strong>this</strong> controls the seed rate. With<br />
E-Control, the drill’s Gateway (G) communicates<br />
wirelessly to an iPad in the tractor cab.<br />
G<br />
R<br />
The toolbar at the front cultivates and levels the soil. The intensity can be set hydraulically from<br />
the driving seat on the move. The Rapid has a choice of toolbars:<br />
CrossBoard Heavy is best for cultivated/ploughed surfaces. The row of crossboard tines can<br />
be fitted with bowed points for aggressive cultivation while straight points are more forgiving.<br />
System Agrilla (inset picture) is best on lighter soils, and loosens where the surface is hard.<br />
Two rows of tines level the surface after ploughing and grade fine soil down into the seedbed.<br />
System Disc is the most popular choice. Two rows of 410mm diameter, slightly conical discs<br />
cultivate and slice the surface.<br />
System Disc Aggressive, introduced in 2013, is designed to move and mix large amounts<br />
of soil and crop trash. The disc arms, bearings and 450mm diameter discs come from the<br />
Väderstad Carrier.<br />
The seed coulters slice the soil<br />
to a fine tilth. The seed is placed<br />
at the pre-set depth in moist,<br />
uncultivated soil and then<br />
covered with the fine soil created<br />
by the notched disc edges.<br />
At the rear, each wheel presses the<br />
soil down over two rows of seed. This<br />
beds the seed in, improving conditions<br />
for germination. The following harrow<br />
creates a loose barrier to evaporation<br />
that prevents crusting after heavy rain.
INNOVATION INSIGHT<br />
When Crister Stark demonstrated the new Rapid,<br />
growers were impressed at how much faster it<br />
was than the traditional power-harrow<br />
combination drills they were used to.<br />
The design team learnt early on to protect the<br />
seed coulter with tungsten carbide to prevent<br />
excessive wear.<br />
family. “The field had been ploughed in<br />
the previous autumn and had set quite<br />
hard,” notes Crister Stark. “I knew <strong>this</strong><br />
was going to be a real test for the drill.”<br />
But the combination of Challenger and<br />
8m Rapid hummed through the tilth at<br />
12-14km/h and the gathered spectators<br />
were duly impressed. “The field was<br />
drilled up in no time –– compared with the<br />
power-harrow combination drills they were<br />
used to, <strong>this</strong> was so much faster, and yet it<br />
placed the seed at the right depth.”<br />
▲<br />
Profit squeeze<br />
The concept caught on fast with UK<br />
growers –– as on-farm profits were being<br />
squeezed, farmed units were getting<br />
bigger and so were the tractors that grunted<br />
through their soils. “The Rapid allowed<br />
growers to replace two or three tractors<br />
and power-harrow combinations with one<br />
drill that would do a faster job more cost<br />
effectively,” points out Crister Stark. “But it’s<br />
also a drill that works well in all conditions<br />
–– it’s very seldom you can’t drill with<br />
a Rapid.”<br />
Tuckwells of Worlingworth, Suffolk, was<br />
one UK dealer that was quick to spot the<br />
opportunity on offer with the new drill. The<br />
firm unloaded the first two Rapids delivered<br />
to the UK, and have gone on to sell<br />
hundreds.<br />
“It’s our biggest-selling drill by a long<br />
stretch,” says sales manager Tom Mason.<br />
“You get precise seed placement at high<br />
speed. Farmers have used the Rapid to step<br />
up their capacity –– you can get a lot of<br />
acres drilled in very little time.”<br />
The accurate seed placement at depth is<br />
down to the configuration of the seeder<br />
units, he reckons. “Each wheel is attached to<br />
two coulters, physically pushing them in. The<br />
A crossboard (top) provided the cultivation for the<br />
first Rapid, but most growers opt for System Disc<br />
(bottom).<br />
whole weight of the drill is on the wheels, so<br />
you can maintain that depth at speed.<br />
Many coulters rely on spring pressure, and<br />
they lift out when forward speed increases.”<br />
But the design’s moved on, he points<br />
out. “One of the reasons the Rapid’s<br />
remained so popular is that the innovation<br />
has developed. Väderstad’s constantly<br />
refining the drill and making improvements,<br />
so if you have a Rapid that’s six years old<br />
66 crop production magazine december 2015
The whole weight of the drill is on<br />
the wheels and each wheel is<br />
attached to two coulters, physically<br />
pushing them in.<br />
and you’re looking to trade it out,<br />
the new equivalent model will be<br />
a totally different machine.”<br />
And it’s not just in the UK<br />
where the concept has caught<br />
on –– around 23,000 Rapid drills<br />
have now been shipped<br />
worldwide. Most of these lie on<br />
European farms and it’s believed<br />
to be the most successful seed<br />
drill that the continent’s ever<br />
seen. Together the Rapid drills<br />
sold to date have drilled an area<br />
equivalent to more than half of<br />
Europe’s entire arable acreage.<br />
Now the drill’s been given<br />
something of a face-lift.<br />
Launched at Agritechnica last<br />
month and getting its first UK<br />
showing at LAMMA in the New<br />
Year is the new Rapid A 400-<br />
800S series. Brand new on the<br />
drill and earning Väderstad<br />
Machine of the Year 2015 at<br />
Agritechnica is the company’s<br />
new SeedEye seed counter.<br />
Six optical sensors in the seed<br />
houses accurately count total<br />
seed numbers as they flow over<br />
them. This brings the level of<br />
accuracy for oilseed rape and<br />
wheat seed to around 99% and<br />
98-99% respectively, claims<br />
Väderstad.<br />
“SeedEye means you no<br />
longer have to calibrate the drill,”<br />
explains Andy Gamble of<br />
Väderstad UK. “Seed rates are<br />
easily set via the iPad display on<br />
the control panel in the cab. If a<br />
seed coulter deviates from the<br />
pre-set permitted variation, an<br />
alarm sounds and the faulty seed<br />
coulter is marked in red on the<br />
display.”<br />
You don’t even have to reset<br />
the seed drill between different<br />
crops, he continues. “This is<br />
handled automatically by<br />
SeedEye. The operator just taps<br />
the desired seeds/m 2 into the<br />
control panel.”<br />
E-Control system<br />
The drill’s radar measures<br />
forward speed while the<br />
E-Control system continuously<br />
calculates how well the “set<br />
point” for the desired volume of<br />
seeds agrees with the actual<br />
feed value as measured by the<br />
SeedEye unit.<br />
Other improvements on<br />
the new Rapid include the fan<br />
that’s been integrated high up<br />
on the front edge of the seed<br />
hopper, to minimise dust intake.<br />
The seed hopper itself has<br />
also been redesigned with<br />
integrated working lights, while<br />
improvements to the platform<br />
and stepsprovide better access.<br />
The machine’s discs get<br />
the new V30 hubs. These<br />
bearings require no lubrication<br />
and have a design that offers<br />
better protection against dust<br />
▲<br />
The Rapid allowed growers to replace two or three tractors and power-harrow<br />
combinations with one drill that would do a faster job more cost effectively.
