A move to direct drilling LG Diablo spring barley has proven successful for Berwickshire grower Neil White, as yields and quality impressed in a challenging season.

Mr White has been direct drilling crops for the past seven years at the 260 ha (650-acre) Greenknowe Farm near Duns, but until this season, had not established spring barley this way.

“Barley has been the last crop I’ve gone over to direct drilling with, but we successfully tried it on two-thirds of our area last spring, sowing directly into overwintered stubble. We will direct drill all of our barley again this spring, either into overwintered stubble or after a cover crop.

“It’s really pleasing for me to see that LG Diablo works in that direct drilled scenario, and still produces a good yield and grain quality. I’m very happy with it.”

The farm’s target spring barley yield is usually around 7.4-8.6 t/ha (3-3.5 t/acre), and this year’s 35 ha of LG Diablo was at the top end of that range, despite some very dry conditions during the growing season.

Quality was good too, with nitrogen coming in at 1.52%, and specific weight at 67.4 kg/hl, allowing everything to meet the malting specification required by grain buyer, Simpsons Malt.

“It produced a nice bold grain, despite the very dry spell. Everything hit the spec for malting, which is spot-on.”

Mr White acknowledges there were a few light grains this season, which he attributes to the lack of rain, preventing some grain from maturing and filling fully. “We certainly haven’t seen any issues with screenings before, so I’m sure it’s due to the year, not the variety.”

Maximising establishment

Mr White recognises that his Mzuri drill does move more soil than other direct drills, but believes this benefits barley establishment in the spring, as it helps aerate the soil, warm it up and mineralise some nitrogen.

Switching from a combination drill to the Mzuri has also allowed him to sow spring barley at variable seed rates to account for establishment differences on varied soil types, and put fertiliser ‘down the spout’ with seed, to get crops off to a good start.

Seed rates last season typically ranged from 380-440 seeds/m² on the variable soils, with crops sown on 33cm rows. That is a much wider spacing than spring barley is conventionally sown at, but he believes LG Diablo’s vigour enables it to fill the gaps between rows nicely.

“Also, it doesn’t brackle, which is something that is always a threat if weather turns catchy at harvest, especially on wider rows.”

Wider benefits of direct drilling

Soil carries machinery better when it is not ploughed.

Moving less soil reduces total fuel consumption which saves money and improves the carbon credentials of direct-drilled malting barley.

In demand from distillers

LG Diablo’s consistency is valued by end users too, says Mike Dagg, senior grain trader at Simpsons Malt, who expects it to remain one of the top two varieties grown in Scotland for distilling over coming years.

“We’ve had the variety for five or six years now, and we know it goes through the malting process very well. If it performs well going through the malting process, then there’s every chance the malt product will also do well going through distilling too.”

Indeed, over the past few years, LG Diablo has shown consistently good performance in distilleries, both in terms of spirit yields and processability, which ultimately leads to good efficiency and maintains demand for the variety, he says.

“LG Diablo is now pretty universally accepted by the majority of the Scottish distilling industry, and I don’t really see that changing anytime soon.

“Because LG Diablo is so consistent, and benefits from dual use approval for brewing and distilling, it’s got the ability to compete with, and hold its ground against, any new varieties coming along.

“I don’t see anything coming through breeding programmes currently that suggests LG Diablo and Laureate will lose their dominance in the Scottish distilling market.”

Lincolnshire grower Edward Knight of James Knight Farms near Folkingham, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, was very pleased with how well the large blue pea LG Aviator coped with the challenging dry conditions of 2022.

“They stood up nicely to combine and yielded 3.7t/ha,” he says.

“This is the first year we have grown LG Aviator peas, which will go to Limagrain UK for seed”.

“We are impressed with LG Aviator as a variety – it’s clean, vigorous and with the dry conditions we didn’t have to spend too much on it. We also bale the straw as the cattle like pea straw, so it’s a good value crop for us.”

