Being a this is the year of the apocalypse and the weather was driest ever in the spring, yet the summer is wet dark and windy, I was wondering how the famine is coming along ? Hashtag 4 horsemen.
How are the crops doing this year ?
- Thread starter petrochemicals
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It's a great year for early sown crops, the oil seed rape is being harvested as I write this, the barley will be collected next week, and milling wheat in 3 - 4 weeks time. So speaking for the South East of England, it has been a great year for arable farming....the horses would get fat this way 
How about the summer wheat ? The big daddy of arable.It's a great year for early sown crops, the oil seed rape is being harvested as I write this, the barley will be collected next week, and milling wheat in 3 - 4 weeks time. So speaking for the South East of England, it has been a great year for arable farming....the horses would get fat this way
Edit:
And spuds for that matter.
Spring sown wheat is fine too, particularly fields that have more open soils. The issue is you have to roll the germinating wheat to release auxin.
Auxin is a plant hormone produced in the stem tip that promotes cell elongation when flexed/lightly damaged, which means you get multi headed ears of wheat. On heavy clay soils it was harder for farmers to get on the fields in the wet early months, they would not have been able to do this, so their yield will be much lower than elsewhere.
Over this way in the south east, it was a very wet spring, rather than dry, that is stated in the post.
The problem with wet and windy summers, is that the crops get blown down, and rot. This used to be the case everywhere, until growth regulators were widely used. Now every crop has a chance.
It was wet in the SE ? Thats quite something, every where else experienced a drought with sun, may being the driest on record in england.
May 2020 becomes the sunniest calendar month on record
May has become the sunniest calendar month on record in the UK
www.metoffice.gov.uk
But being as the sun is not replecatable unlike the rain I suppose a sunny spring is wanted, ahh how those sunny days seem a lifetime ago.
May was dry, but March and early April were the wettest for a number of years, groundwater levels were at an all time high. Warm and wet, perfect for winter sown crops on free draining soils.It was wet in the SE ? Thats quite something, every where else experienced a drought with sun, may being the driest on record in england.
May 2020 becomes the sunniest calendar month on record
May has become the sunniest calendar month on record in the UK
But being as the sun is not replecatable unlike the rain I suppose a sunny spring is wanted, ahh how those sunny days seem a lifetime ago.
Spring sown crops would have been harder, wet early months and then a long dry spell, then wet again. The issue is the volume of rain over a short period, this does not soak in, just creates surface run off and crop/seed/soil loss from fields.
This project aims at encouraging recharge of aquifers https://www.southeastriverstrust.org/prowater/
For information only, I have been working out 3 year local total annual rainfall percentages by month
As can be seen February and March 2020 were very high rainfall, sorry picture is rubbish, Feb = 253% and March 115%
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As can be seen February and March 2020 were very high rainfall, sorry picture is rubbish, Feb = 253% and March 115%
Sent from my LLD-L31 using Tapatalk
18-19 was not bad either. The way i remember it was the rain stopped halfway through march and we had lots of sun. Then come about the end of may, just as the summer got going, it was very dark and grey. Not to worry weve had a nice spell of sun to dry that wheat hay etc out.
18-19 was at 108% for both Feb and March, so normal amount of expected rain, 19-20 (this year) was far wetter in those months, as mentioned above at 253% in Feb and 115% in March
From what my farming chums have said this years cereal harvest is generally pretty poor - that's East Anglia.
The grain is small and not filled out. Those who bale straw are saying this year it's rows per bale rather than bales per row.
Fields of beans I've walked and driven near look to be very poor, small pods and not much in them.
The grain is small and not filled out. Those who bale straw are saying this year it's rows per bale rather than bales per row.
Fields of beans I've walked and driven near look to be very poor, small pods and not much in them.
Vegetables: Coming along but a cool wet start has been a bit of a set back.
Some locals here are supplying the entire commercial region with potatoes and onions.
Demand for local onions has jumped as American onion imports poisoned with Salmonella.
