Fungicide Strategies

Basingstoke Monitor Farm meeting

Many farms undertake the same fungicide strategy programme over their whole farm, however is this an efficient and viable policy? Especially when taking into account the Recommended List winter wheat responses to fungicides (which vary from less than 1t/ha to over 4 t/ha).

The unpredictable weather and loss of chemical compounds (e.g. Chlorothalonil) will also have an impact on our crop disease management strategies.

During this meeting we will consider strategies to help reduce reliance on fungicides. We will discuss how to develop an efficient and effective fungicide programme taking into account the possible fungicide response from the crop in the ground.

Speakers

• Steve Cook (independent crop adviser and NIAB TAG regional agronomist) 

Programme

• Registration
• Welcome and introduction: Paul Hill – AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds Knowledge Exchange Manager (South East)
• Basingstoke MF farming operational update: Hugh Crosbie - Dawson
• Fungicide Strategies - Wheat: Steve Cook
• Coffee/Group break-out session Devising a robust fungicide strategy for your own farm
• Feedback/fungicide strategies Cont & take home messages: Steve Cook 
• Introduction to the AHDB’s Variety Selection Tool: Bastiaan Brak, AHDB Research Analysis, Crop Production Systems
• Event summary & finish
• Lunch

Basingstoke Monitor Farm

Hugh Crosbie Dawson, with his father, has worked on the 1,161 ha mixed Freefolk Farms near Basingstoke since 2011. The 800 ha arable cropping is split across owned, rented and contract farmed land. The farm’s rotation includes milling wheat, spring barley, oilseed rape and peas, all grown on predominantly chalky soil. In addition to the arable enterprise the farm has 150 dairy cows and 500 breeding ewes. There are three full-time arable staff as well as a herdsman, Hugh and his father. A min-till approach is adopted where possible, although the farm has used the plough this year for the first time in 15 years, in order to combat grass weed pressure. Other enterprises on the farm include commercial lettings, self-storage and a solar farm. Hugh’s ambition for the business is to reduce fixed and variable costs, increase efficiency and make further use of precision farming methods. During the Monitor Farm programme Hugh is also interested in benchmarking with other farmers and exploring break crops.

For more information please visit the Basingstoke Monitor Farm page.

About Monitor Farms

AHDB Monitor Farms bring together groups of like-minded farmers who wish to improve their businesses by sharing performance information and best practice around a nationwide network of host farms. AHDB organises and facilitates Monitor Farm meetings for farmers, who own and operate the scheme – by farmers, for farmers. Monitor Farms are part of the AHDB Farm Excellence Programme. Each Monitor Farm project runs for three years.