| Cereals
New features announced for Cereals 2016
From the Soil Pit to a drone's eye view!
he Cereals Event is pleased to
confirm it has two new features
at the showground this year.
Following market research with
both visitors, non-visitors and
exhibitors, Haymarket have
established the Drone Zone and Soil Pit to
provide hands on knowledge transfer to arable
farmers.
Drone Zone:
Visitors will have the chance to see the
drones in action at the new
AgHawk Drone Demonstration Zone. By preregistering or collecting a voucher on the day
visitors can have-a-go at programming and
flying the drone.
Keith Geary of G2Way drones explains,
”After the trial flights we will take visitors
through the information and data that they have
gathered and explain how this can support
business decisions around weed control,
reducing input costs and drainage decisions,
for example.”
Soil Pit – NIAB
NIAB TAG’s Head of Farming Systems
Research Ron Stobart introduces the Soil Pit:
“Our 8m long, 4m wide and 1.2m deep walkthrough soil pit is a unique and exciting
opportunity for visitors to check out the local
soil profile at eye level and study the rooting of
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28 | Farming Monthly | May 2016
a range of cover crops and cereal crops. We
hope to show how a well-structured soil can
help water infiltration and aid moisture
retention, demonstrate how to increase soil
aeration for root growth and biological function
and help growers improve the workability of
their soil”
There will be four mixes of cover crops to be
shown in the pit this year. They have been
selected for their strong root growth to give
visitors clear ideas of the impact that these
crops have on soil. There will also be Winter
Wheat, Winter Rye, Spring Wheat and Spring
Rye sown on the other side of the 1.2m trench
for comparison. A subsoiler will also be pulled
through the soil providing a backdrop to advice
on cultivations and rotations.
Cover Crop mixes to see:
• Crimson clover, black medic and vetch
• Spring oat, radish, vetch and phacillia
• Radish and spring oat
• Radish
CPD
There will be many chances for visitors to
collect their BASIS and NRoSO points, which
are vital for their annual CPD requirements.
Companies providing the stamps will be
announced shortly, but visitors are encouraged
to sign up online to the Cereals e-newsletters to
get the latest information.
Supporting the formal CPD points trail are
five knowledge trails. Each trail focuses on a
subject that challenges arable businesses and
highlight where visitors can find information on
them. This year's topics are black-grass,
fungicide resistance, cover crops and soil
structure, coping with low grain prices: grain
marketing , and coping with low grain prices:
farming efficiency. The knowledge trails will be
published on the Cereals website with printable
maps. Visitors are encouraged to visit the
Cereals website to learn more and plan their
day.
Discount tickets now on Sale
Tickets for the 2016 Cereals Event, to be
held at Duxford, Cambridgeshire go on sale on
1stApril. Visitors have the chance to save £4 on
their advance tickets, and the advance student
tickets are only £12 per ticket.
Jon Day, Events Director, “We are pleased to
be offering the new features for the 2016 event
in response to the market research and
feedback that we have had from both exhibitors
and visitors. Cereals takes a year to plan, and
with only 80 days to go we encourage people
to book their tickets early and take advantage
of the offer. Why not sign up to the Cereals
newsletter for updates from exhibitors, on-site
news, and our industry experts”.
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk