Anyone not connected to arable farming could be forgiven for thinking that all was well in the world of wheat. Growers had near-perfect conditions in 2015, combines rolled in the sunshine, and the media reported an English yield that set a new world record twice in the same summer. In reality, the picture was very different.

Putting aside the profitability challenges being faced across the sector, most farmers are still battling to drive up productivity. Breaking the yield plateau is a much talked-about, yet unconquered, subject that is proving far more complicated than it was in the post-war years.

What’s the secret?

Strutt & Parker’s own wheat yield data shows that the top 5% of growers in the UK are also showing consistent improvement. So what are we doing right?

On-farm measures are only one part of the fight: research, product development, seed breeding, data analysis and technology all have important roles to play. Some UK research institutions are heralded as world leaders in crop science, and pioneering initiatives such as Rothamsted Research’s ambitious project to achieve 20 t/ha in less than 20 years is just one such example.

Strutt & Parker is itself involved in farm-level research, and is keen to play a more active role in independent trials that aim to improve the outlook for yields, which has seen success in some cases. Strutt & Parker are also developing stronger research to ensure the available real farm data on precision farming is being used as wisely as possible.

The cornerstones of success

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to breaking the yield plateau. Jock Willmott, a specialist agronomist based in our Cambridge office provides strategic advice on more than 18,000 acres of land, as part of an agronomy team advising on 130,000 acres nationally. According to Jock, ‘we can no longer rely on chemical solutions. We’ve killed those products through overuse and now we’re back to looking at the farm from ground level. If we don’t address these challenges, there’s a chance that the static yields could start to fall. That’s a real risk.’

By tracking yields for more than 15 years, we have shown that the top 5% of our growers – the most ‘progressive’ farmers – produced yields averaging 13 t/ha in 2015. This puts those farmers well ahead of the curve, and it’s no coincidence.

Staying in tune

Various approaches have been adopted on the top-performing farms over the past 10 years to improve yields. But while the strategy will differ from one holding to another, there’s one constant that can be seen in these elite units.

Fundamentally, it comes down to people and communication. It is the farm owners, managers and advisers who are in tune with the enterprise and can see where in the system that yield is escaping.

Some farms will look at yield maps, know that drainage is causing a yield penalty and accept it. Others will have the confidence to invest in and improve that field. On East Anglian farms in particular, soil organic matter has dropped. Some will just plant cover crops, while others will work out whether that will improve the business’s bottom line, or whether there are other ways to correct the problem.

Technology has also played its part. Variable-rate planting and precise nutrient applications are all part of the solution – but only if they deliver results. And we encourage our clients to be open-minded