What's the best way to establish oilseed rape? How do the economics of your wheat fungicide regime stack up? These and a myriad other questions were tackled at a recent Masstock SMARTfarm open day at Cullompton in Devon hosted by Agrownomics/Dalgety.

Against the backdrop of CAP reform and Single Farm Payments, it was a chance for arable farmers to equip themselves with the knowledge to adapt and thrive. Part of the Masstock SMARTfarm national network, which is backed up by 23,000 plots and 250 replicated trials across the country, the open day delivered a national picture in a local package, said Andrew Farley of Agrownomics/Dalgety. "The beauty of our regional open days is the fine tuning they allow to local growing conditions.

"Growing wheat in the South West is a totally different game to producing the same crop in East Anglia. We understand that and have the data to marry the latest advice to local growing conditions," said Andrew. "The farmers who visited our Cullompton trials were particularly keen to see how winter wheat varieties have stood the test of this difficult disease year. Our focus on soil care also came up trumps with crowds gathered round our big pit, dug to show a deep profile and illustrating plough pans, cultivation effects and root structure."

The workshop focus on crop planning and environment care in the new arable era also proved a big draw.