Halfway through at Church Farms
James Dean is about halfway through harvest at Church Farms, Salisbury, Wiltshire, and is surprisingly pleased with yields.
“We’re cutting Cordiale wheat today (15 August), and on good ground it looks to be doing 10t/ha (4t/acre), and about 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre) on the not-so-good ground,” he said.
“That’s a lot better than expected; and quality looks alright at the moment, too.”
Spring barley had also exceeded expectations, with early drilled Tipple on poor ground yielding 6.2t/ha (2.5t/acre), up to 8.2t/ha (3.3t/acre) on better ground.
Later drilled Quench did even better, at 7.4-8.6t/ha (3-3.5t/acre). “It was quite outstanding, really.”
So far all the spring barley and all bar one load of the winter barley had made the malting grade, with the Cassata winter barley yielding about 1.2t/ha (0.5t/acre) below normal, said Mr Dean.
Oilseed rape averaged a good 4.7t/ha (1.9t/acre), with Sesame topping the list at 6.2t/ha (2.5t/acre) and Castille bringing up the rear at 3.7t/ha (1.5t/acre).
Crop: Oilseed rape
Varieties: Castille and Sesame
Yield: 3.7-6.2t/ha (1.5-2.5t/acre)
Crop: Spring barley
Varieties: Quench and Tipple
Yield: 6.2-8.6t/ha (2.5-3.5t/acre)
Crop: Winter wheat
Variety: Cordiale
Yield: 8.6-10t/ha (3.5-4t/acre)
