In this episode of Agronomy Matters, listeners are invited on an exploratory journey into the future of farming with two distinguished guests. As the UK embraces the potential of drone technology across various sectors, including agriculture, our guests shed light on its burgeoning significance. Rob Pearson, CEO of Autospray Systems, shares insights into the cutting-edge advancements in drone technology and its implications for agriculture. Alongside Rob is Richard Binks, a Technical Consultant and IPM specialist, who delves into a small study exploring the viability of drones for spraying nem ..read more

In this episode of Agronomy Matters, listeners are invited on an exploratory journey into the future of farming with two distinguished guests. As the UK embraces the potential of drone technology across various sectors, including agriculture, our guests shed light on its burgeoning significance. Rob Pearson, CEO of Autospray Systems, shares insights into the cutting-edge advancements in drone technology and its implications for agriculture. Alongside Rob is Richard Binks, a Technical Consultant and IPM specialist, who delves into a small study exploring the viability of drones for spraying nem ..read more

Welcome to another episode of Agronomy Matters! In this edition, our host, Thomas Vaughan, Environment Manager for BASIS, takes listeners on a deep dive into the world of regenerative agriculture, shining a spotlight on the recently launched and crowd-funded film, "Six Inches of Soil." This insightful discussion features key figures from the film, including the producer, Claire Mackenzie, and one of its leading stars. "Six Inches of Soil" unfolds an inspiring narrative that showcases the efforts of British farmers, communities, and entrepreneurs at the forefront of transforming our food produc ..read more

This month’s episode of Agronomy Matters is hosted by Thomas Vaughan, the recently appointed Environment Manager for BASIS.  Thomas is joined by two experts who share their wealth of knowledge in soil health and environmental management.    The first guest, a previous podcast host, Jade Prince, a seasoned soil expert, now works at Farmacy, part of Hutchinson’s.  Jade has been instrumental in working with BASIS, designing the course content for the new “Improving Soil Health” course series.    Jade will be sharing some of her invaluable expertise on the s ..read more

This month we have a BASIS Special as we speak to three members of the BASIS team. We are joined by Stephen Jacob, BASIS Chief Executive Officer, Andy Brooks, Head of Education and Membership Services and Teresa Meadows, Head of Environment, Audit and Public Affairs. Together we will review the highlights of 2022, discuss some of the upcoming challenges for the industry and talk about how BASIS will continue to support members as we move in to 2023. We will talk about the management of the National Register of Sprayer Operators, a new addition to BASIS Registrations and we will explain how BAS ..read more

This month we are talking all about Potato Cyst Nematode, an important pest in most areas of the country where potatoes are grown. It is during the autumn and winter months that we look to soil sample fields and prepare machinery, so on this episode we meet with three experts to learn more about sampling, controls, machinery calibration and the nematicide stewardship programme. Our first guest is independent agronomist, Simon Alexander. Simon takes us through the 6 best practice steps to the Nematicide Stewardship Programme (NSP)from compulsory qualifications through the post application check ..read more

This month following the launch of our Principles of Sustainable Land Management course back in May we are catching up with four experts who have completed the course to find out why they did it, what they learnt and how they will manage land more sustainability in the future. Our first guest is Linda Bratley, Managing Director at Rural Business Services Ltd. Linda and her team offer a wide range of on farm advice from BPS to nutrient management plans and they are finding themselves becoming more involved in environmental work as new schemes continue to develop. Linda explains how the course h ..read more

With harvest of cereals and oilseed rape now complete across the UK, this month we talk about crop storage. Compared to selling grain at harvest, storing grain for sale later can attract a premium. This economic incentive can mean grain is stored for long periods prior to processing. During this time the grain may be at risk from pests, fungi or moisture. In this podcast we are joined by two guest speakers who provide us with guidance on how we can help minimise the risks to stored grain. Our first speaker is Dhan Bhandari, Senior Cereal Product Quality Scientist at AHDB. Dhan talks to us abou ..read more

This month we talk about black grass - one of the biggest challenges to profitable arable farming in the main cereal growing areas of the UK. With its high seed production, variable dormancy and herbicide resistance, black grass has become a major headache to many farmers. We have been forced to adapt our way of working to manage the threat of black grass competition and in this episode of Agronomy Matter we are joined by three experts who help us to understand the best methods of black grass control. Firstly, we have Richard Hull, a research technician at Rothamsted. Richard talks to us about ..read more

Health and safety is stereotypically a bit boring. Like with legislation it’s one of those topics that just comes with a bit of a yawn and a sigh, but with continued and rising concern over the high level of accidents within the agricultural industry it’s important that we, at BASIS, do what we can to support our members safety. This month’s episode has been released early to show our support for the Yellow Wellies campaign; Farm Safety Week. We know our BASIS members will often find themselves working on or near farm yards, working alone in fields, clambering over gates and fences and playing ..read more