Ground conditions: Most land is quite wet now, making any further sowing unlikely, but the forecast is largely dry for the week ahead, so who knows. Some growers have been out spraying in the past week, with less tramline damage reported than was expected, but there was some damage.

For anyone with first wheat land, there may still be time to plant where the prize may be worth the risk (good fields). But you can expect lots of crow problems from here on, as seeds are easy-picking once conditions get frosty. If you have a choice on seed dressing, Anchor may be somewhat better against crows than most other dressings.

Most tillage areas were about one degree above normal for the past week on Met figures, but these could now drop quickly, making establishment a slow and torturous process.

Emerging crops: Continue to watch emerging crops for crow damage and slugs. Also, watch for rodent damage along by ditches, as rats and mice can virtually take out the first 2m or so and numbers are said to be high. Rabbits are also grazing, but damage always depends on what is available next door. Early action is important if you have any of these problems because it can help prevent most of the damage.

Spraying: Most emerged crops are already sprayed with herbicide and aphicide. From here on, emerging crops are unlikely to need aphicide, except where a big bulk of vegetation was ploughed down in advance. Crops sown in recent weeks could be sprayed pre-emerge with something like Defy + DFF (2.0 + 0.1 l/ha) or possibly a DFF + IPU of PDM combination.

Oilseed rape: There was a fair bit of downy mildew early on, but this has now largely receded. Many crops have obviously been sprayed with graminicides as the cereal volunteers and grass weeds die back. Where grasses and volunteers are still present, consider spraying with Kerb Flow, or its equivalent, as soil temperatures are now low enough. Good weed control is more critical where crops may be grazed over winter. Some crops also have a lot of charlock or runch and some have a lot of hedge mustard. These weeds are not easy to remove and Salsa may be the only limited option.

Check out EFA: All tillage farmers should now begin to look at their parcel EFA allocations and cross-check their hedges, drains, buffers, etc. Printed maps will be sent out shortly, but all adjustments to parcels must be done online. So get online access if you do not already have an account.

ITLUS Conference: The Irish Tillage and Land Use Conference takes place next Thursday, 4 December, in the Clanard Court Hotel in Athy. It looks at a range of issues relating to new farm legislation, with an update on CAP and greening issues, new transport legislation and a presentation on green manuring, with farmer experiences. Liam Woulfe will give his view on the future for the tillage sector in Ireland. Pre-booking is important. Contact Dick Fitzgerald at itlussec50@gmail.com by 3 December.