Arable farming

1. Arable Farming

2. Source:

4. Arable Crops
•Cereals
–Wheat, Barley, Oats
•Oilseeds
–Oilseed Rape, Linseed
•Legumes
–Clover, Peas, Beans
•Root Crops
–Potatoes, Sugar Beet, Field Veg
•Forage crops
–Stubble Turnips, Maize

5. Source: www.ecifm.rdg.ac.uk

7. Crop Rotation
•Soil fertility
•Crop weeds, pests, diseases
•Spread risk
•Timing & workload
•Crop use –bi-products

8. Production Cycle
•Cultivation
•Planting
•Nutrition
•Crop protection
•Harvest
•Storage

9. Cultivation
•Bury trash
•Loosen soil
•Plant into clean soil

10. Planting
•Fine, firm tilth
•Seed rate, depth
•Tramlines

11. Nutrition
•Fertilizer
•FYM and Slurry
•N,P,K
•Timing
•Pollution
•Cost

12. Crop Protection
•Weeds –competition
•Pests –damage
•Diseases –damage
•Human/animal health
•Quantity –yield
•Quality –use

13. Harvest
•Timing
•Weather
•Crop condition
•Trafficking
•Aftermath
•Storage

14. An Arable Year
Month Wheat PotatoesOSR Sugar
Beet
Sept Cultivate DrillingCampaig
n begins
Oct Drilling
Nov/DecSprays Sprays
Jan/Feb Cultivate
De-stone
Cultivate

15. March FertilizerCultivateFertilizer
Spray
Drilling
April Fertilizer
Spray
PlantingFloweringSprays
May Spray Spray Spray Sprays
June Spray 1
st
Earlies
harvested
Swath/
Dessicate
Sprays
July Harvest2
nd
Earlies
harvested
Harvest
AugustHarvestMain crop
harvest

16. 3 signs of Environmental
Improvement
•Pollution incidents caused by farming have
fallen by 92% since 1990
•Levels of pesticides detected in rivers
have declined
•Some farmland wildlife species have
begun to stabilise and recover (otters and
stone curlews)
Source: Good Farming, Better Environment by EA and NFU

17. Top 3 Concerns
•Nutrients, pesticides and sediment from
farms are still polluting watercourses
•Some farmland species are still in decline
–6 out of the 9 most threatened farmland bird
species (starling, turtle dove, yellowhammer,
linnet, grey partridge, and skylark) continue
to decline.
•Climate change implications still unknown
Source: Good Farming, Better Environment by EA and NFU

19. Dramatic Decline in Farmland
Birds
89%
Since 1970
55%
Since 1970
88%
Since 1970
Population Decline

20. What changesin farming practices
have led to species decline?