Search

The article offers information on farmer Richard Cobbald and the farming of cover crops by him in Norfolk, England. Topics discussed include the efforts by Cobbald to put structure and organic matter into the soil in his farm; his plans to increase soil fertility; and the use of oats and vetch as cover crops by him.

The article provides information on the land managed by West Wratting Park Estate farm manager Richard Cobbald near Cambridge, England, in 2011, which grows spring barley, sugar beet and oilseed rape.

The article profiles Richard Cobbald, the farm manager for West Wratting Park Estate in Cambridgeshire, England, where 1,300 hectares of heavy soil is devoted to oilseed rape, wheat, spring barley and sugar beet.

The author describes the state of arable farming in Cambridgeshire in England. As a farm manager for West Wratting Park Estate, Richard Cobbald reports that while spring is well on its way in the district, farmers are never happy of warmer days, since they like a bit of rain to benefit crops. He also reports that second nitrogen applications have been applied early in readiness farmers have been caught out for the past two springs by long, dry spells.

The article features Cambridgeshire, Great Britain-based farmer Richard Cobbald, who narrated his experience in attending the 2010 Sentry conference about the use of genetically modified (GM) crops as a means to increase food production.

The article presents topical updates pertaining to arable farming in Cambridgeshire, England as of October 21, 2011. It reports on the Soil Association's campaign against a large-scale pig unit in Derbyshire, England. It details the availability of a large quantity of cattle muck to spread on land. Drilling was finished on October 1, 2011, with a small acreage left to do after sugar beet lifting.

The author offers an update related to arable farming in Cambridgeshire, England as of January 1, 2010 including the positive early impressions for the 2010 harvest year from the yield perspective.

The author discusses activities and conditions at his West Ratting Park Estate farm near Cambridge, England as of September 20, 2013. He mentions moving to another position at Stamford and reflects on the enjoyment he has derived from working on the estate even when conditions have not been optimal. His introduction of improvements to the farm via technologies such as soil scanning, yield mapping and variable-rate fertilizer is also considered.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's farming experience in Cambridgeshire, England.

The author shares his thoughts on the badger cull and cattle tuberculosis (TB) problems in Great Britain.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of arable farming at the West Wratting Park Estate near Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England in 2012.

The author comments on the criticism made by Mark Avery on the approach of the National Farmers Union (NFU) to biodiversity.

The author offers farming updates at West Wratting Park Estate in Cambridgeshire, England. Aside from wheat, he mentions that the farm also grows oilseed rape, sugar beet, and spring barley. He expresses doubt on the reported plans of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of Great Britain to pay farmers by the end of December 2011. He also reports on the early drilling of cereal crops during the winter season.

The author talks about the prospect of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reducing bureaucratic practice in British farming. He considers the plan as a good news to the livestock sector but as an arable farmer, he believes that things will not change much. He says that he is mystified by the bit about suggesting organic farmers to be exempted from recording. He highlights his skepticism on the recommendations.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of applying nitrogen fertilizer to wheat and oilseed rape in preparation for a dry spring.

The article presents updates from an arable farmer in Cambridgeshire, England who reports on success at lifting sugar beet, farm activities in January 2010 and trends in commodity prices.

The article reports that the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has criticized the excessive regulations regarding mycotoxins adopted by the food industry as they put unreasonable demands on farmers in Great Britain. During a milling supply chain meeting on October 20, 2009, NFU claimed that the excessive rules are also letting down the whole wheat supply chain. Ian Backhouse of NFU cited the effort of the union to establish appropriate techniques to manage mycotoxin risks.

The article offers updates on arable farming conditions in Cambridgeshire, England.

The author discusses issues related to agriculture in Great Britain as of July 2009. He talks about the meat-free day proposed by musician Paul McCartney once a week to try to slow down climate change. He also mentions the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) recognition that will be given to Caroline Drummond of Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) for her contribution to agriculture. He extends his congratulations to Russell Smith Farms for the success of Open Farm Sunday.

The author discusses issues related to agriculture in England as of June 2009. He notes that the demise of the Royal Show reflects the need for people to support local county shows such as that in Suffolk. He adds that while recent rain may nourish the thirsty crops, the very wet autumn and the dry spring have already affected the crops. He expresses concern over the slow growth of the game covers.

The author comments on the use of the set-aside farmland of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Great Britain for food production. He asserts that RSPB farm is evidently very sustainable as a working unit. He cites that it is easy to be sustainable when one is a charity and the livelihood of its employees do not depend completely on the farm. He states that any payment would not be as rewarding as growing an adequate crop on the land.

The author talks about the issue of crop rotation for the 2009 season and other related issues. He is considering two wheats followed by rape and, on the lighter land, a mixture of wheat, spring barley and sugar beet. According to the author, there is a possibility that nitrogen prices would more than double from 2008. He claims that he managed to submit all relevant forms and maps for the EC3 fields and drop them off in Newmarket, England before its May 15, 2008 deadline.

The article examines the response of beet growers to weather problems in Great Britain in 2010. Kit Papworth of LF Papworth Farms mentions the plan of growers to lift crops earlier in 2011 compared with beet lifting in 2010. West Wrattling Park Estate farm manager Richard Cobbald of England reveals his hope to be accepted into the Bury Beet Group. The decision of Lincolnshire grower Mark Ireland to lift beet earlier was aimed at mitigating weather risks.

The article presents the opinions of several British farmers and agronomists on the issue of whether straw burning should be practiced in the arable farming sector or not. According to Yorkshire, England farmer John Porter, straw burning could help with weed control. The others who presented their opinions include Richard Cobbald of Cambridgeshire, Andrew Stirrat of Fingask Farm, and agronomist Mike Warner.

Byline: Richard Cobbald Richard Cobbald is farm manager for West Wratting Park Estate near Cambridge. The 1,300ha of heavy soils grow wheat, oilseed rape, sugar beet and spring barleye_SClB cambridgeshire [...]

The article presents feedback from farmers at the Cereals 2012 trade show in Lincolnshire, England about agronomic or husbandry challenges they foresee through 2015. Lincolnshire farmer Will Howe describes the difficulty of managing blackgrass problems. North Yorkshire farmer Andrew Gloag talks about the challenge of balancing the cropping and agronomy strategy across his farm. Cambridge farm manager Richard Cobbald cites the challenge of trying to increase crop yields.