Got much drilling to do?

[Chae1]

We are pretty much mauling in spring barley now. The next couple weeks weather will make or break it.

 

[gone up the hill]

Unless you are in the extreme corners of the UK or have a crop that likes later drilling maize, Linseed etc, I declare the spring drilling season formerly closed as today is the 1st of May and I hope you don't have much to do! If its cereals or pulses I reckon fallow is now the best option.

Maybe for your part of the country as its 2/3 weeks ahead season wise compared to the SW for example, all the SB drilled around here in the last 4/5 weeks looks sh!t, it wont yield as the damage is already done! fine to drill it for another 10 days at least, especially given the late season,only difference drilling so late is that you will have to spray it off to ripen but that's not a big issue..

 

[Flat 10]

Maybe for your part of the country as its 2/3 weeks ahead season wise compared to the SW for example, all the SB drilled around here in the last 4/5 weeks looks sh!t, it wont yield as the damage is already done! fine to drill it for another 10 days at least, especially given the late season,only difference drilling so late is that you will have to spray it off to ripen but that's not a big issue..

Fair enough. I said it to be provocative really which was pretty immature of me. I did say apart from the extreme parts of the UK. I am always surprised when you say about Devon being late- I always think of the SW being ahead- you know early tates etc. Are you fairly high up?

 

[Flat 10]

why? its but a date, if we have a summer like 76 any spring crop will be poor if we have a long cool one with just the right amount or rain then mid may could be a great crop, especially if we have the now normal august which buggers the winter wheat quality and may drilled sb comes of dry and malting quality, hindsight will see what was right

True. See my above post. Have to say I wouldn't want to be gambling on it though........ If I had any left to drill I don't think I would be bothering. Luckily I'm not in that position as the weather has been kinder to me than many others.

 

[gone up the hill]

why? its b

Fair enough. I said it to be provocative really which was pretty immature of me. I did say apart from the extreme parts of the UK. I am always surprised when you say about Devon being late- I always think of the SW being ahead- you know early tates etc. Are you fairly high up?

Season wise take Kent for example, they will be cutting Wheat at least 3 weeks before most places in the SW will be!

Yea we are fairly high up, hell of a lot of poor/ failed winter crops around here this year.

 

[Flat 10]

Season wise take Kent for example, they will be cutting Wheat at least 3 weeks before most places in the SW will be!

Yea we are fairly high up, hell of a lot of poor/ failed winter crops around here this year.

Due to high rainfall?

 

[gone up the hill]

Due to high rainfall?

Yea they have had wet roots all winter, until the last week we have hardly had 5 dry days in a row since last October, some of these crops ought to be pulled up as they are that bad.

 

[Sandy]

There's still hundreds of acres to sow around here

 

[franklin]

I am not *certain* but do spring beans have to be in by 1st May for EFA greening? And if you arent growing them for that reason, I cant actually see any point in planting them even in February. Nasty things,

 

[More to life]

Fair enough. I said it to be provocative really which was pretty immature of me. I did say apart from the extreme parts of the UK. I am always surprised when you say about Devon being late- I always think of the SW being ahead- you know early tates etc. Are you fairly high up?

When guth said Devon is late he means 10 years behind

 

[Flat 10]

There's still hundreds of acres to sow around here

I definitely included Scotland in the extremities

 

[Bossfarmer]

im in central Scotland and still have 80 acres spring barley to sow, I don't think the stuff in the ground a week ago is doing anything asits so cold, mite not yield any different

 

[Brisel]

Only linseed left to do now.

Did you finish ok? Linseed drilling finished here Friday night. Rolled Saturday between showers. Just a few game covers to do but not until early June.

 

[Mr Charisma]

Got 2 fields of linseed to finish but will need a couple of dry days before I get back onto it , might need to find someone with a combi drill to get finished

 

[franklin]

Not started yet. Had nearly an inch of rain. And drizzle every day since. Dont know what our cut-off point is going to be - probably another fortnight.

 

[wasted years]

I only started sowing spring barley yesterday! Raining now.

 

[Bossfarmer]

I only started sowing spring barley yesterday! Raining now.

how much to put in yet?

 

[wasted years]

how much to put in yet?

Over 100 acres, everything looking sick in Cumbria, poorest spring since we came 15 years ago (to this farm).

 

[Bossfarmer]

grain yields could be down across the country this year, this may be no bad thing price wise

 

[Brisel]

grain yields could be down across the country this year, this may be no bad thing price wise

It will need to be the same all over Russia, China, India, USA, Canada, Argentina & the rest of the EU for that to happen. Sorry to spoil your hopes.

The best we can hope for is import parity which would add another tenner to prices. At the moment we are net exporters, so our domestic price falls are limited to the point at which we can put it on a boat at (export parity).