Big temperature drop: Soil and air temperatures took a significant drop in the past week. The past few days were the first that offered any real hit on aphids, as ice penetrated slightly into the ground in many areas. But some coastal areas may not have experienced this, and BYDV risk could still be real.

Most crops are now covered for herbicide and BYDV prevention. Ground conditions remain reasonable to good to enable further jobs on the land. Crops that have been emerging over the past 10 days or so should have no need of aphicide unless in a high-risk field. This could happen by virtue of location or where a big wad of green volunteers were ploughed down just prior to planting.

Most early sown crops treated with Deter have been sprayed with an aphicide and should be OK now providing normal winter weather prevails. Crops sown in mid- to late-October dressed with Deter should not require an aphicide now unless the winter turns very mild again.

Planting: If you have a choice, keep the seed in the shed at this point. Soil temperatures have drifted under 4°C in recent days, so establishment could take weeks. And with crows on the warpath for the past few weeks it might not be worth the effort. It can cost a lot more to establish a crop now due to higher seed rates and crow and slug control. And you could still end up with a patchy crop.

One of the main challenges of profitable farming is to have every square metre working equally hard for you. Thin or bare patches limit this from the word go, and you still end up using the same amount of inputs on top, or even more in the case of nitrogen. Remember that every single input has an optimum rate depending on the likely yield, the price for the crop and the value of the response.

If you must still plant a crop or field of winter wheat, you need about 400 seeds/m2 to begin with, slug pellets immediately after sowing, and then to camp in the field once the crows find out what you have done.

Emerging crops: Continue to watch for pest damage. Slugs are quite a problem in places, but control seems to have worked well. Small juvenile slugs are not so easy to see, but these are the ferocious feeders. If you have them you need to take action. Just be sure of what you are dealing with, because if missing leaves are cut cleanly across the top this is a grazing issue caused by rabbits, hares or even deer. While forward crops may appear relatively immune to slug damage at this point, if you notice a drop in vegetative cover then look for the cause. All pests can still cause problems, regardless of planting date.

Watch for rodent damage along ditches, as rats and mice can quickly take out the first 2m or so. These root up and eat the seeds. Slugs and snails can raid from the hedges also.

ITLUS Conference: This takes place on 8 December in Athy.