He grazes between 100 to 120 dairy cattle, mainly in-calf heifers, from mid November until late March on the crop, that he feeds with grass silage. “The cattle thrive on it and they are especially healthy,” says Phil, who runs the 320-cow three way cross herd near Oswestry in partnership with his parents Roy and Morfydd and with three full time staff and four part time casuals.

Dairy Farmer and Milk Producer, Phil James

Short on housing space and land around the dairy, Phil needed to look at fodder crops that he could graze, on out-lying land. “We tried kale, but this grew too tall to graze youngstock in. We also tried a type of rape hybrid that was popular at the time, but that didn’t give us the feed value we were looking for,” he says.

Next he tried Blaze fodder beet. “It was third time lucky. This worked well for us and it gave us what we wanted in terms of feed value.”

And it’s a good solution for over-wintering his in-calf heifers in this autumn calving system. “The grazing platform around the dairy unit is limited to just 40 hectares and it’s reserved for the milking herd – we need it all for the cows,” he adds.

The only ‘downside’ Phil’s found with over-wintering heifers outdoors, is encouraging them to use the cubicles when they’ve calved. “I think  we need to train them well before they calve down – I’m sure they’ll then get the hang of it.”

About 200ha of out-lying land growsmaize and grass for silage and the  6ha of fodder beet. The silages form the basis for the milk herd’s diet with a compound blend including Trafford Gold, rapeseed meal, wheatfeed, whey permeate and minerals.

Blaze fodder beet

The fodder beet is reserved for youngstock, a few dry stock and possibly a few beef cross youngstock.

The herd is a combination of Friesian, Norwegian Red and Fleckvieh genetics. This cross breeding programme gives him the ideal animal for his system – robust cows with high milk quality and good health and fertility traits to suit an autumn calving herd.

Working with Genus’ RMS, he uses sexed semen on Norwegian Red and Friesian crosses. Average yields are 7,500litres at 4.5% fat and 3.5% protein. Milk quality is important here as the milk is sold to Belton Farm for cheese.

So while the milking herd is in full swing and indoors, Phil’s dairy youngstock are on grass then, once AI’ed, move on to the fodder beet that they graze in strips and have access to fresh, round bales of grass silage.

“We keep a grass margin around the fields and put out 200 bales of grass silage that the heifers work their way through. The fence is moved on daily, so heifers get access to fresh feed,” he adds.

A rough estimate suggests to Phil that the cattle get at least half their dry matter intake from the beet, with the grass silage balancing the ration and supporting rumen health.

“It provides plenty of feed and I rely on the crop to keep them going until late March when there’s grass ready to graze.”

Working with agronomist Mark Hancock at Spunhill, Phil grows a medium dry matter fodder beet that isn’t too far into the ground. Blaze is his favourite, as it yields between 80 and 90 tonnes a hectare fresh weight and has a dry matter yield of 18.7%. And more than 40% of the root is above the ground, giving the heifers ‘easy access’ to the feed.

Land for fodder beet – and maize – is subsoiled, ploughed and power-harrowed ahead of sowing. The beet is sown in April and at a rate of 100,000 seeds per hectare.

Fungicide and insecticide treated seed is supplied via Limagrain as an insurance against key pests and disease. Plenty of FYM and slurry is applied, plus potash, at a rate of 200kg per hectare, 60kg of nitrogen and 48kg of sulphur. The amounts of inorganic fertilizer is adjusted, depending on FYM and slurry applications.

The crop has a pre emergence herbicide followed by one or two post emergence herbicides plus foliar boron and a fungicide against powdery mildew, ramularia, rust and leaf spot.

Blaze Fodder beet crop ready for grazing with big bale silage

Despite having a limited choice of ground on which to grow fodder beet, Phil can grow a consistent crop year-in-year-out.  “Some fields get muddy at times, but it doesn’t bother the cattle and after moving the cattle off, it dries up and leaves good soil that’s had its fair share of organic manure. We then prepare it for the next crop that’s either maize or a grass reseed.”

The big attraction though, is the yield of fodder beet. “It grows well in hot dry summers and wet seasons,” he adds. “We’ve seen the leaves flag in dry conditions but come September it picks up again and grows a bit more and the feed value stays there all winter. And it doesn’t seem to suffer if it’s very wet.”

