This is a subscriber-only article
The 2019 winter barley harvest is set to commence in a number of areas in the south of the country this week.
Crop progress is particularly mixed this year, with the majority of crops still ranging from one to three weeks away from harvest.
This is in stark contrast with 2018,where a significant amount of the winter barley crop was harvested by this stage.
Crop progress
Winter crops in general exited the winter at an advanced stage due to the good autumn and mild winter.
However, crop growth slowed considerably during May, where growth stages caught up with what would be considered normal for the time of year.
Growers are generally optimistic about the yield potential of winter barley crops this year given the long grain filling period.
While conditions were dull at times, crops still received varying amounts of sunshine.
The pace of winter barley ripening now varies considerably around the country.
Straw
Straw demand was high earlier in the season, with many growers having already committed a proportion of their crop.
The influence which the higher acreage of winter barley in traditional spring barley strongholds will have on the straw market this year remains to be seen.
Grassweeds
Growers are reminded to practice good machine hygiene this year on account of higher levels of grassweeds.
If a combine is driven through a particularly badly infested stretch of crop - sterile brome along a headland for example - then, where possible, the key areas of the combine of should be blown down before moving to the rest of the field.
While this may sound tedious and time-consuming, growers shouldn’t risk spreading weed seeds to other areas via their combine.
SHARING OPTIONS: