Drier weather looks to be on the way, albeit with some showers in the forecast. Tillage farmers have huge amounts of work to get done and to catch up on in the coming weeks.

Many winter crops have not received any fertiliser or herbicide applications, while very little ploughing has been done ahead of spring planting.

Most tillage fields remain at field capacity for water, with poorly drained soils saturated.

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Beans will be the priority crop for planting. Late planting can result in a late harvest and lower yield.

Winter barley and wheat area have increased by 11,000ha, while oilseed rape area also looks to have jumped significantly. However, there is still a huge amount of spring crops to be planted and there is only a small amount of ploughing carried out across the country, so the workload will be high once fields dry out with spraying, cultivations, fertiliser application and sowing all to be done.