INNOVATION INSIGHT<br />
The award-winning SeedEye on the new Rapid A<br />
counts total seed numbers, saving having to<br />
calibrate the drill.<br />
and soil, says Väderstad.<br />
These design iterations are typical of a<br />
machine that has constantly evolved since it<br />
first arrived in Suffolk in the early 1990s,<br />
notes David Baker. “It’s a great concept and<br />
a very reliable machine. But what makes the<br />
Rapid different from the plethora of cultivator<br />
drills now on the market is the Stark family<br />
themselves and their belief in their machine.<br />
“Any time there was ever an <strong>issue</strong> with the<br />
drill it would be investigated and you’d soon<br />
see a development would come through that<br />
would improve the design.”<br />
Crister Stark claims it’s the close<br />
relationship the company has always sought<br />
to maintain with its customers that ensures<br />
the Rapid remains Europe’s best-selling<br />
▲<br />
cultivator drill. “You’ll see more development<br />
and innovations appear on the drill as time<br />
goes on,” he pledges. “The Rapid is an<br />
evolution that will go on forever.” ■<br />
<strong>In</strong>novation <strong>In</strong>sight<br />
CPM would like to thank Väderstad for<br />
kindly sponsoring <strong>this</strong> article, and for<br />
providing privileged access to staff<br />
and material used to help put the<br />
article together.<br />
Drill downsize helps business evolve<br />
While many growers are upscaling their drilling<br />
and cultivation equipment, Richard Watson of MH<br />
Poskitt, East Riding, Yorks, has found reducing<br />
the drill width has helped him cut costs without<br />
compromising productivity.<br />
As agricultural operations manager, he<br />
inherited a Väderstad RDA 800 drill which his<br />
predecessor ran for five years across the 1600ha<br />
of winter and spring crops grown by the business.<br />
This was used to establish cereals on heavy<br />
bodied land on mostly rented farms as well as<br />
on the sandier land closer to the home farm.<br />
Cropping includes winter wheat and barley,<br />
oilseed rape, spring barley, spring beans and<br />
spring linseed.<br />
“The Rapid 800 is an excellent drill on the<br />
heavy land but it had a habit of bulldozing the soil<br />
on the sands. We also needed a lot of horsepower<br />
to pull it –– a 345hp John Deere 8345 –– which<br />
made it an expensive way of establishing cereals,”<br />
he says.<br />
Various drills were tested, but having weighed<br />
up all the pros and cons of the alternatives, it<br />
was the Väderstad Rapid that kept coming out<br />
on top. “The Väderstad drill is more expensive<br />
than some other options but at the end of the<br />
A Dolly wheel unit attached to the draw bar is<br />
designed to take the weight off the drawbar and<br />
the tractor.<br />
day you get what you pay for.”<br />
The decision was taken to replace the 8m RDA<br />
drill with a Rapid 6m version as part of long term<br />
strategy to reduce establishment costs. A Dolly<br />
wheel unit attached to the draw bar, fitted by<br />
Charlie Lewis of Park Farm Machinery, is designed<br />
to take the weight off the drawbar and the tractor.<br />
An additional pair of wheels attached to the Dolly<br />
unit has helped spread the weight of the drilling<br />
unit out across the full 6m working width.<br />
“The extra two wheels make a significant<br />
difference,” says Richard Watson. “The tractor<br />
runs on 800mm wide tyres, so wheels one and<br />
six on the Dolly run on the inside of the tractor<br />
tyres to help minimise compaction across the full<br />
working width of the drill.<br />
“Our plan eventually is to reduce the size of the<br />
tractor as well, and therefore cut down the total<br />
weight of the drilling unit.”<br />
A second modification to the drill are wheels<br />
fitted to its wings to help hold it out of the sand.<br />
He hopes to reduce the power requirement to<br />
300hp and to use a smaller tractor chassis,<br />
bringing the weight down from 16t to about 11t.<br />
The combination of Dolly wheels and wing wheels<br />
has improved levelling.<br />
