The farm: “I farm with my father Cecil, along with my wife Louise and our three children, Nicole, Lauren and Jamie. We run a mixed farm with cattle and tillage enterprises on a total of 800 acres, of which 520 acres is in crops. We grow oilseed rape, winter barley, winter wheat, spring barley, spring beans and maize. On the cattle side, we run 130 head, of which 40 animals are suckler cows. We take all cattle through to beef.”
Spring planting: “We are used to planting in late spring in this part of the country. But this year, planting started much later than normal, kicking off at the end of April. We still have some planting to finish. Normally, we have everything finished by early May. There is still some spring barley to sow, but I will cut it for whole crop as combining would be too late in autumn.”
Planting is later than normal due to the wet spring.
Outlook for crops: “Although it is late for planting, I am still hopeful that crops will do OK. If the weather is right, spring crops planted late tend to push on and are ready for combining at the same time as early-sown crops.”
Maize: “Drilling maize has been the priority over the last week. I drilled 25 acres on my own ground, which will be fed to cattle over winter. I also do some contracting and have been planting maize for other farmers.”
Jonathan uses his own machinery to plant crops.
Endurance cycling: “I completed the Mallorca 312km cycle challenge at the end of April with another farmer David Gault. It was a seriously tough event but a massive high on completing it. I like endurance events and have completed challenges like Mizen Head to Malin Head in 24 hours. It’s a great way to test yourself and the training helps to clear the head. It is tough getting time to train with farming and family commitments. Training is usually an early start or late at night. My next challenge is a 112km gravel bike race in Scotland next week.”
Preparing ground and planting maize.
Read more
Tillage Podcast: selling grain and protecting crops
Grain prices strengthen as planting continues
The farm: “I farm with my father Cecil, along with my wife Louise and our three children, Nicole, Lauren and Jamie. We run a mixed farm with cattle and tillage enterprises on a total of 800 acres, of which 520 acres is in crops. We grow oilseed rape, winter barley, winter wheat, spring barley, spring beans and maize. On the cattle side, we run 130 head, of which 40 animals are suckler cows. We take all cattle through to beef.”
Spring planting: “We are used to planting in late spring in this part of the country. But this year, planting started much later than normal, kicking off at the end of April. We still have some planting to finish. Normally, we have everything finished by early May. There is still some spring barley to sow, but I will cut it for whole crop as combining would be too late in autumn.”
Planting is later than normal due to the wet spring.
Outlook for crops: “Although it is late for planting, I am still hopeful that crops will do OK. If the weather is right, spring crops planted late tend to push on and are ready for combining at the same time as early-sown crops.”
Maize: “Drilling maize has been the priority over the last week. I drilled 25 acres on my own ground, which will be fed to cattle over winter. I also do some contracting and have been planting maize for other farmers.”
Jonathan uses his own machinery to plant crops.
Endurance cycling: “I completed the Mallorca 312km cycle challenge at the end of April with another farmer David Gault. It was a seriously tough event but a massive high on completing it. I like endurance events and have completed challenges like Mizen Head to Malin Head in 24 hours. It’s a great way to test yourself and the training helps to clear the head. It is tough getting time to train with farming and family commitments. Training is usually an early start or late at night. My next challenge is a 112km gravel bike race in Scotland next week.”
Preparing ground and planting maize.
Read more
Tillage Podcast: selling grain and protecting crops
Grain prices strengthen as planting continues
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