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Harvest 2020: Six-row hybrid winter barley in Cambs survives wet autumn

David Jones 09 July 2020
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© James Peck© James Peck

Early winter barley yields are better than expected on James Peck’s Cambridgeshire farm, with the six-row hybrid feed variety Belfry yielding an average of 8.2t/ha.

He start cutting his first 66ha field this week, and has cut 50ha currently at a moisture of 14.2% and at a good specific weight of 68.2kg/hl.

See also: Harvest 2020: Oxford rapeseed grower pleased with 3.5t/ha yield

© James Peck

Mr Peck added that the yield was better than expected after a difficult growing season, with 997ha of barley still to cut on the farm.

He is growing the six-row hybrid winter barley varieties Belfry and Belmont on land he farms from his base at Scotland Farm, Dry Drayton, some four miles west of Cambridge.

The AHDB estimates that the area of winter barley in Britain is down 34% at 296,000ha this season, due largely to wet conditions at autumn drilling.

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