Direct drilling peas

“We have grown pulses on and off for the last fifteen years, depending on where they fit in the rotation. We work the soil in the autumn with a Sumo trio, and then drill in the spring once soils have warmed up enough. For the first time, we direct drilled the peas using a Mzuri in an attempt to conserve as much soil moisture as possible – which worked well.”

Importance of disease resistance

At a time when farmers are looking carefully at crop inputs, a variety like LG Aviator should provide some much needed varietal security as it offers the best disease resistance package of any large blue pea variety, including powdery mildew resistance,” says Corrie Dekker, Assistant Pulse Breeder for Limagrain UK.

“The variety also exhibits a unique architecture with most of the pods near the top of the plant, which keeps them off the ground and makes for easier combining.”

For these reasons, Ms Dekker believes that LG Aviator will feature in generations to come and is why it has been significantly taken up by the industry.

Farm facts

JK Farms
Family Farm & Contracting
Rotation
Peas/Beans
Wheat
Wheat/Spring Barley
Linseed
Wheat
Wheat/Spring Barley
OSR

LG Aviator peas in summary

•  
• • Good yield performance with consistent flowering and even maturity

  • Excellent tolerance to downy mildew and powdery mildew resistant

  • Multi podded type with a condensed pod set at the top of the plant

  • Suitable for micronizing, feed and human consumption market

You can download the technical data sheet for LG Aviator peas here

Growing fodder beet to feed cattle and sheep is helping Shropshire mixed farmer Gordon Tomley safeguard against high feed prices and benefit soil health as part of his cereal rotation.

Mr Tomley grows 12ha of fodder beet a year to feed his 500 head of cattle – from his own 80-cow suckler cow herd and 200 bought-in dairy cross weaners a year – and 700 ewes. He says stock do well off it, with cases of twin lamb disease in ewes almost disappearing, and Angus heifers and steers averaging at least 1kg a day liveweight gain.

It also provides a good break crop for this mixed farm, which includes 243ha of arable. The main rotation includes two wheat crops, winter barley, stubble turnips, fodder beet and potatoes.

Feeding rate

Throughout the winter, heifers and steers over 12 months old are fed whole fodder beet in bunkers at a rate of 3kg to 4kg a day and ad lib silage, building to 15kg to 18kg as they head towards finishing.

In the last three months of finishing, they are also fed barley straw and ad lib corn to get the finish. However, Mr Tomley says they will always choose to eat fodder beet over corn any day.

“There’s a saying that 4kg of fodder beet is worth 1kg of corn. It certainly helps us get a good finish on cattle at a cost to feed of about 2p to 3p/kg,” he adds.

His 80 dairy cross Angus suckler cows receive 10kg a head a day of beet, and anything under 10 months is on between 5kg and 8kg a day.

Dairy x Angus heifers are averaging 315kg and steers 335kg to 340kg at about 20 months old when they are finished.

Ewes do equally as well on the home-grown product. He farms 400 Welsh and Beulah ewes on a hill farm nearby and he feeds whole ad-lib fodder beet, using a Marshall spreader, from December until six weeks post-lambing in April.

He also has 200 half-bred Mules on the home farm which are fed ad-lib fodder beet over winter. None of the ewes receives corn, as the fodder beet provides plenty of energy, and Mr Tomley says feeding fodder beet ‘takes a lot of hassle out of the job’.

He adds: “When you have a lot of stock, it’s good to know the fodder beet is there. It means we are not at the mercy of the marketplace, safeguarding us against high feed prices.”

Fodder beet also provides an added income stream as Mr Tomley sells up to 20% of the crop to neighbouring farmers, which this year was at £45/t.

Variety selection

Variety selection is critical to achieving such good performance in his stock, a key focus for agricultural merchants Wynnstay who offer support to growers and farmers in the region.

“We see big improvements in the reliability and consistency of higher yields and the improved feed value in the more recent varieties,” says the company’s grass and root seed manager Colin Jones.

Mr Tomley grows Robbos on his medium loam soil type. It yields more than 80t/hectare and has a dry matter of 19%.

