Archive Article: 2000/07/21
Andrew Keeler
Andrew Keeler farms with
his parents at Church Farm,
Aylsham, Norfolk. Sugar
beet, potatoes, winter
wheat and premium malting
barley are grown on the
32ha (80-acre) farm
RETURNING home after two weeks basking in 30C (84F) sunshine in the Dordogne was quite a shock to the system. It is COLD… Harvest in the Dordogne is well under way and by now most of the wheat has probably been cut. Here, we will not even start barley until the last week of July.
Shopping in a local supermarket over there I discovered a section with a grand banner proclaiming "Special UK promotion". That deserved investigation. On the end of the aisle was an array of items to tempt the local customer: Ambrosia creamed rice, Mcvities digestive biscuits, Typhoo tea, Golden Syrup (Tate & Lyle), baked beans, Horlicks, Birds Custard Powder and Worcestershire Sauce. The locals must get a funny idea of what we eat in the UK.
Another thing I noticed was the standard of some of the fruit and veg. It would not make it through the door in a UK supermarket, but because it is home-produced, French people buy it. That is the difference between the UK and French shopper. They buy home-produced food regardless, while in the UK quality rules.
Back on the farm we are ready for harvest, barn cleaned, combine serviced, trailers cleaned down and all recorded. The strong wind and rain has done minimal damage. Wheat looks a little tousled, but it is beginning to recover and it looks like the second application of growth regulator has paid for itself. Barley, too, has stood up well with large ears and some good size grains suggesting better quality than last year. Still, I should not count the chickens before they hatch. All we need is some sunshine to finish ripening the grain.
Despite the unseasonable weather the risk of potato blight has been high, and trying to keep the programme up to date has proved difficult at times. They looked blight-free on my last trip through them with the sprayer, but they are a bit wind-swept.
Second applications of pgrs seem to have paid off this year, says Andrew Keeler, with little crop damage at Church Farm, near Aylesham.