He remembers the first year that he grew the crop. “It was an especially bad year for sugarbeet with severe frosts and I really thought our fodder beet wouldn’t have a chance, but it was fine. The cattle ate the tops and spat the mushy bit around the crown then tucked into the rest of the root. I knew from this point that the crop would suit us well.”

And he admits to learning a bit more all the time. “In the past, youngstock have taken a few days to get used to fodder beet – they’ve stuck with the surrounding grass and eat the green leaves first. Then gradually found the roots,” says Phil.

“But in 2019, we had more stock on the farm due to TB and bought in some fodder beet for the TMR that was fed to milkers and young heifer calves. Even though it was only roughly chopped, the calves nibbled away at it – they loved it.

“So when these heifers went on to graze it six months later they were straight into the roots. They knew exactly what they were in for. I may well repeat this in future and give the young heifer calves an early bite to give them a taste of what’s to come.”

KEY FACTS: Blaze fodder beet

• Clean red roots
• Medium dry matter content 17-18%
• Grows 40% out of the ground
• Easily eaten
• Consistent performance

This strong breeding line continues with the introduction of four new Group 3 biscuit varieties for the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List: LG Astronomer, LG Prince, LG Illuminate and LG Quasar.

These new varieties offer an improvement in yield potential in the biscuit sector, combined with good agronomic attributes of stiff straw, good disease resistance ratings for the rusts, Septoria tritici and Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance.

“Very importantly, these should not be just considered as solely biscuit wheats, as they all have the additional end market of potential for distilling and two of them also have uks export opportunities on top, for a full marketing outlet opportunity,” says Limagrain’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger.

“A breeder getting a couple of varieties onto the Recommended List is quite an achievement, but getting four new varieties listed in the Group 3 biscuit wheat category is very unusual, and an achievement that should be acknowledged,” he adds.

Each variety is different, offering a range of agronomic characters suitable for particular farm situations, to allow for optimum performance.

For full AHDB Recommended List 2021/22 dataset, see: ahdb.org.uk/rl

Added to the National List in 2020, and marketed by Limagrain UK, this pink-skinned, conical-shaped beet combines a dry matter content of between 20% and 21% with a relatively high proportion of its root (40%) out of the ground, leaving only 60% in the ground.

“This unique combination makes it one of the best fodder beet options for dairy and beef cattle, as well as for sheep,” says Limagrain’s forage crop manager John Spence. “Fosyma’s medium-depth root reduces the risk of soil contamination and offers flexible feeding options. It can either be harvested, with leaf or root lifting equipment, or grazed in situ.”

High dry matter fodder beets are usually associated with deep rooted varieties. Among the 16 varieties tested annually in Limagrain’s field trials, Fosyma’s dry matter content puts it in the top 25%.

“It is also rhizomania tolerant and resistant to powdery mildew, rust and leafspot, as well as having a high tolerance to bolting,” adds Mr Spence. “Fodder beet as a crop is typically highly reliable, but these advantages will further promote its consistency as a feed.”

Limagrain is offering Fosyma fodder beet in units of 50,000 seeds, recommended for 0.5 hectares. The seed is pelleted and treated with fungicides and insecticides to offer protection across a wide range of pests and diseases.

More details are available here

This autumn’s favourable establishment conditions and relatively low incidence of CSFB, means there are some crops which more closely resemble kale than the struggling OSR crops we have seen in previous seasons.

Our own rooting and canopy studies can confirm this, with crops in October already more advanced in terms of biomass than crops observed in March of last year.

From our own work and our ongoing involvement with YEN, we know that OSR optimal plant numbers are between 25-40 plants/m2. In reality, low populations are difficult to establish and understandably growers compensate for losses with higher seed rates. But with fewer losses seen this season, plant populations in many crops are far higher than the optimum. These crops will require a different management to some of the smaller thinner crops we have seen in previous seasons, to reduce lodging and maximise light interception and achieve a higher percentage of yield potential.

Nitrogen Management

An AHDB project (PR447) investigating canopy management in OSR, identified that adjusting N based on canopy size (calculating N already tied up in the canopy), offers a yield increase of up to 0.36 t/ha in situations where the crop would have, if managed ‘traditionally’, produced a canopy that would have lodged.

