Harvest: Progress remains difficult and there is still an amount of winter barley to be harvested, but there has been good progress with baling and clearing straw. There have been some winter oats harvested now also and it looks like grain fill is also a constraint to yield in this crop with yield reports from 3-4t/ac. There is also an amount of winter rape cut in the 1.5-1.7t/ac range.

Wheat and spring barley crops are also maturing very quickly and we must wait and see what this means for yield. The current weather pattern is worrying for a maturing wheat crop, with sprouting now a real risk.

Straw: With straw being difficult to bale in the recent broken weather, some growers have opted to chop the last of the crop. Broken weather looks likely to continue for at least another week or more, so your handling of straw must be guided by subsequent field use. It you intend to plant catch or cover crops, do not let straw get in the way.

Stubbles: Once stubbles are cleared, try to get a shallow cultivation done to encourage weed seed germination (especially grass weeds) and consider planting some sort of green cover where the next crop is to be spring-sown. Catch crops, like any other manure, are an investment in the future of your soil, so maximum yield is the objective.

Keep stubble cultivation shallow to avoid ending up with a mess if conditions turn wet. Aim to leave the seedbed lose initially to help kill pests. We will always get rain and weed seeds will grow. Consider a second shallow run once a green hue appears across the field. This will kill that vegetation and encourage more weed seeds to germinate.

Catch Crops: Aim to get them planted as quickly as possible post-harvest. Yield is important, whether grazing or incorporating. There are many proprietary mixtures that one can buy from merchants but make sure whatever mixture you buy suits your rotation and planting date.

More complex mixtures may well be better for the soil if you get plenty of growth but they are also more expensive. You may be best to learn how to plant and grow them using simpler and cheaper mixes initially. You can rotate where you plant catch crops under GLAS, so work them into a rotation.

Planning: With three-crop rules and catch crops now a feature of many tillage farms, it is increasingly important to plan ahead, especially on owned ground. Try to block land into a rotation to improve machinery use efficiency. This will mean fluctuating crop areas from year to year and you must be able to plan for this, especially with contracted crops.

Scutch: There is a bit of scutch about this year and some fields warrant spraying – pre-harvest is preferable if possible or permitted. Target about 3.0 l/ha of a 360g/litre product and up the rate where the infestation is bad.