In many ways, our growers should not be relying so heavily on spraying providing all the solutions. For example, if you have signs of disease at the tillering stage, it is something of a Catch-22: you need to do the maths to see if the cost of another spray at this stage justifies the outcome.

IF you think farmers have to make some tough decisions about which crops are going into their paddocks and how to best ensure a good harvest comes out the other end of the season, spare a thought