“Robbos isn’t such a hard variety, which is good for the sheep as it’s a little softer on their mouths. It also keeps its leaf well, so if stock is grazing it directly, there is feed value in the leaf. The good leaf also helps protect it against frost,” he adds.

Mr Tomley also notes the cleanliness of the variety. “The first lot we lifted last year didn’t need cleaning as Robbos has a clean root. Our contractors’ machines help too, as they spin off any soil,” he says.

Before growing Robbos, he grew Magnum for many years, but the yield was lower, but it needed the same inputs.

Mr Tomley uses a contractor to sow the crop, usually around April 10, and it follows a crop of stubble turnips. The first batch of fodder beet is usually lifted at the end of November, with a second lift in January and a third at the end of February.

He stores it in a heap on a concrete pad next to his silage clamp, with the roots able to keep for four to five months.

Getting a good crop requires some key management, though. Mr Tomley explains: “If you want the yield, then you must make sure there is no weed competition early on. We use one pre-emergence and one post emergence herbicide and fungicide for powdery mildew and yellow virus to protect the crop.”

He also applies 10 tonnes/ha of layer manure and 20t/ha of farmyard manure, which is ploughed in. The ground is then flat-lifted and worked, ready for sowing. “Last year, it paid off applying at the end of August after the dry summer,” he adds.

Middleton Farm Facts

• 162ha grassland and 243ha of arable
• Growing 12ha of fodder beet variety Robbos a year
• Growing, lifting and sowing costs £1485-£1605/ha
• Fed to 500 head of cattle and 700 ewes

About Robbos Fodder Beet

• Has the potential to produce high dry matter yields with its clean yellow roots and medium dry matter content.
• Ideal choice for both dairy and beef production, and for first-time fodder beet growers.
• Robbos fodder beet is UK proven with large leaves and clean roots.

More information

Learn more about Robbos fodder beet here or contact your usual seed merchant for availability

The latest UK trial results data on fodder beet (including Robbos) can be downloaded here

This year, to mark 10 years of the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN), a new Innovation Award has been commissioned which was presented at the YEN conference on 24^th January. The award is for an outstanding contribution to on-farm innovation and has been sponsored by Limagrain.

“Limagrain has been an active supporter of YEN since its inception so it seems only fitting that we sponsored the Innovation Award for the 10^th anniversary conference,” says Limagrain’s Arable Marketing Manager, Will Charlton.

“As a company that invests in UK based breeding activities for all major arable crops, innovation is a core value of our business. Alongside bringing new varieties to market, we invest a considerable amount of time and money in examining how our varieties perform in different farming systems. Over the years YEN has been invaluable in helping us facilitate this work by providing a structure and detailed analysis to aid Limagrain’s collaborations with innovative farmers across the country.”

The standard of nominations was exceptionally high with all the farmers demonstrating a passion for progress, learning and collaboration. However, there could only be one winner. The award was presented by Limagrain’s Arable Technical Specialist, Liam Wilkinson. 

Liam Wilkinson and Russ McKenzie

“I’m delighted to announce that Russ McKenzie, farm manager of DJ Tebbit and John Sheard Farms, has won the YEN innovation Award. Russ has demonstrated his commitment to YEN by being one of the few farmers to provide an entry every year since YEN began.

In particular, the judges were impressed by his recent on farm trials work which has sought to investigate fungicide, nutrition and variety interactions under his own establishment system, utilising the latest digital and molecular diagnostics, alongside a trials plot combine to analyse the results. The complexity of his trials required dedication and a significant time commitment throughout a busy growing season. The data generated has provided valuable insights into how different inputs interact and influence a farming system.”

For Northumberland farmer, Wayne Bean of T Bean & Sons, growing his own livestock feed is key to maintaining profitability from his cattle and sheep.

Whole crop beans, maize, kale, forage rape, fodder beet and grain are grown for this purpose at Broad Oak Farm, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

“We are totally self sufficient in producing the ingredients for our rations. By growing our own feed, it puts us in control of our own costs as much as possible,” explains Wayne.

