Harvest weather

It has been a while since we have had such intense heat during any part of the harvest. As well as making harvesting easy with long days, it has also speeded up maturity in all crops.

Wheat and spring barley like heat so let’s hope that it is converted into yield.

A week ago most growers were only getting started on winter barley. Now there is a lot of it harvested down the country while those further north started this week.

Yield reports remain variable with sub 3t/ac crops still reported. However, there are far more reports of high 3s and some above 4t/ac, but no one is claiming the latter as a farm average.

Specific weights seem to have moved into the high 60s and beyond, but there have been many below this.

Grain moisture levels are generally below 16% now and even down below 14%. Some screening levels have been very high but this seems to have improved as yields and specific weights increase.

Reports on straw yields indicate that they are below average but improving. Straw is very dry and it may be packing better into bales, leaving more straw in fewer bales.

Bales probably weigh less too due to low moisture. I even hear of difficulties getting straw up onto the pick-ups on some balers.

In general, grain has dried down faster than straw, except where it was burned off. Crops were being cut on the green side to prevent moisture dropping below 15% and brackling.

Harvesting of winter oats and winter oilseed rape has also commenceed this week. Some rape crops are still to be burned off but most are now done. I have never seen glyphosate work so rapidly as this year.

Stubbles

Stubbles are very dry but this may have changed by the time you read this. The shallow cultivation of dry stubble is a great way to tackle slugs which lay their eggs under stones and clods to help protect them from drying out.

Shallow cultivation disturbs and exposes the eggs, which will dry out and die if the cultivated ground is left loose and ridged. This will also encourage volunteer and weed seed germination once rain comes.

There were always many good reasons to cultivate stubbles, but this year it is obligatory to encourage germination. Set up your cultivator to achieve your main objective.

You might as well do a good job when you are forced to have the expense. Machine settings are important – it is not just a matter of driving across a field to change its colour slightly.

Early cultivation is favourable for most of our problematic grass weeds. The objective must be to reduce seedbank numbers.

The difference this year is that one is not allowed to cultivate a second time, as the objective is to have vegetation present to take up nutrients.

Where the straw is being chopped, use the opportunity to cultivate early. If you can get an early flush of weeds and then sow a cover crop, you will effectively get two flushes to help downsize the seedbank.

Catch crops should always be considered ahead of a spring crop to reduce nutrient loss and improve soil condition.