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One of my harvest predictions was wrong, and another was surprisingly accurate.
In a previous article (edition dated 2 June 2018) I commented that the late sowing date of the spring barley (on 15 May) would translate into a yield of no more than 1.5t per acre, but the dominant factor making me persist with such a potentially unprofitable venture was the likelihood of straw being “as scarce as hens’ teeth”.
Surprisingly, with the harvest now complete, the Wylanda barley yielded just over 2t per acre (at 15% moisture), and, more predictably, the four and a half bales of straw per acre were handled and stored as if they contained diamonds.
The reason for my concern about straw availability had nothing to do with the summer drought, and was simply due to the late spring and the subsequent clearing of all straw reserves around the country.
This apprehension was hugely magnified when virtually no rain fell from the middle of May until late July (in certain parts of the country), and fields that had been cultivated in far from ideal conditions simply dried out like concrete.
I’ve no idea how some of these areas yielded, but I’ll take the subsequent silence from certain growers as a sure sign that crops were every bit as poor as they appeared.
Waiting until the middle of May before ploughing my own field did not seem very clever at the time, and yet this heavy soil benefited hugely from the delay.
Not only was it in reasonable condition, but the poultry litter which had been incorporated meant that vital nutrients (mainly nitrogen) were available in the seedbed.
Plenty of spring cereals in this area still had pickles of nitrogen lying on the surface when seed heads were beginning to appear. It is years and years since top dressing has failed in this manner, and over a period of years (or perhaps decades) it has become normal practice to get the crop established, and then add the fertiliser afterwards.
In fact, this came about after continuous years when seedbed fertiliser was most probably leached out due to high rainfall amounts post-sowing.
I’m sure growers in other parts of NI, where drought was not a problem, must be wondering why I’m chuffed to bits with a 2t crop, but you really had to experience conditions in this neck of the woods from late June on. The effects of this dry spell will be felt till next spring, and scarce fodder and bedding supplies have turned everything into a seller’s market.
Input list
For anyone who mistakenly believes spring barley is the low-input alternative to growing winter cereals, please study the following list.
On 29 May, it was sprayed with MCPA to control a severe infestation of volunteer rape (a legacy of fodder rape from four years ago) along with a sniff of insecticide to wipe out aphids.
The main spray application took place on 15 June, when a six-way tank mix was used to hit weeds (Inka + Fluroxypr), trace elements (Zn), disease (Mobius) and wild oats (Axial and Adigor).
Worried in case I hadn’t wasted enough money, I followed up with a generous further dose of Mobius + Bravo on 6 July. And this wasn’t the end of spraying requirements, because pre-harvest glyphosate (2 litres/ha) was applied three weeks before harvest to deal with late green tillers that sprouted all through the crop (another legacy of the prolonged drought).
The roundup worked superbly, with grain coming off at under 16%, and straw easily baling immediately behind the combine.
One other added expense was a top-up with the lime spreader when 1t per acre was dusted onto the ploughed face.
At least this cost can be evened out over four or five years, because I’m not very confident that the strong prices for both straw and grain will tip the balance sheets very far into real profit when all inputs are taken into account.
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