Thinking of growing Propino spring barley. Good idea?

[farmer92]

We're thinking of growing some spring barley this year. We've been looking at varieties and Propino seems good. It's been a while since we drilled any barley, and this would be a trial run to try and control our blackgrass issue. We'll be looking at around 100 acres.

Any thoughts? Is there anybody here with spring barley experience?

 

[DRC]

I like Propino, but only grow it for feed, so not sure if it has any malting potential. I think seed may be getting tight for Propino.

 

[farmer92]

I like Propino, but only grow it for feed, so not sure if it has any malting potential. I think seed may be getting tight for Propino.

Yeah left it a bit late probably

 

[Chae1]

Might be worth looking at Planet or Scholar. Seem to have overtaken Propino. I'd been stuck at 3t/acre with Propino chucking 110 units at it. But scholar yielded a extra 0.5t. A large proportion of it went flat but that was agronomists fault.

 

[Brisel]

There are lots of spring barley growers in here.

Is blackgrass the primary concern? Obviously you'd like to make a quid out of it too. Feed or malting? Propino is a good variety, the most widely grown & there should be some seed around still. Planet & Irina are better for yield. Irina has more limited markets but seems ok on stronger land. For feed I'd say that seed will be easier to come by and a bit cheaper too. Sanette & Sienna will outyield Propino. Just be aware that the current price for malting is around £30 more than feed but that's not always the case.

Drill it in early April after a good dose of glyphosate at 400+ seeds/m2. Have you ploughed the ground already? Grinding baked clay lumps with a power harrow isn't going to help the soil, your weed control or the establishment. Only sow it when you can get it in well, not because you're looking at a calendar. The weather will improve eventually.

 

[DRC]

I didn't get on very well with Sanette last year.

 

[franklin]

I like propino. On heavy land you are not going to be banking on a milling premium. So get one that is accepted by the widest number of homes, pump it for yield and keep it stood up.

 

[Kevtherev]

Limited stocks of propino and Westminster

 

[farmer92]

It's quite heavy land. I'll be putting it in direct with a Claydon Hybrid.

Maybe feed is the way to go as opposed to malting. Has anyone made a good profit on Planet? I still like the idea of Propino from what I've read. Average yields? It'll be following a first wheat.

 

[Kevtherev]

Don't drill it too soon wait for the soil to warm up better to get it in and going by being patient than it sitting in the ground for a fortnight not moving

 

[muppet]

Giving Planet and Lili a go this year having done Propino for a while now. Always grew it for feed but would often make malting if sold pre xmas

 

[farmer92]

Giving Planet and Lili a go this year having done Propino for a while now. Always grew it for feed but would often make malting if sold pre xmas

How were the yields?

 

[Heathland]

You could give explorer a look,had a look at some last spring at some aggrii trials,more suitable for blackgrass ground and a faster developer.http://www.agrii.co.uk/products-services/seed_forage/.

 

[caleb]

You could give explorer a look,had a look at some last spring at some aggrii trials,more suitable for blackgrass ground and a faster developer.http://www.agrii.co.uk/products-services/seed_forage/.

I was told Explorer ,good on Blackgrass control and Malting potential on heavy ground.

 

[Barry]

Propino - probably the safest bet if you can grow a malting sample as it is accepted for a wide range of markets south of the border, if not sure you can produce a malting sample then stick with feed, you will find Propino is probably more expensive than straight feeders now as top up stocks are starting to drift in from abroad though there are still some merchants with some Propino. A lot of the newer malters will yield as much or slightly more than the feed types. But Planet the top yielder is also getting tight in supply and the price has moved up.

Explorer is sold out. More demand than supply...

 

[Zippy768]

I didn't get on very well with Sanette last year.

+1

 

[Brisel]

What went wrong with Sanette?

 

[Barry]

Sanette was looking like it was going to be a good malting barley and then there were some problems with the seed and grain samples that were submitted for official testing over 2 years such that it never made it through the official testing regime as a malting variety. At least that was my rough memory of it. Trade ended up with a lot of stock of it.

Despite the comments above we found it a decent performer as a feed barley and there is still a bit in the trade this year.

 

[Devon James]

We were very happy with Sienna last year. Turned out to be a good spring barley year after a wet start. Lovely sample of grain.

 

[DRC]

Tha

What went wrong with Sanette?

it didn't yield very well and poor looking sample.. thankfully only 15 acres of it .