FARMER FOCUS: Drilling going full tilt
I see from my remarks this time last year that we had finished drilling spring crops by 19 March. Well, that is not going to happen this year, but as I write the drill is beavering away getting in some beans. It’s the start of what I hope will be a continuous campaign to get our crops in the ground.
There have been a number of machines busy in the area putting in more winter wheat at this late stage; we put in 10ha of Cordiale on 23 February. The rest of the field, however, will be barley. It seems too much of a gamble when the Recommended List tells you that the only variety I have in stock, Beluga, is not fit for late sowing to carry on regardless.
Sowing any seed feels like you are planting little golden nuggets such is the price we are paying for it. As the saying goes, though, you only reap what you sow so I suppose we should not grumble too much, but let’s hope every one of the little blighters grows into a healthy plant capable of producing a bumper crop this year.
The first 50kg/ha of nitrogen is on the winter crops, but none of them are looking very exciting. I am not a big grower of oilseed rape, but even I can tell that the crop I have is going to have to perform a miracle if it is to avoid getting ploughed up in two weeks’ time.
I was at the market the other day selling a few cattle. The low winter sun was beaming down, adding to the feeling of contentment after a good day’s trade. My fettle though was soon to be clouded as I reversed out of my parking space into the front of the car that belonged to the market’s boss, thanks to that bloody low winter sun dazzling my vision.
Neil Thomson farms 607ha in partnership with his father and brother from Caverton Mill, Kelso, on the Scottish Borders, growing combinable crops and brassicas. Some of the mainly medium loam is let for potatoes, and the QMS Monitor Farm also has cattle and sheep.
