Iain Richards Blog
I provide integrated agronomy and support to growers across the central southern counties as well as contributing a regular column to Farmers Weekly.
Cropwatch South – March 2021
April 6, 2021
The crop we’re most excited about this season is oilseed rape. Having taken almost no pleasure from growing it for the past three years, we are once again looking to push performance rather than just limit damage. All the more… Read more
Cropwatch South – February 2021
March 5, 2021
Another season of fancy drilling footwork sees us with three distinct types of wheat – all looking promising but each requiring a different approach to fulfil that promise. The crops drilled on our low black-grass ground in late September are… Read more
Tagged # crop nutrition, cropping, cropwatch south, OSR, oxfordshire, south, spring, winter wheat
Cropwatch South – November 2020
November 14, 2020
This October was even wetter than last for us; the wettest on record for many, in fact, with anywhere from 190–230 mm in the rain gauge across my geography. A brief respite in the middle of the month allowed us… Read more
Tagged # astrokerb, autumn cropping, avadex, BYDV, CSFB, early sown, fingicide, OSR, OSR Companion, osr phoma, winter cereals
Cropwatch South – October 2020
October 16, 2020
We’ve certainly been glad to move on from the 2020 harvest. While extremely variable, it wasn’t actually as bad as we feared in many cases. Our November/December wheat drillings, in particular, were a pleasant surprise. A combination of better prices… Read more
Tagged # BYDV, CSFB, OSR, winter barley, winter wheat