The key principles are:

• Reduce first split in the spring to lessen stem growth, saving for a main dressing around stem extension
• Do not delay sulphur availability – select the right product and apply as much of the sulphur required as possible, with the first split
• Know how much N is in your canopy and adjust rates accordingly. Dose response curves still show optimum N in the crop to be 220 kg/ha. PR447 outlines that only 60% of spring applied N is utilised by the crop, so this must also be adjusted for

To calculate crop N:

• Use GAI (either satellite or mobile phone apps). As a rule, 1 unit of GAI is equivalent to 50 kg/ha nitrogen in the canopy
• Fresh weight method – NIAB TAG identified a strong correlation between fresh weight and Canopy N, with every 1 kg of above ground fresh weight/m2 equating to 55 kg/ha N in the crop

Growth Regulators

In crops with high populations or GAI over 0.8, consider applying a PGR. In the spring, these can be fungicides that have a growth regulatory effect such as Tebuconazole or Metconazole, or specialist growth regulatory products such as Caryx (containing Metconazole and Mepiquat chloride).

In dense crops with high plant numbers, branches are formed from the top of the plant down, and as the first branches start to extend, they block sunlight to the bottom of the canopy. This can cause branches to abort and prevent flowers or pod production, leaving crops with a relatively thin top-heavy band of pods, which makes the crop more susceptible to lodging.

In crops treated with a PGR, the top branches (or Raceme) are shortened. This allows for more light interception through the canopy, allowing a deeper layer of pods and branching. Additionally, this allows for better penetration of fungicides at flowering, which can help prolong green leaf duration, which is heavily associated with reaching a greater percentage of yield potential.

“Ensuring a high yield of an energy rich crop which matures quickly, to ensure harvesting in good conditions and to allow a successor crop to be established is the goal of modern maize production,” he comments.

Brian Copestake – UK Sales Manager

“With modern early maturing varieties, there is less of a trade-off between maturity date and yield so there is no reason why high yielding, high quality crops cannot be achieved by mid-September in most maize growing areas.”

Mr Copestake stresses the importance of field choice and seed bed preparation in minimising risk. He says if a crop is able to get away quickly and strongly then the chances of success are greatly increased.

“The most important thing is to ensure good seed to soil contact with adequate moisture, to ensure rapid root development and a good supply of nutrients to the young plant.”

To preserve moisture and maximise seed to soil contact, seedbed preparation should be left until soon before drilling. The top 5cm needs to be worked to a fine tilth. Drilling should not take place until the soil temperature is at least 8°C and then sow to a depth where the seed is in contact with moisture, between 3-8cm depth depending on soil type.

“If the field conditions will not be right then question if the crop should be drilled at all, as the risk of a poor crop will be increased. This is another place where early maturing varieties can help reduce risk. As they require fewer Ontario Heat Units (OHU) to mature and a shorter growing season, it may be an option to delay drilling to ensure a better seedbed.

“Advances in genetic selection also mean it is now easier to select early maturing varieties for a timely harvest helping ensure well-fermented high quality forage is available to use sooner, whether for feeding livestock or for use in AD plants.

“The starting point has to be selecting a variety suited to the average OHU accumulated at your location,” he says. “Many new varieties like Resolute and Conclusion will produce high yields of a top-quality feed while also maturing sooner. Having shortlisted varieties which will grow well at your location, it is important to consider early vigour as you want a crop which will germinate quickly.

“Then look at the production potential as there are considerable ranges in dry matter yield and energy content, thanks in no small part, to breeding varieties with improved cell wall digestibility (CWD) which improves the access to the 50% of the crop’s total energy which is found in the vegetative parts of the plant.

“For example, Resolute is FAO 190 and a first-choice variety on this year’s BSPB/NIAB list.  The combination of high starch and CWD mean it produces 214,591MJ/ha, which is 7% more than average and give a superior return on investment combined with early harvesting. The extra energy would be worth £774/ha in increased milk production.”

