Crop Watch – Farmers Weekly

This harvest turned out to be one of the kindest and quickest on record. The dry weather continued through July and August. We had roughly 80mm in September, but the ground quickly took this in and you’d be forgiven for thinking we’d had no rain.

Unlike previous years, oilseed rape establishment has been very challenging, and l would say the majority of crops will be going into the winter with the least amount of biomass I have ever seen. Extremely dry conditions led to slow establishment and no amount of begging to the gods would speed it up.

Heavier clay land has been particularly difficult, where cloddy seed-beds have led to patchy establishment because of the lack of soil around the seed.

High levels of cabbage stem flea beetle were also seen, which put crops under pressure. I must admit that we aren’t used to these levels this far north, so my sympathies to those in the South. I’ve not lost any fields to the dreaded black beetle, but the battle continues on the later-sown crops. Thankfully, I have found slug pressure to be relatively low (silver linings!).

Winter cereals

Winter cereals have gone into fantastic conditions. Establishment has been great so far and we’ve had very little slug pressure on first wheats after OSR. Moisture levels have been adequate to get crops up and away quickly.

This has been a great time for those who have made a change to their cultivation or drilling systems. We’ve had kind conditions in which to experiment with other options, without having to battle the elements.

With warm temperatures forecast, keep an eye out for aphids. If conditions allow and thresholds are met, the opportunity to treat crops should be considered.