In numerous counties, the effects of the long, hot summer and the onslaught of cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) on oilseed rape crops are still being felt. Crops that were sown in early-August have established well on the whole and were large enough to withstand the gnawing mouthparts of the adult flea beetle. However, crops sown in mid to late Augu...

While we have all enjoyed the long, hot summer of 2018 it has many things to answer for including the failure of a large percentage of potential certified winter bean seed due to poor germination.   Seed shortage likely to fuel bean market As a result of this shortage of seed it is possible that fewer fields will be sown with beans this season...

It has not been an easy year to get any crops drilled in the traditional spring-sowing window of February-March. The winter rainfall and then the 'Beast from the East' all conspired to mean that no drilling took place until the second week of April in the majority of the country. After that, many growers wanted to get their barley crops drilled fir...

​After the long, cold winter that we all experienced in the early part of 2018, many maize crops were drilled into relatively cold seedbeds at the end of April. Looking back to the May Day bank holiday however, we had some unseasonably high temperatures which then set the scene for the remainder of the month – even leading to some records being bro...

Almost the entire country has fallen foul to the wet weather this spring. Apart from a very short break just before Easter, the severity of the recent rainfall has precluded almost any seedbed preparation and sowing of crops. In fact, it is now the middle of April and many growers are asking, " It is too late to sow spring beans ?" Whilst we genera...

At the Oxford Farming Conference, Michael Gove spoke to growers about the increasing pressures on our agricultural industry. One of the most influential factors is the ever-growing global population, expanding at an alarming rate. With it comes higher consumer expectations and an increased demand for high-quality, wholesome foods, alongside greater...