YEN Awards 2017 - UK farmers are both lucky and smart!

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YEN Awards 2017


UK farmers are both lucky and smart!

Results revealed at the annual results meeting of the Yield Enhancement Network on Thursday 16th November showed that the competition had attracted more entrants than ever. Top yields were around 15 t/ha for cereals and over 6 t/ha for oilseeds, and one cereal crop in northern Scotland broke the YEN gap record by achieving 83% of its site potential.
Speaking at the YEN awards at the Newark Showground, Dr Alan Ryder, CEO of RSK Group, the international consultancy which now owns ADAS, congratulated ADAS and all other YEN’s participants in forging the highly successful YEN initiative. Alan then presented awards to the winners, as follows:
Cereals

Best Field Yield t/ha
• GOLD: Tim Lamyman, of Lincolnshire, sponsored by Hutchinsons 15.3
• SILVER: Donald Ross, of Ross-shire, sponsored by AHDB 14.8
• BRONZE: Edward Vipond, of Suffolk, sponsored by BASF 14.6

Best % of Potential Yield – fields % of t/ha
• GOLD: Donald Ross of Ross-shire sponsored by AHDB 83% of 17.8
• SILVER: Neil Armstrong, of Northumberland, sponsored by Syngenta 76% of 17.4
• BRONZE: Tim Lamyman, of Lincolnshire, sponsored by Hutchinsons 72% of 21.1

Best Plot Yield t/ha
• GOLD: Jonathan Helliwell, at Bayer, Oxfordshire 15.7
• SILVER: Bob Bulmer, at Hutchinsons, Shropshire 14.9
• BRONZE: Mark Doble at BASF, Somerset 12.8

Best % of Potential Yield – plots % of t/ha
• GOLD: Jonathan Helliwell at Bayer, Oxfordshire 74% of 21.1
• SILVER: Bob Bulmer at Hutchinsons, Shropshire 69% of 21.5
• BRONZE: Mark Doble at BASF, Somerset 60% of 21.4

Oilseeds

Best Field Yield t/ha
• GOLD: Martin Smart of Wiltshire, sponsored by CF Fertiliser 6.4
• SILVER: Stephen Tuer of North Yorkshire, independent entry 6.3
• BRONZE: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, sponsored by Hutchinsons 5.7

Best % of Potential Yield – fields % of t/ha
• GOLD: Martin Smart of Wiltshire, sponsored CF Fertilisers 72% of 9.0
• SILVER: Stephen Tuer of North Yorkshire, independent entry 49% of 12.8
• BRONZE: James Price of Oxfordshire, sponsored by Yara 48% of 7.9

Best Plot Yield t/ha
• GOLD: Michael Farr at DSV, Oxfordshire 5.8

Best % of Potential Yield – plots % of t/ha
• GOLD: Michael Farr at DSV, Oxfordshire 48% of 12.0

Innovation Awards (entrants recommended for their bright ideas) went to:
• Andrew Hunt, Gt Melton Farms, Norfolk
… for developing a high performance hybrid-rye growing system for light land
• Martin Smart, Ashton Hill Farm, Wiltshire
… for using farm trials to develop oilseed rape growing systems
• Toby Hogsbjerg, Swinbrook Farms, on the Cotswolds
… for developing a low impact production system for oilseed rape on shallow soils.
• Brian Barker, Lodge Farm, Suffolk
… for trail-blazing the use of crop monitoring in his wheat management system.

Prof Roger Sylvester-Bradley, ADAS’s Head of Crop Performance, who leads the YEN, said “it is clear that the UK is blessed not only with a productive climate, but with some very smart farmers who have intensive industry support. Some farms regularly produce yields that – in terms of energy conversion – far exceed achievements in New Zealand which has 50% more solar energy to play with. The best YEN yields have been almost double the national average. The challenge now for YEN scientists and farmers is to see if they can understand and emulate more widely what these high yielding farms are doing.”

The average yield of all YEN crops in 2017 was 11 t/ha, less than in some previous years. However, almost all YEN yields consistently exceeded the national average and, as Prof Sylvester-Bradley says “the YEN is now planning how to share its increasing treasure-trove of data, so that all YEN participants – both farmers and sponsors – can benefit”.

Dr Pete Berry, Head of Crop Physiology at ADAS, commented specifically on oilseed rape yields adding, “Oilseed rape yields were generally high this year, but they could have been even better. Good establishment, a dry autumn and winter followed by a bright spring allowed crops to set a large potential yield with lots of seeds/m2. Unfortunately, a warm May and early summer which wasn’t particularly sunny meant this high yield potential was not fully realised. Oilseed rape harvest was a couple of weeks earlier than normal due to the warm conditions which reduced time for filling the seeds.”

Oilseeds were included in the YEN for the first time this year and over 50 entries were received. Average yields among entrants were nearly 5 t/ha and top yielding crops came close to world records.

2017 YEN Winners:
2017 YEN Winners.jpg


Donald Ross Silver Cereal Yield:
Donald Ross Silver Cereal Yield.jpg


YEN Q&A Panel:
ADAS YEN Q&A.jpg


View from the audience:
Audiance view.jpg
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 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

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  • 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/
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