Harvesting under way: Many combines that were greased and made ready to go in recent weeks got some bit of an outing last weekend ahead of forecast rain, albeit brief in some instances. While most winter barley is not yet ripe, there were some fields ready, or at least mainly ready for cutting.

So far yields are generally reported in the 3-4t/ac bracket but there have been some poorer yields where drought hammered the crop way back in May. These were hit on both yield and quality, with less than 2.5t/ac reported and specific weights below 60kg/hectolitre. The promising news is that good looking crops appear to be yielding well.

Harvested straw is generally on the rare side and needing a few days to dry before baling. So far, most crops seem to have good straw volume, but this will change as the harvest progresses and poorer, shorter crops are harvested. Many two-row winter barley crops look thin but ear counts on the six-row types seem closer to normal. Only time will tell if this translates into higher yields from the six-row varieties.

Component compensation: While many two-row crops look thin, ears seem longer. If bigger ears can fill these grains better than normal, they could recover a chunk of the missing yield potential. A normal two-row crop might be 1,000 ears/m2, with 22 grains per ear on average and 45g per 1,000 grains. If you multiply these, you get 0.99kg/m2 or 9.9t/ha.

The surest way to generate yield potential in barley is to manage for 1,000 ears/m2. If we get fewer ears, crops can compensate but we depend on favourable weather and growing conditions. Only time will tell if this is one of those years.

Rape desiccation: Many rape crops have already been desiccated but some remain to be sprayed off. It seems that seed colour changed before crops showed a brown cast this year, possibly a result of the duller cooler weather and slower maturation.

Assess seed colour in 20 pods on the main rachime throughout the crop. When at least two-thirds of the seeds in at least 15 pods have turned brown or black, the crop is at its earliest correct stage for desiccation.

Use plenty water (200l/ha or more) with up to 2.0 kg/ha of Roundup Powermax or 3-4l/ha of other 360g glyphosate formulations.

Think to stay safe: We should always aim to be safe in what we do. Accidents will always happen, but many can be avoided. Situations which cause you to have to rush things automatically increase the risk of an accident.