“We know the margins that we have to operate within between profit and loss, and this is particularly important when we buy cattle in, as it helps us to know our margins are fixed before starting.”

“It’s also important that in our cattle ration we include a protein source, as well as fibre, which whole crop beans provide.”

Beans became central to the rotation at Broad Oak Farm back in 2008, initially in response to a price hike in protein and nitrogen costs when 20 acres were drilled on a trial and now there is as much as 80 acres grown in any one season.

“Initially we grew spring beans, but have changed to winter varieties as we have found we can drill them into the heavier ground where maize can’t be grown as a break crop and weed control.”

“With our land being up to 1000 ft above sea level, conditions in the spring are unpredictable, so it takes the risk away.”

“We are now growing the variety Tundra. Whilst it’s not the highest yielding variety available, it has one of the highest protein contents which is key for us, and agronomically we like it for its good standing and earliness of maturity,” he says.

“We harvest the beans using a direct disc header on the forage harvester. We generally try to avoid using pod stick to keep costs down, as find that this approach helps us to reduce seed losses.”

“We aim to get the maize crop as dry as possible for high DM. The grain we grow is crimped and the whole crop beans go on top of the crimped grain in the clamp. We use an additive (Safesill), which is applied by the harvester and we usually wait for about 4-6 weeks before feeding.”

“It’s not the way that many would feed beans but it works very well for us!”

The third year of growing LG Diablo was certainly one to remember for Yorkshire farmer Paul Rogers, after the variety revealed its true yield potential on his 182 ha (450-acre) farm near Ripon.

Some 25 ha (60 acres) averaged 10 t/ha (4 t/acre) sold weight at 15.5% moisture, with one field hitting an impressive 10.6 t/ha (4.3 t/acre). Furthermore, all crops achieved the full malting specification required by grain buyer Saxon Agriculture, coming in at 1.51% nitrogen and an average specific weight of 68 kg/hl.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. The barley was rolling off the combine like a crop of first wheat. It was phenomenal!”

Mr Rogers acknowledges the highest yields did come from the farm’s best “good bodied” land, that did not drought off in the dry season, but even so, he would have still only expected yields of nearer 7.5 t/ha (3 t/acre).

“Even another 25-acre block of drought-hit sandy land still managed to do 7.2 t/ha (2.9 t/acre), which was tremendous for a field that droughted-off.

“I don’t know exactly where the big yield came from, because we didn’t do a lot different to the year before, apart from getting crops in earlier, around mid-March instead of early April. It was just an earlier spring; the soil conditions were correct for drilling.”

The LG Diablo established quickly, resulting in a dense plant stand that “looked like a carpet”, he notes. “The key was to keep it standing, which meant we did put on an extra growth regulator, in addition to Terpal (ethephon + mepiquat).”

Mr Rogers admits that while he may not be able to guarantee hitting such impressive yields every year, LG Diablo‘s performance in 2022 at least demonstrates what the variety is capable of on his farm and soil types, and he plans to put all of his spring barley area (around 30 ha) into LG Diablo again next spring.

Paul Rogers

Black-grass benefit

A key reason for growing spring barley on the farm is for its role in controlling black-grass and ryegrass, Mr Rogers says. “Both are becoming more of a problem, but I’ve found that if I can get thick coverage of spring barley, it does a tremendous job of smothering the black-grass, which we did see last season.”

He adopts a very traditional approach to establishing spring barley. Preceding stubbles are left to green-up after harvest, before land is ploughed in November, allowing bare soil to weather and breakdown naturally over winter. He then goes in with a power-harrow/ box drill combination, once ground is dry and warm enough in the spring, usually around early April.

“It normally doesn’t worry me drilling spring barley towards the middle of April, if that’s when conditions are right, so long as I can make sure it goes into moisture, and I can conserve that moisture in the seedbed.

“The important thing is to drill when conditions are right, not on a particular date. Last year [2022 harvest], we didn’t do a lot different to normal, apart from getting crops drilled slightly earlier because soil conditions allowed.”

