Harvest 09: Under way near Newbury

Harvest is finally under way at Priors Farm, Newbury, Berkshire, with initial oilseed rape yields looking promising.


“We were quite surprised – it hasn’t looked good all year, but I think it should yield 4.3t/ha (1.75t/acre),” said George Brown.


He and father Richard had cut 20ha (50 acres) of Dimension at 10.8% moisture yesterday (2 August), before moving on to contract combine 11ha (27 acres) of organic oats at nearby Sheepdrove Farm today.


“It’s quite thick out here – it looks good and should do more than 2t/acre (4.9t/ha).”


Most people in the area had finished winter barley and were now combining oilseed rape, said Mr Brown.


But harvest was only 8-10% complete, with about a third of farmers not even started yet.


The spring barley was five or six days away, with winter wheat still 10 days off, he added.


“The spring barley looks superb, and the wheat looks pretty good, although I think it will be dusty and could end up a bit black if the weather stays wet.”


Crop: Oilseed rape
Variety: Dimension
Area: 20ha (50 acres)
Yield: 4.3t/ha (1.75t/acre)







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Duxford winter wheat is an HGCA Recommended List 2009/10 variety with very high UK treated yields and a maximum 9 rating for resistance to lodging with and without PGR. Combined with the highest second wheat yield and a balanced disease resistance profile, Duxford will continue to help UK growers meet the challenge of producing more grain profitably.


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