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CROP WATCH

Crop Watch: Alarming levels of septoria and short OSR crops

Conditions are proving perfect for septoria in wheat with the disease at alarming levels, especially in the North. It’s going to be a battle to keep emerging leaves clean and…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: I propose an SFI option to dredge ditches

On 20 October 2023, we had just finished drilling winter wheat on the 25ha of land at Stainfield that I contract farm, in perfect dusty conditions.  Little was I to…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why a Scottish estate harvests crops every month of the year

Crops are harvested 12 months of the year at Stracathro Estate on the east coast of Scotland to fuel a 2MW anaerobic digestion plant, which requires the equivalent feedstock of…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Tips for spring barley growers as lodging risk rises

Spring barley and oat growers are being advised to use plant growth regulator this spring to avoid yield losses in what could be a higher risk year. Growth regulators can…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Hire tractor gives up the ghost while drilling

Hopefully, by the time you read this, our spring drilling will be complete. Nearly every field had wet areas, some of which had to be avoided, but overall we achieved…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Growers to benefit from new generation farm software program

Managing crop inputs and complying with pesticide legislation is set to become easier with a new farm management program that brings everything together into a single place. Up to now,…

Arable news

POTATOES

Scientists plan to use gene-editing to transform potato sector

Scientists are set to use controversial gene-editing technology within the UK potato sector as latest government legislation permits the commercial development of gene-edited crops in England. A new research project…

CEREALS

Cereals 2024: New site and direct drilling event

The Cereals Event 2024 will welcome visitors to a new site, at Bygrave Woods, Newnham Farm in Hertfordshire, on 11-12 June, alongside its new co-hosted event DirectDriller@Cereals. Hosted by Alex…

ARABLE

Bristol start-up tests human urine as natural fertiliser

 A project is under way to develop a novel fertiliser made from human urine to help farmers move towards a sustainable future, NPK Recovery, a Bristol-based start-up, is developing a…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Free IPM tool adds crop types and review feature

A group of organisations has launched an updated version of its free integrated pest management (IPM) planning tool, which features more crop types and the ability to review and reproduce…

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Dealing with flood-damaged land

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CROP WATCH

Crop Watch: Alarming levels of septoria and short OSR crops

Conditions are proving perfect for septoria in wheat with the disease at alarming levels, especially in the North. It’s going to be a battle to keep emerging leaves clean and…

CARBON

How Arable Insights farmers approach carbon opportunities

From selling carbon credits to receiving premiums for commodities grown in a climate-friendly way, the potential upside to farming carbon is becoming clearer. But only one of Farmers Weekly’s Arable…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why a Scottish estate harvests crops every month of the year

Crops are harvested 12 months of the year at Stracathro Estate on the east coast of Scotland to fuel a 2MW anaerobic digestion plant, which requires the equivalent feedstock of…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Tips for spring barley growers as lodging risk rises

Spring barley and oat growers are being advised to use plant growth regulator this spring to avoid yield losses in what could be a higher risk year. Growth regulators can…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Growers to benefit from new generation farm software program

Managing crop inputs and complying with pesticide legislation is set to become easier with a new farm management program that brings everything together into a single place. Up to now,…

OTHER CROPS

How to get the best out of IPM3 companion cropping in SFI

Companion cropping is perhaps one of the easier options to include in Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements, particularly if you’re growing oilseed rape or perhaps maize, or for an end…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Endophytes raise wheat yields by 0.6t/ha in trials

Applying an endophyte that takes nitrogen from the air and converts it to nitrate within the plant’s leaves increased wheat yields by 0.6t/ha, according to trials. Research also suggested that…

CROP WATCH

Crop Watch: Brown rust alert in wheat and bean fungicides

In a season that continues to bring surprises, brown rust is being seen much earlier than usual in some wheats, with the most severe cases being in early drilled crops.…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

How farmers will benefit from new SDHI wheat fungicide at T2

Winter wheat growers will see a step up in the control of septoria, the crop’s number one disease, at the T2 timing this spring, with a new broad-spectrum fungicide offering…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How couple are developing organic, no-till cropping business

Starting five years ago with an optimistic vision and a blank slate, first-generation organic farmer and emergency doctor Alex Fraser had a plan to produce healthy food for local people.…

BARLEY

Greater yield and margin for winter barley grower

Scottish grower Neil Ramsay is pushing the boundaries of winter barley production, striving for both yield and margin. He achieved a top yield of 13.5t/ha last harvest and has an…

CROP WATCH

Crop Watch: T1 fungicide timing tricky in variable season

As the fourth week of April arrives, the weather remains highly variable with below-average temperatures for this time of the year. Like the weather, wheat growth stages are variable and…

PULSES

Soil conditioner trial lifts vining pea yields by nearly 40%

Applying a phosphate enhancer to vining pea seed-beds led to an average yield increase of nearly 40% in Agrii trials carried out in conjunction with a Yorkshire vining pea co-op.…

POTATOES

Why industry-wide effort is needed to beat potato viruses

Across Europe, a recent rise in seed potato crops being downgraded due to virus diseases sends a very strong message that action must be taken now to arrest the upward…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How fulvic acid can cut glyphosate rates and help foliar N

Fulvic and humic acid could be beneficial additions to spray tank mixes, enabling growers to increase efficacy and successfully cut back glyphosate and fertiliser rates by one-third. Both fulvic and…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Are alternative weed control techniques viable for beet?