Ploughing in November allows time to achieve a good flush of weeds in the autumn, which means no pre-emergence spray is needed in spring. “I don’t want anything knocking the crop, and pre-ems can sometimes hold barley back a bit. I prefer to wait until weeds have emerged after drilling, and then tackle what’s there. The spring barley itself is our grassweed control, so we only really need broadleaf chemistry.”

Granular phosphate and potassium fertiliser (0-20-30) is typically applied once the tramlines have been established, as is the nitrogen, with crops getting around 135 kg N/ha in total.

Manganese is a key nutrient for spring barley, and Mr Rogers generally includes it with both of the main fungicide applications, as well as sowing manganese-dressed seed. Last year’s fungicides were based on benzovindiflupyr applied in May, and fluxapyroxad + Mefentrifluconazole in June.

“LG Diablo is certainly a good variety that has performed well for us in all three years we’ve grown it, so I’ve no plans to grow anything else next year,” he concludes. “LG Diablo is ticking all the boxes for me at the moment.”

Limagrain varieties have picked up two prizes at the Suffolk Agricultural Association’s annual Farm Business Competition, presented at a special awards dinner in October.

The competition aims to recognise the best farms in Suffolk, in three size categories – Class 1 (farms up to 250 ha), Class 2 (251-500 ha), and Class 3 (farms of 501 ha or more) – as well as presenting further awards in four main categories, namely; conservation, livestock, diversification and a ‘Best Crop’ award.

Limagrain UK varieties scooped first place in two out of the three size classes within the Best Crop award.

William Faulds

The winning crop in Class 1 was the high-yielding Group 4 wheat, LG Skyscraper, grown by Roy Steward, at A.C.C Green, Red House Farm, Badingham, Woodbridge.

“The Skyscraper looked well all year, was not over thick and is a good all-round variety,” Mr Steward said.

Judge of the Class 1 competition, William Faulds, commented: “I have seen a number of very good-looking crops of wheat over the competition, and in general. But, LG Skyscraper has particularly stood out, in both the first and second wheat scenarios that we judged.”

Class 3 Best Crop – Bill Baker, James Forrest, Robert Hayle

Among the larger Class 3 farms, it was a crop of the Group 3 soft milling wheat, LG Astronomer, grown by James Forrest, at RH Forrest and Co, Mowness Hall, Stonham Aspal, that took the Best Crop award.

“It’s always very difficult to decide which is the best crop of wheat,” said Mr Forrest. “The LG Astronomer grew well and yielded well too, at over 11 t/ha. It was grown as a seed crop and we’re growing it again commercially this year. It also produced a decent sample at 80 kg/hl.”

The 2022 Suffolk Show President, David Barker MBE, said that in his opinion: “The farms reflect some of the best crops grown in the UK, and for two Limagrain-bred wheats to feature was a tribute to the remarkable plant breeding taking place at Woolpit in Suffolk.”

For more info on LG Skyscraper winter wheat, click here

The combination of LG Diablo’s high yield potential and consistent grain quality has made it a firm favourite within the rotation for East Fife farmer David Bell.

The mixed arable and suckler beef farm near St Andrews extends across three holdings, centering its varied rotation around potatoes, winter wheat, winter and spring barley, vining peas, 5-8-year grass leys, permanent pasture, and Agri-Environmental Climate Scheme options.

The farm has been growing LG Diablo since before it joined the Recommended List, and in 2020, won the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) Gold award with the variety, achieving the highest spring barley yield of 11.3 t/ha.

“There’s no hiding the fact that LG Diablo is a great yielder; it rivals any feed spring barley,” Mr Bell says.

“Our yield in the 2020 YEN competition was phenomenal, and it all made sub-1.65% nitrogen malting spec. Mother Nature was very favourable towards us that year, and we were really able to maximise the potential of the variety. The crop didn’t get any special treatment, we were just attentive to timings and it really delivered for us.

