Tillage management: dry land in December is a rarity

Most land remains in good condition. Indeed, I saw some recent December ploughing which now looks to be sown because conditions were so good. However, there are still relatively few fields ploughed given the good conditions. I saw a few fields being ploughed where the land was neither dry or in good condition. Such land should be targeted with organic matter.

Weather conditions changed considerable over the past week with the passing of the frost and the return of high temperatures. Most tillage areas appear to have had little rain thus far, but it doesn’t take much to make things sticky when temperatures are low. Soil temperatures are now below normal for the time of year but these may rise again slightly with the higher air temperature.

Stubbles:

There have been a lot of sprayers out in recent days spraying stubbles. Many of these have a lot of volunteer vegetation present which has turned very yellow. This is possibly because the plants have used up all of the nutrients in the ground beneath. This is a good thing as this is what green cover and catch crops are supposed to do. With most ground being so dry, it could be worth considering disking these stubbles (rather than spraying) to kill existing vegetation while possibly encouraging other weed seeds to germinate in the coming months. This option would not normally exist at this time of year. Many of these stubbles have already been cultivated to encourage the current growth level so a second pass would be a very cheap option. But cultivation must be shallow and only if the soil is dry.

Sprayer testing:

In order to be compliant, any sprayer used since 26 November must be certified for use or be a new sprayer. But sprayers can still be certified and this requirement only applies to when they are used rather than just parked. So if you do intend to use a sprayer next year, or thereafter, get it tested and certified now so you will be ready to go. Putting it on the long finger could result in you suffering a penalty for having used an uncertified sprayer.

Farmers must also be aware that the operator of a certified sprayer must also be registered with the Department as a professional user and have a PU number.

Catch crops: These differ massively depending on sowing date. Very forward tall crops that are going to seed might be cut back to enable this vegetation to begin to rot down while keeping a cover on the soil to protect it. If there is a lot of volunteer vegetation present in the crop then perhaps it might be sprayed off as the volunteers will still carry disease. Vegetation helps protect your soil from the pounding rain and also helps prevent soil runoff.

Where a catch crop has very little vegetation present it might be left alive for a while longer to avail of any growth opportunities. But, as above, the urgency to burn off should be influenced by what is growing in it. Growing vegetation helps to remove moisture from the ground.