Soils

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…

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.…

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…

Fertiliser prices – strategies to maximise your return on investment

There has been a 250% increase in wholesale gas prices over the last 12 months. This hike in energy costs is one of the factors contributing to the increased cost…

Crop Trial Results from 2021

Low disease levels at the start of the 2021 season converted to much higher levels by the end of the season, although there were still plenty of situations where lower input approaches to crops could be justified. Learning the lessons from the 2021 trial season and picking out the lessons for 2022 will be core to the information presented at FAS / AHDB / SRUC January agronomy workshops.

Spring Barley Varieties for 2022

The spring barley list was consolidated considerably in 2021 with the main malting choices being Laureate and LG Diablo. The winter barley list includes the two-row feed varieties, KWS Tardis, Bolton and Bordeaux, plus two new six-row hybrids, SY Kingston and SY Thunderbolt.