Drought

[bankrupt]

No

Same here, static.

Soil Moisture Deficit now 40-50mm, so yields already well down on the dry bits.

Interesting time.


edit:- my cost of production has shot up by £10/tonne since last I did it this time last week.

Bit over £100 now and no more rain 'till harvest and it'll be close to £200.

 

[Farmer T]

would it be fair to say most people have now had a bit rain this week and with next weeks wet forecast crops should be safe enough now?

Missed every shower in the last 5 weeks.

Had 1mm.

Cutting back the programme on T1s already due to Yield loss potential. Nothing is growing.

 

[bankrupt]

Yield loss potential.

I'd cleverly managed to lock in a profit on about 30% of output at £140+ for Jan '18, Farmer T.

Now it looks like I've managed to lock in a loss on about 60%.

 

[Still Farming]

Dry as a "witches Tw-at " here ???

 

[franklin]

This next week is going to be make of break for the linseed I think.

 

[Renaultman]

I'd cleverly managed to lock in a profit on about 30% of output at £140+ for Jan '18, Farmer T.

Now it looks like I've managed to lock in a loss on about 60%.

This is what P's me off in the other thread about COP and selling oportunities. You never know your true COP till it's dried and in the shed. Having said that things are never as good or as bad as they seem, and Mother nature has a nasty habit of balancing things out. Your £140.00 might still be your best trades too.

 

[Bossfarmer]

Missed every shower in the last 5 weeks.

Had 1mm.

Cutting back the programme on T1s already due to Yield loss potential. Nothing is growing.

is that just terrible luck or are you in a very dry area?

 

[Feldspar]

We've had virtually no rain for over a month now. Lack of moisture wouldn't be so bad just by itself, but it's not having the rain to wash the nitrogen in which is having a much larger effect. Only the OSR, some winter barley and the spring barley (just about) are looking OK. Wheat is really not looking great in large parts.

 

[Minesapint]

Rape has shut down and remaining flowers are being aborted. No rain here at all for weeks, and another week of dry will finish some of the wheat. I think lack of nutrient uptake is as big a problem because some of the gravel is better than the heavy land. Looking at the f'cast, lack of storage will not be a problem. Maize and linseed could be the best crops this year, seed is still in the shed, and I can see it staying there

 

[Flat 10]

It's not all bad news, my beet look good, drilled early into moisture, now have 4true leaves. Admittedly they would benefit from a rain but they aren't suffering like later sown crops or winter cereals.

That's not at all helpful. My early beet have been hammered by something, I suspect pigeons, but are now recovering nicely. Slightly later drilled which have had no more than 2mm rain since they were drilled are a mix of starting to get true leaves or just sat in dust without cracking the pellet. Things are desperate and I don't really know what I should have done different except perhaps drilling a touch deeper and rolling after but some of them came up so fast that I couldn't.

 

[Flat 10]

This next week is going to be make of break for the linseed I think.

Spraying mine for FB now.

 

[Iben]

I don't really know what I should have done different

Don't listen to your father and sown them all early as you wanted!

 

[Iben]

Wednesday, forecast was dry for ten days.
Thursday was 7mm on monday, dry for week then damp following weekend.
Friday forecast was dry for a week then showers.
Saturday forecast was 10mm monday, some showers (possibly snow) during week then 13mm next weekend.

Who knows! Missed everything so far.

 

[bobk]

Not down here! Nothing substantial in the forecast at all.

Changed it here now

 

[KennyO]

When would it be worth irrigating cereals. We have some spring oats that have been in for nearly two weeks that have done nothing. Seed looked like it was just newly drilled yesterday. Very tempted to drag out the old irritator next week if we don't get any rain (if land lord will let us have water)

Earlier drilled spring stuff is looking well but it went into moisture and we had 24mm mid drilling. Last drilled stuff not out yet after nearly a fortnight. Wheat looking poor due to cold nights and poor N uptake.

 

[franklin]

Spraying mine for FB now.

I dont have enough emerged to do it yet.

My own fault really - cropping plan change meant I swapped the ploughed land destined for oats into the linseed, and the subsoiled land destined for linseed to the oats. Oats now got the moisture and romping away. Linseed doing nothing. Alas.

 

[Auckland Blue]

Neighbour Irrigating Winter Wheat.

 

[Iben]

When would it be worth irrigating cereals. We have some spring oats that have been in for nearly two weeks that have done nothing. Seed looked like it was just newly drilled yesterday. Very tempted to drag out the old irritator next week if we don't get any rain (if land lord will let us have water)

Earlier drilled spring stuff is looking well but it went into moisture and we had 24mm mid drilling. Last drilled stuff not out yet after nearly a fortnight. Wheat looking poor due to cold nights and poor N uptake.

I would start sooner rather than later, what's to loose?

 

[Sandy]

When would it be worth irrigating cereals. We have some spring oats that have been in for nearly two weeks that have done nothing. Seed looked like it was just newly drilled yesterday. Very tempted to drag out the old irritator next week if we don't get any rain (if land lord will let us have water)

Earlier drilled spring stuff is looking well but it went into moisture and we had 24mm mid drilling. Last drilled stuff not out yet after nearly a fortnight. Wheat looking poor due to cold nights and poor N uptake.

It will rain we've had 20mm over the last week but it's bloody cold now

 

[Iben]

It will rain we've had 20mm over the last week but it's bloody cold now

I've had 1mm. And yes, it's bloody cold and going to get much worse by the looks of it.