The Farmers Mart Feb-Mar 2020 - Issue 67 | Page 22

22 FARM NEWS
FEB/MAR 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
NITROGEN BOOSTS MAY BE NECESSARY
FOLLOWING WET WINTER WASHOUT
Farmers may need to apply more nitrogen to crops this year,
following an exceptionally wet winter across most of the UK.
ACCORDING to AHDB, the
extent of the ‘moderate’ and
‘high’ excess winter rainfall
(EWR) zones is already much
wider this year, compared with
the long-term average.
Historically drier areas of the
country, particularly the middle
and eastern parts of England,
are the most likely to experience
downward shifts in soil nitrogen
supply (SNS) indices.
To determine the precise
impact on nitrogen management
strategies, farmers should follow
the guidance published in the
recently revised AHDB Nutrient
management guide (RB209).
EWR is the amount of rainfall
the land receives after the soil
profile becomes fully wetted in
the autumn (field capacity) and
before the end of drainage in the
spring (around the end of March).
Ideally, the calculations also take
account of water lost through
any growing crop (i.e. via evapo-
transpiration) during this period.
Because nitrate is soluble,
any water moving through a
field takes nitrate out with it. As
this affects soil nitrogen supply
(SNS), an understanding of EWR
is essential for accurate nutrient
management planning.
To help farmers select the
appropriate SNS look-up
table in RB209, AHDB uses
Met Office data to create EWR
estimates, across 199 (40 x 40
km) UK regions, for the following
categories:
• Low – less than 150 mm EWR
(annual rainfall less than 600
mm)
• Moderate – 150 to 250
mm EWR (annual rainfall
between 600 to 700 mm)
• High – over 250 mm EWR
(annual rainfall over 700
mm)
Based on mid-season (1
October 2019–31 January 2020)
estimates, most (about 83%)
cropped regions currently fall in
the ‘high’ rainfall category.
The current season is in stark
contrast to the 2018/19 winter,
which was relatively dry and
allowed some farmers to cut
back on the total amount of
nitrogen applied to crops.
SNS calculations take account
of several other critical factors,
such as the previous crop and
soil type.
ahdb.org.uk/ewr
Cost of dog attacks on farm animals falls 30%
as owners heed plea from farmers and police
NEW figures released today by
leading rural insurer NFU Mutual,
reveal the cost of dog attacks
on livestock in Scotland was
£113,000 – down 30% on 2018’s
total.
According to the insurer’s sta-
tistics, farm animals worth £1.2m
were savaged by dogs in the UK
last year. Despite welcome falls
in the figures in Wales, Scotland
and Northern Ireland where
co-ordinated campaigns have
helped change attitudes among
dog owners, England saw a rise
in cost of 15%.
A survey of over 1,300 dog
owners commissioned by
NFU Mutual reveals that more
owners now put their dog on a
lead if they see a sign warning
them livestock are nearby (95%
compared to 90% in 2018).
However, 63% of dog owners
let their pets roam free in the
countryside, despite half admit-
ting their dog doesn’t always
come back when called.
Rebecca Davidson, Rural
Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual,
said: “As the main insurer
of Scotland’s farmers we’re
encouraged that dog attacks
on farm animals in Scotland are
starting to fall – but more needs
to be done to put an end to
livestock worrying.
“A significant number of dog
owners still don’t realise that their
much-loved pet is capable of
attacking and killing large numbers
of lambs and sheep. Even if a dog
doesn’t make contact, the distress
and exhaustion of the chase can
cause sheep to die or miscarry
their lambs.
“We’re also alarmed that more
than half of owners are leaving
their dogs unsupervised outside
their homes when they are
out – particularly when one in
six admits their dog has already
escaped.”
One of the trends most
concerning farmers is a steady
increase in dogs allowed outside
unaccompanied when their
owners are out (56% in 2020,
rising from 43% in 2018).
Police are increasingly finding
that unsupervised dogs are
escaping from owners’ gardens
and roaming fields, attacking
livestock. This concern is sup-
ported by one in six of survey
respondents admitting their dog
had escaped from home in the
past.
The aim of the campaign -
“Your Dog - Your Responsibility”
is to ensure dog owners under-
stand the distressing nature as
well as emotional and financial
impacts such incidents can
have, not just on farmers but
everyone having to deal with the
aftermath.
NFU Scotland Chief Executive
Scott Walker said: “These figures
are extremely encouraging and
will be in no small part down to
the SPARC initiative, and all the
partners that have bought into it.
“Controlling dogs on farmland
was a key campaign for both
SPARC and NFU Scotland last
year and despite this initial
success dog worrying is still a
big issue for our members. We
are keen to keep going with
this initiative and build on these
positive results.
“Scottish farmers and crofters
continue to be blighted by dog
worrying. It is encouraging that
these figures show a decrease,
but we believe that there is still
a chronic under reporting of this
problem.
“Scottish Government intends
to look more closely at relevant
dog legislation in 2020, this is
something that we will engage
with strongly.”