Harvest

Last weekend and this week brought a lot of good weather, and allowed for much of the winter barley to be harvested across the country.

Many will be glad to see the winter barley harvest in particular moving on, as they will see poor crops removed and can start afresh for the season ahead.

This week has been great for gathering straw. Showers on Saturday and Monday meant turning was needed for some. Winter oats are in full swing for many and well-finished for others, and the oilseed rape harvest is beginning.

Straw

The minister announced last week that he was going back on his decision to try and suspend the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM). If you are in the SIM you are now guaranteed to be paid under the measure. There will be no ranking and selection.

You should have received your SIM acceptance letter this week online. A text message went out and a letter should be in your agfood.ie account.

If you entered into the SIM and you now have a buyer for your straw, you can pull out of the measure and be paid €175/ha to bale that field by the Department of Agriculture under the Baling Assistance Payment (BAP).

If you wish to withdraw from the SIM you need to notify the Department in writing by emailing tillage@agriculture.gov.ie You will then be issued a BAP application form to complete.

You should take geo-tagged photos of the straw baled in the parcel which was pulled out of the scheme. See the opposite page for full details of the scheme. It is understood you will not be paid for baling oilseed rape straw.

Break crops

Yields so far are looking better after break crops. Now is the time to be planning ahead. Could winter oilseed rape be planted into some of the land that performed poorly for winter barley and oats?

Getting oilseed rape in early gets it off to a great start, provided no extreme weather arrives. That crop will help to gather any nitrogen from the soil that is left over after those crops.

It should also help with any soil compaction and help to break up the soil with a tap root and fine roots.

Spring crops

Spring crops are still a good bit away for most. Walk crops in the coming days and weeks to see how they performed and to find differences where management changed. Look out for grass weeds and pull any weeds that have escaped control.

Seed testing

If anyone has carry-over seed from last season, send it for germination testing to the Department of Agriculture’s seed testing laboratory to allow you to make correct seeding rate decisions.

If you leave it too long, the results may be delayed. You can send the payment with the sample to Seed Testing Laboratory, DAFM Laboratories, Backweston, Celbridge, Co Kildare, W23X3PH. You can also pay over the phone. The laboratory can be contacted on 01-6157506.