“I couldn’t believe the difference the Dolly<br />
made,” he says. “We’ve demonstrated a 250hp<br />
tractor at a drilling speed of 13km/h on the sand<br />
with the Rapid 600 on Dolly wheels and it worked<br />
really well, but we need more horsepower for<br />
other operations on the farm so it’s a compromise.<br />
We’re only in year one so it’s a bit early to say<br />
how much our costs will have reduced. Diesel use<br />
has definitely improved though, which we think is<br />
about 20 litres per hour less.”<br />
Cultivations vary from plough to minimum<br />
tillage depending on the previous crop. Roots-crop<br />
land tends to be ploughed to bury the tops,<br />
Richard Watson was looking to reduce his drill’s<br />
horsepower requirement without compromising<br />
productivity.<br />
whereas on the lighter land which grows cereals<br />
minimum tillage is the norm. Whichever system is<br />
adopted Richard Watson is looking for constant<br />
seed to soil contact and a consistent depth. The<br />
Rapid 600 comes with System Disc Aggressive to<br />
help improve the tilth.<br />
“On the Rapid 800, the System Disc wasn’t<br />
aggressive enough so we often had to go over<br />
again using the Rexius Twin Press, TopDown or<br />
power harrow, depending on the situation on the<br />
day,” says Richard Watson.<br />
“Now we don’t have to rely on a second<br />
pass to achieve a tilth, which saves us time and<br />
money, and we can also be more flexible on<br />
drilling dates.”<br />
And despite the reduction in drill width, there’s<br />
been no reduction in output, he adds. “We used to<br />
pull the Rapid 800 at 8-10km/h, but we can now<br />
pull the 600 up to 16km/h, although we don’t<br />
actually need to.”<br />
68 crop production magazine december 2015
Brand move brings<br />
multiple benefits<br />
“<br />
The 7250<br />
comfortably pulled it<br />
at 8km/h but the other<br />
tractors just<br />
couldn’t. ”<br />
ON FARM OPINION<br />
Moving its fleet over to<br />
Deutz-Fahr tractors is<br />
delivering cost savings<br />
to one Cambs arable<br />
business, with no loss of<br />
performance. CPM finds<br />
out and reports on the<br />
company’s latest high<br />
power offering.<br />
By Rob Jones<br />
Limited expansion opportunities for a<br />
Cambs arable farmer has led to stepping<br />
up on tractor technology to maximise<br />
output and make the best use of all<br />
available land at his disposal. But to keep<br />
costs in check, <strong>this</strong> has resulted in a<br />
switch of tractor make, and it’s a move<br />
that’s proved to have its benefits.<br />
Ben Brown is the assistant farm<br />
manager for the family-run arable enterprise<br />
T Brown and Son, based at Bottom Farm,<br />
Covington. The business supports a thriving<br />
seed-production operation that specialises in<br />
producing wheat, barley, rye and fescue<br />
grass seeds and bean seed as well as<br />
70 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
vegetable seeds such as parsnips, cress,<br />
fodder beet and red chard.<br />
The farm runs to about 600ha and is<br />
growing up to 15 different species of crop,<br />
all of which need to be kept separate after<br />
harvest to avoid contamination.<br />
Optimise the ground<br />
“There are no real opportunities to expand<br />
locally as we’re surrounded by family farms,”<br />
says Ben Brown. “So we’re always looking to<br />
optimise the ground we have. Going back<br />
to a conventional cereal rotation of wheat,<br />
barley and oilseed rape would just not be<br />
economical.”<br />
Historically, the farm has used Fendt<br />
tractors – Ben Brown likes the brand and<br />
the local dealer A T Houghton provided a<br />
first class service. “<strong>In</strong> our line of business,<br />
downtime really isn’t an option either when<br />
trying to get the crops into the ground at the<br />
right time and in the right conditions or when<br />
getting the crop off the field and in the store<br />
at harvest,” he says.<br />
But the local dealer lost the Fendt<br />
franchise. he tried a number of other makes,<br />
including trying the new Fendt dealer, which<br />
was some distance away. Meanwhile A T<br />
