Martin Ennis, Naul, Co Dublin
It’s been all go for Martin in the good weather, with the harvest progressing and the last of his hay being made too.
The winter barley was first up and Martin knew it wouldn’t be a fantastic crop, as he was unable to get fertiliser out early due to the poor soil conditions in the spring. The crop averaged 3.5t/ac, ranging from 3.3t/ac to 3.8t/ac. It was all cut dry at 14% to 15% moisture.
There was not much difference in grain yield between varieties, but he noticed a big difference in straw volume. Orcade yielded 13 bales/ac, while Integral struggled to reach 10.
Next up were the winter oats. The crop did very well and Martin was happy with it. It yielded between 3.8t/ac and 3.9t/ac at low moistures. It had looked well all year and this continued through to harvest.
The winter oilseed rape was finished up earlier this week. It was yielding very well at 2.1t/ac. The moisture content was at 10% when starting to cut each morning, before falling to between 8.5% and 9% as the day went on. Martin was very happy with this, as there was no weight loss from very low moisture contents.
The LG Aviron stalks were still quite green, but it was a shorter crop than Aurelia and ended up being easier to feed through the combine.
He was hoping to start the winter wheat soon after finishing up the oilseed rape, as it is now ripe. The spring barley is a bit further away; it will probably be the end of next week by the time it is ready to cut. It looks like a very promising crop, something Martin attributes to it coming after oilseed rape.
The maize on the farm is flying. It is now 7’ tall and is loving the sunshine and warm temperatures.
Martin says the year has suited the open maize so far and should give the crop plenty of potential.
Brian Crowley, Ballycotton, Co Cork
There was only one squib of a shower at Brian’s farm in Cork over the weekend – not enough to wet the ground. He says the weather has been great for harvesting, but the ground is extremely dry and beans and beet are beginning to show some stress.
The fodder beet is starting to wilt slightly, but should be OK if rain arrives soon, but rainfall amounts look like they will be quite small in Brian’s area this week. Likewise, the lower leaves of the beans are wilted, but the crop remains green. The winter barley yielded between 3.5t/ac and 3.8t/ac at low moistures. He says there were plenty of grains, but they did not seem to reach their potential.
There were eight 8x4x3 bales/ac on the crop and Brian says it was never as handy to get grain and straw in the shed. The winter oilseed rape was next to go under the knife. Brian got a contractor in to cut it, as he has no header extension and wanted to see if it would help to reduce losses. The crop yielded 2.1t/ac, with moistures ranging between 8.8% and 10.4%.
He notes that it looked like a good crop all year and the weather during flowering and pod fill suited the crop. The stalks were still very green at harvest but they went through the combine quite well.
Brian started to cut his Champion winter wheat on Monday. It was too early to give an indication of yield but the moisture fell quickly to 15.8% and there was a KPH of 75. He notes that the crop was affected by a small bit of yellow rust, but it was mostly kept under control.
The spring barley is about 10 days off still, while the spring oats and wheat will be after that again. They are changing colour rapidly, but these two crops were sown quite late.
Christopher Gill, Caledon Estate, Co Tyrone
Monday morning changed abruptly for Christopher as he fixed the wing mirror of a tractor. He noticed nuts and bolts on the floor of the cab and on further inspection he found the screen and GPS receiver had been stolen on three of the John Deere tractors on the farm. CCTV caught the intruders walking through the farmyard on Sunday night. Christopher says that the farmyard is fully enclosed in a walled estate, so it’s not that easy to get in and that they must have jumped a wall to gain access. No damage was caused, but Christopher says he is still shocked that it happened. On the harvest front, the winter barley was cut a couple of weeks ago. Christopher says the yield was below average, but it came in dry at a moisture content of 13%. He comments that the weather makes everything easier and means there is no requirement for drying on the farm. There was a good go of straw on the crop and it was all baled in good conditions. Christopher may decide to plant a multispecies cover crop after the winter barley under the Farming with Nature Transition Scheme, but he has not decided what species he will include yet. The winter oilseed rape is the only other crop that will be combined this year. It is not quite ripe yet, but should be ready to go in the next few days. Christopher says the crop has good potential, so he is looking forward to seeing how it turns out. The wholecropping has been completed on the farm, including all of the winter wheat, rye and triticale. The yield seems to be slightly back on other years, but the weather was very favourable and the soil conditions were ideal. The maize has thrived in the hot weather. The maize under plastic is now tasselling, while the open maize is slightly behind this, but is still doing well.
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