Since 2013 wheat prices have fallen from 220 €/t to 150 €/t. High land rental prices, which have been agreed to in the hope of cereal prices remaining high, are posing an additional burden for the farms. Every farm manger should also ask himself: ”How can I react on this situation? Which further optimisation is still possible?”
Crop rotation diversity is the most important agronomical answer for a wide range of current challenges – reaching from plant protection issues, extreme weather conditions to the amendment of current fertiliser regulations. Thus, are crop rotations with less lucrative plant varieties viable? How does it influence humus content and nutrient balance? Sven Böse evaluated different crop rotations.
How will and must wheat quality change in the future? Is buying according to crude protein content and fall rates still up to date? These and other topics were the subject of discussion of the VDM Committee for Raw Materials and Markets, which met in September at SAATEN-UNION in Isernhagen.
After the establishment of the single seeding in cultures such as maize and sugar-beet, the focus has now turned to cereals. Here, the emphasis is on a practical solution with high field potential, the “precision drilling” varieties. First findings from practical field trials with wheat and rye make one sit up and take notice.
Fertilisation is largely capped by the amended fertilisation ordinance in Germany; further yield increases are therefore only possible through increased nutrient efficiency. How can this characteristic be taken into consideration when choosing the variety? This question is raised in particular for quality wheat with regard to nitrogen as the limiting building block in protein synthesis.
Can Germany meet the requirements for “sustainable intensification” and is a positive development slowed down or promoted by the new fertilisation ordinance? Prof. Friedhelm Taube, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, makes a critical appraisal.
With an increasingly limited N-supply, the grain protein performance becomes an important efficiency parameter. To what extent is the N-processing efficiency for winter wheat determined by the cultivation conditions, the variety and its quality classification?
Deviations from the optimal sowing time and preceding crop are risky but cannot always be avoided. The SAATEN UNION production trials test sowing time tolerance, the suitability for mulch sowing and the performance as a wheat on wheat crop. To find the answers to these questions, there are varying tests during the production trials using different sowing times, preceding crops and soil processing techniques (Fig. 1). Crop protection and crop management are adjusted to the respective conditions and are the same for all the varieties.
During the last 10-15 years, wheat for early seeding and wheat stubble has become available through breeding. This has created new variety types with a different yield structure and new production requirements: Josef Parzefall, NU Agrar GmbH.