Farmer Focus: Fertiliser secured for next season

After temperatures reached 32C at the end of May, causing damage to crops on the lighter land, rain at the start of June brought a welcome change. However, constant rain for 10 days has not helped matters.

The winter barley has moved from watery ripe to senescing faster than I expected. We are probably a week behind where we should be in terms of whole-crop harvesting.

It will soon become clear whether moving from rye to barley was the right decision, initial results show lower yield but better grass weed control.

See also: Whisky slowdown hits Scottish malting barley

About the author

Robin Aird

Arable Farmer Focus writer Robin Aird manages 1,500ha on the north Wiltshire and Gloucestershire border, with a further 160ha on a contract farming agreement. Soils vary from gravel to clay with the majority silty clay loams. The diverse estate has Residential, commercial and events enterprises. He is Basis qualified and advises on other farming businesses.

Contact:

Email: robin.aird@charltonpark.estate

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We are busy applying the last dose of digestate to the maize before it gets too tall. There is also the post-emergence herbicide to apply for grassweeds and the handful of broad-leaved weeds that have made an appearance.

I have been delaying slightly in the hope of seeing another flush emerge, but I am beginning to think that may not happen.

The spring wheat is looking particularly well. We have not had to apply a fungicide, but with the crop destined for the milling market and the ears now beginning to emerge, we will be applying a mix of prothioconazole, tebuconazole and azoxystrobin to provide protection against late rust and fusarium.

We have secured our fertiliser requirements for next season through Sentry, with deliveries scheduled over the coming months and on favourable payment terms.

Time will tell whether it proves to be the right decision, but at the prices available and with the certainty of having product in the shed, it removes a considerable amount of pressure.

Should grain prices move sharply upwards, fertiliser demand could increase very quickly, bringing both availability and price concerns back into focus.

For now, we can only keep our fingers crossed for stronger grain prices. Hopefully, the situation around the Strait of Hormuz will ease, helping to calm fertiliser markets and remove some of the uncertainty that has crept into the sector in recent weeks.