FARMERFOCUS
FARMERFOCUS
Bill Harbour
Bill Harbour is manager for
Gosmere Farm Partners at
448ha (1107 acre) Gosmere
Farm, Sheldwich, Faversham,
Kent. Crops include wheat,
barley, oilseed rape, peas
and beans plus cherries
under the Countryside
Stewardship scheme
NOT much has happened in September. We have had a few "showers", but I must not upset fellow focus writer Jim Macfarlane, let alone Mr I Rate from Aberdeen. To them over 120mm (5in) of rain is just Scotch mist! To us dry land farmers it is all too much.
We still have 10ha (25 acres) of beans to cut and have abandoned drilling 30ha (74 acres) of winter oilseed rape. We managed to get 40ha (100 acres) of wheat in, and some is up which makes me feel a lot better. I have nightmares of another wet back-end. Slugs are a real menace and are eating rape as fast as it grows.
I must be careful what I say about the Scots. Kent has many good farmers of Scottish descent. Each time there has been a depression they have come down – cows and all. In 1951 Ayrshires were the most popular breed in Kent.
During another shower, I read Farmlife about Mr Cotton and his hops. Hop growing is going through a bad time. Neighbour Jim Higgs is worried that if he does not get contracts for 2001 and 2002 he might have to stop growing the crop. He produces 500 bales a year and so far has sales for only 35 in 2002. It would be terrible to see the hops go. They have been at Gosmere and Owens Court for over 150 years.
Jim sold his excellent crop of Bramley apples for juice at £50/t, or 5p/kg. Three miles away in Faversham, in what was ironically a Whitbread brewery, is Tesco. The firm is selling poor Bramleys for 99p/kg and some English Cox, but also five other types of eating apple – all imports from France, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
The "showers" caused the East Kent ploughing match to be cancelled which was a great shame. Lets hope September 2000 is back to average rainfall of 48mm (1.9in) not 130mm (5.1in) again. *
Scots-style rain has put a dampener on field work in Kent, where Bill Harbour fears for the future of his neighbours hops.
Leonard Morris
Leonard Morris is tenant at
206ha (510 acre) White
House Farm, South Kyme
Fen, Lincoln. His heavy land
grows winter wheat and
oilseed rape and spring peas
and linseed. Lighter ground
is cropped with potatoes,
spring rape and linseed
SEPTEMBER got away to a dry start which allowed us to harvest linseed in the first few days, the earliest we have managed. On heavy land it yielded 2.1t/ha (0.85t/acre). But the light land crop, which had bad pigeon damage, gave only 0.5t/ha (0.26/acre)
I am becoming convinced that our combine does not like Sundays, as most breakdowns occur then. In the last one the seal on the bottom of the wobble box fell out and seized the box with only 2 hours harvesting left.
Linseed stubble was ploughed as soon as possible to allow time to get a wheat seed-bed. I am amazed how dry the crop makes the land. I work down each days ploughing at the end to stop it drying into solid blocks. This year we have rolled then used the Dyna-Drive.
Pea and rape stubbles greened up nicely after the last cultivation and are ready for spraying with Sting (glyphosate) at 2.5 litres/ha to clean them ready for drilling. Wheat seed has arrived and I have been discussing seed rates with my local ADAS adviser. Reduced rates are recommended, so I shall try three different in each field to see how plant numbers vary in the spring.
The Riband seed I was unable to sow last year has been tested. The shock result is 25% germination so new has been ordered. I have never lost germination like this before and have yet to find the reason. The seed was the first I have had in 500kg bags instead of 50kg paper sacks and I wonder if that had any effect.
I have now come to the end of my time as a Farmer Focus writer, which I have much enjoyed. I have had some interesting times. Maybe now I will not get struck by lightning and the combine will work on Sundays.
Farming is going through big changes. Hopefully people will realise how important the industry is to the country before it is completely destroyed. *
Leonard Morris hopes that ending his stint with farmers weekly will mean his combine will keep working on Sundays in future.
