Environment
News
Planning ahead for sustainable plant health
Strategic forward planning to minimise plant health risks on farm might be an impossible ask in the main field season and the fast paced harvest and drilling period we’ve just…
Soil health – why and how?
Interest in soil health is growing at all levels. It is a key area for policy with the UK government’s 25-year environment plan, launched earlier this year, indicating that future agricultural policy will focus on soil health and structure.
Are you making the most of Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is not a new idea in farming and many producers will be familiar with the concept through measures such as the pesticide industry’s Voluntary Initiative and…
Water – Waste not, want not!
Even before we entered the driest six month period since 1984 this summer, water use on farms was starting to be mentioned as one of the assessment criteria to be…
Integrated Pest Management on Arable Farms, Angus – Event Summary
Integrated pest management Pest and disease control strategies for spring barley and winter wheat formed the focus of this meeting at Scotston of Kirkside. There was an emphasis on the…
Events
NVZ and Nutrient Budget Workshop – Laurencekirk
Do you farm within the Stonehaven & Forfar areas of the Strathmore, Fife and Angus NVZ? NVZ rules have been in place within the Stonehaven and Forfar area for many years…
Digestate: The facts – Moray
There is a new plant producing digestate at Port Gordon. It is producing a PAS110 product and they are actively offering it to farmers in the area. It is a…
Banffshire Soil & Nutrient Network: Save money with effective nutrient budgeting
Save money with effective nutrient budgeting Can you make better use of organic manures on your farm? Can your use of fertiliser be targeted better in order to improve efficiency…
East Lothians Soil & Nutrient Network: 2nd meeting – Soil organic matter & organic manures
The importance of soil organic matter, making the most of organic manures composts & wastes and nitrogen use efficiency. This is the second of three meetings to be held on…
Varieties Disease & Pest Control in Combinable Crops an Integrated Crop Management (ICM) approach – West Lothian
Pesticide products that growers previously relied upon are being withdrawn due to the cost of re-registration or wider environmental concerns. Integrated Crop Management (ICM) is about developing a more integrated…
Publications
Identifying compaction in your fields
Options available for relieving compaction
What the dry summer can tell us about our fields
Cover crops – Information note
Cover Crops – Information note
Downloads
Practical Guide: Use of Cover Crops
This Practical Guide concentrates on the benefits of cover crops and how they can help your farm adapt in a changing climate.
Cover Crops – Information note
This document contains information about various different cover crops that might be an option on your farm.
Case Study: Hardens Farm – Using a RAM pump to provide alternative watering to grazing cattle
John Anderson farms at Hardens Farm which lies within the Lower Tweed Priority Catchment. The farm steading is located at 200 m above sea level, has a weak main supply with fields that rise to 300 m which are located a distance of 900 m from the steading in two different directions. In order to provide an alternative watering source for grazing cattle, John installed a RAM pump system.
OPAL – Grassland earthworm key
This is a two-sheet guide to identifying earthworms.
‘Mind The Gap – 2 m and 10 m buffer strips near watercourses’ Information Note
Mind the gap – 2m and 10m buffer strips near watercourses. Vegetated buffer strips of varying distances are used throughout Scotland to help ensure that on-farm pollutants and run off do not get into watercourses. Maintaining these areas not only helps comply with the Diffuse Pollution General Binding Rules (DP GBRs), but also helps to protect water quality and biodiversity, improving farm environmental performance.
