Spring barley yields have exceeded expectations for Hampshire farmer Adrian Dixon this harvest, despite concerns surrounding the extremely dry season, which he puts down to 15 years of sustained soil improvements.

This summer, spring barley yields have been between 7 and 8.5t/ha, aligning with the farm’s five-year average, despite worries the lack of rain would restrict yields.

“The crops didn’t look full of potential, but the spring barley is exceeding expectations despite our fears,” says Adrian.

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Early samples of spring barley have an average grain nitrogen content of 1.75-1.8%, below the maximum malting specification for brewing of 1.85%.

Soil health improvements

Adrian drilled 85ha of the malting barley variety Laureate in the first week of March at Northbrook Farm, near Micheldever, just north of Winchester.

The farm only received 30mm of rain from March – May compared to an average of 160mm over this period, which raised fears about how the crops would perform.

Adrian believes his efforts to improve soil health over the past 15 years have helped maintain yields in a season of such extremes.

“I think soil structure has to be right to give the crops a chance to do well. It’s easier to work with too little water than too much, but only if the soil has a degree of resilience,” he says.

“Soils that receive greater amounts of tillage seem to need more water at regular intervals to fulfil their potential.”

Cover crops and grazing

Adrian has been using cover and companion crops, along with sheep grazing and shallow tillage to make his soils more resilient.

His cover crops consist of a mix of linseed, phacelia and vetch, which was direct-drilled in August into stubble and chopped straw using a 6m Horsch Sprinter.

From November, a neighbouring farmer’s sheep came and grazed the cover crops to add organic matter back into the soil.

In February, Adrian sprayed off what remained of the cover crops with glyphosate, and then he shallow tilled the ground using a Horsch Cruiser cultivator to a maximum of about 5cm depth.

The spring barley was drilled at 375 seeds/sq m into the worked ground and rolled. He then applied 130kg/ha of nitrogen, of which 70% was applied to the seed-bed and 30% at the two-leaf stage.

Adrian has been pleasantly surprised with the better-than-expected harvest, with lower disease pressures and reduced fungicide spend.

“Screenings are not much different to other years, but the Laureate had good specific weights at 68-70kg/hl,” he adds.

With the malting market generally oversupplied, price premiums are low, so Adrian ensured he agreed a minimum price contract pre-harvest with his grain merchant to reduce risk.