Mike Cumming
Mike Cumming is manager at
Lour Farms, Ladenford,
Forfar, Angus, where spring
malting barley and seed
potatoes occupy about half
the 749ha (1850 acres).
Other crops include winter
wheat, barley and oats,
oilseed rape, swedes
and grass
WITH all grain cut by Sept 15 and 75% of the potatoes lifted by the time of writing, I can reflect on harvest.
Our main crop, spring barley, averaged 6.0t/ha (2.5t/acre) at 1.52N. Prisma let the side down with a miserable 5.2t/ha (2.1t/acre). In its defence, it was all undersown with half the area drilled into late ploughed stiff land resulting in poor tillering. It was a lovely sample though with 3% screenings.
Other varieties also suffered where drilled on stiff land, but the yield effect was not so great. Optic returned 7.8t/ha (2.9t/acre) at 1.48N and Chariot 5.9t/ha (2.4t/acre) at 1.53.
Chalice proved the biggest surprise. I wrote it off mid season when it looked thin and poor. I could hardly believe its 6.9t/ha (2.8t/acre). Needless to say Optic and Chalice will be major players in next years programme.
So, to sum up malting barley: Yield respectable, quality good, price dismal.
What is the average price? I cant tell you because I do not know. I suspect it will be around £76/t. Bairds Malt, our main buyer, has not yet released a pricing structure.
We have had an interim payment though, of £50/t would you believe? What a disgrace! Has our respect as suppliers reached the point where it is regarded acceptable to pay such an interim on a contract based on feed barley price?
Farmers are providing credit for this multinational company. Why not pay £67/t? I suspect it is to disguise how small the final premiums will be.
Wheat performed well, though we have no way of measuring yields at harvest. A fag packet calculation based on batches dried indicates an average of 9.9t/ha (4t/acre) plus. Considering conditions at drilling, this has lifted our spirits.
Later this month we shall lift our spirits again, this time at a dinner to honour Gordon Morrison and Ian Gray who retire after 60 years combined service. Take it easy lads when you hang up your caps. *
Barley yields have been acceptable, but maltsters interim payments tactics have been disgraceful, says Mike Cumming.
James Moldon
James Moldon manages the
220ha (550 acres) heavy
land Stanaway Farm, Otley,
Suffolk, for the Felix
Thornley Cobbold Agricultural
Trust. Crops include winter
wheat, barley, OSR, beans,
linseed and sugar beet
AFTER my last article tempting fate, rain has paralysed the farm for over two weeks.
All rape has been drilled, with practically every form of establishment attempted. Some areas around Morley trials were even sown by hand. So far the most disappointing approach has been the Autocast.
Every rape expert in the area is trying to fathom out why establishment has been so poor. Slugs have definitely been a major problem, even after two half-rates of Draza (methiocarb). Plant counts are as low as 5/sq m, so a further 3kg/ha of Apex has been spun on using an ATV.
But there are reports of good results from farmers who sowed before the wet spell in August.
Trials with direct drills, which included Vaderstad, Simba, Horsch and Gaspardo models all show about 90% establishment. They are adjacent to the Autocast area, received the same seed batch and rate, and yet there is no comparison between the two techniques.
One conclusion may be that 4kg/ha of seed is too low at the end of August for this particular system.
Early sown Consort wheat at 80kg/ha looks well after recovering from slug damage. Little other drilling has been carried out. The biggest problems have come from our Power in Action event. Even though the day was successful, the soil was left very capped.
Everything was flat-lifted to ploughing depth and then consolidated. Now it is like a pudding. 8ha (20 acres) of Malacca has been broadcast and spring-tined in.
Half the sugar beet was lifted on Sept 18, ready for the Ipswich factory opening. Even though dirt tares were quite high, average sugar content was 17.5% and adjusted yield 63.6t/ha (25.7t/acre).
It will be interesting to see how much the beet bulk up before the second lift in November and whether lifting late on this soil will pay off. *
Oilseed rape for next harvest has been established by all sorts of methods, says James Moldon. So far the Autocast has disappointed.