Content previously published in the Farmers Guardian
It's been a great summer weatherwise and generally things have been going very well on farm since my last report in July.
That said, I am writing these words in mid September, following a weekend when we experienced an absolute deluge. However, the 75mm of rain has not caused too many problems; the ground has soaked up quite a lot of moisture, and we are well ahead of normal when it comes to farming operations.
We’ve had an exceptional maize-growing season. Crops grew away well and received enough rain in June and July and lots of sunshine during August. Some were cut a month ahead of normal in the first week of September, but even those produced quite respectable yields, with good dry matter and starch levels. That bodes well for the majority of maize that remains to be cut – we could see some massive crops.
It has also been a very good year for grass. Fourth cuts have been cut, or are about to be, and some fifth cuts too. Apart from some first cuts taken early in the dry spring there hasn't really been a poor result, and quality looks fairly good as well.
A strong showing of summer-sown fodder crops is adding to the feelgood factor. Stubble turnips and forage rape are looking well; sawfly larvae were widespread but colder weather and a spray when needed put an end to that.
A lot of cover crops went in at the same time. These will also supply a good amount of grazing where needed towards the at the end of the winter, provided we don't get too many heavy frosts.
Most spring barley was cut a month or so ago. We saw some variable quality due to secondary growth, but overall yields were quite respectable and there was a lot of welcome straw.
Winter wheat produced an average crop, typically 8.5-8.9t/ha. The very dry spring hampered growth and nitrogen uptake, which affected tiller numbers, so crops tended to be on the thin side. Winter barley fared better, but I’ve not heard any real complaints about harvest. Overall, it was a pretty straightforward affair given the good weather.
Turning to the new crops, some growers had drilled all their barley by mid September and a little bit of wheat had gone in by then. Hopefully by the time you read this the weather will have picked up again.
Simon Nelson advises farmers on a wide range of arable and forage crops across Cumbria and into south-west Scotland.
