Stabannon,
Louth
Around 130mm of rain has fallen in Stabannon during July and August isn’t proving any better. The harvest has been a broken one in Louth so far. Ground is still trafficable, but this week’s rain may see conditions deteriorate.
Gareth is aiming to start harvesting his own winter oilseed rape crop by the end of this week.
Gareth doesn’t have any winter barley of his own, but has been harvesting crops on contract. Yields in the area are mediocre, with reports as low as 2.5t/ac. However, specific weights are reasonable. Straw yields are around 50% back on average, with some growers reporting yields as low as four 4x4 round bales/ac.
Gareth is aiming to start harvesting his own winter oilseed rape crop by the end of this week. The crop didn’t receive an application of glyphosate. Most of the crop is ripe, although there are still some green shoots evident, especially around patches that died during winter.
He plans on chopping his oilseed rape straw and establishing a cover crop immediately after. Depending on the amount of the clover combination crop remaining after harvest, Gareth will plant a combination of sunflower, buckwheat, phacelia, linseed and possibly vetch using his Horsch CO4 drill. Spend will be capped at €20/ac. He plans to sow winter wheat in those fields in October.
Gareth uses a Claas Lexion 580 on tracks with a 30ft header. He explains that the tracks make the combine much easier to transport, due to reduced width, and handles better on hilly ground. He uses a Cross 16t chaser bin when harvesting and the grain is hauled from the field via HGV.
Gareth’s spring beans are very green, with pods still developing. His spring oilseed rape is also very green and pods are just forming
His winter wheat is still around three weeks from harvest. His spring barley crops will be ripe around the same time. The weather broke just after his wheat crops flowered and as a result, fusarium levels are low. This is despite receiving no fungicide head spray.
Gareth’s spring beans are very green, with pods still developing. His spring oilseed rape is also very green and pods are just forming. He noted what appears to be a small amount of virus in the crop, which mimics the symptoms of phosphorus deficiency.
Kinsale,
Cork
While winter barley yields are proving much more favourable in Cork, the weather there has been equally as broken. Sea fog and showers have made completing the winter barley difficult.
Martin’s winter barley harvest commenced on 22 July and finished this week. He started with Pixel before moving onto his two-row Valerie and Infinity varieties.
Martin finished his winter barley harvest this week.
Crops yielded between 3.6-4.3t/ac and averaged 4t/ac. He then moved onto his hybrid Belfry and Bazooka crops. Martin noted that there were very few head losses, despite being harvested in August.
The results from his Belfry variety have raised a number of questions. One crop, which was sown in good conditions and looked fantastic all year, yielded under 4t/ac. However, a second crop of Belfry, which was sown in similar conditions and had a lower plant population due to an attack from leatherjackets and weather issues, yielded 4.3t/ac.
This is the second year that a Belfry crop that had lower than optimum plant counts yielded very well on his farm. Martin now wonders if he should reduce the seeding rate for the variety next season and change the husbandry practices for hybrid winter barley. His Bazooka crops yielded 4.3t/ac.
Winter barley harvest moistures ranged from 18% to 24%, with specific weights ranging from 60-67 KPH. Martin uses a Claas Lexion 670 with a 25ft head. If grain moistures are above 20%, he hauls the grain back to the yard to dry it.
Once fields are cleared, he plans on subsoiling the tramlines and cultivating the stubbles
Martin just started baling the winter barley straw this week. Straw was very green this year and needed a minimum of three days to wilt. Yields are average, at around five 8x4x3 square bales/ac. He still has around two-thirds of his winter barley straw to bale.
Once fields are cleared, he plans on subsoiling the tramlines and cultivating the stubbles. The earliest of his spring malting barley will be ripe by 12 August. His spring oats will be ripe by 20 August. His fodder, sugar and Conviso Smart beet varieties are all looking very well. They are due to receive a fungicide application of Opera (1.2l/ha) as well as Boron (1.5l/ha) and the aphicide Ninja at 0.075ml/ha this week.
