Harvest is done and dusted and the Harvest Twitch a distant memory (having been replaced by the “Field Prep Panic”) but I know you’re all here for the stats, so….
Dates: 18th July – 12th August
Average wheat yield: 9.4 tonne per hectare
BEST wheat yield: 10.9 tonne per hectare
Oats: 8.5 tonne per hectare
Best crops: All of them, apart from the winter barley which didn’t have enough sunshine at grain filling time and got ergot
Other: “Better than expected” “Easiest harvest in a long time” “All came ripe at the right time”
For anyone (mainly me) who might compare this to last year’s harvest report, it is very positive. The rain all year helped us, as water is often our limiting factor. The lack of sunshine was a concern and certainly impacted the winter barley but the sunny couple of weeks we had at the end of June and beginning of July made a massive impact on the wheat and oats as this is when they were filling with grain.
As the person living with the farmer, I can attest that it was easier than most. Due to the late and cold spring, nothing was ready too early and it was all well spaced out and we had pretty good weather. So when stuff was ripe, it was combined. When that was finished the straw was baled and removed and by the time that was finished the next crop was ready. Not too many late nights or panic and we all wondered what we normally make such a fuss about. I imagine we will be reminded next year!
This wasn’t necessarily the same picture across the country however! And as I sit and write this on the 17th September, over a month since Tom finished, we are harvesting spring oats on the farm at work in Leicestershire. Lots of farms were very late getting there spring crops in due to the wet weather and so they are ready to harvest later. Once into September with shorter days and colder temperatures, your harvest windows get shorter too. So this can be tricky.
We are also harvesting spring oats and peas on the farm at work, which we grew next to each other as a bi-crop. The peas have grown up the oats and use them for support. The peas n turn fix nitrogen from the air, which we hope will have been available to the oats. Harvesting them has been tricky as the two crops do not necessarily ripen at the same time! But we are looking at whether they would be a good animal feed and source of protein for livestock to replace imported soya!
Back in Cambridgeshire, there is no rest for the farmer and there is a lot going on to prepare for the next crops! Land is being lightly cultivated, organic amendments have been spread on the fields and winter cover crops have gone in. And (drumroll…..) Tom has planted two fields of oilseed rape. Not an easy crop to grow due to pigeons and flea beetles eating it, but confidence is high and we’re giving it a crack, wish us luck. I’ll keep you posted.
Weather requests get a bit confusing this time of year as far as I can tell. I think we want a little bit of everything…… and minimal rain in October when we are planting the winter crops. But then some rain once they are planted so they grow.