Arable: Feeding the Crop
Find information relating to fertiliser, nutrient budgeting, and organic manures
Latest News: Summer
Making pesticide use more sustainable: Sprayer maintenance
Ben Bryant, Precision Farming Manager, Chafer Machinery Ltd, goes through a crop sprayer from top to bottom, identifying the key areas for operators to monitor as well as offering helpful…
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Understanding Fertiliser
July 10, 2024There are many different terms used in the measuring of fertiliser applications, such as hundredweight/catchweight/bag (cwt) per acre, units per acre or kilograms per hectare....
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Reducing Fertiliser Use and Improving Soil Health – A Case Study
June 28, 2024Owned by the Birkbeck family and managed by farm manager James Marshall, Hoddom and Kinmount Estate, near Annan in Dumfries and Galloway farms approximately 2,035...
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Scottish IPM Assessment Planning
May 27, 2024This article is produced as a part of the FAS Crops & Soils Bulletin. Subscribe now to receive the full report in your inbox monthly....
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Where to Get Started with Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
May 27, 2024This article is produced as a part of the FAS Crops & Soils Bulletin. Subscribe now to receive the full report in your inbox monthly....
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Purchasing Farm Software – What to Consider
March 23, 2023Farm software can be a useful tool to help you stay compliant with regulations, to help keep track of inputs and outputs, and when combined...
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Technology to Improve Business Performance and Resilience – Arable
February 10, 2023In this series of three fact sheets an arable, beef and sheep farmer have been interviewed to find out what key pieces of farm technology...
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Planning To Grow Cereals 2023
December 8, 2022Planning to Grow Cereals 2023 – Webinar A brief update on crop trials from 2022 carried out by Neil Havis and his team of SRUC...
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Optimise your Nutrient Management with Precision Manure Spreading Technology
December 8, 2022The utilisation of precision farming technology is critical for farm businesses looking to cut fertiliser costs. The application of solid and organic manures can reduce...
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Forage and Grass Guide
November 17, 2022Well planned and managed forage and grassland provides an opportunity to incorporate more resilience into our beef and sheep businesses. By looking at our forage...
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Crofternomics: Farmyard Manure Versus Bagged Fertiliser
October 13, 2022Crofternomics: Comparing Farm Yard Manure with Bagged Fertiliser Input prices escalating mean that we should calculate the value of FYM. This video covers the efficiency,...
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Profiting From Reducing Tillage and Lowering Emissions – John Muir, Freelands Farm
October 11, 2022In the third of our Reducing Tillage and Lowering Emissions series we visit Freelands Farm where John Muir has invested in strip tillage. Click above...
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Profiting from Reducing Tillage and Lowering Emissions – John McCluskey, Lea Farm
October 11, 2022In the second of our Reducing Tillage and Lowering Emissions series we visit John McCluskey, Lea Farm who has adopted the principles of minimum tillage....
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The Highs and Lows of Feeding Rye Cereal
October 5, 2022Land area used to grow rye crops has increased due to the growing popularity of anaerobic digesters. As a result, we are a beginning to...
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Reducing Cereal Energy Costs
October 4, 2022For cereal farmers, energy costs can represent a sizeable proportion of the cost of production whether it is in the field, haulage to drying and...
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Reducing The Risk of Combine Fires
August 18, 2022With soaring temperatures coinciding with harvest, there is a risk of combine fires. These not only cause extensive disruption at one of the busiest times...
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Saving Money Feeding a Crop – Nutrient Budgeting
August 15, 2022Without nutrient budgeting being addressed then the nutrients available to the crop can become deficient or in excess which can lead to poor crop yields,...
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Improve Your Soil Fertility
July 12, 2022This video covers soil fertility to maximise use of synthetic fertiliser by correcting soil pH, maintaining adequate phosphate (P) and Potassium (K) indices and encouraging...
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Dealing with Rocketing Fertiliser Prices
October 25, 2021Given the recent hike in fertiliser prices, there has never been a more pressing need to investigate your soil’s nutrient status for better targeted use...
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Stubble Management for Grass Weed Control
August 29, 2021There is not a single prescriptive course of action given there are so many farming and cropping systems each with differing objectives and timescales but,...
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The Role of Biostimulants in IPM
April 26, 2021The overriding principle of IPM is to manage the health of a crop holistically, rather than just to focus on individual pests and disease and...
