Last week the NFU attended CropTec, the event to attend for all the latest information on the latest innovations in crop production. Not only were we meeting members on the NFU stand, but we also had four speakers. Guy Smith, NFU Vice President, and Robert Lockhart, Crops Board Vice Chairman, both chaired seminars, while Senior Plant Health Advisor Emma Hamer spoke on what the future holds for crop protection, and Combinable Crops Advisor Tori Morgan gave an update on erucic acid and key control points in OSR. Graduate Trainee, Emily Roads, joined the team for her first trip to CropTec. She writes:
The wealth of information, technology and new ideas at CropTec is quite staggering! There is everything from the latest in tyre design for the best results on the ground, to drones which monitor your fields from the air. Based on the NFU stand we got a taste of the range of companies advertising their latest products and advising farmers and agronomists on best practice, and our technology edition of #studentfarmer proved very popular (as did the NFU ice scrapers thanks to the snowy weather).
Alongside the latest pieces of kit on display there were a wide range of seminars on everything new in the world of arable farming. Tori’s talk gave a really useful update on how to mitigate the risk of erucic acid contamination in OSR, which is proving to be an increasing problem throughout the supply chain. (You can find our latest member briefing here.) And, while we were still celebrating the reauthorisation of glyphosate, it was interesting to hear Emma talk about the new crop protection products we can look forward to over the next few years.
The seminar which particularly stood out for me was the Crop Breeding seminar, chaired by Russell McKenzie, and featuring Peter Riley from Farmacy Norfolk, Jock Willmott from Strutt and Parker, and James Brown from the John Innes Centre. Choosing the right variety to grow can seem a daunting prospect, but they all provided helpful information for navigating this decision making process. I especially enjoyed James Brown’s talk on plant breeding and disease resistance; I’d never considered the impact Brexit would have on the ability to trial new varieties in different European climates and it was a fascinating insight into this world.
CropTec is an exciting event, which highlights the importance of innovation and the exchange of information for successful crop production. As the demands on our food supply increase it is important that we continue to use this technology and science to protect our ability to safely and efficiently produce food and farm in the 21st Century.