It’s not been the easiest of a harvest so far but there were worse. While the majority of the winter barley has been harvested there is still an amount of straw to be gathered up and moved. Showers continue to make these jobs difficult.

In general later winter barley crops on heavier ground produced higher average yields.

Much of the winter oats is new harvested, with good to very good yield and excellent quality.

Good winter wheat crops are also doing well with “better than expected” being a common comment.

Early reports on malting barley are also favourable.

Skinning has not been an issue so far and proteins are generally within spec.

But they may still be somewhat higher.

Rape

Harvesting is nearing completion in what appears to be a good year for the crop. Check out forward price options before you plant for 2018 as €380/t for dry rape is on offer until later this month from Quinns.

This could make rape one of the most profitable crop options for 2018.

Early planting (from next week onwards) helps generate more autumn canopy.

This can help prevent pigeon damage and can also decrease spring nitrogen requirement. The relatively early harvest provides more opportunity for timely planting than in many previous years.

Planting

Begin planting on lower fertility sites or where wide row spacing systems are used.

Plant conventional or semi-dwarf hybrids first and move to hybrids later to make better use of their higher autumn vigour.

Very high fertility sites (where high N manures are used) might best be left for another seven to 10 days as excessive autumn growth can lead to lodging or increased disease levels. The option to use autumn manure can be a big advantage in rape.

Plant hybrids at 30-35 seeds/m2 and conventional varieties at 65-80/m2, depending on soil conditions. Roll intensively if conditions are dry or if the seedbed is a bit rough. You need rapid and uniform establishment.

Cultivate rape stubbles immediately post harvest to encourage the germination of volunteers and weed seeds.

Shallow cultivation can also help kill slugs by desiccating their eggs.

These tend to be the main risk to the following crop. When you get a flush of seedlings, cultivate a second time to promote further germination.

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