“Having grown LG Diablo for eight years, our understanding of how to manage the variety to get the best out of it has grown as well, and we’ve had some amazing yields. It has also shown consistency for hitting low nitrogen malting spec.”

Flexible approach

Building and maintaining soil health is fundamental to the farm business, and underpins the success of any crop, including spring barley, Mr Bell says.

“We really see our soils as the foundation, and everything else grows on top of that, literally and metaphorically.”

Cover crops, organic manures, and a varied rotation that can be adapted to the season and market fundamentals, are central to this focus, as is a flexible cultivations policy that includes direct drilling, minimal tillage, and deeper cultivations where needed.

“I’m very fortunate to have a choice of establishment methods, whether a zero-till drill or a one-pass drill. It’s a real luxury to be able to choose the right tool for the job, crop and conditions.”

Traditionally, spring barley has been established after ploughing overwintered stubbles in the spring, but for the first time in 2022, Mr Bell tried direct drilling all of his spring barley into a grass and clover cover crop. It is a method he has successfully adopted in winter cereals, but for spring barley, he acknowledges it has been a learning curve.

Cover was sprayed off with glyphosate in early spring once conditions started to warm up, then drilled when it started to die back, using variable seed rates from a base of 425 seeds/m².

“But, my seed rate was too low for the ability of spring barley in that situation. This was true of all three barley varieties we grew, as spring barley is less vigourous than winter wheat and, in my opinion, it needs some tilth to develop effectively.”

Crops therefore fell short of his target plant population, resulting in yields below par across all spring barley varieties last harvest, averaging just shy of his expected 7-8 t/ha.

“I relied too much on the root mass [of the cover crop] to do the tillage for me, but have learnt from that. We didn’t have a viable enough establishment area for the seed, so next spring I shall again be direct drilling into fields with green cover on them, but will do a shallow 25mm cultivation pre-drilling to create a tilth to help barley establish. We will also look at a more diverse cover crop in the future.”

David Bell

 Fitting into the rotation

LG Diablo will again be Mr Bell’s main spring barley variety grown for harvest 2023.

“One of the huge benefits of LG Diablo, especially in a mixed farming situation, is that it’s a high yielding spring barley variety, and if we do get it wrong in terms of nitrogen being too high for distilling or brewing, we still have a good feed crop. It’s dual purpose in that respect too, creating a circular economy within our own farm.

“Every farm and field is different though, and it’s up to us as growers to select the right tool for the right job, or the right variety for the right market or ground conditions.

“We have to look at our market, select our crop and variety against what our ground is capable of delivering, and LG Diablo fits that bill for me.”

A move to direct drilling LG Diablo spring barley has proven successful for Berwickshire grower Neil White, as yields and quality impressed in a challenging season.

Mr White has been direct drilling crops for the past seven years at the 260 ha (650-acre) Greenknowe Farm near Duns, but until this season, had not established spring barley this way.

Traditionally, he favoured ploughing and power-harrowing spring barley ground, before sowing with a combination drill once soil was dry and warm enough, or sometimes drilling directly into the plough with his 3-metre Mzuri Pro Til 3T. He says ploughing reduces the risk of wheat volunteers emerging in the barley crop, and generally creates a good seedbed for barley to establish quickly.

“Barley has been the last crop I’ve gone over to direct drilling with, but we successfully tried it on two-thirds of our area this spring [2022], sowing directly into overwintered stubble. The plan is to try and direct drill all of our barley again next spring, either into overwintered stubble or after a cover crop.

“It’s really pleasing for me to see that LG Diablo works in that direct drilled scenario, and still produce a good yield and grain quality. I’m very happy with it.”

The farm’s target spring barley yield is usually around 7.4-8.6 t/ha (3-3.5 t/acre), and this year’s 35 ha of LG Diablo was at the top end of that range, despite some very dry conditions during the growing season.

Quality was good too, with nitrogen coming in at 1.52%, and specific weight at 67.4 kg/hl, allowing everything to meet the malting specification required by grain buyer, Simpsons Malt.

