Winter wheat yields

[DRC]

Yes, and I am quite surprised.
As I think will be a few others when combines roll; In a good way.
I am well aware that burnt up crops wont recover, I have some myself. Majority here, however look OK.
There are some tidy looking crops in the Ellesmere area too...

Winter barley isn’t looking great though . And one field got re drilled with spring barley. Lucky if it does 2 ton.
Why I keep growing it I don’t know, except I can get a decent crop of stubble turnips in afterwards

 

[bankrupt]

still plan to make a profit -

Hope you do, Clive.

We keep our fixed costs here low, too, and breakeven is about 1.7t, but my forecast now is for only about 1.5

 

[bankrupt]

View attachment 889860

Are you intending to cut that before this weekend's rain or after?

 

[Brisel]

Pterodactyl egg?

The wheat variety is Siskin - not that big! Luckily that was the only plant I could see that had secondary tillers & it was immediately next to a tramline. Those eggs don't hold much water unfortunately hence the aborted primary tillers.

 

[DRC]

Are you cutting that before this weekend's rain or after?

There’s more green in it than you think . It’s also very dirty in the bottom as missed any autumn grass weed control.
we will be harvesting on Sunday though. Hybrid rye whole crop is ready

 

[Clive]

Hope you do, Clive.

We keep our fixed costs here low, too, and breakeven is about 1.7t, but my forecast now is for only about 1.5

The nice thing b about contract farming is the risk is shared with the landowner, costs are covered regardless, wheat is only one crop and it won’t be great but margins on other crops less weather effected could be ok

low fixed costs and a variable cost spent designed to reflect the season are key still however

 

[bankrupt]

we will be harvesting on Sunday

That'll still be June, which is early.

Don't look like breaking any records here for early harvesting, only for low yields which is strange because they usual come together.

Suppose it's just down to no rain in April and May, then to the three months in June which is holding harvest up.

 

[4course]

this year has so far not persuaded me to abandon the plough as our preferred establishment route ,those crops est before the oct rains look well given the year,the only things we will do in the light of this year is bring forward autumn sowing finish date by a few days if possible ( usually aim to be done ww before the20th oct)and not panic if we have to sow an odd spring crop ,we are going to try a cover crop , however any sp crop will not be osr as that was a mistake , its now fallow which was tried more for rotational reasons (yes !! I know I was warned)

 

[Cowcorn]

nothing wrong with my soil it’s just the season

the rain stopped here on mach 19th and didn’t start again 3rd June - that’s 2.5 months without rainfall, the 2.5 months where tiller number is set so a critical time on light soils

i think it was made especially bad as crops were late drilled so had no big root system or biomass to help them through that period - it dried out VERY quickly - some winter wheat went in February, a lot in december and a small amount in october)


Just farming - some seasons your just don’t get the luck you need. We have managed crops accordingly and still plan to make a profit - that’s the skill in this job and the bit you can actually do something about ........ unlike the weather

if we get decent grain fill we could see 2 or maybe 2.5t/ac i think - N has been halved and fungicide spend is just £16/ha ...... you never know margins might actually be better !

if i had cultivated spring crops here or had the OM levels we had a decade ago i don’t think we would even be having a harvest

Low fixed cost are key and this year is a serous reminder of that IMO - every farmer should consider and run a business stress l test of “what if no harvest”. and make sure they could withstand that ...... extreme weather patterns is becoming a reality in the uk now

Despite been drilled into a " full moisture profile " the soil dried out fast and knackered your crops ?? Would earlier drilling at low seed rates say at the end of August have helped do you think . Thing is if as the experts say we can expect wetter winters and ultra dry periods then this type of spring drought could become more common . You can get over one poor year but long term poor yields due to adverse weather is not a runner. Im glad you think that you will make a positive margin and im no agronimist but id strongly think about spending a few quid on a cheap earwash might be the difference between a ton and a half of quality or even milling wheat and a ton of canary seed . The weather is a fickle master and rarely rocks the way we want . I wont annoy you by mentioning the p word but as@robbie suggested the land might have been tight. Anyway best of luck with your harvest and i look forward to you posting that you cant believe your yields you dont know where the grain is coming from but it looks like it may average 3 ton !!!
Ps way back in 92 i cut a field of wheat that was drilled with a seed treatment that affected establishment vincit was the product if i recall right. The crop was terribly thin and lacked tillers so had only got the basic inputs but still yielded a respectable3 ton .

 

[Jo28]

If we average 2t this year I'll be amazed. Not that we have much to harvest anyway, sprayed off over 100 acres this week that wasn't worth harvesting. I'll be just happy to start over

 

[Renaultman]

I have a rule we don’t grow anything that needs a heater in the combine

So do I but I have also combined beans in November on a Ransomes, no can.

 

[CORK]

This seed crop was a depressing sight over winter and early spring. (South coast of Ireland)

After WOSR, got hammered by Slugs & wet.

Winter wheat never ceases to amaze me with its ability to compensate.

These ears are the same variety but lots more grain sites where the plant has space (& nutrition).

I split the N into 5 applications, didn’t use extra just went with little and often.

Fingers crossed but I don’t think it’ll be a disaster.

 

[Lincsman]

Theory's of DD land holding moisture dont stack up with me, you here quotes that it can be driven on at any time as its solid, motorway builders etc move soil around and stockpile, they roll it solid to remove pockets that will hold water and the result is it can be relocated any time as its "dry"

Ploughed/ max tilled land holds more water than stubble fields indicated by when the land drains start to run, its building up in voids below the surface.

The grass thats just been DD sown near me for the 3rd time due to flooding then drought (the slots became cracks) is proving an expensive change of practice.

 

[4course]

Despite been drilled into a " full moisture profile " the soil dried out fast and knackered your crops ?? Would earlier drilling at low seed rates say at the end of August have helped do you think . Thing is if as the experts say we can expect wetter winters and ultra dry periods then this type of spring drought could become more common . You can get over one poor year but long term poor yields due to adverse weather is not a runner. Im glad you think that you will make a positive margin and im no agronimist but id strongly think about spending a few quid on a cheap earwash might be the difference between a ton and a half of quality or even milling wheat and a ton of canary seed . The weather is a fickle master and rarely rocks the way we want . I wont annoy you by mentioning the p word but as@robbie suggested the land might have been tight. Anyway best of luck with your harvest and i look forward to you posting that you cant believe your yields you dont know where the grain is coming from but it looks like it may average 3 ton !!!
Ps way back in 92 i cut a field of wheat that was drilled with a seed treatment that affected establishment vincit was the product if i recall right. The crop was terribly thin and lacked tillers so had only got the basic inputs but still yielded a respectable3 ton .

your post has reminded me, ive a field that over the years as combines have got bigger the grain tank has as well, but in the main if I can get up and back its doing ok as long as im full at the end ,If I cant get back even with a partial running tip its doing well and if ive got to tip and then cut a bit more to get to the end its doing the magic 4 plus ,however this particular year cutting with the old 1530 i could see through the crop to the ground to say I was disappointed was an understatement until 1/2 way back down the tank was full and running down my neck ( cabless in those days) and that was a year when crops didnt look that grand all the way through. the season, memory makes me think it was a variety called longbow a big bold soft wheat ,it hasnt oft been beaten

 

[Hindsight]

your post has reminded me, ive a field that over the years as combines have got bigger the grain tank has as well, but in the main if I can get up and back its doing ok as long as im full at the end ,If I cant get back even with a partial running tip its doing well and if ive got to tip and then cut a bit more to get to the end its doing the magic 4 plus ,however this particular year cutting with the old 1530 i could see through the crop to the ground to say I was disappointed was an understatement until 1/2 way back down the tank was full and running down my neck ( cabless in those days) and that was a year when crops didnt look that grand all the way through. the season, memory makes me think it was a variety called longbow a big bold soft wheat ,it hasnt oft been beaten

1984 or 1986

 

[Fragonard]

Despite been drilled into a " full moisture profile " the soil dried out fast and knackered your crops ?? Would earlier drilling at low seed rates say at the end of August have helped do you think . Thing is if as the experts say we can expect wetter winters and ultra dry periods then this type of spring drought could become more common . You can get over one poor year but long term poor yields due to adverse weather is not a runner. Im glad you think that you will make a positive margin and im no agronimist but id strongly think about spending a few quid on a cheap earwash might be the difference between a ton and a half of quality or even milling wheat and a ton of canary seed . The weather is a fickle master and rarely rocks the way we want . I wont annoy you by mentioning the p word but as@robbie suggested the land might have been tight. Anyway best of luck with your harvest and i look forward to you posting that you cant believe your yields you dont know where the grain is coming from but it looks like it may average 3 ton !!!
Ps way back in 92 i cut a field of wheat that was drilled with a seed treatment that affected establishment vincit was the product if i recall right. The crop was terribly thin and lacked tillers so had only got the basic inputs but still yielded a respectable3 ton .

You must be forgetting that the Lexions, produce grain[emoji1]

 

[Cowcorn]

You must be forgetting that the Lexions, produce grain[emoji1]

I didnt know that !! Mind i have heard that you can drill a field at the same time as harvesting Such efficencies are surely worth a premium !!!!

 

[Lincsman]

I didnt know that !! Mind i have heard that you can drill a field at the same time as harvesting Such efficencies are surely worth a premium !!!!

Yes 3t/ac goes in but screen gets 4t/ac out, thats if its still on Demo calibration.

 

[David.]

The best looking sample of wheat we have ever grown yet, came off a field of Riband that was mudded in, early 90s, looked awful and thin in spring, you could walk across the field without standing on a plant, but every ear and every grain just filled and filled. Did over 3 ton, which was good then, and still is now a decent crop.

 

[David.]

This seed crop was a depressing sight over winter and early spring. (South coast of Ireland)

After WOSR, got hammered by Slugs & wet.

Winter wheat never ceases to amaze me with its ability to compensate.

These ears are the same variety but lots more grain sites where the plant has space (& nutrition).

I split the N into 5 applications, didn’t use extra just went with little and often.

Fingers crossed but I don’t think it’ll be a disaster.

View attachment 889942View attachment 889943View attachment 889944View attachment 889945

"Don't think it will be a disaster"....
Masterful understatement .