Thumbs up for oats harvest

5 September 2001



Thumbs up for oats harvest

WITH winter wheat and spring barley very mixed crops Shropshire Grains Paul Crumps says, “the oat harvest has been good across the board with Gerald and Jalna leading the way. Its been a real success story.”

With 80% of the wheat harvest completed a clearer picture of quality and yield is developing. “We have started to see one or two lower proteins around 10%, but Hagbergs have generally stayed ok. Specific weight is also a bit light. The feed varieties have held up well on this.”

Yields on first wheats have been as high as 10t/ha (4t/acre) and 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre) on second wheat. Yields are variable though and other crops have yielded 6.2t/ha (2.5t/acre).

Spring barley is also drawing to a close. “There is a high success rate of them making malting quality, yields are about average and better than expected.” He says the worst of the spring crops are to come. “70-80% have acceptable levels of nitrogen, but many of the samples are not pleasing to the eye.”

Spring beans are just started. “The first signs is that they are not yielding well and the samples are not pretty. One customer has reported Bruchid Beetle in his crop.”

To post your Harvest Highlights, click here