Next month sees three HGCA open days at trial sites in Cornwall, Oxfordshire and Yorkshire. Visitors have the chance to speak to HGCA’s variety specialists and see all the wheat and barley varieties on the HGCA Recommended List.

These events build on the success of two open days last summer, by adding an extra location in Yorkshire.

The three events take place on:

• Tuesday 17 June: Duchy College, Stoke Climsland Campus, Cornwall
• Friday 20 June: Stockbridge Technology Centre, near Selby, Yorkshire
• Thursday 26 June: SGS Alkerton, near Banbury, Oxfordshire

“Seeing the wheat and barley in the ground will give growers a head start for variety selection for next season,” says Dr Simon Oxley of HGCA. “At the moment, the crops are looking good but there is also some disease pressure, which should help bring out the differences between the varieties, especially in the untreated plots.”

All the events will have trials grown to the HGCA Recommended List protocol, as well as crops grown to reflect on-farm management in local conditions. Other parts of the event will focus on some key issues in the local areas.

The event in Oxfordshire will focus on end uses, as there is a range of processors in that area of the country. This means that hard and soft milling wheat, malting barley, as well as feed, are all options, so there are real opportunities from identifying specific markets.

In Yorkshire, HGCA’s Paul Gosling will discuss the management of black-grass, while in Cornwall James Coumbe of Duchy College will look at managing the agronomy of the college farm and trial site.

Food will be served at each event and BASIS and NRoSO points are available.

To book your place, go to hgca.com/events or call 024 7647 8723