17 Oct 2024
Landmark is Niab's corporate publication, published three times a year, featuring in-depth technical articles on all aspects of Niab crop research and services.
Available to all - access the online flip-book and downloadable PDF versions of Issue 56 – Autumn 2024.
Niab Landmark: Autumn 2024
In this issue:
- Niab CEO Mario Caccamo challenges the pursuit of agricultural policies that reward lower yielding practices, as the UK faces a poor 2024 harvest, a decline in oilseed rape area, and a shift to regenerative agriculture practices, alongside spiralling energy costs and exteme climate events, but he highlights how innovative farming technologies could ensure farm productivity.
- The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2023 was closed to new applications on 10th June 2024, with general applications opened for SFI 2024 on 22nd July. Niab's Phil Humphrey, Will Vaughan-France and Greg Crawford explain the differences between the two and advise on the application process.
- Continuing our focus on SFI, Niab forage specialist Ellie Roberts outlines the options for managing grassland and forage maize under the scheme, with a request for growers to take part in a Niab survey on their experience with herbal leys.
- Niab regional agronomist Will Vaughan-France challenges the traditional practice of assessing crop gross margins in deciding cropping and, using case studies, investigates the profitability of individual crops, varieties and agronomic scenarios including whole rotations.
- Stéphanie Swarbeck, Nathan Morris and Colin Peters summarise Niab's recent scoping study, funded by AHDB, on the impact of different crop nutrition scenarios on cereal and oilseed varietal performance.
- Chair of the NFU's National Crops Board Jamie Burrows asks does 13% still represent a realistic target for breadmaking wheat grain protein post Ukraine.
- Growers have experienced an increase in ergot in wheat this season - Lesley Boyd summarises the main points of the disease and current research in biology and control.
- Established at a meeting at Niab in Cambridge in 1924, the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) held its Centenary celebrations in July, with Niab hosting a tour of its Park Farm facilities.
- Fiona Leigh provides an update on the CTP-SAI training programme.
- Over the past few decades there has been a major shift into soilless media in UK soft fruit production, and with the phasing out of peat, coconut fibre (coir) has become the preferred substrate. But costs are increasing with pressure to extend the life of coir. Scott Raffle explains how Niab has been working with Overland Ltd to investigate the potential for re-using strawberry coir substrate.
- Exploring the use and supply of sustainable growing media was the main focus of the Controlled Environment User Group’s 2024 conference, held at Niab in Cambridge in September.
- Niab's work at East Malling on alternative management strategies to combat apple replant disease are explored with Xiangming Xu.
- And finally, research pathologist Nichola Hawkins features in our staff profile.