Harvest

By the time you read this, I expect the combines will be rolling, cutting winter barley somewhere, although it will not be an early harvest.  The growing season has been very variable with periods of heavy rain interspersed with drier days.  April brought frost and drought and, by the end of the month, plant growth was around three weeks behind a normal season.  May was very wet and crops grew very rapidly, resulting in some very lush grass for first cut silage.  Then three weeks of warm sunny weather dried the soil up a little before heavy rain returned again in late June and early July.  Now the Jet Steam has buckled again to allow the Azores High to establish across the country and summer has returned.

            Although the numbers of grazing animals have dwindled over the years, there is still grass cut for hay, silage or haylage.  Yields this year have been huge due to rainfall at the right times, but the lush grass had to be wilted for longer to reduce the water content.  In this area with numerous racing stables, especially around Lambourn, there is demand for hay and haylage but horses or, more particularly their trainers are very fussy about the quality of their food.  Some farmers have established supplies, such as the Highclere Estate that has numerous clients for their horse feeds, oats and haylage. 

            Last year, grass fodder was low in sugars and very low in magnesium, an important nutrient for racehorses.  Kieserite, magnesium sulphate, is a useful fertiliser to add magnesium but high levels of potash uptake by the plant reduces that of magnesium.  Lack of magnesium causes staggers in grazing livestock which can be fatal.  Scientists at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), part of the University of Aberystwyth, have been breeding grass and clover varieties for over a century and, some years ago, a programme to develop grasses with higher sugar levels was set up.  The initial aim was an environmental one, to reduce the level of nitrogen in the urine of grazing animals.

            However, it was found that these grasses were more palatable and digestible than those with lower sugar levels, animals eat more of them and growth rates are higher, 10% in one experiment with lambs.  At the same time it was noticed that the national silage competition was almost always won by farmers near the south west and west coast of England and Wales.  This was put down to the salt air and rain coming from the sea which reduces the uptake of potash and increases that of magnesium.  It is claimed that Welsh lamb tastes better because of salt on the grass.  Whilst adding salt to anything is frowned upon these days, it can improve the nutritional quality of grass and conserved fodder.

            Returning to combinable crops, prospects are mixed for the coming harvest.  There was an increase in the area of winter barley this year and crops have come through well.  The only problem is that many, partly due to potentially high yields, have been flattened by the heavy rain, causing uneven ripening and difficult harvesting.  At least many were ripening before they lodged whereas many spring barley crops, straw weakened by the rapid late spring growth, have gone down whilst still green, compounding the problem.  After many years in the doldrums, winter barley has come back into its own recently, helped by the enormous yield potential of hybrid varieties.  The straw is an added bonus, perhaps 1.5 tonnes per acre at £60 per tonne.

            The area of oilseed rape has diminished hugely since the banning of neonicotinoid insecticides and the crops that survived attack by flea beetle will soon be ripe but the potential is not good.  Pod development was damaged by late frosts and there have been disease problems.  It is rumoured that more will be sown this autumn but there is no good case for growing it, other than as a break crop from cereals.

            There are some excellent crops of winter wheat which are now beginning to turn colour although it will be well into August before any is cut.  They came through the winter well and, although the drought in April might have led to loss of tillers, that did not happen.  There has been some disease pressure, notably yellow rust earlier, but modern fungicides have suppressed any problems where an appropriate spray programme has been followed.  There is a month to go but this could be a good year for wheat.  The price has been high due to the disastrous harvest last year but is falling back now, partly because of the potential in this country and partly because reports from around the world predict a good global harvest.

             In this area there is a large area of crops grown for the Anaerobic Digestion plant near Andover.  The cutting of winter rye will probably be underway by now but maize will not be cut until the autumn.  One advantage of growing these crops is the ability to control blackgrass as rye is cut before seeding and the herbicides used on maize kill grass weeds.  I never cease to be amazed at how quickly maize grows at this time of year and yields could be excellent if we have some warm sunny weather now. 

            There is certainly plenty of moisture in the soil to see crops through to harvest and a period of dry weather now will make autumn cultivations and drilling much easier.  The prospect for winter cereals is optimistic whilst for rape and spring barley is less good.  The minor crops too, such as oats and beans, might perform well as they like plenty of moisture.  After last year, we could certainly do with a better harvest.