starting on the 1st July, finishing on the 7th August. There were a couple of dodgy weeks in the middle where we actually had some rain which stopped play, but then caught up quickly and it was over and out by early august.
Yields were…..not that bad. With the dry weather through spring and summer, lots of harvests across the country have been very poor. Whilst ours were down at least 10% on last year, some well timed rain in the spring – anyone remember April when we had three days of the type of rain “that put pounds in your pocket” (or “PIYP” as my family have since termed it, not an official farming acronym)? Well, that made a big difference. Soil and soil type makes a big difference too with the chalkier land holding the water better and having better crops.
The prices of crop are very low at the moment though which is frustrating. Despite poor harvests in the UK, we work in a global market and there has been plenty of grain around the world keeping prices low. My boss also told me today that apparently the UK have imported more wheat in 2025 than ever before. Importing lots of wheat at low prices, makes farming in this country less viable which makes food security at greater risk in the future. Whilst we are on politics, we got a new Environment secretary of state and new farming minister in the re-shuffle. The previous ones weren’t very popular, so we will wait and see what Emma and Dame Angela have to say. With no environmental schemes currently available and IHT implications stilting growth in the industry, they both have big jobs!
Back on the farm, cover crops have been drilled. These are a mixture of different plans that cover the soil and protect it over winter before we plant a spring crop. This year, with great excitement they will be grazed by George’s sheep over the winter. This will provide valuable food for the sheep and help get rid of the cover crops (once they have done their work) ready for the cash crops to be planted in the spring.
There have also been some “catch crops” planted. These are planted straight after harvest and stay in for the couple of months before autumn crops are drilled (October). They help “catch” the nutrients in the soil. Sometimes they don’t grow (cos no rain), sometimes they grow too big (cos good conditions), and sometimes (presumably) they are just right. This year, they are too big which means the blackgrass doesn’t germinate underneath, which means you cannot kill it before you plant the crop, which means it then ruins the crop (still with me? Noone said regen farming was easy!). So Tom has been “discing them in”, I think this means sort of mulching them into the soil, so the blackgrass can see the light, grow, then die, and then we can plant more crops. Tricky.
Other than that, the oilseed rape is already planted, some is even growing! And then the rest of the land is being prepped ready for drilling come October.