HGCA and NFU Cymru have joined forces once again to bring the latest arable information to cereal and oilseed farmers in Wales.

Mr Perkin Evans, Chairman of NFU Cymru's Combinable Crops and Horticulture working group, said: “We are building on the success of last year’s event to bring together HGCA keynote speakers to discuss current issues with arable farmers based in Wales.

“One of the hottest topics this year has been the potential impact to growers arising from neonicotinoid insecticide restrictions that will start to affect crop production in 2014.”

Caroline Nicholls, HGCA Research and Knowledge Transfer Manager, will discuss the impact and update growers on the latest situation.

The talk will include information on HGCA-funded work helping to prepare the industry for life without neonicotinoid seed treatments, including monitoring levels of pesticide resistance in aphids and cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB), improving understanding of crop damage thresholds to CSFB and the availability of plant protection products.

“Although recent weather has been much more forgiving, conditions in 2012 caused a cultivation headache for many growers and reopened the debate about tillage options,” stated Mr Evans.

Susannah Bolton, Head of Research and Knowledge Transfer at HGCA, will discuss recent work looking at no-till and current research on the advantages and disadvantages of cultivation systems under various soil and weather conditions.

The programme also includes a discussion on the prospects for the grain market delivered by AHDB/HGCA Senior Analyst Amandeep Kaur Purewal.

The event, which is free to attend, takes place on the 12 November 2013 in Cowbridge.

Bookings are being taken online (www.hgca.com/events) or by telephone (024 7647 8724).

Helping hand for would-be precision farmers

HGCA and Catchment Sensitive Farming have teamed up to provide Be PRECISE courses for growers wanting to learn more about the fundamentals of precision farming.

The half-day workshops, which cover tractor and machine optimisation, targeted agronomy and data management, will explore the technical and financial aspects of making the move to precision farming.

Workshops will take place in the following locations:

Cumbria 5 November 2013

Lancashire 6 November 2013

Hertfordshire 13 November 2013

Essex 14 November 2013

Suffolk 18 November 2013

Norfolk 19 November 2013

Kent 13 December 2013

Yorkshire 14 January 2014

Shropshire 10 February 2014

Derbyshire 11 February 2014

The events are in association with Harper Adams University’s Soil & Water Management Centre.

Bookings can be made via the dedicated webpage or by contacting the course leader, Ian Beecher-Jones, on 07967 637 985.