“It produced a nice bold grain, despite the very dry spell. Everything hit the spec for malting, which is spot-on.”

Mr White acknowledges there were a few light grains this season, which he attributes to the lack of rain, preventing some grain from maturing and filling fully. “We certainly haven’t seen any issues with screenings before, so I’m sure it’s due to the year, not the variety.”

Neil White

Maximising establishment

Mr White recognises that his Mzuri drill does move more soil than other direct drills, but believes this benefits barley establishment in the spring, as it helps aerate the soil, warm it up and mineralise some nitrogen.

Switching from a combination drill to the Mzuri has also allowed him to sow spring barley at variable seed rates to account for establishment differences on varied soil types, and put fertiliser ‘down the spout’ with seed, to get crops off to a good start.

Last year he applied a 10-26-26 N, P, K fertiliser, with some sulphur, at drilling, but next spring plans to reduce the total amount of phosphate and potassium applied due to high prices, instead opting for a 16-15-15 product.

Seed rates last season typically ranged from 380-440 seeds/m² on the variable soils, with crops sown on 33cm rows. That is a much wider spacing than spring barley is conventionally sown at, but he believes LG Diablo’s vigour enables it to fill the gaps between rows nicely.

“Also, it doesn’t brackle, which is something that is always a threat if weather turns catchy at harvest, especially on wider rows.”

Mr White says LG Diablo has been pretty straightforward to manage, and has even allowed a slight reduction in spray costs.

“Previously, we used to apply a low rate of growth regulator to Concerto to encourage it to root and tiller, but we haven’t needed to do this with LG Diablo, which possibly reflects its strong vigour. I haven’t found it expensive to grow, especially as we just do a two-spray programme.”

Crops usually receive two fungicides; one with trace elements at Growth Stage 23 and a second at GS 39 with manganese.

Wider benefits of direct drilling

There are broader benefits from the full conversion to direct drilling too, not least in the fact that soil carries machinery a lot better when it is not ploughed, Mr White says. “That’s particularly noticeable at harvest.”

Moving less soil reduces total fuel consumption too, which saves money and improves the carbon credentials of direct-drilled malting barley, he adds. This could become more significant in the future as the UK continues its drive towards net zero and grain buyers look to secure supplies with a lower carbon footprint.

“I’ve often said that I should be receiving a small premium for low carbon barley, and LG Diablo ticks the box for that.”

 In demand from distillers

LG Diablo’s consistency is valued by end users too, says Mike Dagg, senior grain trader at Simpsons Malt, who expects it to remain one of the top two varieties grown in Scotland for distilling over coming years.

“We’ve had the variety for five or six years now, and we know it goes through the malting process very well, from steeping the barley, to germinating and kilning, so that means we’re not losing time having to give it an extra day or two at any stage.

“If it performs well going through the malting process, then there’s every chance the malt product will also do well going through distilling too.”

Indeed, over the past few years, LG Diablo has shown consistently good performance in distilleries, both in terms of spirit yields and processability, which ultimately leads to good efficiency and maintains demand for the variety, he says.

“LG Diablo is now pretty universally accepted by the majority of the Scottish distilling industry, and I don’t really see that changing anytime soon.

“Because LG Diablo is so consistent, and benefits from dual use approval for brewing and distilling, it’s got the ability to compete with, and hold its ground against, any new varieties coming along. At the moment I don’t see anything coming through breeding programmes that suggests LG Diablo and Laureate will lose their dominance in the Scottish distilling market.”

Joe Adams farms over 800 hectares of wheat just outside Daventry in Northamptonshire. A decision to move to continuous wheat five years ago was made in response to struggling to establish oilseed rape.

“We could no longer rely on oilseed rape as it had just become too much of a liability to establish with the loss of the neonicotinoids, so we had to look at what else we could do to maintain our rotational profitability”.

“We have always grown milling wheat which we sell onto various local and national grain merchants, and that has worked well for us so we decided to look at growing continuous wheat.”