Mr Copestake also stresses the need for effective seed treatments, commenting that most farmers opted for a bird repellent with Mesurol (methiocarb) the market leader. Since Mesurol was banned in 2020 Korit (Zirame) has stepped up as the replacement.

“A single action seed treatment has severe limitations so new developments have focussed on seed treatments with more than one mode of action to ensure a return on investment by also ensuring faster germinating and more robust crops.”

Korit^® Pro combines three different modes of action. Alongside the bird repellent properties of Zirame, it contains a fungicide to protect the young plant from Rhizoctonia, which causes stem and root rot.

“By also adding Sedaxane to Korit^® Pro, plants are protected from infection and have improved root development, helping them get away strongly. The addition of manganese and zinc not only improves root development and stem elongation but also increases photosynthesis activity.

“The combination of careful variety selection, seed treatment choice and attention to detail on field choice and seed bed preparation can help reduce the risks associated with maize growing and ensure top-quality forage harvested in optimum conditions,” Mr Copestake concludes.

LG Diablo is now the highest yielding spring barley variety with full approval for both brewing and malt distilling, on the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List.

Ron Granger, Limagrain’s arable technical manager, shares the key attributes of the variety and how to get the best establishment in the spring.

LG Diablo sits amongst the top yielders on this year’s Recommended List, yielding 102% of control. Significantly, its yields are highest in the key malting barley growing areas of the east and north (103%).

LG Diablo’s untreated yield remains towards the top of the yield table, showing the robustness of the variety’s agronomic package and disease resistance ratings.

LG Diablo has a very good specific weight, 66.9 kg/hl, which is important in the malting industry, as malting is a volume-based process and low specific weights cause reduced throughput in the processing plants.

Growers with low specific weight parcels will incur penalties if specifications are not met, particularly in times of over-production.

LG Diablo’s hot water extract is a similar level to that of Concerto – a trait that helped Concerto to become a benchmark variety. A high hot water extract is heavily desired by the end user to achieve higher sugar extraction rates from the malt, and the ability to create more alcohol.

LG Diablo offers straw characteristics similar to RGT Planet: medium in height (72cm), with good lodging and brackling resistance.

Now that the variety has been given the green light by the industry for both brewing and distilling, LG Diablo’s future is very bright as it takes its place as a key variety in the sector – meeting the requirements of both growers and end users.

Top tips for spring barley establishment

1. Time of drilling

Wait for the right conditions for drilling – when both weather and/ or soil conditions allow for good seedbed preparation combined with rising soil and air temperatures, to ensure rapid emergence and establishment.

Limagrain work shows that earlier drilling in the spring encourages higher yield potential, mainly on lighter, free draining land that will dry and warm up faster than heavier, wetter soil types.

Earlier drilling on these less moisture retentive soils will allow for greater plant root development, ensuring a higher tiller number survival when plants suffer stress in a drought situation.

Drilling early significantly increases the risk of disease, so consider varieties with strong disease resistance for this situation.

2. Seed rate

Limagrain’s seed rate trials over various seasons and regions, show that the optimum seed rate for LG Diablo is 350 seeds/m2 when drilling into ideal conditions around mid-March.

This figure can be adjusted up or down depending on weather, drilling date, seedbed quality, moisture availability and perhaps most importantly, the grower’s own experience on individual sites.

A lower rate of 300-325 seeds/m2 would suffice if drilling into an “onion bed” in March.

However, when forced to drill into April, due to the weather or for agronomic reasons such as blackgrass control, pushing up to 400-450 seeds/m2 is advisable.

Establishment is important but maintaining a high tiller number is the priority for ensuring high yield potential – early nutrition/ PGR and fungicide applications, all have an important part to play.

The desire to push the crop was balanced against the need to sell it, and as it was destined for malting, ensuring low nitrogen (N) was key, reveals David, adding that the farm is in a nitrogen vulnerable zone (NVZ).

As such, the crop only received the farm practice amount of 130 kg N/ha, applied at planting, along with an early application of phosphate, potash and sulphur.

However, he points out that it is not only the amount of fertiliser in one season, it is the whole-farm perspective which plays a role in achieving the best possible crops.

LG Diablo spring barley

“The high health index of the soil the crop was grown in, alongside the strength of our rotations, will have meant there was a lot of soil N available, and this will have contributed to keeping the plants growing towards their potential.

