Farmer Focus: OSR dropped as wet weather stalls harvest

I remember saying I would never talk about the weather in a Farmer Focus article as it is a universal factor and there is nothing in my power that can control it.

It doesn’t matter what combine, tractor or cultivator you have, if it is this wet you just have to wait.

I’m counting my blessings though, as at least we have got a diesel-guzzling continuous-flow drier, which although expensive, at least gives me a few more days in hand.

There are plenty of spring oats on the farm this year, which do tend to dry out quicker, giving us another slight edge.

As I write this on the last week of August, however, we have still got a few acres to cut, putting it very mildly.

See also: Read more from our Arable Farmer Focus writers

The weather is all doom and gloom, but at least yields are doing well, with plenty of quality already in the shed and better-than-expected yields across the farms we run.

As a farmer, yields are pretty much all that is in your control, so it is pleasing to have this to be happy about.

The other major thing in a farmer’s power is risk management and grain sales.

“As a farmer, yields are pretty much all that is in your control, so it is pleasing to have this to be happy about”
Rob Nightingale

Sentry has a policy of locking into margins, as I’ve talked about before, and this year it has paid off very well.

This means the stores have all been cleared, to the point that I can store enough grain to hunt better prices later on.

At the same time I’ve not had to shift wheat at harvest pressure prices.

The other major blessing I have this year is I’m not worried about drilling oilseed rape, having dropped it from the rotation.

This was a logical solution for us, but I completely understand that where people can grow rapeseed to 4t/ha or more, it is still in the rotation.

Everyone I’ve talked to that has drilled has had very good weather for OSR establishment so far, with plenty of regular moisture and warmth.

I might regret not putting it in yet. Cover crops are just starting to poke through too, thanks to plenty of moisture.


Rob manages 600ha of combinable cropping across Sentry’s operations in Sussex and Surrey. Cropping includes winter wheat, oats, oilseed rape, linseed, peas and soon beans.

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