HARVEST: A good burst was made at cutting in many places on Saturday, and combines went late into the night before more rain hit on Sunday. Some got out to cut on Sunday, but Monday was another wet day. Many winter barley crops need to be cut immediately as they are breaking down or losing heads and grains in the heavy showers. See a full harvest report on page 14. Heavy showers are also causing lodging. Many spring barley crops went down last week. Some of this lodging was significant. It hit crops at the wrong time and at their heaviest for some. These spots will now of course be attractive to birds to land in. Put out some frighteners in fields, to keep damage to a minimum.

Straw: Straw is difficult to bale in the current weather, but we have plenty of time for that to change. Straw looks like it will be in short supply this season due to forecast low yields and a large amount entering the Straw incorporation Measure (SIM) – almost 57,000ha of cereal straw. Remember, it has a value to your soil and it takes a lot of time to turn, bale and load, so calculate how much it is worth.

Straw incorporation measure (SIM): The SIM has seen over 70,000ha entered into the scheme. It had been thought the budget would increase. However, the Department has yet to announce this, which makes harvesting difficult if you do not know you have been accepted into the scheme or not. You can currently withdraw from the scheme if you have a valid reason, but you must await confirmation from the Department to say that your parcel(s) has been withdrawn. Remember, the scheme is subject to inspection. Take photos when chopping and incorporating, and tag your location.

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Varieties: In this week’s paper we have a focus on varieties. Keep an eye, and an ear, out for different varieties over the harvest season to see what will suit your farm and system. The combine tells all, so see how different varieties are performing.

Weeds: There is still plenty of time to go out and pull wild oats and grass weeds on farms. A small number of plants this year can cause a big problem next season. One blackgrass plant can produce 6,000 seeds, so get out and pull grass weeds before they go to seed. Many grass weeds are now resistant to different herbicides.

Planning: Harvest came in very quickly and this means planning for next season starts. Many are now thinking about cover crops and oilseed rape for next year. The first thing to remember is the new nitrates rules. Stubble cultivation is required under these rules in Leinster (apart from Longford), Tipperary, Cork and Waterford. Shallow cultivation needs to be carried out to create a green cover. If the field is going into winter cropping it does not need to be cultivated. If you are cultivating, you might put in a cover crop.

focus: In next week’s paper, we will focus on cover crops.