Playing Russian Roulette

For a fortunate few, Harvest 2012 is drawing to a protracted and very difficult close, certainly this is a year that we aren't going to forget in a hurry!

It has been a revelation this year, a 'shake out' year as one of our breeders described it, as some serious issues that potentially threaten wheat breeding program's are starting to emerge with some very serious consequences for UK farming.

In the past some breeding program's have focused on genetic resistance to regular disease pressures, septoria tritici being the main one, with other traits being bolted on. Some other breeders have been focusing on all out yield, regardless of how genetically strong these varieties were, their consensus being that disease risk could be managed by chemistry tailored to curb disease outbreaks. Barn filling varieties with poor to average disease traits proliferated as farmers bought into the idea that chemistry could solve all disease problems. As with anything in nature, disease pressures and mutations give rise to new challenges. Single gene resistance to disease instead of dual, or multiple gene resistance is easier to breed into new varieties and allows quick turn around from lab to field. As a consequence we are now seeing multiple incidences of varieties succumbing  to Yellow Rust and Brown Rust strains that are evolving, varieties that have only just been registered on the HGCA recommended lists, with the resultant increase in usage of full blown ag-chem programs to try and control these issues.

Throw into this mix one of the wettest growing seasons, especially from pre flowering all the way to harvest with low solar energy levels, high humidity and very damp soil conditions and you have a perfect storm scenario for a whole host of new diseases to make their presence felt too, especially Fusarium which has quite literally sucked all yield out of wheats this year, apart from those like Istabraq that has not suffered as much and is still producing a reasonable sample.

A common theme I am hearing on farm is a new level of questioning with regard to ag-chem inputs, how expensive this last season has been to get a crop that basically isn't near covering costs. It's is interesting to note how some of these chemistry suppliers have gone from small scale operations to giants in the industry in a very short period of time, considering how long the 'green revolution' in agriculture has been going on for. In a very short time span, farmers have seen their supply base of agricultural chemicals diminish considerably down to just a handful of players in the market, with the agronomy angle reduced even further and geared almost exclusively to structured spray programs. In a wet year like this last one, total reliance on sprays to control disease has been severely tested and the basic fundamentals of genetic resistance and a variety's ability to cope under stress have been fully on display. Some have coped and a lot have not.

Soil science, I would say is one of the most important factors governing yield, has been largely forgotten, farmers have devolved responsibility in many areas to their ag-chem supplier and crop walkers who supposedly are more knowledgeable in maximising yields and thus returns on their behalf. The knowledge gap on farm has been further diminished as a result of squeezed margins in the 'naughties' that lead to farmers farming more acres with less personnel and thus being more time restricted to chase knowledge in this regard. Universities and Agricultural Colleges too reduced the soil science input and concentrated more on the chemistry and machinery aspects of tillage, horsepower and technology as soil science generally was considered boring by most students. How many modern day farmers really understand and know what is going on in their soils?

A common theme I hear on farm is this; "why is it that with all your new fancy varieties you are breeding I am still only getting the yields we were getting 10 years ago"? Well, this time I heard an answer that came from a soil specialist company that has been growing a database on soils across the UK for the last 10 plus years and what he said was scary. The basis of it is this, pure arable farmers have been depleting the soil organic matter for so long with simple cereal and rape rotations that in some areas these levels are so low as to be irreplaceable, the soils have had all the life sucked out of them and as a result they physically are unable to provide the growing crops with the nutrients to attain their genetic potential.

It really has been noticeable in fields this year, those with good organic matter, good structure, good nutrient status have still delivered a reasonable yield and machinery has still been able to travel at critical times without leaving 3ft deep ruts. A farmer I know in Wiltshire has been chopping his straw for 10 years now, been applying copious amounts of compost and maintaining his lime and nutrient status with almost religious zeal. On very heavy clay over chalk, he has managed to keep going during harvest when his neighbours were getting stuck, his fields have a natural 'sponginess' to them as you walk them with very few areas of standing water in any of them, whilst neighbours have had 6" across whole fields of standing water for long periods of time. When you look where the combine has been traveling, there are no deep ruts, look over the hedge and it looks like a battlefield.

The genetic potential of some of the older wheat varieties like Einstein is well in excess of 25t/ha, we know from data attained in New Zealand these varieties are currently doing 18t/ha on farm in places consistently where the fertility of the soils has been maintained and the soils well managed in terms of rotation, organic manure levels, trace element replacement and most importantly, soil structure. These farmers have good rotations with break crops designed to replace organic matter and recharge the soil nutrient levels, instead of relying on stuff out of a bag. UK farmers in the main have not been doing this and yield increases have largely flatlined.