“Our rotations are based around growing potatoes one year in six; we grow winter and spring barley and we have a suckler beef herd for finishing.”

Having livestock on the farm allows him to have grass in the rotation, and the manure from the cattle is also spread, which helps build soil organic matter.

Planted on 25^th March, the LG Diablo was conventionally drilled into clay loam soil with a medium to high tilth, that had been ploughed and received one pass.

“It was rolled to consolidate and maintain moisture before the drought, and so had a chance to get established.”

Having grown LG Diablo for four seasons, David and his agronomist Iain Anderson understand the variety’s needs for attention to detail, for it to be a star performer.

“Because of the spring drought, we wanted to make sure stress levels were kept to a minimum, so we used trace elements and biostimulants alongside growth regulators.

“The seed, sourced from his seed rep Douglas Bonn of Nickerson Seeds, had been treated with manganese, and we topped that up to make sure it was not short.

“We did tissue analysis to identify any shortages, which is better than waiting for symptoms of a condition to appear, and then treated the crop accordingly.”

A biostimulant was used to improve amino acid uptake, and David noticed the difference in crop development between those which received the treatment and those which did not, as they were unable to access nutrients.

Crop protection was tailored according to the field and IPM thresholds, and he used fungicide to maximise green leaf coverage for biomass, which helped push yield.

David Bell in his LG Diablo crop

The crop was harvested at the end of August 2020.

Although he enters the YEN competition, David insists it is not the whole story, as across the whole farm there are variable yields, and he wants to improve the overall farm performance, not just the one field.

“The YEN is about sharing information between growers to help us improve, and the metrics help you see the benefits.

“We use programmes such as the YEN, plus trusted and independent knowledge platforms like AHDB and SRUC, to improve our knowledge. We then try out new ideas and strategies to see what works.”

For 2021 Harvest, David will be progressing into reduced tillage and a direct drilling system where possible.

“Thanks to microbial activity, nitrogen mineralisation and high organic matter, we will be able to transition to direct drilling, although the spring crops will need some increased tilth for establishment.”

When it comes to choice of which spring barley to grow, David points out that LG Diablo is in demand by the maltsters, and his decisions on which spring barley variety to grow are very much based on what he can sell.

“It’s a quality product and the market wants it.”

Douglas Bonn of Nickerson Seeds, notes that forward thinking from a whole-farm perspective pays dividends on crop yield and quality.

“The application of farmyard manure over time, has built up inherent soil fertility as the biology has improved.

“I particularly noticed on walking the crop, that it had high tiller density which translated into a high yield and good quality, with a nitrogen level of 1.48.

“The physical character of the grain was excellent, with no issues getting the whole crop accepted by the maltsters.”

The crop of Acacia won Gold for the highest yield of oilseed rape, as well as the highest yield potential category producing a staggering 69% of its potential, a full 8% clear of the second placed entry.

Reflecting on the growing season, Mr Lamyman says: “The canopy of Acacia was incredibly impressive for the season, standing on average well over five feet, absolutely brimming with long, large pods looking as if they would almost bust open with the amount of seed inside.”

He chose the variety as his YEN crop because it was ahead in terms of yield of all the varieties – including the hybrids – in the 2019/2020 AHDB Recommended List.

“Acacia is the highest yielding conventional variety and is one of the fastest conventional autumn vigour varieties, short and incredibly stiff.”

Before drilling, the field chosen for the YEN crop, was worked with a Lemken Terradisc, Vardestad carrier and Lely roll. The crop was drilled on 18th August using a Vardestad System Disc Rapid with the coulters set at 12cm width into a field that followed 25 years continuous spring barley.

“The field chosen for the crop was a North-East facing grade 2 chalky Wold clay to the depth of 35 cm, which then runs into pure chalk.”

The crop emerged at speed – but was very quickly under attack from flea beetle, revealed Mr Lamyman.

“However, the combination of applying an insecticide to slow the flea beetle pressure and Delta K to stimulate a cytokinin growth effect and increase the fibrous root mass, allowed the oilseed rape to grow away from the flea beetle attack, and establish itself exceptionally well in the most challenging autumn on record,” he says.

