Harvest: The 2015 harvest is drawing to an end and is now well within the last 20% of completion nationally and getting closer to 10%. But specific areas have had very bad weather recently. Growers in Donegal just got going last weekend following two wet weeks and there is little more than 50% cut. There may be up to 30% remaining in other specific areas.

Reports of yield have decreased somewhat over the past week or so with 2.6t/ac to 2.8t/ac more commonly stated. There are now a lot of lodged spring barley and oat crops remaining.

Planting: Planting of oilseed rape should be completed this week. Where possible, use organic manure like poultry litter or pig slurry incorporated ahead of planting. If not, put 15 to 20kg N/ha into the seedbed as a compound fertilizer or DAP. With temperatures gradually cooling, it may be important to drive early autumn growth.

Winter cereal planting will begin after mid-September, but this needs more consideration than previous years. Firstly, you need to plan your way through your greening requirements. Secondly, the winter wheat crop carries a higher risk with the increasing concerns regarding fungicide performance. If SDHIs fail, how exposed will you be with a large area of winter wheat?

If good control of septoria was not possible, how would you assess winter wheat? Would you plant as much, or any? Since we still have some fungicide capability, we must manage crops to reduce septoria pressure. This will mean later planting, not planting septoria-prone varieties early and maximising septoria resistance in your variety mix.

So, for those who need to get going early because of acreage, begin with winter barley and then move into the more septoria-resistant winter wheats. Whatever your plan, if you are using home-saved seed, it remains important to have the seed tested prior to planting. It seems that seeds may not be that willing to germinate instantly, despite the good summer, so you need to be sure of what you are sowing.

Prepare for greening: From next year onwards, 30% of your entitlement payment will depend on meeting two separate greening requirements. Most growers with more than 10ha of crops will need to have more than one crop and most growers with more than 15ha will also need to have 5% of their arable area devoted to ecological focus area (EFA).

Most will now be vaguely aware of these requirements. The three-crop rule is straightforward. The sums are simple. On EFA, many are hoping that hedges and ditches will supply the 5%, but many tillage fields may not have hedges that will qualify for EFA. So, where you are planting winter crops in the absence of clear definitions, it makes sense to use planted crops to ensure that you will comply.

One hectare of EFA can be provided by one acre of fallow, 1.43ha beans/peas/lupins, 1.43ha of protein fixing crops or 3.34ha of catch crops between current crops. For options like beans, it may make sense to have a higher planted area to enable you to work the crop into a sensible workable rotation.