Harvest

The cereal harvest is now wrapping up, and the last few days have had a good effect on bean crops.

Pods have turned nicely in the last few days, but beans are still a while away for many, they are not as green as they were, which is good.

Costs and returns

There is some wet weather in the forecast, Use some of this time to look at your crop costs and returns. Which crops performed best? Which cost the least amount to grow and gave the best return? Which crops benefited from being pushed on inputs?

Planting

It’s hard to pass up good weather after the past two wet autumns. Many are taking advantage of this spell by getting started on ploughing and planting. Winter barley and wheat planting is underway for some or about to start for many.

Use Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) tolerant or resistant varieties if you are planting barley early to reduce risk. Remember that planting early brings higher risks of BYDV, take-all, other diseases and grass weeds.

Seed rate

When ordering or planting seed, you need to know the seeding rate. The thousand grain weight (TGW) should be displayed on the bag of seed. You need to multiply the TGW by the target plant population and divide by the expected establishment percentage.

The target plant population in late September and early October is 270-280 plants/m2, and the expected establishment is 85%. As the weeks go on, the seed rate should increase as establishment is expected to go down.

Hybrid seed rates are lower, consult with your agronomist on all seed rates before planting.

Pre-emergence

Pre-emergence herbicides are the best way to control grass weeds in cereal crops. Try and apply before emergence for best control in current dry conditions. These herbicides can also be applied after emergence, but control may not be as good.

They work best on slightly damp soil. If you have blackgrass you should be planting a break crop in those fields and leaving them until the springtime to reduce plant numbers.

Tillage Day

The 9 October closing date to avail of the discount on Tillage Day tickets is fast approaching. Use the code TILLAGEDAY when purchasing tickets online at ifj.ie/tillageday or over the phone on 01-4199525. This gives you a €10 discount bring the ticket price to €39.99.

Tillage Day will feature a conference from 9.30am until 4.30pm, and an exhibition area to meet the industry in one place from 8.30am.

It is farmer focused and you will hear from farmers, agronomists, grain market analysts, industry and guest speaker David Fuller from McGregor Farms on the Scottish Borders on the day. It takes place in the Killashee Hotel, Naas, Co Kildare on 7 November. A two-course lunch and refreshments are included.