51AVÊÓƵ

Defra has announced a package of measures to help farmers with the soaring cost of fertiliser.

Pembrokeshire farmer Patrick Elliot’s determination to implement sustainable practices has enabled him to produce the first certified carbon neutral potatoes in Wales.

Good silage will be key to making the most of good milk prices in the face of high fertiliser and feed costs.

According to Defra, 65 per cent of land used for growing potatoes is infested with the most significant potato pest in the UK, potato cyst nematode (PCN).

The Black Sea’s established ‘stranglehold’ on the UK’s organics market has sparked industry concern about the sector’s future.

Record wheat prices and sky-high input costs are not tempting growers to change their spring planting plans last minute, according to seed companies.

Noticeably higher levels of light leaf spot in oilseed rape varieties with less than ideal levels of resistance mean they will require particularly robust treatment this spring, especially if they were sown relatively early,

Variety blends are increasing in popularity again after many farmers dabbled with the idea in the 1980s.

Over the last 50 years, major breakdowns in yellow rust resistance have occurred relatively frequently in cycles of about five to 10 years. And when new pathogen variants arrive, they can spread rapidly in just a few seasons.

Removal of the 25 per cent import tariff on US maize will help mitigate limited exports from Ukraine and Russia and improve agri-food chains’ ability to maintain animal feed supply, industry chiefs have said.Ìý