Agrovista has pledged to donate 10% of the profits from sales of its new winter wheat variety Mindful to the Farming Community Network and RSABI.
Agrovista’s head of marketing Jodie Champion said: “Given the unprecedented challenges the agricultural sector is facing, we wanted to help farming customers and their families access the emotional and practical support that both charities provide.
“Many farmers are facing increasing business and personal pressures that can, if left unchecked, seriously affect mental and physical wellbeing.
“It is vital that those involved in agriculture and their families have access to a sympathetic person at the end of the phone who understands farmers and rural life.
“Our donation will support the exceptional work that both charities carry out every day. But, more importantly, we hope that by extensively promoting the charity helplines, this may just help one person out when they need it most.”
Consistent yields
The new hard Group 4 is said to produce high yields of quality grain following trails across a range of sites over different seasons. Stuart Cree, technical seed specialist, said:
“Mindful offers a consistently strong yield performance across differing regions and drilling dates, and after a range of previous cropping and as a second wheat.
“This, bolstered by solid disease resistance and high specific weight, safeguards quality, yield, and value against difficult seasons, whether deluge or drought.”
Across the company’s AgX trial sites, the variety produced the best mean yields in 2021 and 22 at both extremes of the sowing window. Sown in September 22, it produced 14.89 tonnes per hectare; late sown in November, it produced 15.44 tonnes.
At the AgX site in Cambridgeshire, the two-year mean yield was recorded at 13.15 tonnes.
Trials carried out as part of the NL programme in Scotland and Cambridgeshire following peas, or cereals pre-ploughed, placed the variety in the top three yielding winter wheats when sown before the 25th of September.
It also has a sound combination of disease resistance ratings, derived from parents Evolution and Costello. Mr Cree explained: “Evolution delivered a step-change in disease resistance and high untreated yield, and Costello had total resistance to yellow rust. This resistance is only part of Mindful’s genome, promising similar stability over time.”
On-farm success
Giles Western is growing Mindful for the second year in succession on his 400ha arable operation at The Grove, near Woodbridge in Suffolk.
Last season he grew 22.5ha of pre-basic seed, drilled on 1 October 2021 at 125kg/ha, into heavy clay loam left fallow after April-lifted sugar beet.
“The crop looked good from the start,” said Mr Western. “It stood very well and remained clean. It was noticeably earlier to harvest than Dawsum and cut like a dream.”
The crop yielded 12.14t/ha of bold grain, while his Dawsum averaged 11.83t/ha.
Last autumn the 22.5ha field was resown with pre-basic Mindful and a further 35.5ha of C1 seed was grown after oilseed rape and sugar beet – the latter sown on 7 January at 300kg/ha.
“The January-drilled crop looks better than Gleam drilled about the same time and the earlier-drilled Mindful looks very good as well.
“Based on my experience so far, I’ll keep growing the variety for seed or feed.”
Mindful winter wheat put in a strong performance last season at L Sampson & Son’s 320ha farming business at Well, near Bedale, North Yorkshire.
Two medium silt fields previously cropped with potatoes were disced and subsoiled, then combination-drilled with Mindful on 20 October 2022 into a good seedbed at 160kg/ha.
The 19ha crop looked well throughout the season. “We had no worries with Mindful at any point,” said director Mark Sampson. “In terms of disease it was fine and all of it remained 100% upright.”
He estimates his Mindful yielded 12t/ha, similar to other varieties. Quality was excellent, with a high specific weight of 81kg/hl and low screenings.
“Mindful looks very good, with more-than-adequate standing power and yield,” he added. “It really ought to succeed as a commercial variety.”
For more information go to www.agrovista.co.uk