We need a radicle rethink in how we manage crop rotations, increase soil organic matter levels, improve soil structure and rejuvinate trace element levels. We need to sometimes stop and think; the soils we are farming are the product of millions of years in the making, yet with our modern cropping methods we are depleting their ability to produce the very food that our growing populations will need in the future.

How are the future generations of young farmers going to produce a decent crop that provides an economic return if the very medium needed to grow it is barren? Those who think GM will gallantly ride to the rescue are sadly going to be disappointed because the focus in GM at present is geared towards mainly chemistry, rather than soils.

The last 5 years have in the main been benign to cereal varieties, yes there has been pressure from disease, but the weaker ones were still able to deliver a credible yield with a lot of ag-chem help. This year we hit chamber six and it has blown a huge hole in many a bottom line  Lets hope this year the HGCA clamps down on low disease threshold varieties whose presence on the list now is very questionable and we move away from 'spray and weigh' varieties.

A little glimmer of light amongst a tale of woe.

Speak to many westcountry farmers and the opinion is the same, we have never seen a 'summer' like this one, in fact the whole year has been pretty much up the spout with no let up in difficult conditions.

With harvest struggling on and the results looking far from brilliant so far, it is great to hear a success story, well success in part anyway. A while ago I put a short clip up on youtube where our Sales Director Alastair Moore and I were looking at the ins and outs of establishing Oilseed rape, the link to the clip is down below. Our Rape breeder has been saying for years that canopy management, establishment and nitrogen influence final yields much more so than the individual variety that are ranked on the HGCA 'descriptive' list (I call it descriptive, because some of the LSD numbers are so far out so as to make the results statistically null and void). We get shoehorned into chosing varieties according to their results on this list, which incidently through the way the data is gathered is automatically selecting for taller and later maturing varieties, not ideal given the conditions this year!

Last summer a variety called Artoga, bred by Limagrain, started to raise it's profile because it was doing stunningly well in large parts of Europe and was one of only a few varieties that proved it could survive bitterly cold conditions and produce a crop that doesn't readily shatter at harvest time. I persuaded a few of my customers to try it and lo and behold it does what it says on the can! One of my customers on really wet heavy and very marginal soils on the cornish border put some in with a Sumo, very late (late September) and although we had a mild autumn, the fact we had so much rain drowned quite a bit of it where water pooled and sat from November through till March. However, on the one field that is south facing and reasonably well drained it was stonkingly good. Considering as well that it didn't have an autumn herbicide, that it only had one fungicide spray during it whole lifetime, to end up with an average yield well over 1ton/ac is encouraging, given that some crops that have had everything thrown at them are only doing 1.5t/ac. To appreciate how much abuse it had, it was dessicated and then left a good 3 weeks enduring torrential rain and thunderstorms, with long spells and damp mizzle thrown in as well, followed by bursts of very steamy hot weather before the combine managed to get to it last weekend (11th August). The grower fearing the worst gingerly started cutting thinking that most of the seed would have dropped out, or worse would start shedding from the vibration of the cutter bar on the combine. I am happy to report his worries were unfounded; no lodging, no cutterbar losses, no shedding! 

Elsewhere we are seeing yields consinstently in the 1.55-1.8t/ac range down here, which given the conditions and the season is quite encouraging and certainly on a par or exceeding the yields of the high ranking varieties on the HGCA list. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsNHjSykIwM&list=UUCuUvslFtDuEj6bQPEOHIxA&index=4&feature=plcp

At last something that backs up what I have been saying for a long time.

There is a lot of marketing hype that gets printed in the popular farming press, but I have to say this is one of the first articles I have read that talks common sense and puts the whole economic perspective of dairy farming in a neat concise article. It is something Simon Broddle of Nickersons has been saying too about over leafy, young, watery grass types that are being stuffed in grass mixes. They are out of balance with the animals needs, they may analyse well in a lab, but more often than not I am coming up against a common theme of the forages not feeding as well as they analyse.

Add to this the ever increasing issue we are brewing up in our soils highlighted here in easy to understand language, I hope that producers start looking at their soils in the manner they should be, as I have already highlighted in a previous post.

http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/livestock/livestock-news/silage-making-approach-re-think-needed-to-boost-dairy-farm-profits/46284.article#.T5hXUu3omdA.google

An example of a beautifully balanced sward, Nickerson Blue Circle.

Farmers Guardian article December 2011

Taking a 'holistic' approach to dairy management is allowing better returns to be made.

