Things may not as bad as last year but that’s little consolation to anyone who had better crops in the field three weeks ago than they have today.

Hopefully a lot of cutting gets done this week but ground conditions remain an issue for growers in northern and western counties.

Some fields are still in good condition but others have been lodged for some time and crop condition has deteriorated significantly.

Sprouting is evident in many crops and malting quality is being hit by a number of factors.

Remaining seed crops are unlikely to pass and indeed many had failed before the most recent wet spell.

Gathering of straw might still not be easy but we must hope that it can be baled up to get fields cleared for planting either winter corps or catch crops.

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Tillage management notes: planting begins

Tillage management notes: stubble and oilseed rape