July 2022 Company Newsletter

Crop Protection

With ideal harvest conditions through July, once we have some rain the drills will be busy again with Winter Oilseed Rape. Although not a common practise anymore to apply residuals early, sometimes especially on these early drilled crops we do need some weed control to bridge the gap to later residual herbicides applied in late autumn, when soil temperatures have fallen. All metazachlor based products will be short in the market place, whether that is as a straight product or in mixture with other actives. Supplies of glyphosate products continue to be freely available in the short term , mainly because of reduced desiccation and pre harvest usage due to the hot dry weather. There is not a vast surplus of product in the market place so plan a buffer stock, so you have product available when you need it for seedbed preparations post-harvest. Secure product early if you are planning to use any of these types of product.For further information please contact the Crop Protection department on 01243755610 cropprotection@bartholomews.co.uk

Feed

Molasses-based liquid feeds remain cost-effective despite price rises. There is no question the price of all feed ingredients has risen over the last year. Since December 2021 wheat prices have risen around 45% whereas a Stockmol 20 blend price has risen by only around 25%. Relatively, a molasses based liquid feed represents better value on farm than it did last year compared to where other feed prices have risen. The availability of molasses and molasses blends remains good and the ability to deliver from 1 to 29mts of a consistent specification is key to accurate feeding on farm. The cost of feeding a molasses based liquid feed on farm is around 33p/cow/day, with current milk prices around 45ppl the benefits of a liquid feed more than pay for itself with potential higher yields, greater animal performance and improved health, resulting in additional margins of up to £1,600/month on a 100-cow basis. For further information please contact the Feed Department, 01243755752 or feed@bartholomews.co.uk

Seed

As harvest is now underway, we have availability of autumn sown forage crops. Ready for immediate dispatch, we have forage rape and a forage mix containing turnips, rape and kale. New season stubble turnips are due in once processed, including the popular varieties of Samson & Rondo. These are all useful forage crops that provide good protein and energy content.

With the past few months leaving grass looking brown and dry, it might be an idea to look at rejuvenating those areas. This can be in the form of a full reseed or a simple overseed. Clover is a useful addition to grass mixes providing a nitrogen fixing element, low ground cover and more diverse rooting. Adding in species such as clover, moves away from monocultures and increases the biodiversity of the ley. Other species to consider in the mix would be the deeper rooting Chicory or Plantain for their drought tolerance and high mineral content. Alternatively, simply adding in a range of grass species from fescues, timothy, cocksfoot and festuloliums can all be beneficial in creating diversity in the sward.

Companion cropping OSR has increased over the past few years, and we have got three mixes suited just for this. Containing a mix of Fenugreek, Buckwheat and Berseem Clover, they are designed to deter and confuse the flea beetle, giving the OSR a better chance of establishment. With our cover crop trials increasing our knowledge on species and nutrient uptake, we have adapted our range of mixes to reflect this.

We have started our intakes of winter cereals into the plant! There is still good availability across all groups of wheat, barley, oats and beans. Early demand for some popular new varieties is likely to mean they will sell out soon so if you require one of these then it is best to get in touch soon. For further information please contact the Seed department on 01243 755620 seed@bartholomews.co.uk

Crop Marketing

Harvest got off to an early and very promising start in mid-July. Winter crops are performing very well in both quality and yield, very high bushel weights especially mean that grain will store well. Millers can extract more flour per tonne of wheat from such crops and that all helps add value at the farm-gate. We wait to see if spring crops can live up to the same standard, if so a positive season for grain marketing beckons. There will certainly be strong demand for our best produce from all our traditional markets. The very hot weather that the UK caught a brief glimpse of recently, was most intense and long lasting in France and Spain where much damage was done to standing crops. Our team of on farm samplers are up and running early, don’t miss the opportunity to have your newly filled farm stores sampled and tested, by knowing what you have in the barn we can ensure the best markets are brought to you as soon as they appear. Good luck to all for a successful harvest. For further information please contact the Grain department on 01243 755650 grain@bartholomews.co.uk

