Agronomy Update - September 2021
Richard Harris - Bartholomews Agronomist
As I’m writing this, it looks like we’ve got our first settled spell of weather since mid-July. With high pressure hovering around, this should give everyone some respite from the rain showers to harvest the remaining wheat, barley, and break crops in good conditions.
Reports so far indicate bushels weights are lower than average across the south, affecting the quality crops such as malting barley and milling wheat. With very strong premiums for these commodities, grain cleaning will more than pay for itself this season, to ensure retentions, screenings and bushel weights do not hamper your quality market options.
On a lighter note, proteins, and grain nitrogen’s seem to be behaving and are there or there abouts in terms of spec. Hagberg falling numbers (HFN) have been variable and quite region specific, with the earlier and later drilled wheat crops holding up reasonably well. It seems the middle drilled crops caught the august rain at the wrong time in their development, affecting the HFN.
Yields are average to good, with plenty of straw. Grain prices and premiums are some of the highest we have seen for this time of the season for a long while, ensuring gross margins should look very fruitful for the 2020/21 crop.
As we look to the 2021/22 crop current grain prices will have the largest effect on gross margins and overall profitability. A much greater affect than any other input factors such as seed, fertiliser, or crop protection products. Oilseed rape still stands out as the top break crop performer, even with the lower than traditional yields we are seeing since the demise of the neonicotinoid seed treatments. Many crops are in the ground and establishing nicely, with the flea beetle migration yet to take place. Most growers are adopting at least one or more of the cultural control techniques to aid establishment, such as companion cropping, long stubble, direct drilling, and crop nutrition early in the crop’s establishment phase.
Once again, careful consideration must be made to cereal establishment, focusing on grass weed and aphid control. Like with a lot of farming practices, we must start with the cultural controls before implementing our crop protection armoury. Each component as a vital as the other when considering the blackgrass, ryegrass, and bromes problems out in the field. We now have some BYDV tolerant varieties in both the winter wheat and barley sectors, which help build a more sustainable, reliable strategy against the migrating aphids.
If you want to get in touch with our agronomy team, call 01243 755610.
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