There have often been conflicts of interest between weed management and biodiversity but what if there was a way to combine the two without having to accept serious yield losses? Recent studies suggest that weeds can be beneficial to farmers, as Theresa Petsch takes a closer look at the data.
After 25 years in Paris, Albane de Warren-Desbois has settled on the family farm. It was a brave return to her roots, where she had to learn everything from scratch.
The principle of partial deep tillage (PDT) boasts a rich history, having been developed in East Germany as early as the late 1950s. Initially aimed at increasing soil fertility and yields, this method has found renewed relevance today. Soil scientists Prof Dr Michael Sommer from the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and Andre Hahn from the agricultural machinery manufacturer Lemken are now leveraging this historical knowledge in their ‘Carbon Tillage’ project to further protect the climate.
No Romanian farm has ever been big, beautiful, and profitable from the very start. Most farmers had to start all over again after the end of communist rule in 1989. This was the case for Agroserv Borcea, today one of the best-equipped farms in the southern part of the country.
Klaus Aage Bengtson successfully runs a large organic farm in North Jutland. But by 2025, his switch to conventional farming will be complete. So why is this producer returning to inorganic ways?
Mustard is a global product. Following supply bottlenecks in 2022, manufacturers are now increasingly trying to use local varieties again. We visited mustard producers in France and Germany and spoke to them about their new approaches.
Drones are increasingly being used in agriculture. As well as monitoring crops, their high altitude potential and versatility means they can be used to spray fertilisers, biostimulants, pesticides and even biological control agents.
Back in the late nineties, it was all about the potato for two Germanic families; until they formed a partnership that broadened their horizons and built a strong, evolving business and brand.
Fifteen percent of global beer production comes from French winter or spring malting barley. From the producer to the brewer, the entire supply chain remains committed to maintaining performance.
Creating your own food brand based on your farm’s produce can be a challenging but rewarding journey, as arable farmer Thomas Björklund and other Swedish farmers can attest.
It was always clear to Alexander Kern that he had to get erosion under control. Some 40 years ago, his father Martin recognised the danger to his land in the German Kraichgau hills, and since then the family have adopted intercropping and minimum tillage on the 200ha conventional farm between Karlsruhe and Heilbronn.
Punjab has always been considered the breadbasket of India. Plenty of water, a temperate climate in the winter, and rich soils in the flat, alluvial land of the five rivers south of the Himalayas guarantee good harvests. However, times are also changing in Punjab.
Biogas and its uses account for around 10% of all agricultural sales in Germany. This energy revolution has economic heft and offers an important opportunity for agricultural businesses and rural areas. But with expertise and production methods varying – how is it working in practice?
Boosting and securing rapeseed yields is the 'Secure Rapeseed' challenge being undertaken in the French Picardy Region. The ultimate goal of the programme is to improve gross margins and reduce pest damage.
Monitoring the crop from above using drones is a unique opportunity for farmers to improve production and quality. In Sicily, the Bioagricola F.lli Solarino farm uses drones for plant protection and irrigation management of its citrus groves.
In 1973, Alan Rose fired up his John Deere 970 combine for the first time on the Lockerley Estate in Hampshire. He didn’t know it at the time, but it was to be the start of extraordinary partnership which would see him drive John Deere combines for the next 50 years.
With just over 5,000 farms, Israel achieves a high degree of self-sufficiency in food. This requires innovative solutions, especially when it comes to irrigation. We present some of them in this article.
Galina Peycheva-Miteva's family owns land in Bulgaria. When she decided to step into the business, she had no formal agricultural education – which is something she used to her advantage. And she is convinced that regenerative agriculture is the way forward.
For British farming to reach net zero by 2040 more carbon needs to be captured: But the topic of carbon sequestration has become too high level and farmers need to bring it back down to earth – quite literally.
The Belmonte family has been using John Deere machinery on their farm for more than 40 years. Almost all of their tractors and combines have been of the green and yellow variety for a long time now. With their passion for agriculture, dedication, and commitment, they have become a well-established family business which primarily produces maize for animal feed.
Bees are important for the environment and for crop yields. But how important are they for the global food supply? Here we present an overview of the diversity of these insects and their role in crop production.
Variable rate seeding is not only about increasing yields and reducing costs. It is also about responding adequately to declining precipitation caused by climate change. A visit to French farmers and contractors who are implementing this technique provides some insights.
Adapting farming practices to boost insect life can have massively beneficial effects on farm productivity and chemical requirements. So how does it work?
Carsten Behr and Ulrich Löhrs’ families have lived next to one another for generations. But being good neighbours means more than just that. One of these farm managers uses conventional means, the other organic. Last autumn, both farmers entered into a farm partnership for the FINKA biodiversity project. Will it succeed?
In eastern Croatia, between the rivers Sava and Drava, 80% of the country's agricultural products are produced. Welcome to Croatia's agricultural heartland – Slavonia.
Farmer Thomas Björklund in Sköldinge, Sweden, previously pioneered farm practices which have become established trends. Now, he has teamed up with medical doctor Kerstin Fredlund to turn indigenous grain varieties into superfood via a hydrothermal process.
Field crops are gaining recognition because of the important climate benefit they offer: Storing carbon in the soil by increasing its organic matter content. This creates new expectations of agriculture, but also new opportunities. Visit to a French farmer who markets his CO₂ storage.
Humus loss, erosion, nitrates, pesticides in flowing waters and groundwater, as well as the desire for greening and the onset of climate change are giving broad support to intercropping. We present a portrait of twelve important types of catch crops.
