Rathnure, Co Wexford
The recent spell of warm weather has transformed crops across Michael’s farm, with significant growth evident wherever you look. Soil temperatures have risen sharply over the past few weeks and, according to Michael, the crops aren’t the only thing enjoying the conditions.
“The crops are growing well, but unfortunately so are the weeds, they’re thriving,” he says.
The winter barley is now beginning to ripen rapidly, and Michael believes harvest is closer than many might think. He will probably have some cut by the time we speak to him again. The lighter, free-draining ground in New Ross is traditionally the first to ripen.
Not everything has gone entirely to plan. Parts of the winter barley suffered from BYDV earlier in the season, resulting in smaller grain development in affected areas.
“The symptoms are obvious enough now, but the real question is how much impact it will have on final yield. We won’t know that until the combine goes through it,” Michael notes.
For the first time in weeks, the sprayer is enjoying a well-earned rest in the shed. All fungicide, herbicide and trace element applications have been completed, leaving little to do except let the crops finish out.
The spring barley and oats have both begun shooting out and continue to look promising. Maize, sown without plastic for the third consecutive year, was slow to emerge initially but has responded well to the recent heat and now stands at around a foot and a half tall.
The fodder beet is also growing strongly after a prolonged battle with bindweed that required three herbicide applications.
Meanwhile, the winter oilseed rape crop, grown for seed, is moving steadily towards maturity. The male parent rows have now been mulched out and the crop should ripen quickly from here.
Overall, the crops look promising and harvest is coming into view. “The weather has played its part lately. Whether grain prices decide to play ball is another question altogether,” Michael adds.
Muff, Co Donegal
Crops are looking well in Donegal and Donald says they’ve had enough rain now and just need “a blast of heat” like we’re having this week to push them on and to start filling the grains of the winter oats.
The oats are doing well but the flag leaf has gone a bit off-colour. The crop has just started to change colour itself too as it goes through grain fill. Donald expects to be cutting them in early August. The ground under the crop is exceptionally clean, the cleanest organic crop Donald has grown in a long time.
The mixed crop of spring barley, oats and peas is doing well and is into stem extension. The barley has a touch of BYDV on the ends of the leaves and there’s a few weeds in the crop but it’s not too bad. The peas are absolutely flying it and are a couple of inches taller than the cereals at the moment.
The pea variety is Ingrid and the stems seem to be very strong, which Donald hopes can help to keep the peas standing to harvest. However, he’s not sure what the yield of this variety or the feeding value of the stems will be once it goes through the combine and is baled for cattle feed. Donald doesn’t mind too much as long as the crop stays standing and makes things easier at harvest.
The potatoes are doing well but the tops of the drills are a bit weedier than last year. They are being weeded and reshaped again this week and will be once more before the canopy closes over. Donald is applying an organic-approved seaweed spray to the potatoes every week too at 5l/ha.
The tomatoes have been planted in the greenhouses but growth has been a bit slower than usual due to the cool temperatures of the past few weeks. The lettuce and spring onions are growing away nicely.
Clonmel, Co Tipperary
The sun is shining in Tipperary this week and all the crops are enjoying it. The rain from the last three weeks has the soil moist and means that growing conditions are ideal.
This year’s spray season is wrapping up for Nicholas as we come to the end of June. The winter oilseed rape will soon be due an application of Pod-Stik.
The crop looks well. Nicholas says the pods are full and he’s happy with the number of seeds in each pod.
The winter barley in Nicholas’ area is starting to ripen in and he expects that the harvest will begin around 10 July. He says his area would always be on the early side and the heat this week could push this date forward even further.
The winter wheat received its T3 fungicide application on 5 June. Jade was applied alongside 20 units/ac of foliar nitrogen with sulphur included too. It is now into grain fill and the crop looks promising at the moment.
The winter oats look well. The head spray of Velogy Era was applied on 24 May. Nicholas is hoping that they don’t mind the heat too much this week.
The spring barley received its T2 fungicide application at the paintbrush stage. Revycare, Imperis and Mirror were applied to control ramularia and rhynchosporium.
The heritage spring wheat trials received a T1 fungicide spray earlier in the month and will be due its flag leaf spray quite soon.
Elsewhere on the farm, Nicholas is cutting some hay and starting to get the combine all geared up for the busy harvest season ahead.
Nicholas is hosting an open day on his farm on 2 July. This open day is being co-hosted by the Technological University of the Shannon and will showcase grass and tillage research trials and provide demonstrations and panel discussions focused on soil. More details are available at www.goldenvaleresearch.com.
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