I'm putting ab6 in , wondering about weed control , my wild oats will have it for breakfast
Winter Beans
- Thread starter Laggard
- Start date
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
As Clemmo says Beans been reclassified as a major crop thus the minor crop off label approval system is no longer available. Nirvana pretty much only option. Hey ho. Oh for the days of Simazine.
It’s annoying pdm is not legal as a straight. A kerb, defy and clomazone mix might work out cheaper than the nirvana.
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Defy (prosulfocarb) also falls foul of the new classification. Was available under an off label EAMU I think, so also not legal now. Check it out with your agronomist.
Bother. You would be right I think.
ollie989898
Member
FOR FUDGE SAKE.
Are the ministry determined to see the back of break crops once and for all? Fudge all chemistry out there for them and now this BS.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
It is all rubbish. Plenty of chem can be safely used on break crops, albeit not on a label. That's the reality. Perfectly safe one year, illegal the next due to not filling in a registration form. Sigh.
ollie989898
Member
It's a nonsense, either the stuff is safe to use or it's not. Why the industry puts up with this nonsense is beyond me.
That would rely on an effective union. I also criticise the levy boards for not helping with stuff like this. I think it is one of the best uses of levy payers money.
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Yes. But the problem is if you apply for a CS agreement to do AB6, it wont start until January and that means you cannot have any AB6 until after nest harvest.
*IIRC, CS applications to do this end 15th Sept*
This is why I’m having to grow Beans for harvest 2024. Which is especially annoying as it is the 2024 cropping year I wanted to start using AB6.
Harry Metcalfe’s of Harry’s Farm wanted to do the same thing but is wondering which dice to roll as he doesn’t want to grow OSR again. I think he really ought to clarify the situation on his next video. I wonder what he is going to do where his break crop (or AB6) would have gone this winter?
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- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
I’m wondering if a reduced rate of Nirvana plus a Kerb would work, be cheaper than full rate Nirvana on its own and far more effective against Blackgrass.
Not sure of the legality of it though.
I think you have been kind there,12 ton of beans can almost be fitted into a 10 ton trailer
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Yes, Defra are determined to see the back of Break crops, especially now that AB6 pays £522/ha.
So why bother risking growing any break crop?
In fact, if you apply for CS with AB6 and are successful, we should question if we should also grow any 2nd cereal crops
A 2 year rotation of a cereal followed by AB6 is mighty appealing on this farm!
However, what I cannot understand as regards not being allowed to use PBM alone on Beans, is that Nirvana has PDMin it and we can use that.
Agreed: FFS what sort of joined up thinking is it to not allow PDM alone?
Perhaps when the so called ‘Public money for public goods’ brigade realise that Marianne Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake” only works if there are enough crops grown to fill the cake tin, some sort of sense will return.
Any CS agreement is for 5 years. Fortunately, you do not have to stick to any fixed AB6 hectarage each year and could, if the risk was small enough, restart growing crops again, instead of carrying on with AB6.
However, there would need to be a serious price hike in the value of ALL crops to take that risk unless you are farming potentially high yielding land.
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Have you confirmed with RPA / Defra that you can vary the amount of AB6 delivered in each of the five year of the CS agreement you will sign upto?
Winter bird food for arable pays £732 / ha in SFI , And you can do it this year
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Pretty sure it says so in here somewhere:
AB6: Enhanced overwinter stubble
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the enhanced overwinter stubble option.
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Pretty sure it says so in here somewhere:
AB6: Enhanced overwinter stubble
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the enhanced overwinter stubble option.www.gov.uk
That link takes me to the management requirements for the AB6 option. But as far as I can see there is no mention of acceptance of annual variation of amount in each year of the five year agreement. Your taking on AB6 as a backstop to poor break crop prices. I understand that. And plan to vary the amount according to relative financial returns to the business. Am interested if Defra RPA will accept your reason for varying the amount annually if you in one of the five years select to reduce the agreement area. What do your advisers say? Cheers.
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Yes, but you can’t have it over the whole farm and there are establishment and other growing costs.
I have been doing AB9 for 8 years now and they aren’t cheap to do or successful every year.
They can be particularly ‘arse-clenching’ if you were to get inspected or have to provide photographic evidence.
Planting them in May, followed by a drought is risky. And the Kale gets eaten by CSFB every time!
AB6 costs nothing!
Put your AB9 on your worst yielding/ most difficult to farm land and don’t rotate them around the farm.
Grow the 2 year version in years 1&2, then the 1 year version in year 3, followed by another 2 year version.
You will usually need to use sprays and fertiliser to make them work.
They work well in years 1&2 and maybe 3. But after then you will struggle to keep them going.
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
IIRC my advisor confirms my thoughts.
They cannot hold you to an annual fixed area, because of differences in field sizes. They only ask for you to declare which fields will be in AB6 in the 1st year. But also want to know all the potential AB6 fields over that 5 years.
You can vary the amounts of AB6 and have to declare each year the exact area of AB6 you actually had.
Obviously, AB6 can only follow Cereals, OSR and Linseed, therefore is a 1 years option, rather than being able to be repeated annually on the same fields.
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