He points out that at Worlaby Farms there was 660mm of rain falling between 1^st September 2019 and 1^st March 2020.

By this stage the spring had turned very dry, in fact the spring of 2020 was the fifth driest spring on record at Worlaby Farms.

Five even splits of Nitrogen with three containing sulphur were applied between 1^st February and 30^th April, giving a total of 258 kgN/ha and 160 kg/ha So3.

A standard high yielding oilseed rape crop usually produces around 100,000 seeds/m2 at 5 thousand seed weight (TSW), but Tim achieved 161,000 seeds/m2 to maintain a normal TSW weight of around 5.

Harvested on 29^th July with a Claas Lexion 750 combine, there were no problems, it was a straightforward job, reports Mr Lamyman.

“Even though it was over 5ft tall, the canopy was short and stiff enough to combine without having to alter the bed to put the rape plates and side knife on.”

At 7.23 t/ha, it also topped the list for untreated yield.

“Approved as a malting variety, LG Diablo yielded more than the feed varieties,” reveals agronomist Donald Paterson of Scottish Agronomy.

The variety has also been given full approval for brewing and distilling in the UK.

Donald Paterson

“This means that growers opting for LG Diablo will get to choose whether they prefer to grow the crop as malting, brewing or feed barley.”

This effectively means deciding which N rate to apply, says Mr Paterson, explaining that malting barley receives lower levels of N applied up to the three-leaf stage of crop growth, rather than at later growth stages to minimise late nitrogen uptake into the grain.

“Feed barley, on the other hand, can often justify slightly higher rates of N.”

It’s important to recognise that spring barley is a fast-growing crop, and if key nutrition or micronutrients are deficient at any point in the crops’ life, yield potential will be compromised, says Ron Granger, Limagrain’s arable technical manager.

Mr Granger refers to work carried out over several years by Limagrain UK, on high yielding malting crops, that demonstrates the benefit of using higher nitrogen rates of up to 150 kg/ha based on a split nitrogen application of a standard 120 kg/ha in the seedbed, plus an additional 30 kg/ha at tillering, when compared to a standard seedbed application of 120 kg/ha.

“This approach produced higher yields, without exceeding grain nitrogen percentage.”

“Additional nitrogen input appears to be beneficial on the better soil types, but care should be taken on lower yielding and lighter soil types that are more prone to stress.”

“In these situations, the majority of the standard nitrogen regime should be targeted early in the plant’s life to secure better root growth for enhanced tiller survival.”

He points out that the newer, higher yielding varieties respond well to the higher nitrogen levels, as nitrogen grain content dilution is achievable.

“Macro-nutrients such as phosphate, potash, magnesium and sulphur, have also proved to be beneficial to the barley crop and should be applied either in the seedbed or soon after drilling, to promote strong rooting and early plant growth.”

Tissue analysis of the young growing crop is always useful for indicating any shortfalls of nutrition and is relatively inexpensive, if targeting a very high yielding crop, he adds.

“Additional micronutrients such as; manganese and copper applied at the stem extension phase of growth, also help to ensure a healthy canopy and good ear fertility, and in turn, help to secure high grain number, for maximum yield potential.”

“Macronutrients can be applied independently with other key inputs, or as in many cases, a multi-nutrient product.”

Mr Granger also recommends early PGR applications on crops, to promote additional rooting and strong, uniform tillering.

He adds that Limagrain agronomy work suggests the application of 2 fungicides should be targeted, if aiming for high yield potential from larger biomass crops.

Always refer to latest RB209 Guide.

Consider higher nitrogen rates when conditions are conducive for high yield potential.

Nutrition at the foundation stage and through the plant’s life, is essential for ensuring high tiller number for high final ear counts.

LG Skyscraper has joined an elite group of varieties that have topped the Recommended List for three successive seasons. Only three other varieties (KWS Santiago, Oakley and Glasgow) have achieved this feat since 2004, showing how impressive this achievement is.

“Whilst newer varieties have joined the Recommended List since LG Skyscraper‘s recommendation in 2018, the variety continues to dominate and demonstrate its ability to achieve the very highest yields across a wide range of situations and environments,” says Tom Barker, Limagrain’s cereals and pulses product manager.

