Since I got back from China last weekend some 9mm of rain has fallen on this farm. We had 4mm on Monday and a further 5mm last night. There is no doubt that the crops look better for it if only that they show up better against dark, moist soil than they do against the dust left by almost seven weeks without rain. But in truth all that has happened is that plants have been freshened up. Drag your boot across the soil and you soon find the moisture has only penetrated an inch or so into the topsoil. We still need a couple of inches or more of steady rain to deal with the deficit.
Even if that happens over the next few days, and there seems little likelihood of it for this area of the country according to the weather forecasts I have seen, irreparable damage has already been done. Spring drillings on heavy land are worst affected. The land was too wet to carry a tractor in early March so could not be drilled until the end of the month or early April and it has dried out ever since. In some cases sugar beet have not even germinated. Light land, drilled into moist seedbeds in March did germinate and emerged and benefited from the warm April. Such crops look well at present. But if we get the hot summer we are promised they will suffer later.
Spring barleys on light land have also suffered as have some winter sown cereals. I heard the other day that some wheats and barleys on light land in north Norfolk were being irrigated last week. The economics of that must be questionable but I sympathise with those who did it.
On this farm we are a little more fortunate in that most of our spring beans and sugar beet went in onto moisture and have come up even if they are still crying out for more rain. Only the really heavy land patches where we had to force a seedbed have not come properly. Maybe the recent showers will encourage a few more plants to emerge.
I am also concerned about some late drilled winter wheats. They were clearly not deep rooted enough to tolerate the dry spell and have lost tillers and flag leaves. Nor did they benefit from the second top dressing that has only just been washed into the soil. What this will mean to prospective yields is hard to say but it would be incredible if they have not taken a knock.
Meanwhile post harvest prices continue to go up and down like a yo yo with every change in the weather. Under such circumstances and against a backgound of rising prices it will be even more important than ever to sell this years crops as well as possible.