The amount of cereal crops left to be cut is getting significantly smaller as the week goes on. However, if you are a farmer who still has grain to harvest it is a stressful time.
While there are some drops in yields and quality, overall, many spring barley crops are holding with some still reaching 3t/ac and over, but many are heading down to 2t/ac. Most bean crops were planted from mid-April onwards and many in late April and May. These crops are still very green and are another few weeks away.
The hotter weather this week might help to speed things up a bit, but while leaves may have turned the pods are bright green in most fields.
On last week’s Tillage Podcast, Drummonds’ agronomist Brian Reilly said potato crops look to be back a bit on potential yield with some varieties struggling to swell due to dry conditions.
On the bright side, he said due to those dry conditions, farmers are “starting off on a better foot than this time last year” for harvest.