Houghton had switched to supplying<br />
Deutz-Fahr, so he asked for a demonstration.<br />
“At the demo, we pulled our 3.3m Simba<br />
Ben Brown reckons he’s saved up to £35,000<br />
with each of his new purchases.<br />
Solo over heavy clay with its discs set at a<br />
depth of 100mm and the tines at 200mm.<br />
The 7250 comfortably pulled it at 8km/h<br />
but the other tractors just couldn’t. Now<br />
we’re pulling the Solo at 10km/h rather than<br />
8km/h and using less fuel. Overall, we’re<br />
looking at a 10% fuel saving across several<br />
operations,” he explains.<br />
On the back of the demonstration, he<br />
▲
ON FARM OPINION<br />
The new 9 Series tractors top out at 340hp and<br />
have TTV continuously variable transmissions.<br />
switched to a Deutz 6160 TTV and a 7250<br />
TTV, which sit alongside the existing Fendt<br />
724 and a 716. So far he’s been really<br />
impressed with the new arrivals.<br />
“The TTV ensures plenty of horsepower<br />
gets to the ground,” explains Ben Brown.<br />
“We never actually felt that we were getting<br />
the power through the wheels of the 240hp<br />
Fendt 724.”<br />
▲<br />
The move also introduced the farm to<br />
Deutz’ precision-farming system called<br />
Agrosky. Essentially <strong>this</strong> is an auto-steer<br />
system that allows drivers to focus on fine<br />
tuning and adjusting implements while the<br />
tractor guides itself.<br />
High precision service<br />
The Agrosky system receives signals<br />
from all available satellites and offers a high<br />
precision service, claims Deutz, especially in<br />
hilly areas and where there are obstacles<br />
such as trees, hedges and telegraph poles<br />
in the field.<br />
“Being ISOBUS compatible means we<br />
can run our 24m Knight Trail Blazer 4200-litre<br />
sprayer through it as well as our Horsch<br />
drill,” says Ben Brown. “We also use a<br />
single-screen computer called Agrosky I<br />
Monitor, which we find is an easy-to-use<br />
interface with the technology, capable of<br />
configuring and managing a whole host of<br />
on-board functions.”<br />
It’s been a core focus of the farming<br />
business to fully embrace GPS technology to<br />
get the most from available arable land, so<br />
running the entire tractor fleet off the Agrosky<br />
system was a major plus point, he adds.<br />
Fuel costs have been further reduced and<br />
time has been saved because there’s no<br />
overlapping and headland management<br />
has improved.<br />
“We run to 2.5cm accuracy through RTK.<br />
It cost £8000 for the full Agrosky RTK GPS<br />
and ISOBUS-compatible package to be<br />
installed in the Deutz 7250, compared with<br />
around £20,000 for a retrofit system in most<br />
other tractors.”<br />
A key part in the decision-making process<br />
when deciding on the Deutz was the view<br />
of the operator and it became clear he<br />
favoured the new brand, preferring its<br />
cab design and relatively straightforward<br />
controls.<br />
“Fendt runs on a Deutz engine and Bosch<br />
electronics anyway, so the two tractors are<br />
very similar in that respect,” points out Ben<br />
Brown. “The major difference however was<br />
on price –– we reckon we’ve saved in the<br />
region of £20,000 and £35,000 with the<br />
Deutz 6160 and 7250 respectively.”<br />
There’s better fuel economy, too –– a<br />
saving of around 10 l/ha, he reckons. “It’s an<br />
operator’s tractor –– anyone can jump in and<br />
drive it but it takes a skilled operator to get<br />
the full potential out of the machine. Settings<br />
can be fine-tuned to ensure it runs efficiently,<br />
aided by the tractor computer.<br />
“We’re confident that Deutz is up to the<br />
job –– the tractors are proving to be reliable<br />
and offer good fuel economy. We’re also<br />
lucky to have an excellent dealer close by.<br />
Fendt’s a difficult tractor to beat, but in our<br />
situation and all things considered, Deutz<br />
gives it more than a run for its money.” ■<br />
The 9 Series has been styled to give the tractors<br />
an aggressive yet user-friendly design.<br />
72 crop production magazine december 2015
New tractors on show at LAMMA<br />
