The remote sensing of vegetation is an important tool in the SOYL toolbox, enabling farmers to quickly identify variations in crop biomass and monitor crop health. Remote sensing works because growing crops reflect light in specific wavelengths (especially near infrared) according to their growth stage and state of health. Sensors receiving these m...

As I'm sure you are aware, we are losing actives in oilseed rape all too regularly. Orius P (tebuconazole + prochloraz) has been revoked as of May 2019 in oilseed rape (although re-registered in wheat, rye and triticale) and Refinzar (picoxystrobin + penthiopyrad) and Oranis (picoxystrobin) must be used by March 2019 to name a few. However, there i...

It's been a busy start to the year carrying out training and visiting growers in Herefordshire. I am a trainee agronomist at Frontier in the west and also involved with the team that look after the #3DThinking Ledbury site. The trials that take place there offer valuable insight into the differences between several crop varieties and are a vital ai...

With the short break over Christmas now a distant memory but spring right around the corner, it's great to be back to day-to-day farm trading in the South East. I'm part of the team attached to the #3DThinking Wingham site which is really important to us as a tool for helping growers choose their varieties for the following crop year. On that subje...

Following Michael Gove's recent speech at the Oxford Farming Conference in which he began to outline the future direction of agricultural policy in England, it is becoming increasingly clear that soil health, water quality and biodiversity are very high up on the agenda. These issues could be addressed with the 'stick' of regulation or with the 'ca...

Please click here to visit the SOYL website For those of you who have visited one of our Winter Workshops you will have heard about our launch of the largest ever variable rate nitrogen trial . Here at SOYL we have recognised that an area of huge potential in precision farming is the ability to carry out on-farm trials. While it not only aids ongoi...

With winter in full swing and farmland birds seeking out all of the opportunities on farm to feed themselves, now is the time to see how they are faring on your own farm. Each year, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) host the Big Farmland Bird Count. Farmers and land managers undertake a lot of work to help protect and nurture the wild...

At this point in the New Year (and if you haven't already) it's time to plan how you're going to break down your cover crop. While it's true that frosts can do some of the work, most winters (including this one) won't kill cover crops outright. How yours is destroyed can be as important as what was actually grown to allow for the best entry into yo...

​ The Frontier Potato Seedcare team and I had a busy few days at Potato 2017 last month, meeting lots of growers and advisors. While we enjoyed a great range of interesting discussions with those who attended, there was one topic which proved particularly popular – the move to liquid seed treatment. Attendees were keen to discuss the possibility of...

Five months on since harvest feels like a good time to review what, if anything, tram lining has added to the armoury when it comes to the management of black-grass.By way of a re-cap, Frontier Agriculture, in collaboration with EW Davies farms Ltd, Rothamsted, AHDB and Primary Sales from Western Australia, installed a 'chaff deck' onto farmer Jere...

All of our 3DThinking sites established well last autumn. As we move further into winter we take a look at some of the headline trials and their performance to date. While the cropping range varies across sites, all are conducting winter wheat trials focused on variety, nutrition, seed treatment and crop protection.   1 Muir of Ord  ...

As 2017 draws to an end we can reflect on another exciting year working at the heart of precision crop production. Our mission to help our customers Make Every Hectare Count continued in 2017 and we've enjoyed a wide range of developments and achievements, summarised in this end of year blog. January is always a busy start to the year with the AICC...

The annual task of compiling the previous 12 months worth of spray applications certainly doesn't evoke much excitement when on the to-do list. Even so, in order to satisfy the relevant assurance obligations such as Red Tractor, it is an essential task often requiring considerable amounts of both time and attention to detail. The recording of spray...

Over the last two years the Applications Team has expanded from a team of four to a team of eight, as we continue to create recommendations and variable rate files for more hectares both here and internationally. Aside from a few team members that work remotely, we are predominantly based at our Newbury headquarters in Berkshire. Together, we are r...

The complexities of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme have been well documented. They range from an over-complicated application process and onerous evidence and record-keeping requirements, to difficult to navigate online guidance and delays in agreement offers. In a recent announcement on the GOV.UK website, it seems that DEFRA and Natural Engla...

This week saw the annual publication of the AHDB Recommended List . This year sees a new look to the list with a move back to a one-page wheat round up. This is likely to be welcomed by many of us as it's easier to view, especially if this carries through to the printed version. Welcome new varieties Although wheat varieties are down to one page th...

The quandary over when drilling winter wheat in the winter should be replaced by spring wheat in the spring, or when spring wheat should be drilled in the winter continues to surface at this time of year. The answer may not revolve around the cultivar but more around the reasons for the discussion. If we knew that black-grass was no longer going to...

As temperatures plummet across the UK this week – and for pretty much the first time this winter – it's timely to begin spreading supplementary seed in key areas across the farm for our farmland birds. Sown wild bird seed mixtures may continue to do their job at this time of year but as they are depleted, many birds are at risk of starvation later ...

Changes are ahead for Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). However, by taking a more precise approach to tailor the farm areas allocated to EFAs and choosing longer term crop options, they still represent a fantastic opportunity to improve biodiversity and the farm's bottom line. EFAs have hit the headlines due to the imminent removal of the use of Plant...

December marks the start of the festive period and as the song goes, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." However, for a young aspiring agronomist December is not all about winding down, but gearing up! The winter months give an ideal opportunity for meetings, discussion groups, farm planning, cropping reports, assessing harvest results and ...