Top cereal and oilseed growers honoured at the Yield Enhancement Network Awards 2021

[Brid @ ADAS]

Despite an average growing year for most crops, many growers managed to go above and beyond their predicted max yields, with Lincolnshire grower Tim Lamyman taking the top spots for his wheat yields and his world record breaking winter barley yield.

The highest cereal and oilseed yields achieved at harvest 2021 were announced at this year’s Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) Awards on Wednesday 24th November at the Croptec Show. With award presentations by Tom Bradshaw, Vice President of NFU, 24 farms took home the evening’s top awards for highest yield and highest potential yield achieved for wheat, winter and spring barley, oats, and oilseed. The 2021 winners came from all corners of the UK, as well as from as far afield as Finland and New Zealand.

Familiar names from 2020 made the shortlist once again in 2021. Tim Lamyman from Lincolnshire won Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards for wheat and achieved a world record yield of 14.2 t/ha for winter barley. Aberdeenshire grower and agronomist Iain Learmouth rewrote the grain yield rule book yet again this year, recording an exceptional 107% of his predicted yield. Mark McCallum of Ross-shire and Northern Irish grower Allan Chambers followed very closely behind, going above and beyond expert predictions of their top yield by achieving 107% and 105% respectively.

Oat growers were recognised for the first time with their own separate category of awards. Simon Best from Co. Armagh took home the first ever Oat YEN gold award with Will Hamilton from Berwickshire claiming the silver.

Roger Sylvester-Bradley, YEN Director said that

“The YEN is a fantastic example of the farming industry doing its own ‘Action Research’– whilst celebrating and rewarding excellence in cropping, we are leading the way in showing how physical benchmarking and on-farm innovation can be shared by everyone. Over nine harvests YEN has now created an invaluable database (>2,000 yields and >500,000 explanatory observations) for members and sponsors to work out how to grow better crops.”

Daniel Kindred, crop physiologist at ADAS, commenting on wheat yields said,

“YEN wheat crops generally weathered the winter well and produced plenty of heads, but then the dull summer prevented these crops from fulfilling their earlier promise.”

Sarah Kendall, crop physiologist at ADAS, commenting on the many spring barley crops entered in YEN 2021, said

“Winning crops were those that achieved higher than average ear numbers, which we now know are so crucial in creating the storage capacity that barley crops need. Lower yielding crops were clearly impacted significantly by the dry spring which reduced tillering and tiller retention.”

Pete Berry, head of Crop Physiology at ADAS, commenting on oilseed yields in 2020-21, said that

“This season was a lot better than the previous one, but we still had to contend with a wet winter – which we know limits yield potential, followed by late spring frosts and a dull May – which will have limited seed set. So the large number of YEN growers achieving over 5 t/ha is a tremendous achievement.”

Winners’ awards were as follows:

Cereal YEN​

Best Cereal Yield​

• GOLD: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, independent entry 15.6 t/ha
• SILVER: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, independent entry 15.2 t/ha
• BRONZE: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, independent entry 15.1 t/ha

Best % of Potential Cereal Yield​

• GOLD: Iain Learmonth of Aberdeenshire, sponsored by Hutchinsons 107% of 12.1 t/ha
• SILVER: Mark McCallum of Ross-shire, sponsored by AHDB 107% of 11.3 t/ha
• BRONZE: Allan Chambers of County Down, sponsored by AHDB 105% of 11.6 t/ha

Best Yield in Cereals trials​

• GOLD: John Kerr of Cambridgeshire, sponsored by Hutchinsons 12.4 t/ha

Best % of Potential Yield in Cereals trials​

• GOLD: Nordic Seed of Dyngby, Denmark, sponsored by Hutchinsons 75% of 16.3 t/ha

Regional Awards​

For the Highest Cereal Yield

• Scotland: Robert Fleming of Berwick Upon Tweed, sponsored by Limagrain 13.3 t/ha
• Northern: Thomas Todd of Northumberland, sponsored by Hutchinsons 13.1 t/ha
• East Midlands: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, independent entry 15.6 t/ha
• East Anglia: James Mayes of Essex, sponsored by Bayer 10.6 t/ha
• The West: Mark Doble of Somerset, sponsored by BASF 11.7 t/ha
• South East: Richard Budd of Kent, sponsored by BASF 13.0 t/ha
• Outside UK: Eric & Maxine Watson of New Zealand, supported by Bayer 14.8 t/ha

For the Highest % of Potential Cereal Yield

• Scotland: Iain Learmonth of Aberdeenshire, sponsored by Hutchinsons 107% of 12.1 t/ha
• Northern: Allan Chambers of County Down, sponsored by AHDB 105% of 11.6 t/ha
• East Midlands: Tim Lamyman of Lincs., independent entry 88% of 17.6 t/ha
• East Anglia: Paul Spinks of Norfolk, sponsored by Hutchinsons 90% of 11.7 t/ha
• The West: Howard Emmett of Cornwall, sponsored by AHDB 60% of 16.8 t/ha
• South East: David Passmore of Oxfordshire, independent entry 75% of 14.9 t/ha
• Outside UK: Eric & Maxine Watson of New Zealand, supported by Bayer 73% of 20.3 t/ha

Best Winter Barley Yield​

• GOLD: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, Independent entry (World Record) 14.2 t/ha
• SILVER: Craig Peddie of Fife, Independent entry 12.9 t/ha

Best % of Potential Winter Barley Yield​

• GOLD: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, Independent entry 80% of 17.9 t/ha
• SILVER: Craig Peddie of Fife, Independent entry 78% of 16.7 t/ha

Oats YEN​

Best Oats Yield​

• GOLD: Simon Best of County Armagh, independent entry 9.2 t/ha
• SILVER: Will Hamilton of Berwickshire, independent entry 8.3 t/ha

Best % of Potential Oats Yield​

• GOLD: Simon Best of County Armagh, independent entry 87% of 10.5 t/ha
• SILVER: Will Hamilton of Berwickshire, independent entry 61% of 13.7 t/ha

Spring Barley YEN​

Best Spring Barley Yield​

• GOLD: David Matthews of County Down, Independent entry 9.0 t/ha
• SILVER: Kari Alasaari of Lapua, Finland, Independent entry 8.8 t/ha
• BRONZE: Will Hamilton of Berwickshire, Independent entry 8.7 t/ha

Best % of Potential Spring Barley Yield​

• GOLD: Peter Chapman of Aberdeenshire, sponsored by Limagrain/Nickerson 82% of 9.7 t/ha
• SILVER: David Matthews of County Down, Independent entry 73% of 12.3 t/ha
• BRONZE: Will Hamilton of Berwickshire, Independent entry 64% of 13.5 t/ha

Oilseed YEN​

Best Seed Yield (gross output)​

• GOLD: Mark Stubbs of Lincolnshire, independent entry 6.7 t/ha
• SILVER: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, Independent entry 6.3 t/ha
• BRONZE: David Fuller of Berwickshire, sponsored by Bayer 6.2 t/ha

Best % of Potential Seed Yield

• GOLD: Mark Stubbs of Lincolnshire, independent entry 59% of 11.3 t/ha
• SILVER: David Fuller of Berwickshire, sponsored by Bayer 57% of 10.8 t/ha
• BRONZE: Tim Lamyman of Lincolnshire, independent entry 56% of 11.2 t/ha

The YEN particularly seeks to celebrate innovators; in 2021 it gave special recognition through the:

YEN Innovator of the year award, to: ​

• David Passmore of Mays Farm, Ewelme, Oxfordshire

For his high yields, innovative ideas, and use of trials and analysis for yield enhancement.