-
1 month ago | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
One of the highlights of this year’s trip to New Zealand was attending the Wanaka A+P Show, held over March 7-8 by the shores of Lake Wanaka. The setting is spectacular and I doubt any other agricultural show could beat the scenery, with majestic mountains in the background. My digs were excellent, as I was a guest of Mike and Nikki Salvesen, who have a top-notch holiday house a short walk from the showground.
-
Jan 19, 2025 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
The ‘magic’ in this case refers to a BBC headline last September – ‘How farms are using magic dust to capture carbon’. Or to quote Dougie Vipond on BBC Landward: “Is carbon capture too good to be true?” To discover the answer, I attended a public meeting in Perth last September under the title ‘Soil Myth Busting – Enhanced Rock Weathering: What’s the current Perspective’.
-
Oct 30, 2024 | 
2000ad.com | Gordon Rennie |Dom Reardon |Michael Molcher
Podcasts The moon is high, the mists are settling, and the season for spine-chilling stories is upon us! We’re getting in the Halloween mood on the latest episode of the 2000 AD Thrill-Cast, as Molch-R and special guest Rosie Knight discuss the horrific, the monstrous, and the terrifying (and we’re not talking about Molch-R’s beard!), giving you the best recommendations for comics books about things that go bump in the night, specifically the most chilling 2000 AD collections but also our top...
-
Sep 7, 2024 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
THERE’S an old saying that the day the farmer sows the seed is the most important day of the cropping year. Therefore, it is vital to sow the highest quality seed into well-prepared seedbeds and grow varieties that the market demands. The legacy of very wet conditions has resulted in thin crops and poor grass weed control, leading to a much higher level of grass weeds in seed crops of wheat.
-
Aug 31, 2024 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
As harvest progresses Gordon Rennie provides an update on the crops. The middle of August saw winter wheat being harvested in good conditions, though with very mixed results. However showers has created a stop-start harvest towards the end of the month. Given that most growers would hope to harvest 10t/ha, it’s ‘a real scunner’ to have fields averaging under 7t/ha.
-
Aug 19, 2024 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
AgResearch and its partners are seeking government approval for contained outdoor trials of gene-edited ryegrass. An application will be submitted to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for approval to grow ryegrass that includes gene-edited Epichloë endophytes in a contained outdoor trial. “These Epichloë endophytes live inside ryegrass and form a mutually beneficial relationship with the ryegrass,” according to information in an AgResearch newsletter.
-
Jun 13, 2024 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
Gordon wants to see every hectare of agricultural land is devoted to sustainable food production For climate change mitigation, there must be an additional transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to the soil, not just redistribution within the soil or landscape. In other words, there needs to be an increase in the absolute quantity of carbon. Spreading organic manure, for example, while beneficial for the field it is spread upon, does not introduce new carbon.
-
Mar 21, 2024 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
Implement soil erosion prevention measures now Given the months of excess rainfall experienced especially by potato growers, it was apt to hear from Wull Dryburgh from SEPA who gave the audience his personal thoughts. Wull gave a lively presentation with photos of some extreme soil erosion and run off where thousands of tonnes of topsoil have been lost from many fields in recent months. Or as Wull put it, 2023 was ‘a bad year for soil erosion’.
-
Feb 16, 2024 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
7 1/1 The New Zealand Oat Industry Innovation Group is an organised partnership between the oat mill, Harraways, Plant Research NZ, and the NZ Oat Growers Group. Its annual field day was held on February 1 at Carmyllie Farm, near Gore in Southland. There is a strong connection to Scotland as the name of the host farm suggests. In 1860, the forebears of Graham Gardyne, the chair of the oat growers’ group, landed in New Zealand from Carmyllie in Scotland.
-
Feb 8, 2024 | 
thescottishfarmer.co.uk | Gordon Rennie
6 1/1 Gordon Rennie writes for The Scottish Farmer from Marlborough, the main wine growing region of New Zealand. This is the ideal area to grow grapes but the cost-of-living crisis and poor weather are setting up new challenges. The Wairau Valley is a broad, flat plain nestled between the Richmond Ranges to the north and the Wither Hills to the south. The main towns are Blenheim and Renwick.
