Hutchinsons are one of the leading agronomy companies and provide the highest standards of independent agronomic advice to farmers and growers, together with the efficient supply of a complete range of agronomic inputs.
With a turnover of in excess of £220 million, the business has grown to become the leading national agricultural and horticultural input advice and supply company. Hutchinsons takes a dynamic, forward-thinking approach to supporting grower clients in the production of quality crops and food in a sustainable and responsible manner.
The Hutchinsons team of over 200 arable agronomists are located throughout the UK. These technical specialists know how important it is to provide the best advice and are highly qualified professionals holding BASIS, FACTS, Conservation Management, The Plant Protection Award and Soil & Water Management qualifications. Continuing professional development and regular training take place, in order to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date technical service to the professional grower.
Long-term grower and agronomist relationships, based on mutual understanding and trust, ensure agronomy advice is combined with local knowledge and experience, including specialist precision and soil assessments. Decisions taken are based on sound business principles, practical implementation and what is right for individual growers. Hutchinsons work with all the major agrochemical research and development manufacturers, investing significant amounts of capital and resource in trials and new projects. Advice is completely independent of manufacturers and is supported by an in-house research and development programme across a range of soil types, crops and inputs.
With a long history of carrying out research trials, and numerous regional trial centres all around the country, the trial open days are an opportunity for farmers and growers to benefit directly from the findings of the Hutchinsons team. Hutchinsons also runs longer term research projects, currently the Helios Project with the aim of improving light interception in orchards and the Helix Project, operating from the Helix Technology Development Farm hosted courtesy of JW Pitts and Sons in Northampton.
The Helix farm is a central collaborative research hub for the Hutchinsons Helix project that trials and adapts new technology developments and innovations on a whole-farm scale. Insights from these trials are then used to inform and improve crop management decision making and management of the overall farm and business. The Helix project is currently focussed on soil nutrition, the prediction of risk and justification of decision making, farm sustainability and modern plant breeding traits – alongside other longer-term projects.
All technologies tested on the Helix farm are managed through one central hub – Omnia Precision, the first whole field precision farming system to use Multi-Dimensional Data Analysis for seed and nutritional planning. Omnia uses advanced algorithms to calculate the optimum solution for each individual area within the field, irrespective of the number of map layers you wish to include or different zone shapes. Omnia can also be used to analyse multiple years of yield maps, mapping the long-term performance of the field irrespective of the crop.
Omnia’s latest service – TerraMap – is the world’s highest resolution mapping system, collecting over 800 points per hectare. TerraMap is a passive, gamma-ray technology high-definition soil scanning service, measuring common nutrient properties, pH, soil texture, organic matter and CEC as well as elevation, plant available water and naturally emitted isotopes in the soil. There are very few limitations to when TerraMap can be used as it is not affected by soil moisture, compaction, crop cover or cultivation state. Together with Omnia it enables agronomists and growers to make the most of precision technology.
For more information please contact Stuart Hill (Head of Technology & Innovation) or visit the Hutchinsons, Omnia Precision and Helix websites.
You can also follow us on Facebook @HLHutchinsons and Twitter at @Hutchinsons_Ag & @Omniaprecision