Growing a specialist variety of grain maize , as well as lucerne and grass and managing it according to specific advice from leading forage experts Nickerson Direct has resulted in North Cornwall farmers Michael and Anthony Grills being able to consolidate and expand their dairy enterprise even in the face of price adversity.

Continuing pressure on the dairy industry has encouraged Michael and Anthony to focus on increasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness over the last few years, during which they have expanded their dairy business from 250 to 320 cows, with the eventual aim of reaching 500. They have also implemented major advances in genetics and nutrition, reduced costs, improved attention to detail and increased profitability.

Until 2009, cropping at West Trelay Farm, Marhamchurch included 60-80 acres of forage maize, which was included in the ration at the rate of one part to two parts grass silage. However, the Grills found it difficult to achieve consistently good results from forage maize and variability in the clamp made correct rationing difficult. Typical butterfat levels struggled to get to 4% on the wheat and barley mix as a starch source along with forage maize, which when on a cheese contract is costly.

In early 2009, Nickerson Direct Seed Specialist Simon Montgomery suggested that Michael and Anthony include grain maize with the forage maize as an additional energy source to supplement grass silage, its higher energy/starch content significantly improving milking performance and making the ration easier to manage throughout the year.

The initial crop produced an average of 5 tonnes per acre of grain which was put into the clamp for £68/t, making it very cost-effective. The maize fed tremendously well, with average butterfat content increasing from 3.98% to a maximum of 4.54% during the winter and never dropping below 4.2% the following summer, while protein remained at 3.18-3.21% throughout. The resulting increase in the quality of the milk, all of it contracted to Dairy Crest for cheese production, netted the Grills a 1p/litre quality premium worth £25,000 per year.

It was so successful that in 2010 they substituted the area of forage maize for grain maize, drilling 90 acres of Lorado between 18th and 21st April. The crop established quickly in favourable conditions, grew consistently throughout the season despite being subjected to severe drought stress and in terms of maturity behaved more like a Group 9 than its official NIAB Group 7 rating would suggest with harvest completed by 17th October and averaging a respectable 4.5 -5 t/ac in yield.

This year, the area was increased further, with a number of fields being 3rd year grain maize. 2011 started off far drier than 2010, with the crop being planted on the 14th and 15th April in ideal conditions. What was startling though on the light ground was how much moisture had been retained by the 2 previous years mulched stalks, allowing easy seed bed preparation and perfect planting conditions giving a very even plant establishment, something others struggled with this year. Herbicide applications also worked well. Even with the extremes of weather this year, first hot and dry, then cold and dry, followed by cool windy and wet conditions from 15th June onwards, the crop looked good.

By the 11th October the crop was ready to harvest, even after the poor growing conditions this year, with contractor Phil Strout combining 4 - 5 tonnes per acre (at 30-34% moisture) of what Anthony Grills describes as ‘a wonderful product, like gold dust’, although he acknowledges that their location on relatively dry ground in North Cornwall favours the crop. The fact that Lorado dries down quickly, right to the base of the kernel, 'enables us to put it through the crimper efficiently, producing a gritty flour type product, even though we are adding water with the acid type preservative, which as a result has increased surface area allowing easy digestion in the cows' gut. We're also getting better protein values from the maize as a result of using this method. In doing so we are reducing the overall acid loading on the cows digestive system, which with good quality grass silage is making a noticeable difference'.

After appraising and careful consideration with Simon, a trial field of Lucerne was planted in one of the drier fields 'to see what happens'. Simon's past experience of growing Lucerne in Zimbabwe helped in getting a fantastic establishment in difficult dry conditions. The first cut was made mid July, being left to wilt for 4 days with one turning with an old Vicon Acrobat doing the job very well without losing the leaf, before row up and baling. The Lucerne was chopped as being baled, resulting in very dense, tightly packed bales which had an additional layer of plastic to stop any 'porcupine effect'. The resultant forage has surpassed expectations. The second cut in early September was done the same way and has analysed equally well, yielding similarly at 8 600kg bales per acre. Next year, four cuts should be easily achievable.

                                               Sowing Lucerne near Bude, 15th April 2011

                                                 Establishment is everything with lucerne.

                                   Cutting and wilting properly, without loosing the leaves is critical
The inclusion of 1.5 kg per cow of Lucerne in the diet has raised protein levels from 3.18 to 3.35%. It has also allowed the removal 0.25kg per cow of soya from the ration, saving over £900/month in bought in soya cost. It has also helped boost butterfat levels which are now up to 4.64% in cows producing 10,000 litres of milk. The milk from forage figure is now standing at 4500 litres, from grazed grass and grass silage only, as the grain maize is treated as a concentrate.

