Oilseed rape

Monday and Tuesday provided another welcome window to get out to fields this week, along with Wednesday and Thursday of last week. There are still large amounts of winter barley to be cut in some areas, and it should be a priority. Some are already cutting spring barley. Another priority is oilseed rape. Many farmers have made the sensible option to move to oilseed rape instead of winter oats, as every shower puts it at higher risk of losses. Thankfully, oats and oilseed rape straw will be chopped. Other straw is proving difficult to save. Some have managed to bale shortly after the combine, but rows on the ground two weeks are best left for a spell of dry weather. Remember to take all of this into account when pricing straw. The harvest is a struggle, but many can be pleasantly surprised at yields. There are no record breakers, but yields are possibly better than expected for many. Some crops will be very poor, but hopefully overall farmers get a good balance.

Stubble cultivation

While the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture have stated that exemptions from stubble cultivation can be granted where conditions are not appropriate, they have not done this for this year, so, as it stands, stubble cultivation is required 10 days after baling or chopping and 14 days after harvesting in all cases. There is a lot of straw which has now been on the ground for 14 days or more and the weather has not provided an opportunity for it to dry, so it is extremely hard to comply with these rules. Soil conditions are less than ideal for cultivating on many farms at present. Remember you do not need to cultivate ahead of winter crops which will be sown by 31 October and you can leave 20-25% of stubble uncultivated for over-winter stubble for birds.

Straw incorporation

There are a lot of people who have cut or have yet to cut winter oats and oilseed rape. A lot of this straw will be chopped. This should be incorporated into the soil as soon as possible after harvest if you are chopping under the Straw Incorporation Measure. Take pictures for your records and tag the location, if you can.

Glyphosate

Remember, glyphosate cannot be used on any food-grade crop. It should not be used pre-harvest on other crops unless there is a grass weed problem. This season Boortmalt will test for glyphosate at intakes. There is a zero-tolerance for glyphosate. A small amount of grain in a trailer from a previous crop sprayed with glyphosate or drift onto a crop from another crop that was sprayed is enough to fail the test, so be extremely cautious.

Catch crop seeding rates

There was an error on last week’s tillage pages. The original catch crop seeding rates for ACRES were included. The updated version has been included on this week’s pages and is the version that should be used. Some cover crops have been planted. It’s a difficult month to get this job done in current weather conditions.