Will fodder beet still be grown?

With the loss of seed dressing & most foliar sprays for aphids. British sugar is expecting as much as 50% of yeild could be lost to virus yellows.

So fodder beet could be uneconomic.

Swedes have similar problems, although not quite so severe. May need spraying every 7 days for first month after sowing
for flea beetle. Mineto one & tracer may help swedes but at what cost?

I know less of kale, maybe more vigour?

Worrying times for many farmers.
 
The only thing I ever sprayed swedes for was boron deficiency

Did you drill untreated seed, FT?

Pretty much since the 1920's there has been either a seed dressing or sometimes additive to fertiliser (Aldrin 70's to early 80's) to prevent flea beetle damage & rootfly damage.

The lack of replies is scary, I'm convinced lots of stock feed growers, are not ready for the loss of the last insecticide seed dressing the highly efficent neo nic's in particular cruiser.

It is my opinion (hopefully wrong) that swedes will be far worse affected than oilseed rape growers.

I know far more about swedes than beet, but the beet situation is even worse because all but one aphid spray have been banned. The legal spray is only effective for 3 weeks can only be used once & the high risk part of the season lasts for 12 weeks.

My Grandad used to talk about redrilling swedes maybe 4 times in a season because of flea beetle & I presume rootfly. That would be drilling with brush drill & singling & that was treated seed.

There are some new biological products which may help swedes, perhaps in future beet.

Our govenment is taking a huge gamble with our crops.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Did you drill untreated seed, FT?

Pretty much since the 1920's there has been either a seed dressing or sometimes additive to fertiliser (Aldrin 70's to early 80's) to prevent flea beetle damage & rootfly damage.

The lack of replies is scary, I'm convinced lots of stock feed growers, are not ready for the loss of the last insecticide seed dressing the highly efficent neo nic's in particular cruiser.

It is my opinion (hopefully wrong) that swedes will be far worse affected than oilseed rape growers.

I know far more about swedes than beet, but the beet situation is even worse because all but one aphid spray have been banned. The legal spray is only effective for 3 weeks can only be used once & the high risk part of the season lasts for 12 weeks.

My Grandad used to talk about redrilling swedes maybe 4 times in a season because of flea beetle & I presume rootfly. That would be drilling with brush drill & singling & that was treated seed.

There are some new biological products which may help swedes, perhaps in future beet.

Our govenment is taking a huge gamble with our crops.
I remember hearing of a farm that had a huge cabbage white problem is a bunch of field cabbage, they dipped the sheep, poured the used dip into the sprayer through women’s tights and sprayed it on, not an insect was seen for months. I can’t remember was it dieldrin or aldrin being used as the dip.

What is the product left - I havnt done anything with beet in a few years, cypermethrin and lambda not allowed now then? It’s a shame chlorpyrofos has gone!
 

Happy

Member
Location
Scotland
Not looking forward to growing swedes without the dressing again.
Well remember having to spray 2 or 3 times to control flea beetle.
Don’t think they will be worth trying to grow at all between neonic ban and lack of weed control products available these days.

Am I right in thinking dressed seed could be sold until 30th Jan 2019 and sown this year but not next?
 
I remember hearing of a farm that had a huge cabbage white problem is a bunch of field cabbage, they dipped the sheep, poured the used dip into the sprayer through women’s tights and sprayed it on, not an insect was seen for months. I can’t remember was it dieldrin or aldrin being used as the dip.

What is the product left - I havnt done anything with beet in a few years, cypermethrin and lambda not allowed now then? It’s a shame chlorpyrofos has gone!

Not sure what the beet spray is, Cypermethrin & Hallmark legal on swedes & work usually on flea beetle. But resistance has been reported on rape of course in May the resistant flea beetles may have all been killed by frost But Cypermethrin & Hallmark although widly used on cereals for aphid control do not kill the aphids found on swedes so tend to help the aphids & the rootfly.

