We all know how important water is in farming and the pressures upon us to limit use, limit run- off, or to the other extreme manage storm water and flooding. We meet with Rob Holland, Catchment Advisor with Anglia Water to discuss some of the issues they are faced with.

We all know how important water is in farming and the pressures upon us to limit use, limit run- off, or to the other extreme manage storm water and flooding. We meet with Rob Holland, Catchment Advisor with Anglia Water to discuss some of the issues they are faced with.

With a little bit of rain, we will soon see the 2025 crop emerging from the field, but what if your crop appears to be struggling? Dr Suzannah Harder is at the beginning of a 3 year trial investigating seedling diseases and hopes to be able to provide a more comprehensive answer than 'black leg'.

Disease pressures are probably not on growers radars at present, but in order to break the green bridge we need to ensure fields are clean prior to drilling, especially where cover crops have been in use. We listen in to a presentation from Georgina Barratt on cover crops and Pam Chambers (British Sugar) on weed control for 2025, recorded at our recent BeetTech25 events.

Growing sugar beet without the protection of CruiserSB could be challenging. Whilst cold weather provides an advantage, it is not a guaranteed solution, therefore BBRO will be working closely with growers on the finer details, ensuring that together we can sustain the crop in 2025.

2024 has passed relatively easily for most beet growers, with a relatively average yield being harvested across most of the growing region. But what is in store for 2025 and how will BBRO be supporting you to ensure your decisions deliver all important yield?

In agriculture there are many periods of 'watch and wait' which gives the impression that farming is a laid back industry, but nothing could be further than the truth. The speed of change hitting the industry at present is exhausting. As one hill is climbed, another appears on the horizon, many currently feel they are looking at a mountain range.

Whilst we at BBRO can do little to level the landscape, we hope that we provide enough information to make growing sugar beet easier to navigate. This month we encourage you not only to engage more with us but to also look at the plethora of events and discussion groups available to you, that might just help provide that all important guide rope over the coming months.

With a special day approaching many growers will be wondering what they might find under the tree. Well BBRO's wish list, or to be more accurate Alistair's wish list does not entail large shiny vehicles, he's looking for something slightly smaller and with the help of Roger Barker from Living Optics he puts a small package with big potential to the test.

Autumn is a time for reflection but also for change, and in sugar beet things are certainly changing with the introduction of a new way to secure your seed. Nick Morris (British Sugar) and Arthur Marshall (NFU Sugar) explain the changes and the advantages these could bring to growers.

Chairman of the Sugar Beet RL Board Mr Mike May joins us this month to explain some of the processes of the RL variety selection and how these data can be used by growers.