Growing Rape

charlie94 · Jul 24, 2022

Morning All
Current rotation is pretty simple, Wheat, Barley, Maize and Short and Long-term Grass Leys

We are considering either reducing grass acreage or getting rid of maize to swap to OSR.
Some Ground is low lying some is hard clay. Most the maize is contract sold,decent money but I hate the harvest time and what it can potentially do. Easy crop to grow, just the harvest date puts me off for maize.
We've not grown OSR for years before my time.
Agronomist see confident on 2 tonne to the acre, , I'm not so sure. Why I'd want to swap is soil health, harvest date. We can have issues with pigeons, not sure about flea beetle.
Was going to Cultivate it and not plough it so there'd be cheaper establishment

Would you swap to OSR

Boysground · Jul 24, 2022

If my arable farm was closer to my dairy I’d drop osr and grow maize. I am on chalk so easy soil and with black grass I am happy planting late.

Harvest 22 osr. The best crop ever I’m guessing 1.75t/ac but only harvested half of what was planted

Harvest 21, flea beetles sort of controlled harvested everything good yeild

Harvest 20, flea beetles a pain harvested most of it rubbish yeild.

I have never grown 2t/ac but the thin soil is a factor. Area is going up a bit this year. Trying to spend as little as possible until I know I should get a crop to harvest

Bg

APJ · Jul 24, 2022

With rape you can’t be sure you will actually establish it and then get eaten by the flea, and yield can be anywhere from 1t/2t ac, there’s no way I’d go into growing rape expecting 2t you’ll be disappointed, Budgeting this crop is not an easy one!

Bramble · Jul 24, 2022

Similar rotation to yourself on clay. Getting it established is always a problem for us, busy combining, baling, bale carting etc. If you get it in mid August it can be OK, ours sometimes doesn’t get done till early Sept. Budget for a yield of 1.3t/ac and compare that against your maize. I just grow some of the early maize varieties and try and get them harvested before end of Sept. I’d rather accept the yield loss than a later harvest date.

Beetles can be a real problem some years

Luke Cropwalker · Jul 24, 2022

Establish your OSR as cheaply as possible, if the crop is anything less than almost perfect in spring then make a decision on the crop before you start applying fertiliser, there would still be time to grow maize.

charlie94 · Jul 24, 2022

Bramble said:
Similar rotation to yourself on clay. Getting it established is always a problem for us, busy combining, baling, bale carting etc. If you get it in mid August it can be OK, ours sometimes doesn’t get done till early Sept. Budget for a yield of 1.3t/ac and compare that against your maize. I just grow some of the early maize varieties and try and get them harvested before end of Sept. I’d rather accept the yield loss than a later harvest date.

Beetles can be a real problem some years

We've been growing the earliest variety possible, fantastic quality and good crops but still gets to being slightly late for round here

An Gof · Jul 24, 2022

charlie94 said:
Morning All
Current rotation is pretty simple, Wheat, Barley, Maize and Short and Long-term Grass Leys

We are considering either reducing grass acreage or getting rid of maize to swap to OSR.
Some Ground is low lying some is hard clay. Most the maize is contract sold,decent money but I hate the harvest time and what it can potentially do. Easy crop to grow, just the harvest date puts me off for maize.
We've not grown OSR for years before my time.
Agronomist see confident on 2 tonne to the acre, , I'm not so sure. Why I'd want to swap is soil health, harvest date. We can have issues with pigeons, not sure about flea beetle.
Was going to Cultivate it and not plough it so there'd be cheaper establishment

Would you swap to OSR

Agronomist either a brave man or deluded to fill you with the thought that 2t/acre is a given.
Think I’d be looking for a new agronomist.

Courier · Jul 24, 2022

An Gof said:
Agronomist either a brave man or deluded to fill you with the thought that 2t/acre is a given.
Think I’d be looking for a new agronomist.

If your agronomist will put his money where his mouth is

?

cousinjack · Jul 24, 2022

Yep, agree with the above…

2t /ac is certainly not a given …
1t is more achievable

still a bit in it though if you can get it

charlie94 · Jul 24, 2022

cousinjack said:
Yep, agree with the above…

2t /ac is certainly not a given …
1t is more achievable

still a bit in it though if you can get it

This is what I thought,unless he's got Acres and hectare confused

Lexion1000 · Jul 24, 2022

Very much location dependant I think. Beetles are a bigger problem the further east you go. There are still a few areas in the country where rape is still fairly reliable. 2t/acre is definitely achievable in perfect soil without too many beetles, but you’d be mad to assume you’re going to get that. The reality is that rape yields can vary massively year to year, could be zero or could be decent depending on conditions.

teslacoils · Jul 24, 2022

Harvested yield of my planted OSR in the last 3 years has been nil.

Good crops of wheat replacements instead though.

Hindsight · Jul 24, 2022

teslacoils said:
Harvested yield of my planted OSR in the last 3 years has been nil.

Good crops of wheat replacements instead though.

They do say rape is a perfect entry for wheat.

teslacoils · Jul 24, 2022

Hindsight said:
They do say rape is a perfect entry for wheat.

It enjoys that placed NPK that the rape didnt use before it got obliterated. So much so that I would speculate that 30kg of autumn N will reduce my spring fert use by 60kg for a wheat following another cereal with straw chopped........

Zippy768 · Jul 24, 2022

Smack it in early- ish (need some rain)
Maybe try and get hold of some fss - and then declare it.
I think you can now get away without a pre-em.
Establish it cheaply.
And cross your fingers.

I wouldn’t budget on 2t.
Budget for 1t, hope for 1.5t, be smug with 2t

If goes tits up.......put maize in in the spring

charlie94 · Jul 25, 2022

Or anyone any experience in growing linseed or something along those lines. Can grow beans easily just feel as though beans aren't the answer

Renaultman · Jul 25, 2022

Boysground said:
If my arable farm was closer to my dairy I’d drop osr and grow maize. I am on chalk so easy soil and with black grass I am happy planting late.

Harvest 22 osr. The best crop ever I’m guessing 1.75t/ac but only harvested half of what was planted

Harvest 21, flea beetles sort of controlled harvested everything good yeild

Harvest 20, flea beetles a pain harvested most of it rubbish yeild.

I have never grown 2t/ac but the thin soil is a factor. Area is going up a bit this year. Trying to spend as little as possible until I know I should get a crop to harvest

Bg

I have only hit 2t once since going back to growing OSR 11 years ago, my average is however probably about 1.5t on acres down over that time. Plenty of stress but it's got to be kinder to your land than dragging maize out in a wet back end? Pros and cons for both I would imagine

Renaultman · Jul 25, 2022

Zippy768 said:
Smack it in early- ish (need some rain)
Maybe try and get hold of some fss - and then declare it.
I think you can now get away without a pre-em.
Establish it cheaply.
And cross your fingers.

I wouldn’t budget on 2t.
Budget for 1t, hope for 1.5t, be smug with 2t

If goes tits up.......put maize in in the spring

Perfect plan

IDgrah · Jul 30, 2022

We grow Rape as our best gross margin break crop. I don’t like maize because of the late harvest date and what a wet year can do to our soil. Particularly as the maize is no use to us so we’re not doing any of the work. There is one thing you’ll add to your rotation if you start growing it and that’s more slugs!

But for is there isn’t a better paying break crop so it’s worth the pain

T Hectares · Jul 30, 2022

I’ve grown a few 2t/acre fields over the years, not average over the entire acreage though, 1.5t is a good av, 1.2t is typical, 1t is typical in CSFB years

2t/acre av is madness, maybe your Agro sees an opportunity to sell you lots of chem !!

Growing Rape

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