BBRO BeetCast

With the crop motoring away the risk of further aphid invasions reduces. We look at what else can be found in the crop and how BBRO are working to find solutions.

It's a busy time of year for spray operators, so maybe listen to this in the cab as there are some important changes to chemical data sheets coming later this year. We also give an overview of aphid migration and our weeds trial.

Like many growers BBRO are preparing for changes in the world of weed control in sugar beet - what can you expect?

March sees the release of the Virus Yellows Forecast. Risk is split across the growing region but good preparation and crop vigilance will help in building resilience.

February has been a busy month for BBRO and the wider sugar beet industry with a number of exciting new changes to lead us into the new season. First on the list is the newly released Recommended List for 2027 which provides growers with a wealth of information in an interactive and easy to navigate form. Then we have the new BBRO website and as this is the 50th edition of BeetCast we have also made a few changes to the podcast. We hope you enjoy listening.

On-farm hygiene has always been an important part of sugar beet management but with increasing threats and climate change it has become a priority for all involved.

December is a time of reflection and whilst you may contemplate how well the farm has faired what about your personal growth? Have you invested enough in yourself to reap the benefits in the future? We discuss 3 levels of learning and how each could have a place on your farm.

On-farm conditions are unlikely to ever yield a 100% harvest of the crop, but could we be recovering more? Mark Winters (British Sugar) talks about harvester testing and how we might be able to recoup just a little bit more.

Understanding how to grow a sugar beet crop is only one aspect of being a good sugar beet grower. That's where the Sugar Industry Programme (SIP) comes in. Past participant, Eddie Liddle joins new recruit Henry Stanford and course organiser Sam Williamson from NFU Sugar to discuss why the SIP is so important to the industry.

We can all marvel at the plethora of insects in our soil but few of us would consider studying any one in any detail. However, this is essential if we are to understand their life cycles and impact to a crop, it is also a vital part of determining control. In this podcast we meet Martyn Cox who has picked up the mantle in regards to wireworms: a pest in potatoes, sugar beet, carrots and many more crops.

2025 has proved a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to sugar beet management. The positives being lower levels of virus and a crop that is resilient to drought, and then on the flip side we have increasing concerns re beet moth and foliar disease. Prof Mark Stevens explains the changes seen this year and thoughts for the remainder of the season.

We meet independent agronomist Penny Oakes in-field to discuss her role and that of the AICC. We also take a brief look at free-living nematode damage (docking disorder) in the Docking area.

Meet Stephen Swainston, new Managing Director of BBRO and hear of the increasing number of projects being undertaken in crop production by BBRO's applied scientist, Dr Georgina Barratt.

We all know how important water is in farming and the pressures upon us to limit use, limit run- off, or to the other extreme manage storm water and flooding. We meet with Rob Holland, Catchment Advisor with Anglia Water to discuss some of the issues they are faced with.

We all know how important water is in farming and the pressures upon us to limit use, limit run- off, or to the other extreme manage storm water and flooding. We meet with Rob Holland, Catchment Advisor with Anglia Water to discuss some of the issues they are faced with.

With a little bit of rain, we will soon see the 2025 crop emerging from the field, but what if your crop appears to be struggling? Dr Suzannah Harder is at the beginning of a 3 year trial investigating seedling diseases and hopes to be able to provide a more comprehensive answer than 'black leg'.

Disease pressures are probably not on growers radars at present, but in order to break the green bridge we need to ensure fields are clean prior to drilling, especially where cover crops have been in use. We listen in to a presentation from Georgina Barratt on cover crops and Pam Chambers (British Sugar) on weed control for 2025, recorded at our recent BeetTech25 events.

Growing sugar beet without the protection of CruiserSB could be challenging. Whilst cold weather provides an advantage, it is not a guaranteed solution, therefore BBRO will be working closely with growers on the finer details, ensuring that together we can sustain the crop in 2025.

2024 has passed relatively easily for most beet growers, with a relatively average yield being harvested across most of the growing region. But what is in store for 2025 and how will BBRO be supporting you to ensure your decisions deliver all important yield?

