Agronomy : A Challenging Year
They say a lot can change in a year and it certainly feels that way this year! With the recent extremes in weather, it has challenged
us all, but the dedication throughout the season has got us over the line!
Casting our minds back to autumn 2022 conditions seemed kinder and crops established nicely in good time. Oilseed rape was the
usual roller coaster, with contrasting results across neighbouring farms, and sometimes next - door fields. Those grown with compan-
ions seemed to establish that bit quicker, but the jury is still out on their
cost over benefit when it comes to yield return. Most crops survived the
onslaught of the flea beetle and slugs, leaving us something to battle with
for the rest of the season. One pest which did seem to illude us was the
bird cherry oat/grain aphid. Although conditions turned cold in early De-
cember and for a small period in the new year, it wasn ’ t enough to hold
back the aphids in the south, with pockets of BYDV expressing itself in
crops across the spring. The value of the BYDV spray was easy to see last
year, compromising the SFI ’ s carrot - and - stick incentive.
Coming out of the winter we saw a brief dry period in February where
some progress was made on some early nitrogen and spraying applications
with some acres of cereals drilled where soils were appropriately dry
enough. If we knew then what we knew in April, a lot more would have
been drilled! But hindsight is something were all still working on and I ’ m
sure is the golden ticket in agriculture!
The less said about March and April the better! Wet, windy, and not much cop for both winter and spring plant establishment.
Roots were compromised, being pruned from saturation, or not physically growing as still in the bag waiting to be drilled! Never-
theless, the determination and dedication in the field made the most of some short and compromised conditions and got crops in
the ground, sprayed or fertilised by hook or by crook.
The spring weather patterns heightened the pressure on the wet weather season diseases such as eyespot, septoria, mildew, rhyn-
chosporium, and net blotch. All taking careful management, altering product choices and dose rates to manage each variety and
drilling date. With drilling date seeming to have the largest effect on plant resistance, really taking the pressure of the dose rate and
timing. Fortunately, conditions drilled up in May, reducing the pressure on these diseases and timings. Diseases were kept in the
bottom to the middle of the crop and things started to grow away nicely. May brought an end to the later planted forage crops and
they certainly were the pick of the crops. Maize flew away in nearly all situations, producing some lovely biomass throughout July
and august. This however was when the rains came back.
.
Harvest was a stop start process, catching windows when they appeared. Results where varied, but certainly down on the previous
year, largely due to the bushel weight. The dry June, wet July did not fill the potential some of these crops had. Maize yields were
the pick and have filled the clamps with both yield and quality, which should stand the livestock sector in good stead. Autumn for-
age and cover crops have also flown away due to this moisture which arguably hasn ’ t stopped since it started in July. Helping to
bridge the gap in some of the silage stocks across the country.
This autumn has been tricky to say the least! Early drilled wheat, barley, and oats established well, growing away from the slugs and
waterlogging, seem to have just enough root system and leaf above water to stay alive. The mid October onwards crops have strug-
gled and some of them were arguably better in the bag until conditions improved in late November. We still have time on our side
for these crops, which may well now be in the new year.
So all in, it ’ s got to dry up soon, and if you want the rainbow with a pot of gold under it, you ’ ve got to put up with the rain …
Richard Harris
- Agronomist
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