Demand for winter barley straw is good and many fields have been cleared already. Many reports suggest straw yield is back by 2-3 bales per acre compared with last year with price up by about €3-€4 per 4x4 bale. This is roughly income neutral if you have fewer bales to sell.

If your yields appear to be hit by very worn ground it is important to consider what you can do about it. Chopping straw makes no sense when its value is high, except on headlands where incorporation is exceptionally valuable to improve soil structure. But if you want to get yield out you must do something to put body back into the ground. That’s your insurance policy year to year.

Desiccation

Other crops are coming in very quickly and this may be increasing the impact of late tillers with their green grains. It is not uncommon to have the ripe grains close to 15% moisture with green grains still quite green. And with straw breaking down one may not have time to wait for glyphosate to work.

In the past Reglone (diquat) might have been used to fill this role on barley or oats crops. However, Syngenta inform me that Reglone is no longer approved for use pre-harvest on barley or oats and it was never approved for use on wheat. The same applies to all other brands.

Grain prices fall due to currency and sentiment

Tillage management notes

Tillage management: good demand for straw

With much more of the winter barley crops now harvested many crops can be described as having disappointing yields.