Bayer's Black-grass Task Force project

Andrew Williamson has low black-grass levels compared to farmers further east but is still wary of the threat it poses. Whenever he crop walks and rogues he spots one or two black-grass plants so he knows he is only one or two seasons of bad management away form a serious problem.

He grows two winter then two spring crops in rotation as part of his control programme and takes a very detailed approach managing individual fields and even areas within fields according to black-grass level. For 20/21 the focus field is growing spring barley.

• Compare spring barley yield in treated and untreated area in 2020 harvest
• Decide cover crop mix
• Cover crop drilling date
• Identify areas for loosening
• Soil loosening
• Cover crop destruction date
• Spring crop drilling date
• Use of herbicides in spring crop

Andrew Williamson is the host farmer for the Black-grass Task Force in Shropshire. He farms in partnership with neighbouring farmer Tom Giles; they share machinery and specialise in different operations across the farm. In total, there are 430 hectares of combineable crops including winter and spring cereals, oilseed rape and spring beans.

Read on and find out more about this farm and the Black-grass Task Force here.

We filmed some great videos with Andrew, and our two independent experts, John Cussans and Philip Wright, covering the following topics:

• An introduction to the Black-grass Task Force project
• The black-grass situation on Andrew’s farm
• The farm’s cultivation strategy
• How to manage the field in 2019/20 for black-grass control
• Andrew’s reaction to the plans for the field

You can find the rest of the videos from Andrew Williamson's farm and more on the Black-grass Task Force video series here.

Rupert Waters manages 3,500 ha for The Abbot’s Ripton Farming Company & Lavenham Fen Farms. The Black-Grass Task Force field is located near the village of Abbots Ripton.

The field has high black-grass pressure so a series of spring crops is planned to bring it under control and bring winter cropping back into the rotation. Over the course of the project the aim is to find a sustainable and profitable for this land which has good yield potential. Last season, Mr Waters experimented with cover crops ahead of spring barley and despite not working exactly as planned he will tweak the approach and try aagin this year with another spring barley crop.

• Compare yield in cover crop strip and rest of field
• Identify areas, if any, for cultivation
• Decide cover crop mix
• Cover crop drilling date
• Cover crop destruction date
• Spring crop drilling date