Tuam,
Galway
With around three dry days over the past three weeks, this year’s harvest is proving a tricky one in Galway. Ground conditions are holding up OK, but wouldn’t want to receive much more rain, remarks Gerry.
He began his winter barley harvest two weeks ago, starting with his Infinity variety. The consequences of a tough winter and a dry spring soon became evident, however, as the crop yielded around 2.5t/ac.
Gerry harvested his winter oat crop this week.
Gerry then moved onto his Cassia crop the following week, which yielded a much more respectable 3t/ac, he explains. Both crops were harvested at around 19% moisture content. Gerry conceded that he doesn’t plan to grow Infinity again, as this isn’t the first year the variety has underperformed.
He uses local contractor Liam Kelly to harvest his crops using a Claas Lexion Medion. Gerry then draws the grain directly into Liffey Mills. He only managed to bale one field of straw so far, which yielded eight 4x4 bales/ac. Bales are either sold from the field, delivered, or stored in his yard.
When talking to Gerry this week, he was just about to start cutting his winter oat crop. In conversations with him later that day, he explained how the crop appeared to be yielding well, with a moisture content of around 18%. The crop had looked promising all year.
Once the straw is cleared, Gerry intends on sowing catch crops for both Ecological Focus Areas and GLAS
Normally, he stores the oat crop during winter and rolls, bags and sells the grain to local customers. However, due to a carryover from last year, he opted to bring this year’s oat crop directly to the local merchant.
Once the straw is cleared, Gerry intends on sowing catch crops for both Ecological Focus Areas and GLAS. His mix will consist of forage rape and stubble turnips, sown at 7kg/ha. He establishes the crop using a set of discs with a mounted airseeder. He will then roll the ground afterwards.
Gerry’s spring barley crop is still at least three weeks away. The crop looks quite promising however, and hasn’t lodged, despite the heavy rainfall.
Stabannon,
Louth
Around 130mm of rain has fallen in Stabannon during July and August isn’t proving any better. The harvest has been a broken one in Louth so far. Ground is still trafficable, but this week’s rain may see conditions deteriorate.
Gareth is aiming to start harvesting his own winter oilseed rape crop by the end of this week.
Gareth doesn’t have any winter barley of his own, but has been harvesting crops on contract. Yields in the area are mediocre, with reports as low as 2.5t/ac. However, specific weights are reasonable. Straw yields are around 50% back on average, with some growers reporting yields as low as four 4x4 round bales/ac.
Gareth is aiming to start harvesting his own winter oilseed rape crop by the end of this week. The crop didn’t receive an application of glyphosate. Most of the crop is ripe, although there are still some green shoots evident, especially around patches that died during winter.
He plans on chopping his oilseed rape straw and establishing a cover crop immediately after. Depending on the amount of the clover combination crop remaining after harvest, Gareth will plant a combination of sunflower, buckwheat, phacelia, linseed and possibly vetch using his Horsch CO4 drill. Spend will be capped at €20/ac. He plans to sow winter wheat in those fields in October.
Gareth uses a Claas Lexion 580 on tracks with a 30ft header. He explains that the tracks make the combine much easier to transport, due to reduced width, and handles better on hilly ground. He uses a Cross 16t chaser bin when harvesting and the grain is hauled from the field via HGV.
Gareth’s spring beans are very green, with pods still developing. His spring oilseed rape is also very green and pods are just forming
His winter wheat is still around three weeks from harvest. His spring barley crops will be ripe around the same time. The weather broke just after his wheat crops flowered and as a result, fusarium levels are low. This is despite receiving no fungicide head spray.
Gareth’s spring beans are very green, with pods still developing. His spring oilseed rape is also very green and pods are just forming. He noted what appears to be a small amount of virus in the crop, which mimics the symptoms of phosphorus deficiency.
