Menu

Know How / Wheat / Land preparation

Making a good seed-bed is essential, whether you are growing spring wheat or winter wheat. With such a huge range of kit and techniques at your disposal, finding the right one for your situation can be a minefield. Discover how different cultivation regimes are working for wheat growers and how they are helping to overcome agronomic challenges.

Case studies

See all

PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

How a farmer grows cereals without plough or herbicides

Organic farmer Peter Cheek is successfully growing a range of cereal crops in a min-till system without the use of the plough or herbicides. Instead, a series of strategic cultivations…

PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

Long-term direct driller reveals yield impact of ploughing

A wheat crop established under the plough yielded 1.7t/ha more than the long-term direct drilled part of the field, more than paying for the extra costs associated with ploughing. But…

COVER CROPS

How Arable Insights farmers are using cover crops in rotation

Whether it is to increase soil organic matter, provide grazing for sheep, prevent nutrients from leaching, or deliver extra income within the rotation, cover cropping has become a key part…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How integrating livestock in rotations cuts crop inputs

As sustainable farming practices become increasingly important, some agronomists and farmers are exploring how integrating livestock into arable systems can bring both environmental and economic benefits. By combining rotational grazing…

PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

Why a long-term no-tiller is ploughing again on heavy soils

For more than 20 years, a bare brown field has not been seen on Motts Farm on the Dengie peninsula in Essex, with crops established using zero tillage. But that…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why a Scottish estate harvests crops every month of the year

Crops are harvested 12 months of the year at Stracathro Estate on the east coast of Scotland to fuel a 2MW anaerobic digestion plant, which requires the equivalent feedstock of…

Practical advice

See all

CROP MANAGEMENT

How to companion crop successfully in winter wheat

Companion cropping is an emerging practice that is recognised in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) with an action that attracts a payment of £55/ha. In its most common form, it…

ARABLE

How to plan crop and soil management after a washout season

Soils, rotations and cashflows were all impacted by the 2023-24 growing season washout, meaning there are important decisions to be made ahead of the new cropping year. The smallest wheat…

COVER CROPS

A guide to catch cropping before autumn cereals

While many farmers are growing cover crops over winter before spring crops, there is also the possibility of establishing a catch crop between harvest and an autumn-drilled crop. The key…

SOILS

5 steps to introducing a no-till approach on arable farms

Farmer-led organisation Base-UK will be recommending a five-stage approach to adopting regenerative farming at Cereals, for growers looking to start their no-till journey. The five steps are: 1. Have a…

SOILS

How to build a bioreactor to produce your own on-farm biology

Building biology on your farm doesn’t need to cost the earth, although it does require a level of patience. There is more than one way to increase microbial activity in…

ARABLE

Regenerative agriculture: What to avoid and how to start

Farmers considering the move to a regenerative farming system must have a plan and introduce gradual changes, or there’s a danger that they will expose their businesses to an unacceptable…

Insights

See all

PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

Trial shows best break crops and cultivation for wheat profit

Discussion around which cultivation approach is best has been a central theme of many a pub debate or magazine article in recent years. But 20 years of the long-term Sustainability…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Benefits of adding manganese to seed-beds after dry summer

Farmers are advised to apply manganese in the seed-bed this autumn, as the dry summer may have left soils depleted of the micronutrient. Origin Soil Nutrition agronomist Toby Ward warns…

ARABLE

Herbal leys help halve nitrogen fertiliser use for wheat

Winter wheat growers could halve their nitrogen fertiliser rates after using a three-year herbal ley and not see a fall in yield compared with an all-arable rotation. Introducing a multi-species…

SOILS

Farm soil carbon: Is the focus on sequestration right?

Arable farmers must be realistic about the amount of carbon that can be locked up in soils and should be wary of exaggerated claims about sequestration, warns a leading soil…

SOILS

What to consider when increasing soil carbon stocks

Soil organic matter underpins soil health, providing numerous benefits to its physical and chemical properties. But what is it, and how can farmers effectively increase levels to get the most…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How tests for additional available N can cut fertiliser use

A soil nitrogen (N) test that has been available for the past 20 years is in line to have its most successful season ever, not just because of sky-high fertiliser…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Advice on trimming fertiliser rates when prices are high

Growers looking to cut back on fertiliser rates next spring because of the high prices are being advised to take a field-by-field approach. Last year, fertiliser costs averaged about 65p/kg…

ARABLE

Regen farming data show variable costs cut by 18%

Latest results from the Groundswell benchmarking group show that everything is lower in a regenerative agriculture system, except for the all-important net margin. Variable costs are 18% lower, while labour…

SOILS

6 companies offering carbon-based payments to arable farmers

From government-backed schemes to voluntary private markets, there has been an explosion of interest in developing carbon and additional ecosystem service credits that could provide a new income stream for…

SOILS

How new carbon offset scheme for regenerative ag works

The first UK-certified soil carbon offsetting scheme is available to farmers who use regenerative agriculture practices, offering them a commercial opportunity worth up to £100/ha from sequestering carbon in their…

SOILS

Will soil carbon be the next big crop for growers?

It feels like a perfect storm: the urgency of climate change, the global surge in interest in regenerative agricultural practices and the need for new income streams. They are all…

SOILS

How the UK's first soil carbon mapping service works

The UK’s first carbon mapping service, capable of providing an accurate baseline measure of soil carbon levels, is now available to farmers. The technology, known as Terramap Carbon, will gauge…

Online resources from AHDB

Field drainage guide

See more

No-till fact sheet

Download

Soil assessment fact sheet

Download

Slug control fact sheet

See more