The new Deutz 9 TTV Series tractor will be on<br />
display at LAMMA. The company plans to bring<br />
a 9340 TTV to Peterborough that will sit beside<br />
the 7 Series TTV Warrior, 6 Series C-Shift, 5<br />
Series, Agrovector and a C9206 TSB Combine.<br />
There are also plans to have its new 6 Series<br />
Warrior on its main stand, which was unveiled<br />
at Agritechnica.<br />
The 9 Series, previewed at the last<br />
Agritechnica in 2013, puts Deutz-Fahr into the<br />
high power sector. Three models range from<br />
290hp to 340hp and have TTV continuously<br />
variable transmissions.<br />
Operator comfort, fuel efficiency and low<br />
operating costs are what Deutz claims are the<br />
key attractions of the new beasts, styled in<br />
collaboration with Giugiaro Design, to give<br />
them “an aggressive yet user-friendly” design.<br />
As for performance, the 7.8-litre twin-turbo<br />
six-cylinder engines are compliant with Tier 4<br />
final emission regulations. Turbocharged and<br />
intercooled, they use an integrated electronic<br />
control for their injection system, says Deutz,<br />
delivering plenty of grunt for when working with<br />
large, power-sapping ploughs, deep subsoilers<br />
or high-capacity cultivator drills.<br />
The ZF Terramatic TMT 32 continuously<br />
variable transmission delivers a top road speed<br />
of 60 km/h while the front axle suspension<br />
system lends the 9 Series good driving<br />
dynamics and operator comfort, says Deutz. The<br />
PowerBrake braking system brings the tractor<br />
safely to a halt. The hydraulic system features a<br />
210 l/min load-sensing pump and up to eight<br />
auxiliary distributors.<br />
Deutz’ Maxi-Vision cab promises comfort,<br />
quiet and good all-round visibility. There’s a<br />
soft-grip steering wheel and antiglare colour<br />
monitor alongside the driver’s seat. Options<br />
include a 12” touchscreen monitor, the Agrosky<br />
GPS navigation system and the Smart Farming<br />
management system.<br />
All-seeing eye<br />
Improvements to farm safety are promised by a<br />
new development from Deutz-Fahr that earned it<br />
a DLG silver medal, awarded at Agritechnica <strong>this</strong><br />
year. The Driver Extended Eyes system integrates<br />
three cameras into the bonnet –– one in the<br />
front and two at each side.<br />
The 6 Series Warrior was unveiled at Agritechnica.<br />
The image is transferred inside the cabin to<br />
the iMonitor 2.0 and the driver is warned by<br />
acousto-optical signals if there is a person<br />
dangerously close. The system also automatically<br />
prevents the driver from moving the tractor.<br />
The same system helps the driver see out<br />
on to a road when joining from a verge-side<br />
gateway and provides a good view to the front lift<br />
for when mounting or dismounting implements.
“<br />
The most<br />
important part of the<br />
sprayer is its ability to<br />
carry the boom at the<br />
desired height above<br />
the ground. ”<br />
Boom or bust for<br />
spray deposition<br />
How much difference does a<br />
bit of boom height make?<br />
CPM asks two growers who<br />
have Horsch Leeb’s<br />
BoomControl fitted to their<br />
sprayers.<br />
By Robert Harris<br />
Tom Hawthorne may not have the hilliest<br />
fields in the country but he’s convinced of<br />
the benefits of using boom control for<br />
applying sprays and fertilisers to his<br />
2000ha of combinable crops and maize<br />
at Flawborough Farms, near Newark.<br />
He runs two Horsch Leeb sprayers<br />
–– a trailed GS8000, new in 2012, and a<br />
self-propelled PT270 delivered in 2014,<br />
covering 24,000 spray ha per year.<br />
Both are fitted with 36m versions of the<br />
top-of-the-range boom with Leeb’s<br />
BoomControl Pro+ and 25cm nozzle<br />
spacings.<br />
“We have our share of uneven fields,<br />
including some old rig and furrow, and<br />
it’s quite remarkable to see the boom<br />
automatically following the contours even<br />
at speeds upwards of 12km/h,” says<br />
Tom Hawthorne.<br />
“You simply set the height when you start<br />
and you don’t have to touch the boom<br />
controls again until you come to fold up.”<br />