“The variety still sits as the highest yielding variety in the East at 105% showing that it is a variety for the more testing eastern climate, associated with higher temperatures and drought.”

“The variety does this as it develops a good foundation in the early season, which it then converts into a consistently top yield of sound bold grain.”

“It is a high tillering variety that moves early in the spring, similar to Evolution and is relatively early to mature which is useful, particularly for growers in the North,” he says.

Agronomically, LG Skyscraper has held up well he notes. “Its rating for yellow rust has held fast when many around have fallen, and its brown rust is still an acceptable 6. It also offers Orange Wheat Blossom Midge resistance (OWBM).”

LG Skyscraper

LG Skyscraper’s excellent performance across the UK dispels any myths surrounding soft wheats being lower yielding than hard wheats.

“Not only has the variety held onto its yield, but its excellent quality attributes remain intact, offering a specific weight of 76.8 kg/hl and a Hagberg of 214,” notes Limagrain’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger.

“The variety has the additional benefit of distilling, with premiums being offered by some millers for inclusion in biscuit grists – a very valuable attribute,” he says.

“For some growers who are still looking to drill their wheat, it is worth noting that in Limagrain trials, LG Skyscraper was the highest performing variety in the late drilled slot. In fact, the variety has shown itself to take this top position over three very different seasons,” he points out.

“LG Skyscraper can be drilled comfortably up until the end of January and even later into February further North, but seed rates will need to be adjusted accordingly.”

The Farmer’s Perspective

Caring for soil structure and growing on land with residual fertility has paid dividends for Berwick-on-Tweed based grower Rod Smith of Beal Farm, whose 400ha land overlooks Lindisfarne (Holy Island).

Grown on heavy clay soil after vining peas, his 2020 seed crop of LG Skyscraper yielded 13.4t/ha, with a specific weight of 80kg/hl and a germination between 97-98%.

David Cairns, Head of Agrochemical Division for Simpsons Malt and McCreath Simpson & Prentice, who is also a practicing agronomist, works closely with Mr Smith.

David Cairns of Simpsons Malt and McCreath Simpson & Prentice

“The crop was planted on September 20, just before the weather broke, and established very well.”

“The previous crop of peas had been harvested at the end of August and the trash was incorporated, and then a stale seedbed created to flush weeds.”

“We do not have a black-grass problem in the area, but brome needs managing.”

“A lot of work has been done on improving soil structure and organic matter on the farm, and a really good stale seedbed was created using min-till.”

The approach at Beal Farm is to generally follow a min-till strategy with rotational ploughing, approximately one year in six.

“The farm follows a wheat-based rotation with vining peas, which are planted approximately one year in six to one in seven, but also includes winter oats, spring barley and increasing use of cover crops. The plan is now to try and grow more second wheats.”

Mr Cairns advocates a robust, prophylactic approach to crop protection, especially with fungicides.

“As we are in a coastal area, there is a threat from early yellow rust, which we addressed at T0 with cyprocanazole and Septoria tritici protectant chlorothalonil (CTL). We did not see any infection on the LG Skyscraper at all.

“T1 disease levels remained low, however, given yield potential and wanting to increase Septoria protection, we used an SDHI/Epoxiconazole based treatment, albeit at a reduced rate, and again CTL whilst we still had it. This was timed well to protect leaf 3.

“When it came to T2, because of dry weather, crops seemed to shut down for a while and slow down growth, so the gap was a bit longer.

“Given the yield potential, we tried some of the new Revysol fungicide on the final leaf but given rust was still lingering in the area, we also included a Strobilurin.

“T3 was really just a treatment to cover Fusarium as weather had started to break a bit and we considered that the robust flag leaf fungicide will have covered foliar disease, so it was a low dose of Prothioconazole and Tebuconazole.

The PGR (chlormequat) was also applied at T0, he adds.

“We were pushing for yield, so we applied an early N dressing. Although LG Skyscraper is a tall variety, it is very responsive to PGR.

LG Skyscraper Winter Wheat

“This was particularly clear on our own Simpsons Malt trials, where it was side by side with an untreated crop.”

