Jonathan Kelly, Limavady, Co Derry

Jonathan draining on sandy soil this week.

When talking to Jonathan this week, he was in his digger in a race against time with “running sand.” He was draining sandy ground in Magilligan, Derry, and explained that if he didn’t lay pipes and stone soon after the trench was dug, the wet sandy soil would collapse, making a mess.

Fields are wet in Derry and Jonathan is noticing that winter barley crops in some fields have gone backwards due to water logging. However, many have emerged evenly and, despite relentless attacks from crows, are coming along well.

The majority of his winter crops are sown, but he is still hopeful that he will get one last field of winter wheat drilled.

Jonathan finished sowing his Orwell winter barley at a rate of 185kg/ha two weeks ago. He opted not to sow a hybrid variety after consideration and increased the seed rates of his later-sown Graham and Extase winter wheat to 200kg/ha. Most of his winter barley and wheat crops received a pre-emerge herbicide of Pontus (0.5l/ha) and DFF (0.2l/ha).

Jonathan also sowed his KWS Tayo winter rye at a rate of 95kg/ha. He says the seed TGW was particularly low, which partly accounts for the low seed rate.

Around 20% of his winter crops have yet to receive an autumn herbicide, which will be a focus in the coming weeks. He applied the post-emergence herbicide Terrane (0.5l/ha) on the winter rye crops.

Jonathan is considering applying an autumn aphicide on a few fields where he saw BYDV in crops last year. He generally doesn’t apply an aphicide, as aphid pressure is lower in the northwest.

His winter oilseed rape crops are looking very well, but he fears they may be a little too advanced. He finished his maize harvest last month. The best part of the field yielded 17.5t/ac, but the poor parts yielded 11.5t/ac. A lot of Jonathan’s crop suffered wind damage in spring and never really recovered. Once he finishes draining this week, he will move his cattle onto his redstart hybrid forage crop. The crop has developed really well and now stands at 2ft in height.

Colm Farrell, Navan, Co Meath

Colm applying a post-emerge herbicide on his min-tilled winter wheat.

You have to pick your fields carefully in Meath when doing any field work at this time of year, explains Colm. He was able to complete winter crop sowing last Saturday and is now applying post-emerge herbicides where conditions allow. A number of heavy downpours last week and over the weekend have left ground wet.

He was able to plant the majority of his planned winter wheat area, with the exception of 25ac, which will instead be sown to spring crops. He increased seed rates to around 200kg/ha for the later-sown Graham and Astronomer crops. Colm explains that some of his wheat crops are emerging particularly slow and uneven this year. In some ground, crops are taking up to five weeks to emerge.

He was able to sow all of his planned area of winter barley. He increased the seed rates of his later-sown Cassia and Bazooka crops to 220kg and 140kg/ha respectively. Emergence of his barley crops has been very good.

Colm finished sowing his winter oat crops on 26 October. His Isabel oats were sown at 180kg/ha, while his Husky oats were sown at 170kg/ha. The last of the oats have now emerged and are looking well. Colm runs an Amazon UX 3200 trailed sprayer on 600 tyres. He intends to swap these tyres to 710s and use the sowing tractor, which runs on 900 tyres to do the remainder of the post-emerge spraying. He is applying Navigate (0.3l/ha) onto wheat crops following winter oilseed rape. Crops following spring beans received Defy (2l/ha) and DFF (0.1l/ha). Colm noted that there was a lot of chickweed in the crop.

He added an aphicide in the tank, as the crops were sown earlier in October. He used the new BYDV Assist app to help guide aphicide timing, but commented that the loss of a targeted treatment like Redigo Deter was a big loss to autumn aphid control.

Colm plans to apply Navigate on his winter barley crops, but may use Tower if it gets too late. He will continue to monitor aphid populations before using an aphicide on his barley crops.

Padraig Donohoe, Curracloe, Co Wexford

Padraig applying Karate (50ml/ha) onto winter wheat and barley last week.

Around 35mm of rain fell over the weekend in Curracloe, which has left its mark on ground.

“We’re into November now and it’s the time of year for it [rain],” Padraig remarked.

He is aiming to get back to lifting carrots again this week, which should finish the harvest. He has been harvesting the carrot crop in batches over the past month.

Prior to harvest, the crops are first flailed to remove the tops. The team then use a Grimme Varitron to bulk harvest the carrots into trailers. They have also completed autumn sowing, finishing with Isabel winter oats on 26 October. The crop was sown at 160kg/ha and is just beginning to emerge.

They applied a pre-emerge herbicide of Navigate (0.3l/ha) and DFF (0.1l/ha) on the barley crops. The wheat crop received a pre-emerge herbicide of Stomp Aqua (2.5l/ha) and DFF (0.25l/ha).

Both crops received an aphicide of Karate (50ml/ha) last week. Padraig and the team use their Fendt Rogator, which runs on 710 tyres.

While Padraig admits this is a heavy machine, by not fully filling it, they ensure the sprayer is light enough to cause limited damage to the ground this time of year. Once the carrot harvest is complete, 2020 field work will come to an end. They finished harvesting potatoes on Saturday last. The potato harvesting campaign is a long one in Curracloe, having started in June. The potato harvester will be washed and greased before winter storage. It will be next spring before the harvester is serviced.

However, no sooner does the season end before preparation for the next one begins. They will soon begin chitting seed in anticipation of early crop planting in February. Seed will be loaded into crates and allowed to sprout in ambient conditions in a shed. They will then be moved outside to harden up next February before planting.

Seed supply is in sharp focus with most growers around the country due to Brexit. Padraig is taking delivery of Scottish and English seed early this year before the 1 January 2021 Brexit deadline.