With sugar beet herbicide options dwindling, researchers are testing options using artificial intelligence and robotics. Mike Abram reports German field trials comparing spot-spraying and robotic systems are highlighting both the…

Farmer Focus

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FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: I propose an SFI option to dredge ditches

On 20 October 2023, we had just finished drilling winter wheat on the 25ha of land at Stainfield that I contract farm, in perfect dusty conditions.  Little was I to…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Hire tractor gives up the ghost while drilling

Hopefully, by the time you read this, our spring drilling will be complete. Nearly every field had wet areas, some of which had to be avoided, but overall we achieved…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: Machines sat idling are a drain on finances

The weather finally decided to change its mind about raining, so we are currently trying to beat the ground into submission for maize. I decided to get on with the…

FARMER FOCUS

Farmer Focus: A rubbish crop review and a lost phone

Well, the weather doesn’t seem to get any better. Spring drilling started on 11 April and finished on the 15, with a little over 80ha of the planned 220ha drilled.…

Markets

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CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Heavy showers crush farmers hopes of late spring plantings

Further rainfall and flood warnings across the UK have scuppered plans for farm businesses hoping to get spring crops in the ground. An exceptionally wet winter has meant cereals and…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Wheat surges above £180/t as Black Sea tensions flare up

Old-crop and new-crop wheat futures both jumped by £10/t earlier this week in the UK due to increased conflict in Ukraine and reports of poorer crop conditions in the US.…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

UK wheat futures at £173/t with EU harvest prospects mixed

Wheat values in the UK have pushed up slightly in the past week, but remain under pressure due to large volumes of cheap exports from the Black Sea region on…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Hectare launches instant grain payments system for farmers

Crop-trading platform Hectare has launched a new agricultural finance product that enables arable farmers to be paid within three days for up to 80% of a contract’s value. The agri-tech…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Straw prices unseasonably high with uplift likely in autumn

Demand for straw, driven by increased use for housing livestock, has pushed up values in recent weeks. Typically, at this time of year demand for straw is relatively low as…

BUSINESS

Sugar beet futures at £36/t with EU crop area set to increase

Global sugar markets have fallen from the highs of 2023, but small price gains so far in April will come as welcome news to beet growers on futures-linked contracts. The…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

CMG appoints Cefetra as new grain marketing partner

Crop Marketing Groups (CMG) has appointed grain and animal feed trader Cefetra to market its grain, starting with this year’s harvest. CMG, which is made up of 10 regional groups…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Dismal UK crop conditions bolster new season wheat premium

An inflated premium has emerged for new crop cereals over current old-crop prices, with the November feed wheat futures contract now trading £22/t ahead of May values. There is a…

Commodities

Futures markets and commodity risk management online course

Learn all you need to know about the futures markets and how you can benefit from them:

  • Risk management strategies for a more predictable financial performance
  • Educated conversations when collaborating with your advisors
  • Negotiate better prices with your grain merchants

Find out more

 
 
Spot and forward prices (£/t ex-farm)
Each set of prices comes from a single merchant, co-op or broker, and are the latest prices being paid to farmers. Ranges of prices, within one category relate to the distance of the farm from the buyer. Oilseed rape prices are latest spot and forward prices, not contract prices. Ex farm prices vary with the distance from Hull, Liverpool and Erith, crushing factories.

Arable machinery

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CULTIVATION AND DRILLING

Cheshire contractor's five custom seed drills for SFI sowing

Variable seed sizes, different sowing depths and the need for cost-effective establishment make environmental mixes tricky to get right. But thanks to their five modified seed drills, each of which…

TELEHANDLERS

Dieci adds big, 153hp T80 to pivot-steer telehandler range

Dieci’s bend-in-the-middle Agri Pivot range has been bolstered with the introduction of a new flagship model, the T80. Power is the headline improvement, with the switch to a 4.5-litre FPT…

MAIZE DRILLS

Amazone slims down Precea precision seeder with 6m model

Amazone has further expanded its Precea trailed precision seeder range with a 6m, eight-row version to suit contractors and growers who do not need the big capacity of the current…

CEREAL DRILLS

Pottinger Vitasem seed drills gain bigger hoppers

Larger hoppers and easier calibration are among updates to Pottinger’s piggy-back Vitasem seed drills. Designed to mount on a tine or disc cultivator, or a power harrow such as the…

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