We're progressing with T1 wheat and mid-flowering oilseed rape sprays, writes Andy Barr from East Lenham Farm near Maidstone, Kent.
It's finally getting warmer and allowing the spring rape and spring barley to grow, and the latter will hopefully be at T1 before too long.
BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT.........all I can think about is the meeting I attended the other day run by CropAdvisors buying group regarding next season's fertiliser purchases.
Of course I was expecting something horrible. But when the prices being mooted were actually up there in black and white next to the consequent predicted spending per hectare, I'm afraid the first words that came to mind were, shall we say, a little too colourful to print here.
So what are we going to do? Good question. Use cheaper imported material or urea with inherent spreading limits, put less on, grow beans, apply more muck of whatever description, - all of the above?
Or perhaps something altogether more mysterious?
For instance, I have tried spraying on rhizobium bacteria, the theory being that they will fix nitrogen and at least replace some of the bagged N requirement.
The trouble is that it's been a bit of catchy year for applying anything, and to be honest I've received a lot of differing advice on the practicalities - so we'll see.
At this year's prices it may not pay, but next year?
On the other hand it may not work at all, and indeed you're probably thinking along the same lines as my father who has promised to consume an item of headgear if it does.
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More diary entries in our Barometers' Over the Hedge series