Spring beans, spring and winter oats and spring wheat are the main crops remaining to be harvested on this week’s farms
Poyntzpass,
Co Down
Simon starting to harvest spring oats this week.
“August was tough going,” said Simon when explaining the weather that month. The weather eventually settled at the end of August. Between harvesting, baling and planting winter oilseed rape, this was a particularly busy period on his farm.
He finished his winter wheat harvest on 7 September. The crop performed well, ranging from 4t to 4.9t/ac and averaging 4.3t/ac. To put this in context, Simon’s farm average is around 3.8t/ac. The crop looked very thick all year and benefited from a good autumn and spring.
Specific weights came in at 78KPH, with moistures ranging from 15% to 20.5%. Straw required a few days to mature, but averaged around 1.6t/ac, or eight 4x4 round bales/ac. However, the winter oat harvest has really been the opposite of last year. Much of the crop lodged, making for very slow harvesting. Simon has around 30ac of the crop left to cut.
The thinking was that it lodged due to it being a heavy crop and he was expecting a reasonable yield. However, this didn’t turn out to be the case.
Average yields are running at between 2.3t and 2.5t/ac. Last year, yields ranged from 2.8t to 3t/ac.
However, quality was good, at around 57KPH, indicating that lower grain numbers may have been a problem.
Oat straw has been more of a challenge to get baled, but quality remains good, as have yields.
He is aiming to harvest his spring oats this week. The crop looks promising and is still standing well.
His Lynx spring beans were burned off last week (glyphosate 3l/ha) and should be fit by next week.
This crop also looks promising and is standing well.
It’s worth reminding readers that growers in Northern Ireland do not receive a protein payment for growing beans.
Simon chooses to grow it as it remains a good break crop and soil conditioner.
Simon managed to plant his planned area of winter oilseed rape, albeit in two plots due to a break in the weather.
He first planted DK Impression at 40 seeds/m2 followed by DSV Plurax at 50 seeds/m2.
Both varieties are Clearfield enabled. He noted that slug pressure was high this year, so he applied 7kg/ha of metaldehyde slug pellets.
Croom,
Co Limerick
John's maize crop is ripening fast in this week's sunshine.
The harvest has nearly wrapped up in Croom and will be remembered as a broken one.
Broken harvest weather made it a challenge to gather both grain and straw. When talking to John last, he had crimped an amount of his winter wheat crops.
A settled week at the end of August allowed him to harvest the remainder of that crop at 18% moisture content (mc).
The crop was over-ripe by around one week, but this didn’t have a significant impact on specific weights, which came in around 73KPH. Growing Conros and Costello, he notes their good tolerance against sprouting.
The crop averaged around 4t/ac, ranging from 5t/ac to 3.4t/ac depending on the soil type. He explains that one crop in stoney, dry ground suffered from drought earlier in the year.
An amount of straw from the harvested wheat was baled by 5 September, with just the headlands requiring turning.
He also lifted 30ac of this straw with a silage harvester and added 13kg/ha of RumateGrain before ensiling it in a silage pit.
However, he still has around 40ac of winter wheat lying in swards in the fields.
He intends on chopping this straw with a trailed Pöttinger silage harvester due to lack of demand. In calm conditions, the chopper achieves an even chop and spread.
He sprayed a cultivated patch of ground which had blackgrass seeds present and will now cultivate it again to get a second flush of the weed.
He intends on planting a cover crop, possibly kale or leafy turnip in ground destined for maize in 2020. He doesn’t intend on grazing the crop this year.
He noticed that maize planted in ground with an ungrazed cover crop is looking better than his crop planted in ground with a grazed cover crop.
In general, his maize crops are looking very well. At around 2.1m in height and with good cob development, he thinks the crop could be harvested in three to four weeks.
Finally, his spring wheat will be ready to harvest this week. The crop was sown late and he isn’t expecting a large yield from it.
Delvin,
Co Westmeath
Ground conditons in some of Donal's fields became problematic.
It’s been a changeable month in Westmeath, which has made finishing the harvest a challenge for Donal.
Rainfall amounts have been relatively small, but harvest days have been limited. This created a backlog of work, including gathering straw and planting cover crops.
His winter wheat harvest was completed on 27 August, but he was disappointed with his average yields.
The crops averaged around 3.9t/ac, but were all accepted for seed. Harvest moistures ranged from 19% to 23%.
He also had to leave half an acre unharvested on account of wet ground conditions.
“I didn’t want to take the chance on it and end up causing a lot of damage,” he said.
The straw was still somewhat green after harvest, but he was able to bale a few days after allowing it to mature.
Donal moved on to spring barley almost immediately after wheat, finishing the harvest on 8 September.
He noted that grassweed control was an issue this year, but thinks that crops sown with higher seeding rates benefited from better control.
Donal is planning to plant spring beans in the worst fields for grass weeds next year. Yields were variable, ranging from 2.3t/ac to 3.5t/ac, but all seed crops passed.
He had an amount of lodged crop, which drove moistures high during harvest, up to 27% in some cases.
However, most of the crops came in at 19% mc. Spring barley straw was difficult to bale and required turning.
He finished the last of the straw baling last weekend, but noted that the market has gone quiet.
He chopped an amount of straw this year, but thinks he should have chopped more in hindsight.
He envisages that his spring beans will be ready for harvesting at the end of the week. The crop is very thick and has remained standing all year. He has high hopes for the crop.
Donal had to carry out some repairs to his combine header after the cereal harvest and notes that lodged crops were much harder on the machine.
Establishment of his earlier-drilled crops is patchy and he cites the poor weather for this.
