114: Recommended List updates plus new Variety Selection Tool

Welcome to the first AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds podcast of 2020! In this short episode AHDB Communications Manager Jason Pole explains the recent changes to the Recommended List (RL). Speaking to Paul Gosling, head of the Recommended List team, the two discuss the launch of the online Variety Selection tool and how it works. The new tool brings the features of the RL into a digital format and includes a new metric: ‘Agronomic Merit’ which combines a number of agronomic statistics into a single measure. Looking ahead, this spring will see the launch of the RL app for smartphones. Jason also gives a run-down of updates to the RL, including the inclusion of 28 new varieties, with highlights including improved disease resistance and more specialist and quality traits. We are also currently recruiting for two vacancies for the RL crop committee: a wheat trader for the Wheat Crop Committee and an agronomist for the Oilseeds Crop Committee. If you’re interest in either role please visit: ahdb.org.uk/news/candidates-needed-to-recommended-varieties for further information and how to apply. All the information about the RL can be found on the AHDB website at: ahdb.org.uk/rl, as well as the harvest results and videos explaining how to use the tables. Scroll further down the page to link to the new Variety Selection Tool discussed in this week’s podcast.