Spring crops affected by drought

Tillage farmers are looking at crops suffering from drought after an extremely wet spring.

Late-sown spring barley crops are particularly badly affected. Those crops planted at the end of April and in May did not receive rain to wash in fertiliser.

They are moving quickly through the growth stages and are short and thin in many cases. While disease levels are low, rain would certainly help these crops.

Some crops are coping better than others and early-sown cereals and beans look generally good. High temperatures this week will cause some stress and spraying should be avoided in the middle of the day.