CropCast

In this episode, Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Dr Kerry Leslie to talk about the Potato viruses, which can cause devastating compulsory burn down orders, and why these viruses remain a major concern for the industry going forward.

Welcome to Cropcast, your go-to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops.

Each month, SAC advisor Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field.

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kirstyn Blackwood, in association with the Scottish Government.

Linked FAS Resources  

• Six steps for virus management doc https://www.sasa.gov.uk/sites/default/files/The_6_Steps_to_Effective_Virus_Management_in_Potato_Crops.pdf 
• The SAC Association of Potato Producers (SACAPP) https://www.sruc.ac.uk/business-services/sac-consulting/our-expert-teams/knowledge-networks/potato-services/ 

Welcome to the first episode of Cropcast Conversations hosted by Principal Consultant Mark Bowsher-Gibbs.  On today’s episode Mark is joined by Iain Riddel (Principal Consultant, SAC Consulting). They discuss growing sugar beet in Scotland and cover sugar beet trial work, sites, varieties, farmer group feedback and conclusions from trial work.  

Episode Timestamps  

00.32 Introducing Iain Riddell 

01.49 Background to sugar beet in Scotland 

05.05 Rural Innovation Support Service project 

10.12 Biorefining hubs 

11.35 Farmers feedback on practicalities of sugar beet in the rotation 

15.43   Harvesting sugar beet 

18.40 Storing sugar beet 

19.35 Trials of different varieties at different locations 

29.40 IBiolC Conference take-home messages 

31.30 Iain’s closing thoughts 

FAS Resources 

Field Trialling Sugar Beet in Eastern Scotland

Other Resources    

IBiolC (Organisation that connects industry, academia and government to bring biotechnology processes and products to the global market) 

 IBiolC annual conference (March 2025)   

 Sugar Beet: A Just Transition for the Chemicals Sector and a Net Zero Solution for Manufacturing.  

For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 

Twitter: @FASScot 

Facebook: @FASScot 

National Advice Hub 

Phone: 0300 323 0161 

Email: [email protected] 

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Edward Scaman and Chris McClymont to talk about herbicides. How is the current season progressing and what is the best practice advice when it comes to applying products.  

Welcome to Cropcast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kirstyn Blackwood, in association with the Scottish Government.

Linked FAS Resources  

YouTube - Bayer Weed Screen

Find your local Bayer technical manager

FAS - Herbicides

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Tom Scrope to talk about his 2025 Nuffield Scholarship, in which he is exploring new ways of farmer knowledge exchange to secure stronger soils. Tom is also the Co-founder of soil benchmark, an online platform which can be used to create bespoke soil management plans.  

Welcome to Cropcast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government. 

Linked Resources  

Nuffield Farming Scholarships: https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholars/2024/tom-scrope 

Soil benchmark: https://www.soilbenchmark.com/#features 

Tom Scrope, Linked in: Tom Scrope on LinkedIn: 🤔 🇦🇺 🪱 Why do Aussie farmers share soil-y ideas BETTER and FASTER than… | 70 comments 

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Balbirnie Farms manager David Aglen along with Professor Fiona Burnett, an applied plant pathologist at SRUC to discuss the results from crop trials, which have been taking place at Balbirnie Home Farms as part of the AHDB strategic cereal farm Scotland project. 

Welcome to Cropcast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government. 

Related Resources

Strategic Cereal Farm Scotland | AHDB

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Borders Farmer Neil Ramsay along with Prof Roger Sylvester-Bradley, Principal Research Scientist and Head of Crop Performance at ADAS; to discuss grain analysis and the benefits it can have when tailoring nutrition. 

Welcome to Cropcast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government. 

Linked Resources

The Yield Enhancement Network | YEN

Nutri-Check Network

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Angus Farmer & Managing Director of Soil Essentials, Jim Wilson to discuss soil health and the types of tests arable farmers should be considering.  

Welcome to CropCast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government. 

Related Resources

SoilEssentials | Precision Farming Solutions By Farmers for Farmers

Soil sampling - SoilEssentials

Great news for GREATsoils: AHDB issues Soil Health Scorecard guidance | AHDB

Technical Note (TN721): Soil Biodiversity and Soil Health | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Dr Ruth Wade and Professor Pippa Chapman from the University of Leeds, along with Dr Joseph Martlew from NIAB, to discuss Regenerative Agriculture and the trials which have been taking place in Yorkshire. 

Welcome to CropCast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government. 

Related Resources

University of Leeds Farm - Fix Our Food

How to assess soil structure | AHDB

The Six Principles of Regenerative Farming: Why are they important? - AgriCaptureCO2

Regenerative-in-a-Nutshell.pdf (LEAF)

Farm-Scale Regenerative Agriculture | H3

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Dr Steve Hoad, team leader in agronomy, physiology & genetics at SRUC, to provide an update on how Spring cereal varieties have been performing during the 2024 variety trials, along with his top variety picks.

Welcome to Cropcast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field.

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government.

Linked FAS Resources

For the most recent Scottish Recommended list 24/25  

https://www.sruc.ac.uk/media/4qybv20b/sruc-cereals-recommended-list-2024-tables-winter-edition-w1.pdf 

Full variety data sets collected are available on the AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds website https://ahdb.org.uk/rl 

Lothian crop trials webinar 2024 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74muZHiI9w 

In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Dr Steve Hoad, team leader in agronomy, physiology & genetics at SRUC, to provide an update on how winter cereal varieties have been performing during the 2024 variety trials, along with his top variety picks. 

Welcome to Cropcast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 

Producer George Gauley, Editor Iain Boyd, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government. 

Linked FAS Resources

For the most recent Scottish Recommended list 24/25  

https://www.sruc.ac.uk/media/4qybv20b/sruc-cereals-recommended-list-2024-tables-winter-edition-w1.pdf 

Full variety data sets collected are available on the AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds website https://ahdb.org.uk/rl 

Lothian crop trials webinar 2024 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74muZHiI9w