We have just cooled down after 2 weeks of windy dry heat (+30C - +35C) when all the local ranches
got a really good, big hay crop off, baled and put away. The cheerfulness seems to be contagious.
Some locals here are supplying the entire commercial region with potatoes and onions.
Demand for local onions has jumped as American onion imports poisoned with Salmonella.
We have just cooled down after 2 weeks of windy dry heat (+30C - +35C) when all the local ranches
got a really good, big hay crop off, baled and put away. The cheerfulness seems to be contagious.
I hope
I hope you have your harvest in grafarmer, i think thats the summer done.
Oilseed rape this year, so all done 4 weeks ago, fields rotavated and cover crops sown, just apples and pears to look forward to now
agreed weather is drawing in now, but very much needed.You have been fortunate then Mr Farmer, the harvest yield is low and wet.Oilseed rape this year, so all done 4 weeks ago, fields rotavated and cover crops sown, just apples and pears to look forward to now
Extreme weather means UK faces worst wheat yields in 40 years
Wet winter, dry spring and hot summer combined to make tough planting and growing conditions for farmers
www.independent.co.uk
Anyway, enjoy your skiing !
I am more an academic/scientist, I help other farms keep farming, and protect water resources. I am a contributing author to UK and EU environmental law as a specialist in my field, so no skiing for me.You have been fortunate then Mr Farmer, the harvest yield is low and wet.
Extreme weather means UK faces worst wheat yields in 40 years
Wet winter, dry spring and hot summer combined to make tough planting and growing conditions for farmers
Anyway, enjoy your skiing !
I know it has not been the best for farms this year, but it really is swings and round abouts. I remember the freek three years in a row of heavy wet summers that saw wheat rotting in fields about 25 years ago. Growth regulators started being used after that, thus we have smaller wheat stems.
Farming is very much like gambling, with zero risk assessment for capital that is exposed to the elements. We have all been there, and played a bad hand....comes with the job.
I communicate with over 2000 farms across the South East, promoting innovation, I am doing trials over the winter looking at zero nitrate inputs for following cash crops. The ideal is to get to low /zero nitrate inputs and increase soil organic matter.
The work we do together aims to reduce pesticides, nitrates and promote soil health (particularly organic matter) thus reducing the impacts on crop yields in weather like we have seen this year, and likely to see again.
For example, if your organic matter was at 4%, an increase by 1% would see water retention of 70,000 litres per hectare, it is a log scale, so this increase in water retention is more for each and every additional 1% increase in organic matter content. Based upon my communication with holdings, farms that have low organic matter content at <4% have been hit the hardest.
This EU project PROWATER which I am contributing to, aims at increasing water availability and infiltration to the groundwater, adaptive practices at field level make all the difference.
PROWATER: Managing landscapes for resilient water resources - South East Rivers Trust
Water is a vital resource for society and the basis of wildlife ecosystems. Climate change is bringing drier, hotter summers and wetter winters. By 2050, the region’s residents could be […]
www.southeastriverstrust.org
https://corporate.southeastwater.co.uk/about-us/our-environment/interreg-partnership/
So the question is what can the farmer do on the ground to adapt to the change in weather, and safe guard the business? The information is there, just needs to be applied to individual holdings, and change / adapt current farm practices. It will be hard at first, but once trialled no one has gone back.
I will be filming a section for a conference and farmer work shop, this coming week, when the trial data is in and workshop complete, I will post a link to the video here.
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Impressive. Do you have any links to the harvests of the 70s, which years precisely?
AgriCensus data is available, but subscription. Defra do a 1st June census that is available from the gov.uk site.
The data I have is related to targeted catchments, it helps to keep the data resolution high, rather than going wider.
I will have a look at the agri census years and let you know.
The data I have is related to targeted catchments, it helps to keep the data resolution high, rather than going wider.
I will have a look at the agri census years and let you know.
Western Canada is doing very well.
Your lentils and durum/semolina for pasta will be #1 again this year.
Your lentils and durum/semolina for pasta will be #1 again this year.
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