Spring barley gross margin

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
If you are on good land and can get the stuff in early enough, you will get between 2-3 tonne/acre in a reasonable year.

If you are on wet land and can't get it in until late, expect 2 tonne/acre to be the upper range.

I don't believe drilling date makes a lot of difference, but weather afterwards does. We are following grazed fodder crops so nothing is drilled until our (clay) ground is warming up in mid-April. Last year, with near perfect conditions, the Spring Barley did over 3.5t/ac, the year before (drought) it did less than half that. This year looks like it might be between the two, unless it rains properly soon.

As to making a Gross Margin forecast, which year should I take to give an estimate of yield? :scratchhead:
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
I don't believe drilling date makes a lot of difference, but weather afterwards does. We are following grazed fodder crops so nothing is drilled until our (clay) ground is warming up in mid-April. Last year, with near perfect conditions, the Spring Barley did over 3.5t/ac, the year before (drought) it did less than half that. This year looks like it might be between the two, unless it rains properly soon.

As to making a Gross Margin forecast, which year should I take to give an estimate of yield? :scratchhead:
In the east we struggle to get enough rain after drilling for big spring barley yields in recent years. Last year we did about 6.5t/ha I don’t think it will do that this year we haven’t had the rain. Three or four years ago had perfect conditions and it did 9t/ha. Although I can admit spring barley does seem abit more hit and miss in a purely no till situation
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
In the east we struggle to get enough rain after drilling for big spring barley yields in recent years. Last year we did about 6.5t/ha I don’t think it will do that this year we haven’t had the rain. Three or four years ago had perfect conditions and it did 9t/ha. Although I can admit spring barley does seem abit more hit and miss in a purely no till situation

I suspect you will also have soils that allow you to drill earlier too (DD is a dead loss before May here ime) and don’t have the long, dank Autumn days that keep the Spring Barley from ripening in a timely fashion. It’s very rare that I don’t need a little liquid sunshine on SB, or it just stays greeen.
 

Humble Village Farmer

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Essex
I suspect you will also have soils that allow you to drill earlier too (DD is a dead loss before May here ime) and don’t have the long, dank Autumn days that keep the Spring Barley from ripening in a timely fashion. It’s very rare that I don’t need a little liquid sunshine on SB, or it just stays greeen.
Quite the opposite actually. I'm only a few miles away and on not dissimilar soil types. What seems to happen more and more is that it's too wet, finally dries out, you drill and it turns out it's the beginning of a drought.

Ripening less of a problem usually but last year was fairly sh1t for that too.
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
Quite the opposite actually. I'm only a few miles away and on not dissimilar soil types. What seems to happen more and more is that it's too wet, finally dries out, you drill and it turns out it's the beginning of a drought.

Ripening less of a problem usually but last year was fairly sh1t for that too.
We do seem to go from one extreme to the other in about a week these days. With about 2 days where drilling actually goes well in the spring.
I think there’s a reason they only used to grow winter crops around here, but blackgrass stopped that.
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Spring barley this year looks ace or sh1t depending which side of the half inch of rain at the end of march it was drilled. Like all spring combinables, the key most years is a) getting the seedbed right for the drilling date and b) keeping the input costs down.

Fert all in the seedbed. No preem. One pgr at the most. Most dear is post em oat control if needed.
 

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