Read more
Your definitive list of ploughing match classes, days and competitors
From the Tramlines: harvest 2019 will be remembered for very different reasons
Spring beans, spring and winter oats and spring wheat are the main crops remaining to be harvested on this week’s farms
Poyntzpass,
Co Down
Simon starting to harvest spring oats this week.
“August was tough going,” said Simon when explaining the weather that month. The weather eventually settled at the end of August. Between harvesting, baling and planting winter oilseed rape, this was a particularly busy period on his farm.
He finished his winter wheat harvest on 7 September. The crop performed well, ranging from 4t to 4.9t/ac and averaging 4.3t/ac. To put this in context, Simon’s farm average is around 3.8t/ac. The crop looked very thick all year and benefited from a good autumn and spring.
Specific weights came in at 78KPH, with moistures ranging from 15% to 20.5%. Straw required a few days to mature, but averaged around 1.6t/ac, or eight 4x4 round bales/ac. However, the winter oat harvest has really been the opposite of last year. Much of the crop lodged, making for very slow harvesting. Simon has around 30ac of the crop left to cut.
The thinking was that it lodged due to it being a heavy crop and he was expecting a reasonable yield. However, this didn’t turn out to be the case.
Average yields are running at between 2.3t and 2.5t/ac. Last year, yields ranged from 2.8t to 3t/ac.
However, quality was good, at around 57KPH, indicating that lower grain numbers may have been a problem.
Oat straw has been more of a challenge to get baled, but quality remains good, as have yields.
He is aiming to harvest his spring oats this week. The crop looks promising and is still standing well.
His Lynx spring beans were burned off last week (glyphosate 3l/ha) and should be fit by next week.
This crop also looks promising and is standing well.
It’s worth reminding readers that growers in Northern Ireland do not receive a protein payment for growing beans.
Simon chooses to grow it as it remains a good break crop and soil conditioner.
Simon managed to plant his planned area of winter oilseed rape, albeit in two plots due to a break in the weather.
He first planted DK Impression at 40 seeds/m2 followed by DSV Plurax at 50 seeds/m2.
Both varieties are Clearfield enabled. He noted that slug pressure was high this year, so he applied 7kg/ha of metaldehyde slug pellets.
Croom,
Co Limerick
John's maize crop is ripening fast in this week's sunshine.
The harvest has nearly wrapped up in Croom and will be remembered as a broken one.
Broken harvest weather made it a challenge to gather both grain and straw. When talking to John last, he had crimped an amount of his winter wheat crops.
A settled week at the end of August allowed him to harvest the remainder of that crop at 18% moisture content (mc).
The crop was over-ripe by around one week, but this didn’t have a significant impact on specific weights, which came in around 73KPH. Growing Conros and Costello, he notes their good tolerance against sprouting.
The crop averaged around 4t/ac, ranging from 5t/ac to 3.4t/ac depending on the soil type. He explains that one crop in stoney, dry ground suffered from drought earlier in the year.
An amount of straw from the harvested wheat was baled by 5 September, with just the headlands requiring turning.
He also lifted 30ac of this straw with a silage harvester and added 13kg/ha of RumateGrain before ensiling it in a silage pit.
However, he still has around 40ac of winter wheat lying in swards in the fields.
He intends on chopping this straw with a trailed Pöttinger silage harvester due to lack of demand. In calm conditions, the chopper achieves an even chop and spread.
He sprayed a cultivated patch of ground which had blackgrass seeds present and will now cultivate it again to get a second flush of the weed.
He intends on planting a cover crop, possibly kale or leafy turnip in ground destined for maize in 2020. He doesn’t intend on grazing the crop this year.
He noticed that maize planted in ground with an ungrazed cover crop is looking better than his crop planted in ground with a grazed cover crop.
In general, his maize crops are looking very well. At around 2.1m in height and with good cob development, he thinks the crop could be harvested in three to four weeks.
Finally, his spring wheat will be ready to harvest this week. The crop was sown late and he isn’t expecting a large yield from it.
Delvin,
Co Westmeath
Ground conditons in some of Donal's fields became problematic.
It’s been a changeable month in Westmeath, which has made finishing the harvest a challenge for Donal.
Rainfall amounts have been relatively small, but harvest days have been limited. This created a backlog of work, including gathering straw and planting cover crops.
His winter wheat harvest was completed on 27 August, but he was disappointed with his average yields.
The crops averaged around 3.9t/ac, but were all accepted for seed. Harvest moistures ranged from 19% to 23%.
He also had to leave half an acre unharvested on account of wet ground conditions.
“I didn’t want to take the chance on it and end up causing a lot of damage,” he said.
The straw was still somewhat green after harvest, but he was able to bale a few days after allowing it to mature.
Donal moved on to spring barley almost immediately after wheat, finishing the harvest on 8 September.
He noted that grassweed control was an issue this year, but thinks that crops sown with higher seeding rates benefited from better control.
Donal is planning to plant spring beans in the worst fields for grass weeds next year. Yields were variable, ranging from 2.3t/ac to 3.5t/ac, but all seed crops passed.
He had an amount of lodged crop, which drove moistures high during harvest, up to 27% in some cases.
However, most of the crops came in at 19% mc. Spring barley straw was difficult to bale and required turning.
He finished the last of the straw baling last weekend, but noted that the market has gone quiet.
He chopped an amount of straw this year, but thinks he should have chopped more in hindsight.
He envisages that his spring beans will be ready for harvesting at the end of the week. The crop is very thick and has remained standing all year. He has high hopes for the crop.
Donal had to carry out some repairs to his combine header after the cereal harvest and notes that lodged crops were much harder on the machine.
Establishment of his earlier-drilled crops is patchy and he cites the poor weather for this.
Read more
Your definitive list of ploughing match classes, days and competitors
From the Tramlines: harvest 2019 will be remembered for very different reasons
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