What is noticeable too is how cow health is improving. Cows are very 'on the go'; alert, but contented and relaxed looking when you study them, they do not look tired and lethargic. They are showing better bulling signs and better holding post AI. As a result the cull cow numbers have reduced, calving index is improving, there is now a surplus of heifers being reared which is providing another good revenue stream to the business.

Soil management has also been appraised, some time ago soil conditioning fertilisers became part of the crop fertilising regime, recently the inclusion of 'bugs' into the slurry towers is enhancing nitrogen values by 18-20% with silage ground staying green after cutting, rather than the usual browning off period whilst swards recover. This has lead to a reduction in bought in Nitrogen fertiliser use over the whole farm, particularly in the grain maize fields, the flora and fauna levels in the soils as a result is improving along with soil structure.

The combination of crimped maize and Lucerne in the diet has added an additional 1.5p quality premium to their milk price, which is making the business far more viable. It is also providing the basis for a more balanced diet, with good quality grass silage under pinning it. 'Most importantly, the growing of grain maize at £70 per ton in the clamp, the improved milk price as a result of better quality milk, the savings from inclusion of Lucerne into the diet has stabilised the farm business, on the borrowings side and the new bank protocols, our business is more sound and is allowing us to push forward and further invest in our enterprise.

As Simon has said before, "Dry grain production requires varieties with rapid dry-down rates, harvested after the leaves have died back and typically followed by the removal of 10%-15% moisture in a dryer, which increases the cost of the final product and is a major factor in steering producers towards moist storage after crimping".

“The high energy content and slow starch degradation characteristics make crimped grain maize an ideal moist concentrate feed for high-performance dairy and beef animals. It is convenient and reliable, ideal for use on farms where maize silage area is limited but where additional starch is required in the diet. Typically, the nutrient analysis for crimped grain is 65%-75% Dry Matter, 12-13 ME, 9-11% crude protein and 60%-70% starch. What makes Lorado so good is that it typically has a protein value of 12.7%, much more than other varieties and this does make a big difference in the ration".

“Grain maize provides a much more concentrated form of energy than forage maize, which is very important in achieving the correct energy-density in rations, enabling cows to eat more and make more milk. It is also very convenient, allowing livestock farmers to ‘top up’ lower-quality forages and those who buy in straights to purchase the exact tonnage they require, as and when they need it, which benefits cash-flow.

“Many farmers have tried to produce grain maize using conventional forage varieties, but these will only dry down slowly to a minimum of 30% moisture, making the crop difficult to combine in often wet and windy conditions late in November or December. Growing specialist grain maize varieties will make a big difference, but producing a good crop requires a different technique in terms of variety, plant population, nitrogen management and timing".

“It is essential to choose the correct variety. Lorado was bred by Limagrain specifically to perform well in Northern Europe. It is one of the earliest-maturing varieties in the Maize Growers Association trials and under favourable conditions does not require covering with plastic. Despite being the tallest on the NIAB list, it has excellent standing power, good disease resistance, excellent early vigour and good cob tip cover, which eliminates the risk of mould infection from ‘snouting’. Lorado produces excellent yields of high-quality grain, has superb dry-down characteristics and will reach 25% moisture, making it easier to harvest.What growers don't always appreciate is that dry-down gets slower the later the crop gets into October, particularly when you start getting into November, whilst the ground and conditions typically are getting wetter! It sounds obvious, but I am seeing combines running down in the southwest in late November by which time white moulds, fusarium and cob rot are starting to really take hold. The whole idea should be to harvest as pure a form of starch as possible, yet by planting later maturing varieties, even under plastic, the resultant contamination risks are hugely increased, negating the advantages of inclusion in the diet. We are harvesting Lorado at Bude before most of the forage varieties are harvested, which gives some idea of just how early to mature it is".

“Grain maize crops should be sown as early in April as possible, when soil temperature reaches 8°C, into light, free-draining soils in South-facing fields that warm up quickly during the spring and drain well right through until harvest. Whereas crops grown for crimped maize production typically require a seed rate of 38,000-40,000 seeds/acre, for grain maize production this should be reduced to 36,000-38,000 seeds/acre.

“In addition to its many economic benefits, grain maize also has significant environmental benefits. The defra guidelines indicate that farmers should sow a green cover crop after harvesting forage maize to prevent soil erosion. With grain maize, however, this is not necessary as the stova is chopped and spread, creating a ‘mat’ that allows machinery to travel on the land more easily, greatly reducing soil erosion/run-off, improving soil structure and lowering the export of Phosphate and Potash from the field/farm, a big win-win situation given the current rising cost of fertiliser”.

