Insight Focus
Harvest preparations continue with crops ready for early harvest. International market pressures are causing concern for growers. Meanwhile, pest risks, crop health, and wildlife affect farm life.
What’s Happening on the Farm?
Harvest must have started because the sugar beet processor has just sent out a lot of information for harvest ’26. Also, missives have been dispatched stating that processor and grower do not agree on price — there’s a surprise.
The Met Office has published its annual report on UK weather, saying it is getting warmer, particularly in the East where we are, and it’s going to be wetter. A trend that is likely to continue long after I am dead. A politician’s view on life is, perhaps, 24 hours out, so nothing will change.
We have OSR coming from other farmers. One of the lorry drivers was cheerfully telling me how, when taking imported wheat to a mill, no tests are done – hmmm.
In fairness to the staff, repairs to machinery have been made, which will greatly help efficiency for harvest ’26. Sheds have been cleaned out and fumigated to reduce the risk of insect infestation to the coming crop, which will be stored for up to 10 months. A contractor had been proposed to do this work; to my delight, I knew the owner nearly 50 years ago. He must surely be dead by now, particularly when I think about the happiness with which he threw insecticides about half a century ago.
Jackie and I took a holiday before harvest, just. It was lovely to have time together.
What Stage are the Crops at?
Wheat/Rye/Spring Barley
With rye finished, we start again.
As with all our crops, we have soil samples to do, cultivation plans to make (a requirement the state insists on, among many other things), and fertiliser plans to enact. Rightly or wrongly, most of this fertiliser has already been purchased if not delivered.
Wheat is fit and ready for harvest, nearly three weeks earlier than normal. Weather forecasts now predict rain, it having rained on St Swithin’s Day, so that is what is going to happen for the next “40 days and nights.” You’d really like to think that the saints would be more helpful, bearing in mind the hard lives they must have had to lead to become saints. Because of the unusually high temperatures and wind, yield will have been taken away. Assuming our combine wishes to work — not a given — this is where we go next.
Except, if the saint is correct, we will be cutting spring barley, as this crop will dry quicker than our wheat and the financial risk is much higher; we could turn our malting sample into a fine feed one.
OSR
The application of sulphur, mentioned last time, did not raise the oil content of our crop. We have oils like others, likewise yield. Detailed analysis post-harvest supports early planting, as we did last year, and we are getting land ready as I write.
Cabbage stem flea beetle is expected on August 28. The adult beetle is currently walking away from the stored grain; it never ceases to impress me how a beetle can go through a combine or sieve and find itself in our store.
Sugar Beet
We are in a period where not much happens other than the crop growing, hopefully. Sunlight levels have been, thus far, very high, and this should be going into the sugar content. As with all crops, hot winds have hurt growth, particularly on light land, which heats up more quickly than stronger land. I have heard reports of leaf scorch caused by the leaf touching soil during the heat of the day.
Looking forward, fungicide sprays are now due, but with low relative humidity levels, Cercospora is thought to be at low risk — although with it now raining, this can change very quickly. Rust spores are seen in the crop.
Maize
It has not liked the heat and wind. This is a crop I’m now starting to write down the yield for. There isn’t much I can think to do to improve things. As above, harvest is likely to be early. I have taken a trip to the western part of England to try and learn from the farmers there; they farm very well. Cattle farming seems to be profitable.
But for Cecelia life has improved. With rye gone from our closest fields, she has discovered there were many hares hiding in the crop, and it is much easier to chase them on a stubble than in a crop that is 5½ inches high. Fortunately, this activity is still legal. How you explain to a whippet the complexity of hunting law is beyond me.
