Drought

[Flatlander]

Fudge all here. Was up at 5 to spray barley. Stopped about 9 as blowing a gale. Continued to all day and all rain on radar missed us.

better luck than me. Started spraying fir flea beetle around seven as the temperatures cooled off. Had 75 acres of the tank load on and a dark cloud appeared on the horizon by the time I’d got half way down the field it was raining. I left the field spinning around in mud. Two inches had fallen by the time I’d made it the seven miles home. Further south reports of four inches were common and up to six along the US border.

 

[Devil's advocate]

better luck than me. Started spraying fir flea beetle around seven as the temperatures cooled off. Had 75 acres of the tank load on and a dark cloud appeared on the horizon by the time I’d got half way down the field it was raining. I left the field spinning around in mud. Two inches had fallen by the time I’d made it the seven miles home. Further south reports of four inches were common and up to six along the US border.

What do you use on flea beetle? & does it work?

 

[Flatlander]

i use permethrin. Works ok but nothing special. We have crusiferous and stripped flea beetle. The stripped are tougher to kill. Two or three apps is not un common. hear If many still not able to stop the damage and end up doing a re seed.

 

[michael N123]

It’s cold and windy today feels more like april than end of June

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Relentless wind here

 

[Kidds]

do you lot get weather forecasts like this ?

Not really, that forecast is very vague (at least as far as UK is concerned). Our forecasts are much more precise than that and usually very wrong as a result of trying to be too precise.
On Monday the forecast said we would be getting quite a bit of rain on Thursday, 5-10mm+ that has now changed to 0.5mm which will disappear as soon as it lands. I sowed some seeds today on the strength of the forecast turning my dust into soil again but they've changed their minds so I probably wasted my time.

 

[DrWazzock]

No decent rain here for ages and very windy. Things are dying off but generally close enough to harvest. Been on the brink of drought since early spring with nothing that you’d call a decent wet spell. If this is the future, and it seems more and more common each year, then big crops are a thing of the past. Good luck with getting cheap food.

 

[teslacoils]

Got another month of wheat grainfil to go! This wind. My goodness.

 

[beardface]

Got another month of wheat grainfil to go! This wind. My goodness.

It's not just the lack of rain and heat with us, but the fact we've had wind (mostly the drying kind) nearly everyday for about 2 months. Had a job on rowing hay on Sunday. Even the verge grass has gone that translucent green colour and most paddocks have shot a head up now. Wheats hanging in there, but rapes dying fast now and winter barley will be the earliest I've ever known it round here.

 

[benny6910]

Cracks in the tramlines can get my hand in up to my wrist.

 

[Chae1]

Spring barley dying off now on light land.

Sad as had looked great up till now.

 

[DrWazzock]

I think we will be starting winter barley around 8th July if it stays like this. Same date as we started it in 1976. Well I didn’t start it in 1976 but I was cross as I was still stuck at school missing out on the action before the summer holidays had started. By the end of August there was no grass at all and the beast were eating barley straw out of the tumbrels.

 

[JP1]

This is relentless here. Heatwave due next week and it's already mid twenties all this week and last

 

[teslacoils]

Two weeks due over 27 degrees.

 

[Northern territory]

Best looking crop I have at moment is fodder beet, let’s hope it can survive that.

 

[MrNoo]

Winter beans on my heavy land look a picture, SB on brash still ok, we did get some rain Saturday circa 9mm

 

[DrWazzock]

I can see lines of greener crop above just about every land drain on the farm. Now a fortnight of heatwave for the final burn off before harvest. Might as well stay this way till end of September now as most things are beyond help and we really don’t need drying charges on reduced yields.

 

[7610 super q]

I can see lines of greener crop above just about every land drain on the farm. Now a fortnight of heatwave for the final burn off before harvest. Might as well stay this way till end of September now as most things are beyond help and we really don’t need drying charges on reduced yields.

Yes, worst case scenario, weather breaking in August. Low yields, difficult combining, high drying costs...........

 

[DrWazzock]

Yeah. Nothing soaks water up like drought shrivelled grains.

 

[Chae1]

I think we will be starting winter barley around 8th July if it stays like this. Same date as we started it in 1976. Well I didn’t start it in 1976 but I was cross as I was still stuck at school missing out on the action before the summer holidays had started. By the end of August there was no grass at all and the beast were eating barley straw out of the tumbrels.

Started today then?