Combining started 2015

[Iben]

Just trying to upset the neighbour's I think!

 

[gone up the hill]

I would have finished winter barley today if it wasn't for the inch of rain falling out of the sky since 8am. OSR is fit to move into straight afterwards.

Have you cut the 2 row variety yet @Brisel and if yes what were the yields like??

 

[Brisel]

Have you cut the 2 row variety yet @Brisel and if yes what were the yields like??

Tower is averaging 8.7 t/ha so far, with the best & potentially worst fields still to cut. Volume averaged 9.77 t/ha but was grown on better ground. Extra growing costs of the Volume were £78/ha more than the Tower (£60/ha extra for seed) so I'm ahead on the hybrid so far. Tower is on snotty clay & gravel, so not as productive as the Volume on chalky loam.

 

[gone up the hill]

Tower is averaging 8.7 t/ha so far, with the best & potentially worst fields still to cut. Volume averaged 9.77 t/ha but was grown on better ground. Extra growing costs of the Volume were £78/ha more than the Tower (£60/ha extra for seed) so I'm ahead on the hybrid so far. Tower is on snotty clay & gravel, so not as productive as the Volume on chalky loam.

That's very intresting

Depending on final yields for the Tower if you grew both on the same land type do you think the extra inputs for Volume would be worth it?

Also which is yielding the most/ best sample of straw?

 

[spikeislander]

Plants in thin areas will create more branches, therefore more pods and seed. Obviously it isn't practical to have really low plant populations in the winter, but I have seen areas with about 5 plants/m2 look similar to 'normal' areas by the time flowering occurs, and at harvest, yield wasn't too different. The main clear difference was the thickness of stems and number of branches

Yes I get that but this was just a thinner stand not less plants with side branches ie possibly less pods too but the seed size and sample is the best I have seen for cabernet which is normally a bit of a scruffy sample.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Well done. Don't think I'll read anymore harvest threads, as we can only dream of those sort of yields.

Had a bit of time to kill this afternoon so have worked out some variable costs -

Tower Barley per ha
Adj £2.72
Fung £47.88
PGR £24.45
Herb £24.49
Trace El £9.62

Total chem - £109.16

Seed at 130kg/ha Redigo/manganese dressed - £62.40

Fert 120kg product in two splits - £28.56

Total - £200

 

[Jon]

I havn't started my harvest yet, because it isn't fit.

 

[Gong Farmer]

We hit 13 t/ha in our Warwick barley trial cut yesterday (and that's corrected to field values)

 

[spikeislander]

Out of interest in the past how do your trial plots relate to field yields. And when you say hit it is that just for a bit on the monitor? if so I think you will find we all hit amazing yields spot rate!

 

[Feldspar]

Had a bit of time to kill this afternoon so have worked out some variable costs -

Tower Barley per ha
Adj £2.72
Fung £47.88
PGR £24.45
Herb £24.49
Trace El £9.62

Total chem - £109.16

Seed at 130kg/ha Redigo/manganese dressed - £62.40

Fert 120kg product in two splits - £28.56

Total - £200

Can't remember if you've said this already, but do you have muck / organic N going on? What are the main problem weeds? Also, what was your fungicide programme? Any idea how many seeds sq/m that 130 kg/ha worked out at?

 

[Gong Farmer]

Out of interest in the past how do your trial plots relate to field yields. And when you say hit it is that just for a bit on the monitor? if so I think you will find we all hit amazing yields spot rate!

There were lots of yields from lots of varieties and the highest was just over 13 t/ha. We knock about 20% off plot yields to get them to field equivalent (this has been carefully calculated by the way, not a finger-in-air figure).

 

[spikeislander]

Thanks one to watch then?

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Can't remember if you've said this already, but do you have muck / organic N going on? What are the main problem weeds? Also, what was your fungicide programme? Any idea how many seeds sq/m that 130 kg/ha worked out at?

We put cattle muck on in front of spuds. So each field gets mucked every 4/5 years (although I don't think cattle muck is particularly strong) The spuds also get a NPK blend at around 1t/ha.

We are on black fen mostly so it has a lot of N already. If we put much on, the barley would go flat very easily.

I really can not believe how well barley tillers! I'm afraid I've never worked out seeds per M'2. It's only recently that we've been working on kg/ha. Was always stones per acre!

We only got back into barley in the past 3 years. It wasn't grown here for at least 20 years before. So the fields are not sick of it yet. We Certainly like growing it better than peas!

The main weeds we get in the black are nettles, fat hen and vol potatoes. Clevers are bad on certain fields too. At the moment we are BG free. Herbicides were - Axial,simba SX and Gala.

The fungicide this year was 2x Siltra Xpro @ 0.350 & 0.6 L/ha

We had 4 PGR's Moddus,stabilan,moddus,Clayton proud.

We grew Tower and Cassia this year drilled in late Oct. Tower has won this year so I think we'll go all Tower next time.

 

[nick...]

I havn't started my harvest yet, because it isn't fit.

Plus 1.you are probably close to me
Nick...

 

[Warp Land Farmer]

Had a bit of time to kill this afternoon so have worked out some variable costs -

Tower Barley per ha
Adj £2.72
Fung £47.88
PGR £24.45
Herb £24.49
Trace El £9.62

Total chem - £109.16

Seed at 130kg/ha Redigo/manganese dressed - £62.40

Fert 120kg product in two splits - £28.56

Total - £200

Assume your happy with that spend? (Especially if the tonnage price was better!) what was the Ha yield?

 

[Jon]

Plus 1.you are probably close to me
Nick...

In the same area, land keeps things hanging on, plus I use the straw for my pigs, so the less thrashing needed the better !

 

[nick...]

In the same area, land keeps things hanging on, plus I use the straw for my pigs, so the less thrashing needed the better !

Are you after some more straw,no one wants mine this year.got 70 acres of barley straw
Nick...

 

[horizontal]

Just about finished cutting glacier and cassia. Both fairly consistent across heavy ground but yields gave way on brashier bits (last rain of any note here 18 May).

All over weighbridge but for first time ever our combine yield meter was a long way out. We are normally within 2% but this year 15% over. I think this is due to the thin sample which tested 57kg on the combine (which we calibrated to). It is actually 66-67 in the heap as tested by merchant/store but total volume is 15% less than Mr Claas says it is! Neighbour has same issue and reckons it's "fluffing" up in the elevator so reading disproportionately high on sensor.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Assume your happy with that spend? (Especially if the tonnage price was better!) what was the Ha yield?

My guesstimate is 11.1t/ha. Will have a more accurate figure next week once it's all been weighed out.

 

[Jon]

Are you after some more straw,no one wants mine this year.got 70 acres of barley straw
Nick...

No thanks Nick...have enough for my needs, you probably know Mr M. your way ? Wouldn't he want the straw ?