Arable farming

Arable Farming

Source:

Arable Crops

• Cereals – Wheat, Barley, Oats

• Oilseeds– Oilseed Rape, Linseed

• Legumes– Clover, Peas, Beans

• Root Crops – Potatoes, Sugar Beet, Field Veg

• Forage crops– Stubble Turnips, Maize

Source: www.ecifm.rdg.ac.uk

Crop Rotation

• Soil fertility

• Crop weeds, pests, diseases

• Spread risk

• Timing & workload

• Crop use – bi-products

Production Cycle

• Cultivation • Planting• Nutrition

• Crop protection• Harvest• Storage

Cultivation

• Bury trash

• Loosen soil

• Plant into clean soil

Planting

• Fine, firm tilth

• Seed rate, depth

• Tramlines

Nutrition

• Fertilizer• FYM and Slurry• N,P,K

• Timing• Pollution• Cost

Crop Protection

• Weeds – competition

• Pests – damage

• Diseases – damage

• Human/animal health

• Quantity – yield

• Quality – use

Harvest

• Timing• Weather• Crop condition

• Trafficking• Aftermath• Storage

An Arable Year

Month Wheat Potatoes OSR Sugar Beet

Sept Cultivate Drilling Campaign begins

Oct Drilling

Nov/Dec Sprays Sprays

Jan/Feb Cultivate

De-stone

Cultivate

March Fertilizer Cultivate Fertilizer

Spray

Drilling

April Fertilizer

Spray

Planting Flowering Sprays

May Spray Spray Spray Sprays

June Spray 1st Earlies harvested

Swath/

Dessicate

Sprays

July Harvest 2nd Earlies harvested

Harvest

August Harvest Main crop harvest

3 signs of Environmental Improvement

• Pollution incidents caused by farming have fallen by 92% since 1990

• Levels of pesticides detected in rivers have declined

• Some farmland wildlife species have begun to stabilise and recover (otters and stone curlews)

Source: Good Farming, Better Environment by EA and NFU

Top 3 Concerns

• Nutrients, pesticides and sediment from farms are still polluting watercourses

• Some farmland species are still in decline– 6 out of the 9 most threatened farmland bird

species (starling, turtle dove, yellowhammer, linnet, grey partridge, and skylark) continue to decline.

• Climate change implications still unknown

Source: Good Farming, Better Environment by EA and NFU

Dramatic Decline in Farmland Birds

89%Since 1970

55%Since 1970

88%Since 1970

Population Decline

What changes in farming practices have led to species decline?