74 crop production magazine december 2015<br />
At a typical spraying speed of 12-14km/h,<br />
he can use 80° 02 flat fans at 30-40cm<br />
above the target applying 115 l/ha water<br />
volume without excessive drift. According to<br />
Horsch, trials in Germany on potatoes show<br />
<strong>this</strong> set-up produced 20% better coverage,<br />
albeit at fairly high water volumes.<br />
Droplet deposition<br />
Tom Hawthorne believes he’s achieving<br />
more even droplet deposition and<br />
better penetration –– very useful in all<br />
post-emergence applications, particularly<br />
fungicides. He’s also noticed considerably<br />
less drift.<br />
“I’ve had very positive comments from my<br />
agronomist –– I believe 100% we’re getting<br />
better control from all our sprays.”<br />
Spray bodies benefit from automatic<br />
switching, ensuring optimum nozzles are<br />
selected at a wide range of speeds and<br />
pressures.<br />
“The sprayers are excellent –– the skid<br />
units are bomb-proof and they’re easy and<br />
as comfortable as any to operate. But the<br />
boom really is a remarkable piece of kit<br />
–– everyone who sees it working agrees.”<br />
A decision to upgrade from two smaller<br />
sprayers to one at the same time as<br />
switching from solid to liquid fertiliser<br />
explains why Essex grower Tom Bradshaw<br />
bought his Leeb sprayer.<br />
The family business, based at Fletchers<br />
Farm, Fordham, near Colchester, grows<br />
1570ha of combinable crops. The new<br />
A sprayer that offers a decent operational speed<br />
while maintaining accuracy of application, even in<br />
marginal conditions, is a must, says Tom Bradshaw.<br />
machine will cover 14,000ha per year so a<br />
sprayer that offers a decent operational<br />
speed while maintaining accuracy of<br />
application, even in marginal conditions,<br />
is a must, says Tom Bradshaw.<br />
Excellent boom control and contour<br />
following was at the top of his list of<br />
demands. “<strong>In</strong> my opinion, the most important<br />
part of the sprayer is its ability to carry the<br />
boom at the desired height above the<br />
ground. This gives the greatest opportunity<br />
to ensure that the target is sprayed<br />
accurately with the intended amount of<br />
active ingredient.”<br />
This belief was reinforced when he went to<br />
see a distributor’s blackgrass trials, where<br />
adjacent plots had received the same<br />
treatment on the same day. One had had<br />
been treated with the boom carried 50cm<br />
above the crop, the other at 100cm.<br />
“The result was absolutely astonishing.
The droplet-drift dilemma<br />
Sprayer operators face a compromise between<br />
droplet size and drift, according to Theo Leeb,<br />
general manager of Horsch-Leeb. Smaller droplets<br />
– around 300 microns –– are the key to getting<br />
the best out of many pesticides, he says. But<br />
they’re easily carried away on a breeze and are<br />
more subject to turbulence caused by high forward<br />
speed.<br />
Lowering the boom to less than 50cm above<br />
the target achieves <strong>this</strong>, but requires a 25cm nozzle<br />
spacing to maintain the correct fan overlap and<br />
good boom stability.<br />
Wind tunnel tests carried out for Leeb showed<br />
how effective <strong>this</strong> can be. At 50cm, using 04 120°<br />
flat fans spaced 50 cm apart, spray deposition<br />
dropped from 100% in still conditions to 80% at a<br />
wind speed of 7.2km/h.<br />
Halving the boom height maintained deposition<br />
at around 98%, despite having to use much finer<br />
02 nozzles (to maintain the same water volume)<br />
at 25cm spacing.<br />
Raising the wind speed to 18km/h saw<br />
deposition drop to just 70% at 50cm boom height.<br />
However, at 25cm, deposition was barely affected,<br />
remaining at 95%.<br />
Spraying closer than 50cm hasn’t been possible<br />
at practical operating speeds on all but the most<br />
level ground, says Theo Leeb. But Leeb’s new<br />
BoomControl system has changed that. Five years<br />
in development, it offers sophisticated boom<br />
suspension and stability, using two gyroscopes<br />
and fast-acting air rams to keep the boom stable.<br />
