Hutchinsons - Crop Production Specialists
HUTCHINSONS & AGRONOMY
Continually providing growers with the very best advice to help crops reach their full potential.
Comprehensive and flexible services
Hutchinsons offers comprehensive and flexible services to suit every client’s needs, with all our services designed to meet the evolving crop management needs of growers and fully tailorable to suit individual circumstances.
Independent of manufacturers
All our advice is completely independent of manufacturers. This ensures we always provide growers with the advice and products that will benefit their business the most.
Building long-term relationships
Building and maintaining invaluable long-term relationships with our customers is essential to our business. All advice and decisions Hutchinsons agronomists make are based on sound business principles, practical implementation and what is right for individual growers.
MAPPING CARBON IN YOUR SOIL WITH OMNIA AND TERRAMAP
With the launch of Omnia’s TerraMap Carbon, the UK’s first carbon mapping service, it is now possible to accurately map both organic and active carbon in your soil.
Why is it important to measure carbon?
While pressure to manage carbon is only increasing, as an industry UK farming is in a unique and enviable position as farming activities can make positive changes to carbon, which most other industries are not able to do.
A reduced carbon footprint can only be achieved through more efficient fertilisers, different technologies, better soil carbon management or considering the energy used in storage, so it’s a win– win on all levels.
TerraMap - How it Works
TerraMap revolutionised the way in which soil nutrient mapping was undertaken in the UK - and it is now doing the same for carbon mapping.
- TerraMap uses gamma-ray detection technology
- Delivers resolutions of over 800 points/ha
- Measures naturally emitted isotopes, like Caesium and Potassium
- Data collection is carried out in 2 steps; scanning by driving a light weight all-terrain vehicle fitted with the sensor over a field, and then taking soil samples to allow for each scan to be used to create the individual map layers
- There are very few limitations to when TerraMap can be used – offering a much wider operating window compared to other soil scanning systems.
CATCH AND COVER CROP MIXES
Catch and cover crops are now increasingly used across all sectors of crop production to improve key soil functions, add organic matter and cycle nutrients for the following crop. Our agronomists have considerable experience of using these crops to benefit our customers and provide the correct solution to match their objectives.
Hutchinsons offers its own range of catch and cover crop mixes, updated and extended for 2021. These mixes have been constructed around the reliability of the individual species and their ability to deliver key agronomic advantages and improvements in soil health.
Technical justification has been the driver in the selection of each species and the key aim with each mix has been to provide as much diversity as possible, while considering cost, reliability and confidence in performance.
Our core over-winter mixes all use the same eight species, with ratios of each adjusted according to the situation in which they are placed. Working consistently with the species ensures confidence in delivering the intended outcomes.
Our catch crop mixes present a great opportunity for those with more restrictive rotations to gain improvements in soil health, but also an additional opportunity for those already using cover crops.
For 2021 new specialist mixes have also been added, to better meet the needs of our customers - offering something for everyone.
HEALTHY SOILS
As an irreplaceable physical resource, it is essential to protect and nurture the soil if we are to continue producing crops under the current agricultural model. To help this process the Healthy Soils service provides essential information to growers and agronomists to actively manage soil resources and optimise crop performance:
- Measure and monitor soil health
- Maximise crop nutrition
- Reduce environmental impact
It is the only report to give both total and available nutritional and rotational nutrient-cycling, providing a programmed approach to soil improvement.
All our Healthy Soils in-field assessors are fully qualified agronomists, fully supporting each other with their shared agronomic expertise and knowledge. With agronomists trained to deliver our Healthy Soils assessment programme nationwide, we have a broad knowledge base to tailor our advice based on specific regional conditions. To further support our in-field assessors we work closely with major agronomy companies to share insights and develop our methods and technologies to always deliver the most cutting-edge soil service possible.
OMNIA E-SEED
The affordable Drill Conversion Kit that fits to any standard drill to enable variable rate drilling.
Convert your existing land wheel drill to variable rate with Omnia’s new seed drill conversion kit, Omnia E-Seed.
Omnia E-Seed is the first stand-alone variable rate drill conversion kit that fits to any standard drill and does exactly what it says on the box – it enables a standard land metered drill to be converted simply and efficiently into a variable rate drill.
The Benefits of Variable Rate Drilling
Accurately planning seed rates according to soil type, weed pressure and other relevant factors can increase yields and lower cost of production. Learn More
Omnia E-Seed offers an affordable way of moving to variable-rate drilling without the cost of a new drill.
Pays for itself in a season!
While investing in a new variable rate drill (which can cost upwards of £40,000) has been a barrier to many growers looking at moving over to variable rate, the Omnia E-Seed drill conversion kit now offers an affordable way of moving over to variable rate drilling without investing large amounts of money. In fact, it is possible to recoup the costs of Omnia E-Seed in just 48ha, working on a 0.6t/ha improvement using a variable approach.
HUTCHINSONS REGIONAL TRIAL SITES AND HELIX FARMS
Hutchinsons have a variety of crop trial sites situated around the country where we carry out independent assessments of varieties, fungicide programmes and nutrition products.
This year all of the regional centres have winter wheat variety trials linked into a fungicide programme. This enables bespoke agronomy and also allows us to discuss risk management related to cropping choice, rotation and variety choice - all part of Integrated Crop Management.
We are researching seed rate influences on establishment, subsequent crop management and the impact on yield. This includes assessment of Hybrid wheat and blends, in comparison to conventional varieties. There are also centres working on soils and nutrition.
HELIX TECHNOLOGY FARMS
We have a number of Helix Technology Farms kindly hosted by growers around the country, investigating how new technologies and experience can be used together in partnership and developing them to improve crop management decisions.
The aim is to develop new technologies that deliver more precise data that, along with agronomy interpretation and knowledge, then deliver added value advice.
There are five focus areas that we are concentrating on and asking ourselves what are the key challenges in these areas. These are data and sustainability, improving soils, optimising nutrition, genetic benefits and integrated crop management, which encompasses climate and environment.
Contact email: dan.abel@hlhltd.co.uk
Website: https://www.hlhltd.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hutchinsons_Ag
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HLHutchinsons
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/h-l-hutchinson-limited