Fertiliser

There has been a sharp rise in the gas price in the UK and Europe. The Russian-owned Gazprom had declared force majeure on supplies to several European buyers and has closed its main pipeline for maintenance! With further threats from Russia to cut further supplies, we are likely to see further hikes in gas prices into quarter four. Natural gas accounts for approximately 80% of the production cost of European nitrogen fertiliser. This has led to £100/t jump in Ammonium Nitrate prices in recent weeks. Granular Urea and Limus protected Urea is an excellent alternative to ammonium nitrate offering a significant cost saving of £/kg of N. Whilst Nitrogen Sulphurs are in short supply in the UK, Bartholomews can offer ammonium nitrate based 27N + 12SO3 compound & ASN 26N + 37SO3 compounds at a discount to current replacement vales (subject to availability). Urea based Sulphur blends are available protected and unprotected with Polysulphate or ammonium sulphate. Potash & Phosphate markets remain firm. More growers are utilising the ICL range of PotashpluS 37K+8CaO+3MgO+23SO3 & Polysulphate 14K+17CaO+6MgO+48SO3 as a proven agronomic multi-nutrient fertiliser over the traditional grades. For further information please contact the Fertiliser Department on 01243755630 fertiliser@bartholomews.co.uk

Lab

Harvest is well underway, and the lab is getting very busy now, we have already processed over 100 samples of grain and seed. Our wonderful new lab assistant James has already begun and is helping to process all the Grain and Seed samples brought in, he will be joined by Chris and Eoin Martyn from the 5th August. The samplers, Nikolai, Marcus, Patrick and James are out and about on farms already and doing an amazing job bring samples back for processing daily. If you would like a farm sampled, please make sure it is on the system before 3pm, to ensure next day sampling! I think we have a great team in the Lab and on road this year and hopefully we will all have an enjoyable harvest!

Agronomy

Crop Nutrition and Soil Health

The harvesting season is now upon us but for some crops such as Oilseed Rape it’s the time to prepare and plant for the next season. The post-harvest period also provides an ideal opportunity for soil sampling and general soil health assessment allowing plans to be put in place for any additional cultivation requirements and addressing nutrient requirements for the next crop.

Oilseed Rape establishment

Rapid establishment is vital for the OSR crop to grow away from pest pressure as soon as possible and to set out a strong root system and to maximise the usage of available moisture and nutrition. To aid this process there are various choices available to us, first the use of a starter fertiliser applied either before, during or immediately after drilling can give a vital early boost 150 kgs Ha of our Phosphate plus provides a balanced delivery of key macro and micronutrients to aid every part of the early development process and build the crops natural defences. Foliar feeds such as Route (Zinc + Nitrogen) or Potentate AA (NPK + Micronutrients) can provide an additional boost to 3 or 4 leaf sized crop if they are struggling.

Don’t forget to consider companion cropping with your Oilseed Rape crops as well, last year they demonstrated some real benefits against pest attack and encouraging strong initial growth by creating a competitive environment.

Soil sampling and testing

As we know soil sampling for nutrients has always been a cornerstone for planning and with the ever-increasing focus on this vital area in addition to our standard tests, we have enhanced our range of testing to accommodate this wider requirement and it is now possible to assess Organic Matter, Cation exchange, Texture, microbial activity and carbon content as well.

A reminder of some of our options;

Our Standard soil test is for P,K,Mg,Ph and S

If you require it Organic matter testing can be added to our standard soil test for at minimal cost

Solvita is a full spectrum soil health assessment which includes all Macro and Micronutrients, soil texture, microbial activity, CEC, O Matter, and a whole lot more

We have a much wider range to suit all requirements, please enquire to the fertiliser office for more details.

Active Carbon testing indicates soil carbon content, sequestration, and carbon cycling to establish any rising or falling trends

We are also able to offer GPS Grid sampling for precision applications if required, please enquire to fertiliser office for more details

Cover cropping

We have already ready gained a large amount of knowledge from our ongoing cover crop research programme indicating some useful mixture options where certain objectives need to be met, whether its after testing, or if they are forming a part of your ongoing farming policy. If you are planting cover crops for the short medium or long term, we would be pleased to discuss our findings so far with you. Cover cropping is the quickest way to rebuild organic matter, structure and general soil health and we have options for all requirements.

For further details on any of the above please contact your usual Bartholomew’s representative, the fertiliser office or the seed office.

BartholomewsSeptember 6, 2022