Your soil, millions of years in the making.

The new seasons crops are in the ground, or in the process of going in, some of it has been drilled in haste after a long protracted period of wet drizzly conditions resulting from a drawn out harvest. Although the conditions weren't as bad as in 2007, never the less, soil conditions weren't great with quiete a lot of compaction issues resulting from heavy machinery trying to get the crops off before they went flat. Now this is probably not the case in most counties east of the M5 where a lack of moisture is more of a problem and having enough moisture to get the new crop to germinate is the pressing issue.

When I was farming in Zimbabwe, moisture retention, deficit irrigation, minimum tillage, trash incorporation, controlled traffic, were all tools we used to boost the water holding capacity of our soils, along with a very active soil testing regime to monitor lime, organic matter, and P&K's. The Agricultural Research Trust Farm (ART Farm as it was known) sponsored by the Commercial Farmers Union and other producer groups, was way ahead of it's time in carrying out research and testing techniques to boost grain production in a way that boosted the bottom line on the balance sheet, rather than pure out and out yield. The attention to detail was scary, something we struggled to get our heads around at the time as we saw it as a huge burdensome amount of paperwork and record keeping. However, they could tell you to the nearest cent how much a field of maize, soya, grass, etc, had cost to grow, how much it had produced and what the margins were over a wide range of parameters. This wasn't a small little research unit either of 50 acres either, but a commercial unit. There was focus, right from the very top, all the way down to tractor driver level on getting the basics right.

The soils we farm with here in UK aren't wildly different to some of those I farmed in Zim, some of the red clay loams around Crediton, or parts of Shropshire are similar to the best soils we had, however most of our soils would be classified as green sands, or vlei sands as we called them, grade 4 and 5 stuff. Easily compacted, very little organic matter, easily capped and really easily eroded in heavy rain. We had contour drains on all arable ground with a gradient steeper than 1 in 50 just to control  erosion, as well as manage moisture retention. In the USA and Canada, they call this strip farming and can be seen clearly in the photo below.


Photo by Tim McCabe, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

So why do we not see the same level of care of soils here in the UK as in other parts of the world?


Photo by Rodney Burton, Wigborough, Somerset.


Land near Launceston

The maize harvest is going great guns now, some of it is fit and some not quite ready. Soils vary in the amount of moisture in them, but with the cooler weather, there is less evaporation and drying out taking place, so even small showers are keeping some areas saturated and making traveling conditions difficult with harvesting machinery resulting in deep ruts and compaction areas being created. So all the sponginess will have disappeared in these areas, less air in the soil, less absorbtion capacity, poorer rooting potential for the following wheat crops where going in, as running a ripper tine through wet soil has little benefit and will lead to greater soil slumping in the spring. A deep hard frost would do more to restore some structure than a tine. Most farmers will be ploughing these spots in the hope that this will help, however in my experience this just results in the compacted blocks being inverted with little restoration of structure and doesn't solve the issue of the deeper compaction problems. Really, these can only be tackled after harvest next year, you just have to live with the consequences of this late maize harvest and possibly look at better, lighter, south facing, sheltered fields for next year.

Maize under plastic has done well for a few people in the past, it does enable you to harvest 2-3 weeks earlier than normally, although it is questionable having seen data that you get a heavier crop with more starch than conventional maize. If you are reliant on using this type a system to grow maize, you really do need to look closely at this picture taken last year in March in Devon showing the amount of plastic still littering the field. This plastic is NOT biodegradable, it is PHOTO degradable, meaning it needs sunlight (ultraviolet light) to help it degrade, rather like clear PVC pannels in rooves that break down over time and become brittle. It does not however completely disappear, all that happens is that these 'squares' of little bits of plastic disintergrate into ever smaller pieces down to microscopic level, but they never fully decompose. We have this very same situation on coast line beaches which are becoming ever more contaminated with plastic. The issue is this, your soil is your lifeblood if you are a farmer, allowing it to become contaminated in a relatively short time period of one generation, compared to the millions of years it has taken to form, is folly. What will happen in 10 years time when these microscopic particles start to filter through into water courses and the water table. Already the Environment Agency are stepping up their surveilence teams and monitoring closely waters in catchment sensitive areas, for runnoff and siltation, we know water companies are looking at phosphate levels, not just nitrogen polution and metaldehydes. There are better forms of plastic out there that are properly BIOdegradable, that break down completely, the best being that made from maize starch which has a fertilising effect as it does so, but which was discontinued some years ago as the cheaper photodegradable stuff was promoted. The better stuff costs more, as you would expect, the question you need to ask is what is the long term viability of your farm soils if you are totally reliant on short term solutions?

