Farm safety week

This week is farm safety week. Every week should be farm safety week. On the wet days, get prepared for harvest and check on machinery. Make sure PTO guards are in good condition and machinery is clean and greased etc.

Take your time on jobs and make sure in the busy times you are eating properly, drinking water and getting enough sleep.

Straw

If you are baling straw, make sure you have a market and are charging enough for it. We carried figures on last week’s paper showing machinery costs for baling, turning and handling of €11.50 per 4X4 bale.

We added in values for phosphorus, potassium and organic matter of €6.50.

This brings total costs to €18 per bale. At an estimated average of seven bales per acre for spring barley, and costs at €18.50/bale that means you need to charge around €32/bale to meet the straw chopping payment.

But let’s be realistic, straw yields are back this year and many spring cereals will not produce seven bales. Currently straw is hard to save and will be harder in September, so costs will increase.

If weather is against you, don’t be afraid to turn on the chopper, take the pressure off and get another crop in.

Oilseed rape straw

Straw from oilseed rape sprayed with Astrokerb should not leave the field. The label clearly states not to remove straw from the field unless it is to be used for burning for heat or electricity purposes.

It should not be fed to animals, used for bedding or used for composting or mulching, as the herbicide can persist and impact crops when the manure is spread on fields.

Cover crops

On this week’s tillage pages we have details on cover crops. The weather hasn’t been great for getting work done, but if you have cover crops to plant and you get on top of harvesting, then you should try and get those crops in, as earlier planting should mean more growth. Remember to leave buffers if grazing.

Livestock farmers should be asking to graze crops before they are planted to allow for buffers and lie-backs to be in place.

You need 3m around the perimeter of the field cultivated, but not planted and 30% of the grazing area needs to be a lie-back of grass or volunteer cereals.

Stubble cultivation

Harvest has not started for most as rain halts progress. However, many are progressing well and have moved onto winter oats from winter barley.

Under nitrates rules, farmers need to shallow cultivate stubbles within 10 days of baling or chopping, and in all cases within 14 days of harvest if they are in Cork, Tipperary, Waterford or Leinster, apart from Longford.

Between 20% and 25% of cereal stubbles should be left uncultivated as a habitat for birds over winter. ACRES requirements have changed. Over-winter stubble can now be left uncultivated or cultivated as originally required.