UK growers are investing to produce food in the most sustainable way, using technology to save energy, water and carbon emissions. Natalie Noble visits a world-first low carbon greenhouse project in East Anglia to find out how they are putting ‘home’ back into ‘homegrown’.
The strict legislation on fertilising with slurry is causing quite a stink for many farmers. Farmer Stefan Vogelsang explains why it's still useful and how it can be done without stress.
If you always fight weeds with the same herbicide, you will probably soon be faced with a resistant population. Arable farmer Wilhelm Heine from Baden-Württemberg knows that this is not fun. Four types of sustainable herbicide resistance management helped him to get blackgrass, which had become resistant on some of his farmland, under control again.
Pollinating bees could provide an effective way to apply fungicide to strawberries.
Catch crops expand crop rotation, enrich soil life and ensure sufficient nutrient supply. After several decades of neglect, arable farming has rediscovered them. Their selection, whether as a monocrop or a mixture, depends on many factors.
This is life at Moellerup Estate: Hemp in the field and in a variety of foods, and the development of proprietary technology for the use of hemp and other raw materials. The estate was run as an ordinary farm for almost 800 years, until the owners discovered the possibilities of hemp as a crop.
Agriculture is a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, but the adoption of low carbon practices can turn this around.
Biostimulants are growing in popularity, with increasing scientific evidence to prove that they work. But for many farmers, the concept remains myth and magic - so what are they really all about?
Controlled traffic farming and minimum tillage are increasing crop yields and profitability in Ukraine.
Precision farming can make farms more efficient, sustainable and economic. But with the multitude of possibilities, the question often arises: "Where to start? We show examples of three farmers who have dared to take this step and tell you how they did.
Zambian farmer Stephen Chinyama depends on several means to make a good living. We offer a sneak peek into a day in the life of a man running his family business with acumen, good risk management and a talent for improvisation.
The European LIFE "AgriAdapt" project has been working on the topic of climate adaptation for four years. Patrick Trötschler from the German project partner “Bodensee-Stiftung” speaks about the prospects in the cultivation sector and efficient drought prevention.
Farmers in Sweden, France and Germany are striving to retain water when there is plenty available so they can use it during dry summer months. Water is stored in ponds, marshes, or in the ground. The Furrow reports.
The family-run organic farm Bio Alberti combines traditional farming with modern processing techniques – and produces goods both for the nearby village and the global marketplace.
On a test site at the University of Halle, crop cultivation endurance tests have been running for more than 140 years. Created by Julius Kühn in 1878, several plots of the 'eternal rye crop' have been grown in a field ever since, providing guidance for future agricultural practice.
Søren and Helle Svennesen run the only farm on Barsø in the southern part of the Little Belt, Denmark. Summers are busy here with lots of activity and visitors, and there are challenges all year round, both inescapable and self-imposed.
Merve Wollweber, biophysicist at Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Hanover Laser Centre) is developing a laser-based weeding system.
The traditional freehold is no longer the only form of ownership in Danish agriculture. One alternative consists of the Go-Gris I/S partnership in eastern Jutland, which is owned in equal shares by three young and two senior farmers.
Lavender and einkorn wheat are a dream team. This pairing makes the farmers of Provence happy, as well as their customers all over the world.
The autonomy level of European animal husbandry varies depending on the protein group. Fact is: Europe will remain dependent on imports. However, in the long term, breeding and technical advances will increase independence. See our interactive graphics to find out what is happening where.
Alexander Döring, secretary general of FEFAC (the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation), on reducing the protein gap.
Making Europe less dependent on imports of protein raw materials is a challenge for the future. We meet two producers who are doing their bit to improve Europe’s protein production.
When Russia is mentioned, most people think of chernozem soils and vast wheat fields. Few people are aware that buckwheat reveals a great deal about the Russian soul. This becomes clear at the very latest when you sit down to eat. Because Russian cuisine without buckwheat is unthinkable.
What was previously only possible with different individual software tools, the John Deere Operations Centre is combining into one easy-to-use solution: All work operations in the palm of your hand – on your desktop, tablet, and smartphone.
It is particularly hard to assess the damage caused by compaction in deeper soil layers. But research data and statistics indicate a considerable impact on agricultural productivity.
In 2016, Alexandru Haita started to use John Deere’s web-based farming platform MyJohnDeere.com and the associated tool “Operations Centre” to manage his farming operation. And he has not looked back since.
Soil compaction is a well-known problem, but its impact is often underestimated and difficult to assess. And it is a growing concern for farming stakeholders.
Fresh players in the market and new factors influencing pricing mean grain prices are fluctuating significantly more than in the past. When selling their grain, farmers therefore need to focus on good risk management.
Prof Rainer Horn qualified as a professor of soil science in 1981 and from 1998 to 2017 he held the chair for soil science at Kiel University, Germany. His scientific interests are soil physics and soil ecology with a particular focus on physical land degradation.
Jan Peters is the founder of the information service agrarfax.de (today owned by Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH). He is a correspondent for the specialist publication Agrarzeitung and provides agricultural information on a daily basis to Reuters Hamburg, Dow Jones Newswire London, and VWD Frankfurt.
Many farmers consider contracting as an option to spread their overheads and generate additional income. It’s also a potential route into agriculture for new entrants. But it’s not easy, so what should prospective contractors know to make them top of their field?
There are many types of hunger. If we want to feed the world, we should not only pay attention to the quantity but also to the quality of food.
The pumpkin is a special crop that has a long-standing tradition in Styria. Now, the fruit with its seed oil is also making an international name for itself. Local farmers and also the region are benefiting from this.