Wheat volunteers to harvest???

[Bramble]

I'm beginning to contemplate taking some of our autumn cultivated fields through to harvest. Am I just getting desperate, any idea if it might work?

So far I've nothing drilled at all out of 350 acres, all the ground was sumoed and rolled last autumn, normally we would only have a very small area of spring cropping, 100% spring cropping makes me very nervous on our heavy clay.

Or do I just stay patient and hope I can get something drilled by the end of April, have got barley, wheat, and OSR to choose from (if I have to drill OSR I will be very desperate!!!)

I usually need about 250 acres of straw for cattle, plus staff and machinery are all here as well, all rented so there's quite a lot of cost if I just fallow it.

Blackgrass is a big worry, but I reckon I could risk 100-150 acres as being clean enough. Anything else to worry about?

 

[Hindsight]

I'm beginning to contemplate taking some of our autumn cultivated fields through to harvest. Am I just getting desperate, any idea if it might work?

So far I've nothing drilled at all out of 350 acres, all the ground was sumoed and rolled last autumn, normally we would only have a very small area of spring cropping, 100% spring cropping makes me very nervous on our heavy clay.

Or do I just stay patient and hope I can get something drilled by the end of April, have got barley, wheat, and OSR to choose from (if I have to drill OSR I will be very desperate!!!)

I usually need about 250 acres of straw for cattle, plus staff and machinery are all here as well, all rented so there's quite a lot of cost if I just fallow it.

Blackgrass is a big worry, but I reckon I could risk 100-150 acres as being clean enough. Anything else to worry about?

BYDV. Been looking at possible fields too.

 

[Flat 10]

BYDV. Been looking at possible fields too.

Despite many people being bydv denyers on here, seen my first evidence of it this year on neighbours WB drilled in late Oct. he also pre and post emd it so I assume the post em had an insecticide in.

 

[Neddy flanders]

cropping wheat volunteers.

walked some very squelchy wheat stubble that had been cultivated and levelled in late September. very even crop of wheat volunteers. what would it yield (compared to a late sown bean or oat) if a) BYDV hasn't been an issue? b) I can take out a proportion of the large blackgrass plants there...

thefarmingforum.co.uk

my post was only two below yours?