The UK market continues to be in a state of confusion regarding our wheat crop size, and Brexit. As we enter the final quarter of the cropping year, there is no clarity on the UK wheat crop size. Estimates vary, from DEFRA projecting an area equating to a 13.95 million tonne crop, to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) survey suggesting a 100,000 hectar...

Global markets are increasingly focused on weather patterns and the size of the US fund short for fresh direction. Widespread flooding and below average temperatures in the US plains and Midwest remains a flag for growing crops, while warmer forecasted weather could compound the problem as snow-melt will add to ground moisture levels. Conversely, s...

Lodging is described by Berry, 1998 as "The permanent displacement of plant stems from the vertical" which "occurs on average once every four years in UK wheat crops, when it reduces the yield and bread-making quality of grain." Fischer and Stapper, 1987 also report that "Lodging can reduce yields from 7 – 35%, with the greatest yield reductions oc...

​Yet again a season has seemingly come at us with a fresh set of challenges. Personally, I don't think I've ever seen a 'normal' year and averages cover a lot of variability. However, we do have a challenge with this season's oilseed rape (OSR) crops and working out what to do. Autumn and winter have been both unseasonably dry and unseasonably warm...

World wheat markets continued to move lower at the beginning of the week, extending the trend we have seen since the beginning of 2019. Speculative funds took their short positions to over 120,000 contracts in US wheat futures markets, leaving them technically very oversold and due a bounce. The funds seem driven by the poor US wheat export pace an...

​As if the adult population of cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) wasn't problematic enough last autumn when large areas of oilseed rape were written off, crops are now struggling again as they come out of winter. CSFB larvae are present in high numbers on both heavily grazed crops and even those which appeared to grow away from the pest last year. It...

​Wheat For the first time in a while, futures markets closed yesterday slightly firmer in the UK, EU and USA despite nothing fundamentally bullish to fuel the support. In the USA, widespread freezing conditions and snow continue to cause logistical issues for the transportation of grains which has increased nearby delivered prices. However, crops u...

Friday's USDA report threw us no real surprises in terms of global supply and demand. As a result, the market's focus returned to cash wheat prices around the world. It feels as though the pace of Russian export business is beginning to dwindle, with origins such as the USA, Ukraine and even France beginning compete. This may go some way to making ...

World markets were quiet on Monday as US trade closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day. This coupled with the continued government shutdown in the US means that there is still no January report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). This makes for slim reading of key export data which has significant influence over the old crop market at this t...

As part of my role as a Kings advisor, one of the great things I am involved with is the Balgonie grey partridge project in Fife. Balgonie features as one of 10 Interreg North Sea Region PARTRIDGE projects and, as with the work we also support at Loddington, it serves as a demonstration site and involves us working closely with the Game and Wildlif...

For some people maize is perhaps seen as a somewhat less worthy crop when it comes to allocating management time and resources. Getting it in, being conservative with inputs and taking whatever yield comes along at harvest is often the order of the day. I think if more growers knew what could be achieved by pushing maize harder, they might take a d...

When I was a lad at school the laws of physics, including Newton's third rule "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," seemed of little consequence to me. However, as I grew up I came to realise that the laws of physics are all around us every day and life is bound inextricably to them. To a certain extent nature applies its own ...

Boron is a key nutrient for oilseed rape, with its main functions associated with aiding stem elongation and flowering. While these developments will happen later next spring, it is important to start addressing some of this need now before the crop enters winter.  The last thing we want is OSR coming out of the colder months with a deficiency...

World markets US wheat futures have traded down to six-week lows. This is partly due to poor US export figures but, for the most part, is lead by politics. A two-month high in the US dollar is weighing on US wheat, as are falling equity and crude oil markets. A number of weather issues have been impacting grain markets but these are now well accoun...

Over the last five-to-six years, it's been clear to see an ever-increasing area of maize being grown across the UK. Maize has a number of production uses but the most notable are bio-gas and forage. With so many now taking on the crop and due to the nature of which it is grown, it's important to consider careful management while it's in the ground ...

With autumn drilling well underway, I thought I would share a little insight into how our SOYL customer cupport team works with growers during these busy months. Farmer support SOYL customer support offers advice and assistance on a variety of different areas in precision farming. From step-by-step guidance for connecting iSOYL to a drill control s...

This blog was first featured as an article in the October issue of Three Counties Farmer: Every conversation I have with people in the agricultural world seems to conclude with the opinion that "When it rains, it won't know when to stop." A common term used, especially in the autumn period when focus turns to potato harvest, autumn cereal drilling ...

​For the most part, many of us will admit that when it comes to fertiliser applications we can be guilty of concentrating solely on the application of nitrogen. The most common questions often revolve around the correct nitrogen rates and predicted yield responses but, in all honesty, it isn't all we should be thinking about. As an industry, when f...

The drilling of cereals is progressing at pace in many parts of the UK, with the majority of crops going into good seedbeds. However, there are some areas that could do with a decent night's rain and, more importantly, those who have fields with a black-grass problem should actually be prepared to wait. Managing black-grass It is now well accepted ...

This blog was first featured as an article in the October issue of Three Counties Farmer: There are few jobs that could be classed as 24/7, 365 days a year but farming is one of them. For those who sell their combinable crops, the grain market is ever changing and the global markets also sit within this 'open all hours' bracket. We often draw paral...