And since we are talking about lifeblood, how many farmers are soil testing regularly, accurately and correcting the issues as they arise in a timely manner? Below is an example of the type of pH soil testing I do, the importance of this method was drummed into me by R&T Agricultural Liming, long before the likes of other companies that went on to develope an electronic method using computer software to predict and interpret soil tests and plot them in multicoloured maps.

Finding and correcting areas of low pH is vital in getting the best out of inputs and maximising yields through efficient use of inputs, especially fertilser and sprays. It is amazing how much soils vary within fields, especially in areas where soils are traditionally expected to be alkaline, like over Cotswold brash type soils, or clay caps over chalk downland, or where light shillit types run into heavy Dunsland/ Lyas blue type clay. Correcting the areas where there are deficiencies, not just blanket coverage is obviously cost effective and lessons the risks of over liming and locking up major and minor trace elements.

The result of not having a regular lime testing and spreading program results in test results like this above. When you start getting results like this in the very low 5's, it takes a very large amount of liming material to correct the deficit and cannot all be aplied at once either, but needs to be spread out over a couple of crops. It's is also important to remember the pH scale is a logorithic scale, meaning it is exponential in the amount of corrective material needed to address the problem.


Spring Barley near Bodmin struggling on a pH of 5.6 in 2009

 Too much lime can also be an issue, something I see particularly on dairy units that are using seasand as bedding in cubicles, which then gets pumped out in the slurry onto the fields usually closest to the unit. I am seeing pH's in the very high 7's and low 8's in parts of Cornwall with trace element lock up really becoming an issue. I have had a number of farmers saying that their pH's are good, yet their grass is analysing low in calcium when they do tissue analysis. Having tested and found these pH's up near 8, gypsum then becomes about the only way of boosting Calcium availability without raising the pH. A lot of work has been done on this not only here in the UK, but all around the world, however I have yet to come across an agronomist with any major company that knows anything about it, the only one I have come across is Jo Scammel who does a lot with Dairy farmers in Gloucestershire and who runs the soil clinics at the dairy event.
With the push for bigger dairy units, one has to ask what the long term consequences of very high concentrated levels of slurry will be on the micro organisms in the soil profile on these units. For sure, every arable farmer in the east would probably gladly want a dairy farmer next door where he can rotate, or share field rotations with so he gets organic manure back into his soils. In the last three years I have managed to demonstrate to a number of cereal growers just how important chicken muck is and how putting back organic matter into the soils where continuous wheat is being grown is vital in maintaining yield and grain quality. On one unit in particular we have taken average yield from 2.6t/ac in years 2006-2009 to over 3.7t/ac this year. It has been interesting to physically see how the soil structure has changed, it is far more friable, works easier, doesn't cap so easily straight after heavy rain, nor does it slump as much during the winter. With the addition of using Nickerson original seed too, there are no big bare patches where there is nothing growing like there used to be in the past as the wet areas don't compact and slump like they used too and the film coated seeds allows faster, bigger root systems to develope quickly to take advantage of the nutrients on tap making winter kill less of an issue, even though last year was one of the coldest in a very long time.

However we have a few cases now developing of the opposite starting to occurr, very large dairy units with very high stocking rates/ac (3+ cows/ac) as the animals are housed most of the year round. That means there is a lot of slurry to spread on quite a tight area of ground, with the result that the ground is being drowned in slurry, literally. Lots of dead worms littering the top soil, large bare patches developing in between grass plants where they have been suffocated by slurry, sward quality and grass yields falling as a result. Sward lifters, slitters and slotters can only do so much in the short term to alleviate these issues, the longer term damage is the more worrying problem that is being stored up for the following generations.

We need to start looking at farming in a much more holistic manner, indeed Allan Savoury who conducted trials in grazing and land management first in the Karoo many years ago in South Africa and subsequently has started a foundation in the USA following extensive work in Texas and other ranching states has laid out some key principles in this area. I would recommend farmers read some of his work, or look at this website http://www.holisticmanagement.org/ especially those in drier parts.

We are all players in the food chain, whether consumers, or producers. We need to ensure that we look after our primary resource, the soils we grow our food off.

If you eat, you are involved in agriculture.

Cornish Wheat Demo 2011 results.

Here are the results for the demo plots down near Tregony. It cannot be described as a scientifically statistically replicated trial, however it's pretty representative of this seasons results seen elsewhere on farms. Its is interesting that when we had open evenings the three varieties that looked promising in the plots also yielded very well, with Invicta tops, Einstein next followed by Claire. We all forget about Claire these days with all the newer varieties being released and coming to the fore, but Claire still just does it year after year, I know of someone in Wiltshire whose average yield of Claire this year was well over 5ton/ac!

