BeetCast

December is a time of reflection and whilst you may contemplate how well the farm has faired what about your personal growth? Have you invested enough in yourself to reap the benefits in the future? We discuss 3 levels of learning and how each could have a place on your farm.

On-farm conditions are unlikely to ever yield a 100% harvest of the crop, but could we be recovering more? Mark Winters (British Sugar) talks about harvester testing and how we might be able to recoup just a little bit more.

Understanding how to grow a sugar beet crop is only one aspect of being a good sugar beet grower. That's where the Sugar Industry Programme (SIP) comes in. Past participant, Eddie Liddle joins new recruit Henry Stanford and course organiser Sam Williamson from NFU Sugar to discuss why the SIP is so important to the industry.

We can all marvel at the plethora of insects in our soil but few of us would consider studying any one in any detail. However, this is essential if we are to understand their life cycles and impact to a crop, it is also a vital part of determining control. In this podcast we meet Martyn Cox who has picked up the mantle in regards to wireworms: a pest in potatoes, sugar beet, carrots and many more crops.

2025 has proved a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to sugar beet management. The positives being lower levels of virus and a crop that is resilient to drought, and then on the flip side we have increasing concerns re beet moth and foliar disease. Prof Mark Stevens explains the changes seen this year and thoughts for the remainder of the season.

We meet independent agronomist Penny Oakes in-field to discuss her role and that of the AICC. We also take a brief look at free-living nematode damage (docking disorder) in the Docking area.