The most advanced version (Plus Pro) also<br />
provides automatic height adjustment, above and<br />
BoomControl uses two gyroscopes and fast-acting<br />
air rams to keep the boom stable.<br />
below the horizontal, for individual boom sections. It<br />
allows operators to bring the boom to a height of<br />
25-30cm above the crop when using 120° nozzles<br />
at 25 cm spacing, or 35-40cm when using 80°<br />
versions.<br />
The higher boom height resulted<br />
in the level of control falling by<br />
over 60%.”<br />
The closer the better<br />
Most spray booms are carried too<br />
high, compromising efficacy and<br />
leading to excessive drift, reckons<br />
Chris Martin of Agrovista. The<br />
reason, he says, is that booms<br />
are getting wider, with too little<br />
thought being given to stability,<br />
while forward speeds are also<br />
increasing to maximise work rates,<br />
making the boom less stable.<br />
“The key to optimum<br />
performance is to get the nozzle<br />
close to the target, while still<br />
achieving the correct spray pattern.<br />
The biggest problem these days is<br />
that the opposite is happening. Not<br />
only are many booms unable to<br />
spray below 60-70cm, they’re<br />
actually being carried higher.”<br />
As boom height increases, the<br />
spray pattern suffers and drift<br />
increases rapidly –– as much as<br />
eight times higher at a boom height<br />
of 100cm compared with 50cm, he<br />
explains. “If you can reduce your<br />
boom height below 50cm, that’s a<br />
real step in the right direction.”<br />
To achieve optimum coverage<br />
you want higher water volumes<br />
while retaining a finer spray quality,<br />
especially important on difficult<br />
targets such as small blackgrass,<br />
he continues.<br />
“Using 25cm spacing, rather<br />
than 50cm, means you can double<br />
the water volume being applied<br />
across the boom without losing<br />
<strong>In</strong> Sept 2013 he took delivery<br />
of a 36m-boomed GS 6000<br />
trailed model fitted with<br />
▲<br />
Get the nozzle close to the target,<br />
while still achieving the correct<br />
spray pattern, advises Chris Martin.<br />
spray quality. Because the boom is<br />
so close to the target you can use<br />
an 02 or 025 nozzle without drift<br />
becoming a major problem.<br />
“You have 64 times as many<br />
droplets using a fine nozzle with a<br />
droplet diameter of 100 microns<br />
than a coarse one with droplet<br />
diameter of 400 microns at the<br />
same water volume. This achieves<br />
much more even coverage as the<br />
spray almost paints the target<br />
rather than relying on big droplets<br />
spreading out.”<br />
This can make a huge<br />
difference, for example Agrovista<br />
trials over many years have<br />
consistently shown that up to<br />
50% better blackgrass control<br />
can be achieved from the same<br />
pre-emergence products through<br />
using better application.<br />
Forward speed can also be<br />
increased when nozzles are close<br />
to the target without sacrificing<br />
performance, Chris Martin adds.<br />
BoomControl Pro+.<br />
At Fletchers Farm, the 25cm<br />
spacing comes into its own<br />
when applying pre-emergence<br />
herbicides, particularly where<br />
troublesome black-grass is<br />
the target.<br />
“We can spray at 150 litres/ha<br />
at 12kph with the boom height<br />
set at a relatively conservative<br />
50cm. Over the past couple of<br />
seasons we’ve seen excellent<br />
control from the pre-emergence<br />
herbicides.<br />
“I think many people believe<br />
they have the boom at 50cm but<br />
there are several sprayers which<br />
aren’t actually capable of getting<br />
down to <strong>this</strong> level.<br />
“We have some very hilly land,<br />
but each side of the sprayer has<br />
the ability to follow contours at<br />
three places.<br />
“The tip of the boom might be<br />
above horizontal while the middle<br />
section may be below it. The<br />
operator has much greater<br />
confidence that the boom isn’t<br />
going to come into contact with<br />
the ground,” he points out. ■<br />
crop production magazine december 2015<br />
75