Cornish Wheat Demonstration Results 2011
Variety	Grain yield Kgs	Tons/ha	Moisture%	Specific Weight	Relative Yield
Xi 19	575	11.83	16	73.8	103
Exsept	555	11.42	16.4	75.2	99
Einstein	590	12.14	16	75.2	105
Panorama	575	11.83	16	75	103
Claire	580	11.93	16.4	75.6	104
Invicta	615	12.65	16.5	73.2	110
Alchemy	555	11.42	16.4	76.2	99
Edmunds	565	11.63	16.4	73.4	101
Istabraq	560	11.52	16.2	75.8	100
Cassius	510	10.49	16	74.5	91
Gravitas	565	11.63	16.2	74.8	101
Sahara	530	10.91	16.4	74	95
Stigg	565	11.63	15.8	74.4	101
JB Diego	575	11.83	16.3	74.2	103
Robigus	555	11.42	16.4	74.3	99
Deben	505	10.39	15.7	72.8	90
Oakley	545	11.21	16.2	70.2	97
Duxford	555	11.42	16.2	74.8	99
Total			10075
Average			560

These plots all have very similar levels of moisture content, I have not put the results down at exactly the same moisture contents, rather left them as found to show the differences. If anyone disagrees with my methodology, let me know. So Invicta is the one that looked good all the way through and has come out tops. Sahara looked thin, if you look at earlier videos, it did look weaker all the way through, likewise Cassius which was hit very badly by Septoria, losing virtually all it's leaf area fairly early on. Oakley was hit very badly by Yellow Rust. Xi19 has been surprising, I really was not expecting it to do as well as it did, whilst for all the percieved wisdom and previous experience Stigg has turned in a good performance with a specific weight better than JB Diego.

So, all in all, an interesting experience, the 2011/12 plots have now been drilled with a whole lot of new varieties in them as well as the older established ones and I look forward to seeing how the new ones stack up down here in the far Southwest.

Maize 2011 so far.

It all started so well, warm hot weather, ideal sowing conditions and this on the 10th April through to 19th.

Dust flying as the demo plots are drilled at North Tawton.

Maize under plastic really started to struggle in the dry weather. The conventionally drilled stuff actually looked really good in comparison, wasn't as badly droughted.

In the early stages, condensation on the underside of the sheets was enough to keep the plants going, but the weed problems were only just beginning as can be seen in the photo. This system really does need very robust chemical input, which only adds a very significant cost loading, £70+/ha, to the spray program and even then expect to do a post emergent spray program as well. Looking at the sums supplied by the Maize Growers Association, the cost per ton of DM is still higher, even with an additional 25% yield advantage over conventional.

Lorado drilled conventionally, with Lorado and standard varieties in a small trial to see the differences. Under plastic stuff noticeably paler as not starter fertiliser available early on to get plants going.

Some seed was drilled  really deep! It was also rolled afterwards and I was worried it would really battle to come through. Fortunately it worked and the crop looks pretty good.

Germination generally was good., but on heavier ground it was patchy. Near Ashwater.

Beethoven standing like soldiers, near Launceston

The prolonged wet spell in June (just after the declaration of a drought) along with cool damp windy conditions started to encourage eyespot formation and spread on 2nd year maize ground. This taken on 24th June, way earlier than thought normal caught a lot of people off guard with a lot of people advising not to spray as it was too early...?

Later drilled maize really struggled to germinate due to the dry conditions, then struggled with the cold dry windy conditions which was then further exaccerbated by the cool wet windy conditions in June and July. Not good!

On south facing, warm, more sheltered fields the maize kept on growing, albeit slowly.

The dry, cool, conditions early on meant weeds didn't germinate, or came up sporadically meaning spray timings were tricky. On top of this, the very windy conditions made this even more difficult with windows extremely tight, a lot of the time being missed resulting in situations like the above.  These conditions lead to applications being apllied later than ideal with resulting leaf scorch, stunting etc.

Leaf scorch after late spraying.

Desperate situation.

Eyespot continued to spread whilst spray advisors held off spraying.....

15th July and not looking very good, the cool dry conditions meant soil temps were low, root growth and nutrient uptake poor, foliar feed sprays with P&K, Zn, Mo, Cu, Mn and S definitelly helped rescue the situation.