In the spring, the crop got going ahead of the other wheats on the farm, so David applied a high dose of N and S to keep the crop tillering and then further N/S to meet yield potential.
This autumn, the area grown with LG Skyscraper has gone up to 160 ha as well as planting it as a second wheat in the same field as this year.

Mr Smith says: “Growing a profitable seed crop of LG Skyscraper has been really important to us, and the work fits in with our diversification projects which include a restaurant and camping site on the farm.”

Mr Cairns says: “As a company, it is our biggest selling variety because the farmers are happy with it as a first and second wheat.”

Farm Facts

Farm area: approximately 400Ha
Soil: Heavy clay
Environment: Coastal
Rotation: 1:6 or 1:7 for vining peas

Herbicide strategy:
Pre emergence based on Pendimethalin, DFF and Flufenacet

Fungicide strategy:
T0 Cyprocanazole + chlorothalonil
T1 SDHI/Epoxiconazole
T2: Revysol + strobilurin
T3: Prothioconazole + tebuconazole
Diversification projects known as The Barn at Beal

Limagrain UK has a reputation for producing great biscuit wheat varieties, from Claire to more recently Zulu and Britannia. This strong breeding line continues with the introduction of four new Group 3 biscuit varieties for the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List: LG Prince, LG Illuminate, LG Quasar and LG Astronomer.

These new varieties offer an improvement in yield potential in the biscuit sector, combined with good agronomic attributes of stiff straw, good disease resistance ratings for the rusts, septoria tritici and Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance.

“Very importantly, these should not be just considered as solely biscuit wheats, as they all have the additional end market of potential for distilling and two of them also have uks export opportunities on top, for a full marketing outlet opportunity,” says Limagrain’s cereals and pulses product manager, Tom Barker.

“A breeder getting a couple of varieties onto the Recommended List is quite an achievement, but getting four new varieties listed in the Group 3 biscuit wheat category is very unusual, and an achievement that should be acknowledged,” he adds.

Each variety is different, offering a range of agronomic characters suitable for particular farm situations, to allow for optimum performance.

LG Prince is the highest yielding biscuit variety with distilling, available with a UK yield of 103%, with a very high yield potential in the East, of 104%.

“LG Prince performs well across a range of soil types, and has proven itself to be a very good second wheat, yielding 104% of control, which is significant as this is up there with the best feed wheat yields,” says Mr Barker.

“A short stiff-strawed variety, LG Prince has a later maturity, with good disease resistance for the rusts and septoria tritici, and offers OWBM resistance.”

A biscuit wheat offering distilling and uks export, LG Illuminate is the next highest yielding of Limagrain’s new biscuits, and has done well in the North at 102% of control, and stands out for its consistency of performance over seasons, regions, soil type and rotational position.

“LG Illuminate is particularly impressive in the earlier sowing situation,” notes Mr Barker.

“Its grain quality attributes are similar to KWS Firefly, but with a better specific weight and good sprouting resistance.”

Agronomically, LG Illuminate offers good disease resistance for the rusts and septoria tritici, as well as OWBM resistance.

LG Astronomer offers distilling, backed up by an exceptional agronomic package.

“This is a tall, but very stiff-strawed variety, with one of the best disease resistance packages available on the Recommended List, offering resistance ratings of 9’s for the rusts and an excellent rating of 7.4 for septoria tritici,” he says.

“Combined with OWBM resistance, a very good grain quality and a specific weight of 77.8 kg/hl, these attributes make it a very secure variety for growing on farm with minimum risk.”

“LG Astronomer has all of the desired agronomic attributes associated with the early drilling slot, such as stiff straw, excellent disease resistance, good grain quality and OWBM resistance, and has proven itself in this drilling situation.”

LG Quasar is the second of the biscuits offering both distilling and uks export. It has a grain quality similar to the current market leader in the sector, KWS Firefly.

A taller-strawed variety with good lodging resistance, LG Quasar is suitable for mid to late drilling. The variety is later maturing, with similar attributes to its parent, Cougar. LG Quasars’ disease resistance profile is also similar to the market leading variety KWS Firefly, but with a better brown rust rating which is important for the southern regions.

UK / Regional / Untreated Yield Potential

Disease Resistance (compared with the highest yielding soft feed varieties)