In agriculture there are many periods of 'watch and wait' which gives the impression that farming is a laid back industry, but nothing could be further than the truth. The speed of change hitting the industry at present is exhausting. As one hill is climbed, another appears on the horizon, many currently feel they are looking at a mountain range.

Whilst we at BBRO can do little to level the landscape, we hope that we provide enough information to make growing sugar beet easier to navigate. This month we encourage you not only to engage more with...

With a special day approaching many growers will be wondering what they might find under the tree. Well BBRO's wish list, or to be more accurate Alistair's wish list does not entail large shiny vehicles, he's looking for something slightly smaller and with the help of Roger Barker from Living Optics he puts a small package with big potential to the test.

Autumn is a time for reflection but also for change, and in sugar beet things are certainly changing with the introduction of a new way to secure your seed. Nick Morris (British Sugar) and Arthur Marshall (NFU Sugar) explain the changes and the advantages these could bring to growers.

Chairman of the Sugar Beet RL Board Mr Mike May joins us this month to explain some of the processes of the RL variety selection and how these data can be used by growers.

With much interest in cover crops this autumn we speak to both Dr Georgina Barratt and Dr Alistair Wright about their thoughts and what to expect from the BBRO research currently taking place.

We also meet with industry stalwart, Tricia Cullimore, who has just retired from NIAB following 52 years of trials and the sugar beet Recommended List.

If your beet leaves have become 'holey' it could be the Silver Y moth at play, so please watch your crop carefully throughout July for this pest and for any signs of foliar disease such as Cercospora Leaf Spot.

'Tis the season of events! The BBRO team have been out and about meeting growers and discussing some of the in-field issues and hopes for this season's crop.

With so many tillage choices, how do you ensure you have made the right choice for your soil, the conditions and your crop? BBRO are investigating these implications at Holkham Farming with interesting results.

With a high Virus Yellows forecast and aphids expected around the 10th April we look at mitigation strategies to help growers protect the crop in 2024.

We join Simon Bowen and Stephen Aldis at a Drill Operators training day, to hear the latest info on improving crop population, establishment and ultimately yield through good preparation and drilling.

We also meet with 5 drill manufacturers; Grimme, Kverneland, Kuhn, Monosem and Vaderstad.

As many experienced harvester drivers will tell you there is a lot more to harvesting a good beet crop than you'd think. We spend some time in the cab with a new driver and carry out a harvester test to really put him through his paces - will he pass muster?!

First podcast of 2024. We look at a frequent grower question received during the 2023 campaign. Walking through the collection of data process at British Sugar with Perry Bateman and then hearing from Simon Bowen regarding some of the potential influences to low sugars and higher impurities.

Quite a few growers are using or considering the use of cover crops, but getting the species mix is only one consideration, you also need to plan for destruction particularly where followed by sugar beet. Roger Bradbury, sugar beet lead for Bayer Cropscience and Dr Georgina Barratt (BBRO) discuss the use of glyphosate.

Whilst weather stopped play, for trials harvesting the BBRO team took some well earned time out and visited Beet Europe in France, and came home with a wish list.

We visit one of the BBRO trial sites to see the impact of Virus Yellows on varieties available for drilling in 2024 and also discuss some of the exciting findings regarding new material being tested for future use.

Many of us have stood mesmerised at agricultural shows watching a robotic display and wondering if they have a place on the farm. Well Sentry Farming have partnered with Autonomous Agri Solutions and BBRO to test the theory in a commercial sugar beet field. We meet those involved to see how things have worked out in the first year of trial.

With the sugar beet seed order being imminent, we discuss what to look for in variety traits and how to use this knowledge to shape your choices for the 2024 crop.

The crop is now surging ahead with good canopy cover across much of the growing region. With this in mind we look to our fungicide programmes to ensure the canopy remains healthy to optimise yield potential.

Catch up with the topics of conversation following our May BeetField events.

As we enter May the first of the aphids are known to be in flight, so as they launch so do we by commencing the aphid survey. This year monitoring is ramped up with 12 special monitoring sites.

In March British Sugar issued a new early lifting beet contract, as a response to the reduction in supply from the 2023 campaign. Dan Green explains the detail behind this initiative.