Plant development by 15th July in the poorest fields near Holsworthy. This crop was drilled 20th April, in a field that was 5th year in maize, quite exposed to south westerly wind, but not the worst maize ground by any means. Shows what cool, dry windy conditions do to maize.

3 weeks after initial eyespot discovery and the leaf areas effected were drastically worse. This stimulated action on the spraying front, albeit late!

Eyespot effected plant.

20th July and Eyepot is serious where not sprayed early.

New variety Ambition, alongside Beethoven. The way the leaves grow more erect in Ambition makes it look more impressive, however the tops of the funnels are roughly the same height. Ambition is a slightly earlier maturing variety that has promise, supposedly yielding as well as Beethoven which is the highest yielding variety in marginal areas.

Eyespot getting up onto the top leaves now, 20th July.

Fieldscale photo showing how it spreads from focii.

The effect of wind on growth, plants at least 6 inches taller where protected by sheltered area of the hedge.

Not the tallest maize plant, but eyespot on all leaves. Early treatment, not planting more than 2 crops on the trot, and warm dry weather all help in preventing Eyespot.

Lorado cob taken from field at Bude. Lorado (for grain) was planted 15th April. The other cob is from a crop near Holsworthy, planted 10th of May, don't know what variety it is, but as at 20th September this cob has no real grain development at all.  As that process normally takes 10 weeks in average conditions from August through to early October, the chances of any starch being laid down are very poor, given we are now in cooler temperatures and shortening daylight hours and potential night frosts. All in all, the situation for the white cob maize is pretty dire. This raises some very important questions about what to do now. The grower has a very large dairy herd, the ground is prone to getting wet and sticky fairly quickly, it's in a catchment sensitve area not far from major water courses. Does he wait till November in hope that he gets some starch development and run the risk of causing potentially severe soil run-off into the water courses, or take it earlier whilest ground conditions are better with little starch and green and try and chop it and preserve it in the clamp as best he can? Hobsons choice?

More photo's will follow, but what is really clear this year is that those who planted when the conditions were right, not by calendar  date have the better crops as they were able to get away early, get roots developed so that when the conditions became adverse, the plants were better able to cope.

Today, 20th September, the weather has been wet, mizzly and generally more like a November day than normal, the ground is wet, soaked right through, travelling conditions are poor and it is going to require a good period of dry weather to enable maize plants to dry down and reach maturity. My fear is that having seen such variability in fields from uneven germination, judging the right time to harvest is going to be judged more by traveling conditions and a desire to get the crop in the pit, than when the crop is fit to cut. Another factor at this minute in time is the weather, it really is favouring eyespot development and spreading, if it continues in the same vein for a week like it was today, the plants are going to be dead from the disease in 2 weeks anyway, with the result that starch levels won't increase much as the plants won't be photosynthesising. Waiting till November for the plants to die off and thereby try and raise the drymatter is not really going to help either, the cobs won't mature anyway if there is no green leaf area. The only thing to do will be to cut it and make provisions for possibly acidic silage and additional effluent, which can be mitigated by using chopped straw, or better still, chopped sugarbeet on the floor of the pit to soak it up. The other risk from leaving plants badly effected  by eyespot in the field for a protracted period in the hope of raising drymatter levels is the increased rick of afflotoxins developing, Fusarium in particular, which will effect cows ferility and general well being far more than feeding a bit of acid silage. At least the acidity can be buffered, afflotoxins will do far more and longer term damage to cow health and milk yield than acidity, so trying to harvest brown paper like maize is NOT a good idea. 30% drymatter and 30% starch is going to be good down here this year, 25%  I think is going to be more likely the norm this year.

Another very important consideration from now on for anyone farming in a catchment sensitive area is that the Environment Agency are going to be utilising existing legislation to prosecute and enforce best management practice with relation to run-off, soil sedimentation/siltation from fields that polute/ silt up watercourses. The legislation is already there, be warned, they will not be as tolerant with people who grossly flout the rules. As the main man from the EA said at the MGA meeting, it's like speeding, doing 80mph on the motorway, you'll probably get a caution, doing 60mph in a 30mph zoine past a school, they will through the book at you and it will go strait to court! Dragging very muddy vehicles/trailers out onto roads/tracks right next to watercourses, not chisseling the maize stubbles right behind the harvester to reduce surface run-off and soil erosion if they are to be overwintered are going to be hotly monitored in the South West and other catchment sensitive areas. The EA will be monitoring from the air too, they have the aircraft standing by, they will be able to pinpoint exactly where the problems arise,photograph it and present the evidence, so it is in everyones best interest if the principles set out on the MGA site, in the DEFRA Soil Management Guide, as well as other sources are adhered to.