YEN Yield Enhancement Network

• Donald Ross –Scottish Arable Farm of the year 2018

• Rhynie Farm, Fearn, Tain

• 280ha Mixed Arable Farm

• In the land of milk and honey!

• Bullsh*t baffles brains

❑ Family farm, semi retired Dad and Mum, wife and family of 3❑280 ha farmed - 253 ha owned including 1croft, 27 ha rented , 100 Suckler Cows progeny finished, 250 mule ewes, some contracting, 8 Let cottages and a 200kw Biomass system to keep the cottages let and my wife warm and 10kw solar to power said boiler

❑175 ha arable, 45 ha permanent grass , 29 ha woodland 2SSSI’s

❑ Staff – myself plus father and occasional casual labour Contractors for Silage, Lime, Baling and breakdowns!!

❑Rotation: OSR / WW / SO / WW / Tatties / WW/ SB / SB (+ 2nd wheat) and some rotational grass

Soils

Soils

pH

• Target 6.1 pasture, 6.4 arable

• All soils tested GPS have done since 2005

• Source: Susie Roques

Soil Health• #SoilMyUndies

• Involved in the 1st Monitor Farm at Fearn Farm

• Benchmarking since 2005

• AHDB Farmbench since 2013• What have I learnt from Benchmarking?• What has benchmarking to do with Yield

Enhancement?

Why I’m here (Why am I here?)

YEN- Yield Enhancement Network

Aims:

To identify arable innovators

and

Support their innovating……

Activities:

1. Competition … open, with robust yields & explanatory data

2. Analysis … associations, explanations & ideas

3. Networking … sharing & dissemination

And now: ADAS, Rothamsted, NIAB, AHDB, Universities, etc.

4. Platform for industry-science interaction !

In English, farmers working with scientists for the greater good creating synergies

?‘Innovation Gap’ = ideas to increase

capture +/or conversion

of resources

Wheat GrainYieldin UKtonnes per hectare

Research / Variety trials & the best farms

Bio-physical potential

Shared Concepts

… to develop the confidence to do better than ‘best practice’

TestingMeasurements

Competition & Benchmarking

Ideas & Understanding Learning, Confidence & Progress

Bench-

marks2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Ears / m2 460 504 470 560 460 450 510

Grains / ear 48 57 52 52 52 49 43

Grains ‘000/m2 22.1 28.7 24.4 29.1 23.9 21.6 20.9

TGW @ 15% MC 50 41 52 47 42 51 40

Sp Wt, kg/hl na 75 74 76 74 75 78

Grain protein % 11.6 10.8 10.7 10.8 11.6 12.1 11.8

Biomass, t/ha 18.4 18.1 18.5 21.5 16.8 16.4 16.1

Harvest Index 51% 53% 56% 51% 53% 57% 54%

N ‘off-take’,

kg/ha189 182 191 207 180 197 182

Yield, t/ha 15%

MC11.0 11.4 11.8 12.7 10.3 11.0 10.2

Yield formation (averages for wheat only)

YEN hints and tips

• Choose the right field

• Choose the crop Wheat, Rye, OSR

• Fill in form

• Find a sponsor

• Watch and analyse the crop, try to keep it even

• Biomass is your friend maximise tillers and keep it green for as long as possible

• Apply inputs little and often

• Its not a willie waving exercise!

https://mail.aol.com/webmail/getPart?uid=AF3eii8EI6apXGGkhAg1kC1NpIE&partId=2&saveAs=Screenshot_20190211-163518.png&scope=STANDARD

YEN Report

YEN Conference

Have a go and join us at the YEN conference

• Good Luck!

Tweet usDavid Fuller-Shapcott @SweethopefarmJames Hopkinson @arableventuresMark McCallum @MarkmccMarkDonald Ross @vaderbogger