Kinsale,
Cork
While winter barley yields are proving much more favourable in Cork, the weather there has been equally as broken. Sea fog and showers have made completing the winter barley difficult.
Martin’s winter barley harvest commenced on 22 July and finished this week. He started with Pixel before moving onto his two-row Valerie and Infinity varieties.
Martin finished his winter barley harvest this week.
Crops yielded between 3.6-4.3t/ac and averaged 4t/ac. He then moved onto his hybrid Belfry and Bazooka crops. Martin noted that there were very few head losses, despite being harvested in August.
The results from his Belfry variety have raised a number of questions. One crop, which was sown in good conditions and looked fantastic all year, yielded under 4t/ac. However, a second crop of Belfry, which was sown in similar conditions and had a lower plant population due to an attack from leatherjackets and weather issues, yielded 4.3t/ac.
This is the second year that a Belfry crop that had lower than optimum plant counts yielded very well on his farm. Martin now wonders if he should reduce the seeding rate for the variety next season and change the husbandry practices for hybrid winter barley. His Bazooka crops yielded 4.3t/ac.
Winter barley harvest moistures ranged from 18% to 24%, with specific weights ranging from 60-67 KPH. Martin uses a Claas Lexion 670 with a 25ft head. If grain moistures are above 20%, he hauls the grain back to the yard to dry it.
Once fields are cleared, he plans on subsoiling the tramlines and cultivating the stubbles
Martin just started baling the winter barley straw this week. Straw was very green this year and needed a minimum of three days to wilt. Yields are average, at around five 8x4x3 square bales/ac. He still has around two-thirds of his winter barley straw to bale.
Once fields are cleared, he plans on subsoiling the tramlines and cultivating the stubbles. The earliest of his spring malting barley will be ripe by 12 August. His spring oats will be ripe by 20 August. His fodder, sugar and Conviso Smart beet varieties are all looking very well. They are due to receive a fungicide application of Opera (1.2l/ha) as well as Boron (1.5l/ha) and the aphicide Ninja at 0.075ml/ha this week.
Tuam,
Galway
With around three dry days over the past three weeks, this year’s harvest is proving a tricky one in Galway. Ground conditions are holding up OK, but wouldn’t want to receive much more rain, remarks Gerry.
He began his winter barley harvest two weeks ago, starting with his Infinity variety. The consequences of a tough winter and a dry spring soon became evident, however, as the crop yielded around 2.5t/ac.
Gerry harvested his winter oat crop this week.
Gerry then moved onto his Cassia crop the following week, which yielded a much more respectable 3t/ac, he explains. Both crops were harvested at around 19% moisture content. Gerry conceded that he doesn’t plan to grow Infinity again, as this isn’t the first year the variety has underperformed.
He uses local contractor Liam Kelly to harvest his crops using a Claas Lexion Medion. Gerry then draws the grain directly into Liffey Mills. He only managed to bale one field of straw so far, which yielded eight 4x4 bales/ac. Bales are either sold from the field, delivered, or stored in his yard.
When talking to Gerry this week, he was just about to start cutting his winter oat crop. In conversations with him later that day, he explained how the crop appeared to be yielding well, with a moisture content of around 18%. The crop had looked promising all year.
Once the straw is cleared, Gerry intends on sowing catch crops for both Ecological Focus Areas and GLAS
Normally, he stores the oat crop during winter and rolls, bags and sells the grain to local customers. However, due to a carryover from last year, he opted to bring this year’s oat crop directly to the local merchant.
Once the straw is cleared, Gerry intends on sowing catch crops for both Ecological Focus Areas and GLAS. His mix will consist of forage rape and stubble turnips, sown at 7kg/ha. He establishes the crop using a set of discs with a mounted airseeder. He will then roll the ground afterwards.
Gerry’s spring barley crop is still at least three weeks away. The crop looks quite promising however, and hasn’t lodged, despite the heavy rainfall.
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