With the sun shining and spring positively blooming just now, many growers will be overcome with the itch to start drilling. However, it's worth asking yourself - is now really a good time to drill your game cover, wild bird seed, nectar flower and other stewardship features? Good things come to those who wait In most instances (especially for kale...

Weed mapping has been around, in various guises, for some time. For example, it might be in real-time by identifying weeds in the field and directing a spray nozzle during application. Or it could be based upon creating maps of weed infestations ahead of application. Application technology will get more accurate and, if we allow our minds to wander...

WHEAT Demand quenched by imports The UK domestic market for old crop continued to remain well supported this week for supplies of both feed and quality wheat with the deficit areas of the west and north pulling on remaining supplies. The constraints on road freight availability are hindering trade flows from surplus southern grain areas, to overcom...

The weather has improved lately and workload for growers and advisors has increased. I am a relatively new member of the crop applications team at SOYL precision and I thought I'd share some insight into our role and how we support farmers. The crop applications team - what we do to support farmers: We create fertiliser recommendations for over one...

This is the new home of Frontrunner - Frontier's weekly grain marketing update. Subscribe to the blog to be notified every time it is published. WHEAT USDA sees lower world wheat and corn stocks next season Yesterday afternoon the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) published their first world supply and demand estimates for 2018/19. The...

Recent dry and warm weather has encouraged oilseed rape crops into full flower and the countryside is dappled with bright, yellow fields. It is easy at this stage to forget about the preceding weather and the impact it has had on managing these crops this year. The relatively warm autumn and early winter meant that soil nitrogen levels were potenti...

After an extremely cold and wet period across March and early April, it's good to finally see some warm and dry weather. In fact, we had the warmest April day for nearly 70 years, so the change in forecast has been quite remarkable to say the least. This has been great for crop growth and has allowed significant amounts of spring crops to be drille...

 WHEAT Old crop supplies tight in the North We continue to have a north/south divide in our domestic wheat market. We are seeing reasonable supplies in the south of England and heavy demand in the north of England and Scotland but with rapidly diminishing farm stocks in these areas. With no easy way of moving wheat over long distances from sou...

Well, what a change in the weather. Spring has finally sprung after two autumnal weeks. Crops will now begin to move rapidly through their growth stages. The long-range weather forecast shows rain is forecast but in and around some bright sunny weather, allowing growers to finally catch up with their long list of outstanding jobs. The recent weathe...

SOYL have undertaken a nitrogen sampling project at a number of sites across the UK. These sites had a range of differing soil types, allowing us to assess over-winter changes in soil nitrogen levels. A comparison of nitrogen levels in March, compared with those measured in November, has shown a significant over-winter loss, averaging 50kg/ha N or ...

  WHEAT Russian wheat production set to fall Adverse weather conditions may impact on Russian wheat production for the 2018 harvest.Analysts see a reduced area drilled and lower yields leading to a crop of 72 million tonnes, notably lower than last year's record 85 million tonnes. If realised, this would cut the amount Russia would be able to ...

T1 is one of the key fungicide timings and can be the most variable from a fungicide input point of view. T2 is widely regarded as the most important timing and brings the best yield responses, by protecting the flag leaf. T1 can be used for anything from protecting the freshly emerged leaf-three through to playing catch up because of the weather. ...

​New season fertiliser will be upon us in the next couple of months. With many farmers caught out by this season's price rise, what can you do today to mitigate your risk? What caused this year's price trend? Global urea values increased by £60 per tonne throughout the season. China – the world's biggest producer – had reduced exports by almos...

The AHDB Recommended List saw the addition of four new wheat varieties available to market for crop 2019. With many of my growers in the south seeking more information on these additions, I thought it would be worthwhile taking a look at the pros and cons of each as well as investigating how they compare against current options.  1. RGT Gravit...

 WHEAT Complex home trade Domestic UK markets have continued to focus on logistic issues which are now an integral feature and constraining natural trade flows. London wheat futures rose to six-month highs mid-week to levels not seen since 12th October 2017. This prompted greater levels of imported wheat, which also helped the logistics pressu...

Often overlooked, the humble grain moisture meter is a significant piece of equipment that can help to determine the key characteristics of your crop while harvesting, drying and ensuring the correct storage. Accurate readings are crucial for safeguarding the condition of your grain so it's important to ensure your meter is in full-working order. W...

Earlier in the year, we hosted two meetings in the eastern region. With our 3D Thinking open days just around the corner and the opportunity to continue discussing some of the key topics raised, I thought it would be useful to look back at the information that was shared. Over 110 growers attended both events, descending upon the very frosty Walsha...

WHEAT World round-up US wheat futures fell steadily this week following better forecasts for the drought-stricken Plains. This is good news for winter crops, but only time will tell if it will spell better news for crop ratings which currently sit at a 20-year low. Matif wheat made a five-year high on Monday, following last week's firmer US markets...

While a distant memory, the warm, dry weather of October and November allowed most winter crops to be drilled in fairly good conditions and establish well. It also encouraged mineralisation, producing good levels of nitrogen to aid early growth. In fact, in the run up to Christmas it very much looked like soil nitrogen levels would be higher than n...

Over the last two weeks, my travels have taken me as far as the Scottish Borders right down to glorious Exmoor. Along the way I've been stopping off to visit customers and present to growers, both of which have offered me a fascinating insight into where the farming, greening and sporting worlds are currently at. To better explain, I thought it wou...