Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Magazine Subscriptions
    •  
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Podcast
    • Events
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Arable & Agronomy

    ‘Step ahead’ with Carr’s Billington

    Meghan TaylorBy Meghan TaylorJune 13, 20224 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    Carr’s Billington is encouraging all farmers, on any farm needing to maximise their grassland efficiency, to review the role that integrated digital agronomy and precision farming methods could play.

    In a recent webinar, Carr’s Billington presented their ‘Step Ahead’ campaign, which focuses on maximising grassland efficiency from the soil up, with the support of soil analysis and precision mapping technology – ‘a highly valuable and long-term investment with significant returns for farmers’.

    Jim McRobert, the technical manager at Carr’s Billington, described these technologies as ‘just some of the tools in our armoury’. Continuing, “it’s not an easy time for farmers, however, if you can focus on one thing, I’d strongly recommend it be to look at how you could improve soil health. From this, the benefits will come.”

    Soil analysis

    During the online event, the importance of soil analysis in improving nutrient use efficiency and reducing fertiliser losses was expressed; Lancrop Laboratories’ business development manager, Hannah Shirt, discussed how soil analysis can help farmers with their soil nutrient content and fertiliser losses.

    “A low soil pH will significantly reduce the nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium availability to grass, potentially leading to the over-application of fertiliser and poor yields. But, if soil pH is raised from 5.5 to 6, or 6.5, using lime for example, around 30 to 40% more nitrogen is typically made available for plants.”

    Hannah Shirt highlighted that ‘6.5 to 7.5 is the pH band in which all soil nutrients are at their highest point’.

    “With reduced losses and increased nutrient use efficiency, this could deliver the equivalent fertiliser cost savings of up to a third, which in today’s market is significant. If farmers aren’t routinely conducting soil analysis, this insight can be very hard to realise, and this year particularly, farmers could be missing a trick,” added Ms Shirt.

    She also noted that tissue analysis may not be so useful for livestock farming, however, it can be used to look for soil antagonists such as potash. Plus, in order to keep up with newly emerging legislation, soil analysis techniques will allow the industry ‘to get ahead’.

    ‘Getting ahead’ is also critical with the new Sustainable Farming Incentives (SFI), as these will require farms to provide soil analyses and organic mapping levels. As Robert Bowes, account manager for RHIZA, reminded us that SFI will “want farmers to dig in and have a good look at their soil samples.”

    Precision mapping

    Mr Bowes then spoke at the online event about how RHIZA supplies precision mapping, using soil analysis results, soil health indicators, weather trends and business data to further improve grassland efficiency and yields.

    Using RHIZA’s precision mapping, via the Contour app, farmers will be better supported in their planning for when to plant or cut their arable crops or silage. The app receives data from 360 weather stations across the UK, plus satellite imagery, electrical conductivity soil scans and historic soil analyses (which can be uploaded to the system), to provide detailed on-farm soil insights.

    “The crux of our Contour platform is that it can observe field performance. By pooling data on soil analysis, weather, satellite imagery and many other areas, it’s possible to build a profile of performance indicators on a field-by-field basis,” Mr Bowes said. 

    “It’s this insight which helps inform practices, such as variable rate spreading and section control at application, to drive efficiencies.”  

    Additionally, technology such as the Contour app will also allow the share of data on farms between all members of its workforce, past, present and future. With that, Dale Shaw, Carr’s Billington machinery sales manager, added that with this technology “we see the opportunity to make the data as accessible as possible for our customers.”

    According to Mr Shaw, this data share opportunity will also fill a gap in an industry that already ‘needs to get better with where data is held’.

    Costs

    At the webinar’s close, questions came in regarding the total cost of soil analysis and precision mapping technology on farms.

    Answers from the speakers all circulated around the fact that, in most cases, the return on investment will be in the soil health (which is difficult to put a monetary value on); while it was noted that the money saved on the improvements made to yields, or on previously wasteful fertiliser applications, will cover the set up costs.

    Though Mr Bowes, of RHIZA, roughly estimated that a set up cost can range from ‘£5 per hectare up to £25-30 per hectare’.

    Mr McRoberts also highlighted that with the analysis and mapping technology, farmers may be able to get more of a handle on their soil’s carbon matter, to better use and understand carbon credits.

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleVariety choice is more important as oilseed area set to increase
    Next Article Case IH introduces uprated round balers
    Meghan Taylor

    Journalist. Graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English and Art History. When not working I can be found riding my horses on the Ashdown Forest, reading, shopping, or cooking!

    Read Similar Stories

    Conventional oilseed rape is still good for the autumn, says Limagrain UK

    June 29, 2022

    Rothamsted Research needs the help of farmers and growers

    June 28, 2022

    How Agreena can help you get into the carbon market

    June 24, 2022
    Most Read Stories

    Glamping pods pay off for Cumbrian family farm

    July 1, 2022

    20 years of Kuhn’s i-BIO+ baler-wrapper

    July 1, 2022

    Grimme unveils six new machines at Farm Days event

    June 30, 2022
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2022 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Farm Business
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Others".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance".
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_191 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo