Winter to Spring £

[Overby]

With wetter back ends and winters more spring stuff going in round us, again. What's the thoughts on likely changes to budgets? If you plan for WW but miss the window and end up with SB what would you expect. 2 wildy different scenarios run by me in a chat yesterday.

 

[DeeGee]

Drastically reduced input costs for a start! Plus a six month return on your inputs and bare land over winter for sheep grazing or getting muck on the stubbles?

A little out of touch with WW growing costs but I know they are certainly high.
If you can regularly grow 3 t/ac or more of Spring Barley with modest inputs, and if you have a market to sell barley straw then maybe worth looking at. Just my humble opinion, albeit from a mixed farming area.

 

[Brisel]

A six figure sum in terms of reduced profit margin from being rained off winter sowing & forced into spring crops. An extra 1 t/acre from a winter wheat vs a spring cereal buys a lot of inputs.

 

[teslacoils]

Tbh I'd rather a good spring crop than a poor winter one. You really can't beat a solid crop of winter wheat. The struggle now is to keep them so clean of BG that you can get them in early enough that they root well to help the soil over winter.