Arable
Hopes for decent harvest as combines roll into crops
• Optimism follows challenging season • High disease pressure on cereal crops • Variable yields but high price for rape
E
arly reports suggest decent ce- real yields on many farms this harvest despite a challenging
season and high disease pressure. Combines rolled into barley in the third week of July with crops coming off the field at less than 14% moisture in Suffolk. Oilseed rape followed days later on some farms although yields have again been variable this year. With much wheat yet to come, agronomists said achieving yield po- tential would be dependent on the spray programme used following an- other year of lumpy weather which made it hard to get on top of problems at the best of times. A wet May brought high foliar dis- ease pressure to cereal crops – with winter wheat experiencing the high- est level of septoria tritici since 2012. Yellow rust has also been a problem although easier to control.
Changing outlook Eastern region BASF agronomy man- ager Andrew Smooker said: “Visually it did appear to be lower disease pres- sure at one stage of the season, but then the weather changed markedly and so did the outlook in the field. “As ever it is a mixed picture now,
especially because there are a range of drilling dates and fungicide timings and some growers with bigger spray intervals than others. But there is cer- tainly an aggressive disease pressure out there.”
Agronomist Matt Keane reports that the varieties expected to get yel- low rust in got it at various stages throughout the season. But in many cases on most farms it remained very controllable, he added. Growers saw much more Septo- ria in their crops but most managed to control it with their fungicide pro- grammes. There was certainly good control on farms where T1 and T2 were robust, he added.
Air of optimism “Our trials have given growers the op- portunity to see the level of disease on untreated plots and on plots with dif- fering spray programmes, as on farm they have nothing to compare their programmes to.”
Buoyant prices – especially for oil- seed rape – have leant an air of opti- mism to harvest. Mr Smooker said, “In this area it is probably the best oilseed rape crop we have seen for a few years and will go some way to boosting con-
fidence in the crop.”
Rape crops looked well podded ahead of harvest after an extended flowering period where many grow- ers protected the potential with two Sclerotinia sprays during some wet conditions. Mr Keane said: ”The plans are there to drill oilseed rape, but growers will only do so if there is moisture in the soil; whether that is in August or Sep- tember, it doesn’t matter, you have to hang on for the moisture.”
Weather has been extremely variable again this season
Harvest campaign aims to get MPs on farms G
rowers are showcasing their role in caring for the farmed landscape and their commitment to do even more
through new environment schemes. NFU members are inviting MPs on to their farms during the #YourHarvest cam- paign to demonstrate the value of the ara- ble sector – and discuss how agri-environ- ment schemes can deliver sustainable food production and a better countryside. Growers can get involved by taking pho- tos or making a short video to explain what
8 ANGLIA FARMER • AUGUST 2021
they do – and posting the images on social media to highlight how food production and the environment go hand in hand. The campaign follows indicative payment rates for the arable soils standard for the 2022 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). The scheme includes a particular focus on soil health (see page 33).
NFU combinable crops board chairman Matt Culley said a flexible and accessible system would appeal to more farms – wheth- er their systems already met SFI require-
ments or whether they were coming from a different starting point. Mr Culley said: “The SFI is a fantastic op-
portunity to build on this work, but the main challenge is attracting as many farmers as possible as it is accessibility that will deter- mine the success or failure of the scheme. “A flexible approach is going to be key to ensure that the incentives offered are at- tractive to all, especially to those who would need to make significant changes to ensure their efforts are worthwhile.”
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