Agriculture Flashcards
What is an average crop rotation?
4 year rotation = W.W - OSR - W.W - Sugar Beet
What is your crop rotation?
7 year rotation = W.W - OSR - W.W - Sugar Beet - W.W - Spring Barley - W.W / OSR
What are some varieties of winter wheat?
- Chia
- Skyfall
- Vibe
- Cruso
What are some common winter wheat diseases and pests?
Gout fly
Peach potato aphids
Brown & yellow rust
What is the minimum protien content for milling wheat?
13%
What is the arable calendar for winter wheat?
Sept: Min till cultivate, spray, drill and roll if possible - maybe slug pellet if v wet
Oct: Herbicide and insecticide when 170 day degrees
Jan: N - 15th/end @ 280kg / ha @ £300/ha + x2 in Feb, March, April and June
March: Fungicide - end of March, April, 3rd week in May and 1st week in June
Aug: Combine at 12-15% moisture
= Avg. yield of 8.75t/ha @ £225/t
What is the average price for winter wheat
(milling and feed)
Milling = £225/t
Feed = £170/t
AHDB
What is the seed cost for winter wheat?
£100/ha
How much is your farms costs and what is the gross margin?
Costs = £1,000/ha
Gross Margin = £700-£1,000/ha
What is the average yield for OSR?
3t/ha
What is the average price for OSR?
£480/t
What is an arable gross margin?
Output less variable costs
Output = crop sales, by-products, capital grants
Variable costs = seed, spray and fertiliser
What is the advantage of a break crop?
- Provides different modes of chemistry
- Resistance
- Disrupts pest and disease cycles
- Maintains and improves soil health
What is the purpose of a crop rotation?
- To break pest and disease cycles
- Improve soil health
- Enhance overall crop production
- Increase nutrient availability
- Spread risk and ensure income
What is the average dead-weight price for lamb in the UK?
£7/kg
What is the sheep farming calendar?
Autumn: Ewe condition assessment and tupping
Winter: Ewe monitoring and lambing preparation
Spring: Lambing and lamb care
Summer: Shearing, lamb marketing @£40kg / lamb
Ongoing: Grazing management, fencing infrastructure, disease prevention and welfare
What are some sheep diseases?
Flystrike - where blowflies lay eggs on soiled wool or open wounds, maggots burrow into the sheep’s flesh and feed on their tissues. Can cause significant pain, illness, and potentially death
Blue Tongue (BTV) - a notifiable (Animal Plant Health Agency), viral disease caused by biting midges, causes fever, lameness, ulcers in the mouth and nose, and in some cases, a blue-colored tongue
What is a gross margin for sheep?
Output = livestock sales, wool capital grants
Variable costs = Feed, vet / med, bedding and housing
What are the key provisions of the Agriculture Act 2020
Established UK farming policy post Brexit
Shift on focus to public goods by removing BPS and replacing with ELMS
Increased food security
Imposed changes to AHA tenancy succession
How did the Agriculture Act 2020 change AHA succession?
No minimum retirement age
Removed commercial unit test
Introduced suitability test
What are the different tests for AHA succession?
Commerical unit test = Applicant must not be an occupant of another ‘commercial unit’ of agricultural land
Suitability test = Applicant must show they have the ability to farm to a ‘high commercial standard’ of efficienct production and care for the environment
Livlihood / eligibility test = Close living relative, spouse, civil partner, child or sibling. The holding must be the applicants main / only source of income for the las 5-7 years
What are your sheep breeds and flock number?
Welsh Hill Speckle Face - Rare breed
North Country & Welsh Mules
Cotswolds
Suffolk Rams
950 Ewes