I'm really worried that so many growers think I don't spray anyway so I'm not affected. It is the seed dressing which are so important.

Also with the loss of Deter on cereals in grassland/cereal rotations leather jackets could be so much worse & the almost forgotten wireworm could become a major pest again, like in the pre 1920's.
 
Not looking forward to growing swedes without the dressing again.
Well remember having to spray 2 or 3 times to control flea beetle.
Don’t think they will be worth trying to grow at all between neonic ban and lack of weed control products available these days.

Am I right in thinking dressed seed could be sold until 30th Jan 2019 and sown this year but not next?

You maybe sprayed 2 or 3 times but I'm pretty sure that would be gamma dressed, just not as good as cruiser. Most swede seed since the 1920's will have had some protection from flea beetle.

Banned last Autumn, certainly beet seed that has been dressed with neo nics legally needs to be disposed of by licensced chemical waste contractor.

Please take advice from agromist hopefully I'm wrong. I'm just a farmer.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Not sure what the beet spray is, Cypermethrin & Hallmark legal on swedes & work usually on flea beetle. But resistance has been reported on rape of course in May the resistant flea beetles may have all been killed by frost But Cypermethrin & Hallmark although widly used on cereals for aphid control do not kill the aphids found on swedes so tend to help the aphids & the rootfly.

I'm really worried that so many growers think I don't spray anyway so I'm not affected. It is the seed dressing which are so important.

Also with the loss of Deter on cereals in grassland/cereal rotations leather jackets could be so much worse & the almost forgotten wireworm could become a major pest again, like in the pre 1920's.
Yet this time no dieldrin/aldrin to sort the wireworm out. The government/people will reap what they sow... They may want fields unsprayed etc but when the food stops arriving on their shelves they’ll soon start shouting!
Btw, atrazine is still legal in most 3rd world countries, as is so many other pesticides which have been banned here.

Edit: atrazine is still used in the US, according to google 70million pounds (32m kg) ( 32,000 tonne) is used annually in the US.
 
Last edited:
Not sure weed control is that badly affected.
Stomp Aqua, Butisan, Dual Gold, Gamit & Sheild post em
Mostly going to be reviewed soon though. Also last year for meta slug pellets, the ferric phosphate ones are just as good but more expensive.
 

Happy

Member
Location
Scotland
You maybe sprayed 2 or 3 times but I'm pretty sure that would be gamma dressed, just not as good as cruiser. Most swede seed since the 1920's will have had some protection from flea beetle.

Banned last Autumn, certainly beet seed that has been dressed with neo nics legally needs to be disposed of by licensced chemical waste contractor.

Please take advice from agromist hopefully I'm wrong. I'm just a farmer.

You are right. It is the thiram dressing that went on 30th Jan to be used by same time next year. Knew those dates were relevant for something else we were loosing!

Biggest problem weed in swedes here is redshank and none of the approved herbicides touch it.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Springbok works well on swedes if I remember correctly but won’t take out charlock/osr obviously. I’m pretty sure you can use it on cabbage too as a herbicide.
 
Slightly off topic, does anybody know anything about Potatoes sprayed with Fazor, not being allowed to be fed to livestock. I know this is a widely used product , used for growth control.
 
You are right. It is the thiram dressing that went on 30th Jan to be used by same time next year. Knew those dates were relevant for something else we were loosing!

Biggest problem weed in swedes here is redshank and none of the approved herbicides touch it.

Sheild will at the 4 leaf stage.

To be fair inter row kit is better than it has ever been, just need the scale or contractor of course.
 
That's the strange thing. There's a bit about it on the potato growers forum, apparently it's too expensive to do the trials , so the label says do not feed treated potatoes to livestock ,as I understand it.

Oh yes, I read that, thanks for reminding me.

About 15 years ago Decis was allowed on culinary swedes but not cypermethrin and vice versa for stockfeed swedes. I don't think many people observed that particular regulation.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top