The first step in tackling herbicide resistance in arable farming is admitting you have a problem, says Australian specialist Dr Peter Boutsalis.

Calling all graduates with an interest in the arable industry.

It was grassroots intelligence for farmers last week, when the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) opened the gates to its Chertsey trial farm in Mid Canterbury.

Arable farmers were called upon last week to help dairy farmers.

Canterbury cropping farmers now have access to a Farm Environment Plan (FEP) template developed especially for their farm system.

Like a martial art, sustainable and smart pest and disease management relies on understanding opponents’ strengths and weaknesses and using these against them, says Charles Merfield of Lincoln University’s biological husbandry unit (BHU).

Do you know how docks, thistles and dandelions differ in their ability to regrow? Or from how deep particular weed species germinate? Or what are the alternative hosts for the pests that try to demolish your crops?

Cropping farmers are being urged to consider the true cost of winter grazing to their businesses.

For the first time in FAR trials ryegrass seed yields have topped 4t/ha.

While feed wheat variety Wakanui still tops the tables for four year adjusted mean yield in Canterbury, a couple of newer cultivars are nipping at its heels.