“We used to grow Cordiale but moved over to Crusoe about nine years ago and now it is the only variety we grow across the farm. Crusoe has performed very well for us, and whilst the variety doesn’t have the highest yields of the Group 1’s, we can rely on it to consistently produce the protein spec of 13% that we are looking for.”

When moving over to continuous wheat, Mr Adams moved to slightly later drilling, around the first week of October, as this helped to manage take-all. However, he is now finding that the take-all pressure is abating so drilling has come back to about the third week of September.

Having moved over to a regen system last year, the wheat crop at Thrupp Farms is direct drilled within a CTF system. “All of our machinery works to a 12m tram line. It generally takes two weeks to get the whole farm drilled which in turn gives us a spread of harvest.”

“We don’t have a big black-grass problem, but any that does come up is sprayed-off or hand rogued. A robust fungicide programme supports the brown rust weakness of Crusoe, and we have never had any issues with it to date”.

Last year Mr Adams cut back on nitrogen from 250 kg/ha to 200kg/ha and still hit spec weight. This year he is looking at cutting that back even further to 180kg/ha and that will go on as liquid in a 4 way split and is applied variably.

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The biscuit wheat LG Astronomer was the best performing of five Group 3 varieties grown at the 1,200 ha Moundsmere Farming Company near Basingstoke this year, giving farmer Robert Brine good reason to sow it again this autumn.

Some 40 ha of LG Astronomer was tried for the first time in 2021/22, as a first wheat after winter beans, as he sought to restore his faith in Group 3 varieties.

Overall, Mr Brine was pleased with how the variety performed, in what was a challenging season, characterised by a lack of rainfall throughout spring and summer, and an exceptionally early harvest.

“We started combining around a fortnight earlier than normal and didn’t stop. This year we finished wheat before we even started it last season.”

Most of his LG Astronomer was cut around the end of the second week in August, with crops on the heavier clay cap ground yielding in excess of 12 t/ha, with specific weight coming in at 78-79 kg/hl. “It stood and thrashed well, as did most varieties this season.”

Given the lack of rainfall throughout much of the growing season, Mr Brine was happy that crops on thin, chalky soils still managed a respectable yield, typically averaging 8-8.5 t/ha, giving an overall average for the variety across all fields of around 10 t/ha.

Rob Brine

“Although it didn’t quite match the yields of some of the barn-filling feed wheats, out of the five Group 3’s we grew this year, LG Astronomer did perform the best,” he says.

“In all, we had eight different wheat varieties in the ground, which was too many really, so we will be looking to thin them down a bit this coming season.”

Mr Brine says he has not yet finalised wheat variety choices for harvest 2023, but is confident LG Astronomer will be among them.

He plans to grow the variety as a first wheat, likely to be sown in early to mid-October, depending on conditions.

“We usually establish crops using a two-pass system, based on one pass with a Köckerling tined cultivator, before drilling with the Horsch Sprinter tine drill, which we used for the first time last season, and found it performed very well. We’re now looking at direct drilling some crops, but only when conditions allow.”

Last year’s LG Astronomer was sown on 9 October, at a seed rate of 325/m². Crops established strongly and came through last winter looking very well, Mr Brine recalls.

Dry weather throughout April was a concern, but a timely application of digestate to replace the second main fertiliser dose in April provided a useful boost to spring growth and greening.

“The digestate really kicked crops into gear.”

The combination of a dry April and LG Astronomer’s strong Recommended List scores for Septoria (6.8 on the three-year rating) and rust (8 for yellow and brown rust), did allow a slight saving on fungicides this season, as no T0 was applied, he adds.

At T1, LG Astronomer received AscraXpro (bixafen, Fluopyram + prothioconazole), with Univoq (fenpicoxamid + prothioconazole) applied as the T2 flag leaf fungicide, while the T3 was based on tebuconazole and azoxystrobin.

Mr Brine notes that the resistance to Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) in LG Astronomer and other LG varieties, is a particular benefit at Moundsmere, especially as the business moves away from using insecticides, and puts more focus on maximising the use of beneficial species.