Archive Article: 2000/03/03
James Hosking
James Hosking farms 516ha
(1275 acres) with his
parents and brother at
Fentongollan, Tresillian,
Truro, Cornwall. Land is
equally split between share
farming, various FBTs and a
tenancy. Crops include
wheat, oats, barley and
daffodils, alongside sheep
and cattle enterprises
PICKING and marketing daffodils dominates our activities at this time of year.
So far, the season has gone well. Cool weather has kept flower growth steady, allowing us to keep on top of the picking. In warm weather the daffodils can come into flower faster than we can pick.
I have not put much thought into the arable crops or started walking the fields yet and any available spray days have been used to apply fungicides to daffodils. We usually spread the first nitrogen on the winter cereals in February, but they seem to have come through the winter very well this year, and, if anything, are carrying too many tillers, so we will hold off for a while.
My brother has also had a busy month. The module tunnels are rapidly filling up with cauliflower, cabbage and calabrese plants for summer cutting and we are about to start drawing the first of our 1800 autumn born lambs. At £2.70/kg, the current price is a lot better than we feared it might be.
Farmers are used to speculating about the weather and market prices, but all too often these days we are trying to plan around other uncertainties. The EU and MAFF have said the flax regime is to be reformed, but as far as I can gather the Council is not meeting again until late March and it is unlikely that an agreement will be reached at that meeting.
Flax should be drilled in March, so what do we do? We could disrupt our rotation, growing it on land cultivated for flax in the past three years, just in case it is brought within the Arable Area Payments Scheme. Alternatively, we gamble that no decision is reached and stick with our usual system, growing on ineligible ground that has been in grass and bulbs. With the EUs track record on speed of decision-making I think that the odds are in our favour, so we will take the latter option. *
Daffodil picking has been a steady business for Cornish grower James Hosking this season. Flax planting decisions are proving more tricky.