by Douglas Drysdale
It is soon coming to that time of year again for the Scottish Agronomy open day on the afternoon of June 28th. The many crops are now going through a quick stage of growth showing varietal traits and disease expression. In addition to touring our well-established trial plots led by our advisory team, the open day is an excellent opportunity to see our equipment and meet the team that undertake the tasks to run and maintain our trials. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It is also a good chance, for those who have not, to meet our new managing director, Adam Christie, who has been the long-time trials manager at Scottish Agronomy. I also look forward to meeting as many members as possible in my new role as Trials Manager.
What’s on show?
The site has a broad selection of crops on display; winter and spring barley, winter wheat, winter and spring oats, winter rye and triticale, winter linseed, spring oilseed rape, crop mixtures and cover crops. An open day tour provides a detailed insight to what we test. The site features recommended list varieties with untreated plots directly compared to a standard fungicide programme. This effectively demonstrates varietal physiology and disease characteristics. Series of fungicide trials will also be displayed. Including use of different chemistry, spray timings, level of input and the importance of variety choice when considering crop protection programmes.
Socialising and discussion
Now social lives are back up and running post-restrictions, this event creates a meeting of like-minded farmers and industry professionals. The Scottish Agronomy open day will have the annual barbecue and refreshments available, allowing for conversation over a burger. An ideal occasion for sharing ideas and experiences. Plenty of talking points will be raised during site tours which may prove to be valuable discussion for future farm operations and trial planning as we continue to move towards integrated farm management and sustainability.
Fingers crossed the weather holds and look forward to seeing many of you on the 28th of June at Balgonie!
