SOYL has been exhibiting at CropTec since it first started back in 2013. In the four times that it has been held since, the show has grown considerably and is a valuable chance for growers to talk to us in a focussed yet informal and relaxed environment. CropTec is considered the "UK's leading technical and knowledge exchange event for the arable f...

At the beginning of August, I wrote a blog on the importance of correcting your pH and the benefits that this can bring to you and your land. Lime spreaders have been working at full capacity across the UK since then and it has served as a reminder of just how many different liming products are available. As a result, I thought it would be helpful ...

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...

Oh, to be more organised! Much of what we see around the farm is reactive, driving past a field or walking across it and recording what you see. This is how crop development has been managed and monitored for a very long time. However, there is a different way and it is based upon the information that you have already recorded across the farm. Data...

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...

I had the pleasure of attending Tillage Live 2018 last week. This year, the event was held in Dunbar, East Lothian and although SOYL have always supported the event, it had been of couple of years since I'd been myself. I was really looking forward to exploring the site, talking to lots of attendees and seeing the impressive demonstrations on show....

​Imagine if there was a way to automatically know which areas of your production system are most profitable and those which are loss-making. Wouldn't it be great to know which management decisions had paid off, which new methods of working had or hadn't worked and if all of this information could be collected with minimum effort? For farmers that t...

As I write this, I am travelling on the train from Edinburgh to Newark. What is great about travelling on the train is seeing, in detail, the beautiful British countryside. It's a great opportunity to review the land and see the huge variations that exist within fields. Even within stubble fields you can see the differences in crop thickness from o...

Catch crops, sown in the summer, can be used very effectively as part of an Ecological Focus Area (EFA) greening requirement. These crops offer potential benefits to soil and rotation management beyond the financial rewards of EFA. However, it's important to comply with EFA criteria around management dates. Catch crops that were established by the ...

​This blog was first featured as an article in the September issue of Three Counties Farmer What a difference a day makes. It's a lovely song by Dinah Washington, originally written in Spanish by Maria Grever. It's been covered by many artists over the years and no doubt murdered on the X Factor in more recent times. Having been lucky enough to tra...

While rain has now fallen in most regions, the recent hot weather has significantly impacted grass growth meaning, unfortunately, many dairy farmers will be heading into the winter with a shortage of silage. As has been well publicised over recent weeks, many farmers are baling their straw to help their colleagues with cattle. But what impact does ...

Kings attended Potatoes in Practice this month, the UK's largest field-based potato event. Held at The James Hutton Institute's Balruddery Farm in Dundee, our team were delighted to be attending for a third year. The event comprised demonstrations of both varieties and machinery, highlighted innovative research and was a great platform for industry...

This is a question I am often asked when discussing plans with growers and my most common response is, "Why wouldn't you?" For me, as with any crop, it makes perfect sense to adopt variable rate drilling for OSR. Particularly for helping to create the optimum, even canopy as the correct seed rate can hugely contribute to this. Optimum canopies Toda...

Sitting here on a Friday, surrounded by colleagues taking calls from lime contractors across the UK, I thought it would be worthwhile to address the importance of correcting your pH. With the earlier harvest, land being clear and the need for some rain before OSR cultivations can really begin in many areas of the UK, there's a good opportunity for ...

Cultivation and drilling strategy for 2018/19 Weather, a subject always of interest to farmers, seems more topical than ever. Today's 'drought summit' sees NFU president, Minette Batters meeting Whitehall officials amid fears that the heatwave could have a serious affect on food production. The implications of drought are wide ranging for agricultu...

As customers get the combines out, some are also turning their thoughts towards next season and what will need doing for the new crop. Cropping plans are starting to roll in to the Applications Team inbox so fertiliser can be ordered in the hope of a good harvest and drilling conditions, allowing for an autumn application of phosphate and potash (P...

With the hot and dry weather set to continue, Kings sales manager, Richard Barnes, discusses the impact for game cover and wild bird seed crops across the UK and how to manage them for best results.   Having been an advisor with Kings for 15 years, how does this year's weather compare to that of previous years? Every year has its own challenge...

This article was first published in the June edition of 3 Counties Farmer I've been told on many occasions the best time to plant a tree was 40 years ago and the next best time is... tomorrow! Thinking further than a day ahead can seem quite difficult when you are in the thick of a busy growing season, hampered by cold and wet conditions while atte...