We’ve started the T2 fungicides a full 10 days earlier than last year. If I’m honest, we could have started earlier, but with clean crops I wanted to wait until there might be some rain on the radar.

Tissue analysis shows deficiencies across the board, which is only to be expected with May’s rainfall just hitting 4mm and 154mm so far in the calendar year. That’s a full 50% behind our average.

On the whole, crops have fared well until now. Our clays usually remain moist at depth and, if I’m honest, we much prefer dry late springs and early summers, but this year is pushing the boundaries.

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As the clays start to crack, roots get sheared off and reduce the ability to forage for water. And, as if to add insult to injury, when the rain finally gets here it will all run down the cracks anyway.

To drill or not to drill? With a reasonable area of the Sustainable Farming Incentive crops to drill I’ve been torn as to whether to drill or wait for rain.

I’m impatient by nature, so I’ve been venturing out once a week just doing bits here and there until now.

About the author

Keith Challen

Arable Farmer Focus writer

Keith Challen manages 1,200ha of heavy clay soils in the Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire, for Belvoir Farming Company. Cropping includes wheat, oilseed rape and elderflowers. The farm is also home to the Belvoir Fruit Farms drinks business.

Read more articles by Keith Challen

I’m about 75% done with this nagging feeling that the earlier drilled may need re-drilling, with germination currently running at between 10-15%, with little or no margin left for additional seed costs.

It really does feel like this year just keeps on giving.

Although I love this time of year, one of my frustrations is when weeds and volunteers put their heads up over the top of crops.

One particularly interesting observation this spring is where we have winter wheat following spring wheat we have spring wheat volunteers.

In this field in particular, half the field was cut using a combine with a Redekop seed control unit (SCU), and half was cut by a combine without the SCU. The difference in volunteers is quite noticeable.

This discovery led me to carry out a plant count.

We have got 10% more winter wheat plants where the volunteers have been controlled and, although the spring wheat will contribute to yield, it will not nearly be as much.