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Spring Barley – Planning your NPK (webinar)
March 9, 2021Fertiliser is often the largest variable cost when growing spring barley with timing and rates critical to achieve optimum yield, market requirements and limit any...
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Technical note (TN734): Fertiliser recommendations for vegetables, minority arable crops and bulbs
December 21, 2020Summary Vegetables and some of the minority crops can have a high value. Production costs are also often high, with fertilisers accounting for a very...
Read more >Borders Soil & Nutrient Network Farm – Mucks & Magic
December 5, 2020-Mucks & Magic – A focus on organic matter, manure & compost Thanks to Kerchesters farm we are delighted to introduce the 2nd of or...
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Technical note (TN736): Optimising the application of livestock farmyard manures and slurries
November 28, 2020Technical Note (TN736): Optimising the application of livestock farmyard manures and slurries Livestock manures applied to agricultural land are valuable sources of organic matter, major...
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Pesticide Handling Areas – Making sure it’s fit for purpose.
March 31, 2020In this video, we look at three different pesticide handling areas on three different farms within the Aberdeenshire area. Each pesticide handling area different, but...
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Technical Note (TN731): Nitrogen Recommendations for Cereals, Oilseed Rape and Potatoes
January 31, 2020Summary Nitrogen recommendations for cereals and winter oilseed rape include an adjustment for expected yield. Nitrogen recommendations for potatoes take account of length of growing...
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Forage Triticale: Value on Mixed Arable and Livestock Farms
October 30, 2024Triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye, makes up a small fraction of the agricultural area in Scotland at 0.1% of combinable crops in the...
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Step-by-Step Guide to Soil Structure Assessment
May 27, 2024This article is produced as a part of the FAS Crops & Soils Bulletin. Subscribe now to receive the full report in your inbox monthly....
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How to Interpret Your Soil Analysis
March 27, 2024This article is produced as a part of the FAS Crops & Soils Bulletin. Subscribe now to receive the full report in your inbox monthly....
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Soil Carbon Code Update
August 23, 2023This article is produced as a part of the FAS Crops & Soils Bulletin. Subscribe now to receive the full report in your inbox monthly....
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Profiting From Reducing Tillage and Lowering Emissions – Hew Hunter, Broachrigg Farm
November 8, 2022In case study 5 of our Profiting from Reducing Tillage and Lowering Emissions series we hear about Hew’s move to reduced tillage where he farms...
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Profiting From Reducing Tillage and Lowering Emissions – Introduction
October 11, 2022During this series of six videos, filmed in Scotland, we look at reduced tillage and reducing farm emissions over six different farms throughout the Lothians...
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Agribusiness News July 2022: Sector Focus – Soils
June 30, 2022Soil Testing: Benefits and Limitations Without a doubt, soil testing has come to the forefront of UK agricultural policy over the past few years. With...
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Soil Health – A Route Towards Net Zero for the Scottish Livestock Industry
March 21, 2022Farm Stock (Scotland) Limited (FSS) was awarded a KTIF grant on 10/11/2021. The grant covered a project entitled A Route Towards Net Zero for the...
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Phosphorus Management and the Relationship Between Differing Soils Capacity to Regulate P Availability for Plant Uptake in Scotland
December 10, 2021A novel soil specific approach to P management has allowed better use of soil reserves to reduce P fertiliser by using differing soils capacity to...
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Evaluating Soil Quality and Testing for Soil Health Status
December 9, 2021At grass roots level SAC consultants are noting a growing interest in soil health from farmers and increasing numbers of questions about what SRUC can...
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Tackling Soil Compaction to Reduce Fertiliser Costs
December 1, 2021Dairy farmers across Scotland often rely on fertiliser to ensure that they grow enough grass to meet the needs of their livestock. However, fertiliser prices...
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Technical Note (TN753): Management of inputs of heavy metals to agricultural soils and crops
November 10, 2021Heavy metals in soils may derive from several sources: Geological parent material Industrial processes – emissions to the atmosphere followed by deposition to soils –...
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Webinar Recording: Making Soil Cultivations Work For You – Thainstone Soil & Nutrient Network
September 8, 2020This webinar is the finale to the series of nutrient network meetings that have been held at Kirkton farm, courtesy of the Campbell...
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Technical note (TN728): Planning Agricultural Field Drainage
February 17, 2020Download TN728 – Planning Agricultural Field Drainage Planning agricultural field drainage requires a detailed investigation to obtain the best results. Depending on the site, there...
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