Crop Health
Can I cut back on Nitrogen?
The last 12 months has seen unprecedented increases in costs of inputs to farmers and the immediate outlook could see markets and supply chains in chaos around the world. For…
Read More >Thrill of the Hill – Great Yellow Bumblebee
2017 saw the start of Scotland’s Pollinator Strategy, now in 2022 and half way through a ten-year plan, the role and importance of pollinators has only become more significant. Pollinators…
Read More >Disease Planning Starts Early
Planning out a disease management strategy in cereal crops needs to start earlier than usual this season. Programmes can be adjusted as the season goes on but setting out the basic framework makes it possible to work in a diversity of chemistry to minimise resistance risks and cover the main diseases and timings.
Read More >Integrated Pest Management – Top Tips from High Scoring Farms
The IPM planning tool for Scottish growers is starting to give useful insights about what high scoring farms do and where they get their information. Filing in an Integrated Pest Management plan is now standard practice on most arable farms and is a useful tool to explore what can be done on individual farms to increase IPM practices. IPM plans are also being picked up across mixed and grassland farms too. Almost 5000 arable plans have been completed to date for arable farms and nearly 300 for grassland plans – just launched at the end for 2021. Average scores for arable farms are 64.8% and for grassland farms 56.9%. This provides really positive evidence about what the farming industry is already doing to produce crops in integrated and sustainable ways.
Read More >Strategies to High Fertiliser Prices & Planning for 2022
With fertiliser prices having seen a drastic increase over the past few months now is the time to plan if you haven’t already done so what your fertiliser policy will…
Read More >Nutrient Network Farm programme case study: Aucheneck Estates
The Soil Nutrient Network was established in 2016 through a range of host farms across Scotland. The hosts farm would be part of a “Nutrient Network” of farms demonstrating the…
Read More >Reflections on the Nutrient Network Farm programme: Balnellan Farm
Balnellan is farmed with the neighbouring unit at Lochliesk and their land at Weser Gauldwell, coming to ~148 hectares. They also rent some 130 hectares of cropping land and about…
Read More >Reflections on the Nutrient Network Farm programme: Aucheneck Estates
Aucheneck Estates are farming at Aucheneck with the nearby units of Hillhead of Catter, Shandon Drymen, Gallangard and Cairnlea, totalling some 1,915ha which is all rough grazing and permanent grassland.…
Read More >Reflections on the Nutrient Network Farm programme: Bielgrange
Father and son Angus and Niall Jeffrey farm 288 ha (711 acres) arable and 246 ha (608 acres) of grassland over two farming units in East Lothian. Bielgrange lies between…
Read More >Encouraging Cropping – Farmland Birds
In this podcast we hear from Chris Bailey RSPB Scotland about the importance of cropping areas for many farmland birds. We discuss the nature and climate emergencies and the need…
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