Mike Cumming
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
THE last 75t of wheat should be loaded this week to make room for fertiliser deliveries and dressing home-saved spring barley seed.
Chariot will dominate the acreage, having consistently out-yielded Prisma by 0.74t/ha (0.3t/acre) since 1995, while costing £20/ha (£8/acre) less to keep clean.
This years fertiliser order has provided the first bit of cheer for many months with the bill around £12,000 less than 1997 based on the same tonnage.
The current wheat crop awaits preventative spraying to counter the likelihood of wheat bulb fly attack on fields after potatoes. Tests revealed 3 million eggs/ha but the land is too wet at present to travel. We have yet to venture onto the ground at all this year but with potato grading in full swing I am not too concerned.
Seed grading has not followed the normal pattern to date with uncontrolled varieties such as Desiree and Maris Piper trading vigorously. In line with many other growers, we are virtually sold out.
Controlled varieties are a different matter with grading instructions, although picking up, generally slow to appear. It seems buyers of controlled variety seed are hanging back hoping for a price fall in the spring as happened in 1997.
If that is the case, then buyers should be aware that no seed producer, due to pressures including quality control and SOAFD regulations, can squeeze the bulk of his grading into a three week period.
Bearing in mind grading constraints, the small tonnage of uncontrolled seed still available and the 11% reduction in availability of all seed compared to 1997, I cannot see any reduction in the price of controlled seed this spring. In fact, buyers placing late spring orders are unlikely to save anything but could face the hassle of delayed planting.
Cereal management remains a priority at Lour Farms even though potato grading is in full swing. Mike Cumming is waiting to spray wheat to protect against wheat bulb fly attack and to dress spring barley seed.