Good summer brings good yields

By Liam Robb

Our harvest got off to a flying start on 19 July with blue skies and sunshine, temperatures in the 30's and grain at 13% moisture.

Yields were not bad either but since then it has turned out to be an extremely frustrating harvest, mainly because of the lack of drying. It certainly hasn't been bad weather but we have been plagued by dizzily type weather clearing up the odd evening allowing us to get bits and pieces of harvesting done. It's fantastic grass growing weather, with the temperatures up in the high teens to twenties most of the time.

Winter barley

It has been a good year for winter barley. Our yields ranged from 2.8 t/ac to 3.6 t/ac and most fields were in the three tonne plus category. Grain weight is the big notable difference with trailers weighing in at least one tonne heavier than normal.

All the barley was cut at low moistures. Green straw was our main problem, as it slowed down the combine and used more diesel. Crops turned so fast that we were in seven days after Roundup, which really wasn't enough to get the full benefit of the treatment. But the sun shone and the temptation was too great.

Straw is in big demand and is a valuable part of the crop. Straw yields were variable ranging from 6-10 4x4 bales per acre. Unfortunately we still have barley straw from the headlands unbaled due to poor drying.

Oilseed rape

Our oilseed rape did well and we broke the magical 2.0 t/ac barrier. Yields ranged from 1.6 - 2.15 t/ac at about 12% moisture. Our variety was ES Astrid and it grew very tall making it difficult to harvest.

Our intention was to desiccate all our rape with Roundup but we missed the timing on our first field and had to use Reglone instead.

We cut this after seven days but it could have done with a bit longer. The forecast wasn't hectic - hard on the nerves - so we cut. This turned out to be the right decision.

We got a poor kill with Roundup on the remainder of the crop. There were still green pods after 20 days and it was difficult to get a decent sample. This experience has left me undecided as to which product is best?

At least with Reglone you get a good kill in 10 days - brittle pods remain a concern though. Cost is another factor.

Our spring crop will most likely be desiccated with Reglone, as Roundup may be too slow to work in September.

I think growers should look for a higher contract price for rape. While price has gone up rape is a high-risk crop and this should be reflected in its value. There are many reasons why we need this crop but we need to secure a margin from yield levels that are well below 2.0 t/ac.

The country needs to reduce its dependence on imported fuels but this cannot happen without growers.

Importing oilseeds defeats the propose of the exercise relief and should not be considered. It seems to me that the country would be far better off spending the money it intends to spend on emissions supporting our locally produced carbon neutral biofuel.

Winter wheat

We have just finished harvesting winter wheat and grain weight has again been the most notable feature. Richmond was our only variety and in the right rotational slots yields exceeded 4.0 t/ac. Non-first wheats yielded about 1.0 t/ac less from the exact same inputs.

Spring barley

Spring barley has only just started with us. Yields are difficult to estimate, as there is such a big variation in crops. Fields harvested to date had very patchy headlands. This was one of our so-called early-sown crops (20 March) and was sown in ideal conditions but poor spring weather took its toll after that.

The high demand and price for straw will continue. We are now in September and losses will start to creep in as the crops start to get a bit weather beaten. The bulk of the harvest is still to be saved here in Donegal.

Events

Agriculture and Food 2006 has been well documented and is just a memory now. While we have been critical of Teagasc in the recent past full credit is due for this event.

This was an excellent event that catered for every sector and was well worth the trip from Donegal. However, I don't think a gap of 10 years should be left until the next such event. We are all looking for something new and this should be the showcase.

I was also down in Cork at the Goldcrop open day. This was a 45-acre field of different crops and varieties. Differences between varieties were quite visual.

We were given a booklet showing every cost involved in growing the crop and the products used.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Dermot O'Leary whose articles in the Irish Farmers Journal I had admired for many years.

He also made me green with envy about the weather conditions they had and the yields they were achieving.