DEFRA's consultation on reducing ammonia emissions from urea fertilisers closed in January 2021, but it wasn't until April of this year that the outcomes were clarified.
Now that we can consider all the details, I've outlined some Q&As to offer more context to the new regulation and what it aims to cover.
I think we'd all agree last year was a challenging one, with the lowest amount of rainfall ever recorded since records began. When we look at the results from last season's maize harvest, it's important to understand the notable weather patterns we saw and the effects they had.
Lincolnshire farmer, Tim Lamyman is synonymous with growing record combinable crop yields, so much so that he's now outdone his previous successes.
Following Tim's achievements in 2021, we were thrilled to learn of his recent accolades, having achieved a new world record for winter wheat with a staggering 17.96t/ha and specific weight of 83.6kg/hl with the DSV variety Champion.
Cover cropping has become a common practice within arable rotations and as spoken about in previous blogs, this is due to the many benefits they can bring to soils. Given the current volatile fertiliser market, however, today there is much more interest in their ability to capture nutrients, particularly nitrogen. We mustn't forget the range of habitat they also provide for various insects and wildlife.
February - the month for late snowfall, frosts and in some areas welcome rainfall. Wherever you are in the UK, there will be different challenges as the days lengthen. Some of those challenges are 'the office jobs' you thought you had plenty of time for but now you have more daylight, there is the temptation to shelve those tasks and get on the field. Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs) application windows also open around this time, adding even greater temptation to park those jobs.
At this time of year, attention turns to upcoming activity on farm. First on the list will be early nitrogen applications, but before they happen it's important to consider what could impact them and any subsequent applications to ensure you make the most of your nitrogen fertiliser.
As we've mentioned before, the only real way to measure the effect of nitrogen is at the end of the season when we have the opportunity to analyse grain on an individual-field basis. From this, the findings can highlight the specific adjustments needed for the following season.
Frontier and SOYL Precision's field grain analysis service gives interpretation over all the essential nutrients to make sure you as a grower get the most from your data. In this blog, I'll focus on the nitrogen analysis results from this year's sampling.
Good establishment of spring crops is critical for optimising yield and getting them off to the best start also provides well-known cultural grassweed control benefits. Spring may seem a long way off but with some growers opting to drill spring wheat and barley in late autumn or early winter, considering everything from seed rates, weed control, soil management, nutrition, pests and disease will stand crops in good stead for the season.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
There are good reasons to introduce home-grown nutrients into your nutrition plan. For one, if enough nutrient can be grown and captured, there is potential to increase business margins. However, the two benefits of most interest are: the degree of protection it can offer from a volatile fertiliser market and the potential to reduce carbon emissions on farm through a reduction in applied fertiliser.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
Following my blog about early grassweed control in August, at this time of year we're now moving towards the final application which is aimed at 'finishing off' the job by using propyzamide.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
In August, I wrote a blog about how to control grassweeds in oilseed rape ahead of establishing the crop. Now that we're further into the season with crops in the ground, it's a good time to revisit your weed control strategy and determine what actions are needed. In this blog I'll discuss the benefits and considerations around companion crops and how they fit into weed control.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
If you've drilled your wheat crop early this year, you may be wondering how to mitigate the challenges that tend to become apparent at this time of the season. Grassweeds, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and the crop's general nutrition are important to keep on top of when managing your crop.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
Oilseed rape weed management has evolved over the last 10 years, mainly due to the challenge of establishing the crop with certainty and the introduction of more effective post-emergence broad-leaved weed herbicides. Before this development in chemistry there was a lack of flexibility - crops had to be treated early and all that was left was to hope for the best.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
With harvest just beginning, now seems a sensible time to draw breath and assess the season before harvest gets in full swing followed in short order by establishing next year's crops.
And what a season it's been. Yes, there have been weather events to talk about, especially the dry April and for some also the first half of May and most of June, but these pale in comparison to the economic impacts we've seen in the last 12 months.No more so than in my world of fertiliser, where an initial new season price for AN back in June 2021 - at 81p/kg N (£280/t) - was considered by some to be too expensive, only to then rise dramatically during the season to an eye watering £2.68/kg N (£925/t) at the peak.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
Oilseed rape crops have been through a tough time due to the threat posed by cabbage stem flea beetle. In addition, the crop has also faced some very challenging establishment periods. In response growers have adapted how they establish oilseed rape and many have now resorted to drilling the crop throughout a bigger window than what has been done in the past. There's now also a greater emphasis on drilling crops when the conditions are right, rather than just going by calendar date.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
The economics of growing oilseed rape have fundamentally changed over the last few years. Throughout this period, we have seen its value move from approximately £320/t in harvest 2020, to £440/t in 2021, to the heights of 2022 of £900/t. Currently, this has come back to £550/t for harvest. The crop has never been so valuable.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
Last year, those of you overseeing sporting activity contended with many challenges due to Covid restrictions. While we're still feeling the effects of the pandemic, this year has seen another virus impact the industry - bird flu.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
At this time of year, I'm often asked: "How much nitrogen should I apply to my milling wheat crops?" My tongue-in-cheek response to that question is often: "Tell me exactly how much your crop is going to yield and then I'll be able to give you a guide on nitrogen rates." Now, clearly it is impossible to know the exact yield you are going to achieve at this stage so a definitive answer will always be hard but even so, I believe all milling wheat growers should fully understand the impact yield has on the nitrogen requirement for their crops.
Problems accessing this blog? Click here to go to our main blog feed where you'll be able to see our latest post at the top.
Last year, I wrote a blog on how to increase nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) to improve your farm efficiency rating and part of this looked at the impact of nitrogen losses.Following on from this DEFRA recently announced a non-regulatory approach which outlines how to reduce ammonia emissions from any urea-based fertilisers.
