Mountrath Co Laois
Preparations are well underway for harvest in Laois, and Stephen has been getting stuck into some combine maintenance recently.
The winter wheat looks very good, and it has remained clean throughout the recent wet weather. It received its T3 fungicide of Protendo, Globaztar, and Mirror recently.
Stephen says it just needs some decent weather during grain fill now to maximise its potential.
The winter oats look fantastic, but there is a fear that they could lodge, as they are currently 5’ 8.5” tall.
He says they are “a wicked crop” and that he has put the oats in the Straw Incorporation Measure, but he may remove them if the straw market is very good.
The winter beans are showing the effects of the very dry weather in May.
Moisture stress
While the bottom 18” of the plants have good pods, there is then 18” with no pods – as the flowers aborted due to moisture stress.
Some newer flowers are present at the top of the plants and should set pods, but Stephen thinks there will be a yield penalty of between 30 and 50%. Two fungicides have been applied, and he may apply a third if required.
The spring beans have only received one fungicide so far. They are now taller than the winter beans and Stephen says they look mighty.
There is a wild oat problem in one field of spring barley as the spraying window for Axial Pro was missed as Stephen did not think the problem was as bad.
There is also some variation in development in fields that received pig slurry before planting, while those that received chemical fertiliser are uniform.
Stephen does not think this will affect harvesting.
Otherwise, the barley looks good, except it is slightly shorter than other years.
The May-sown spring oats are due their first spray shortly. They look quite well considering the ground they’re in, and are growing rapidly.
Dunsany, Co Meath
Spraying opportunities have been limited this week in Meath with the broken spell of weather, but David has worked between the showers to ensure the correct timings are met.
The T3 fungicide spray applications on winter wheat were completed in between the thundery downpours. The wheat received 0.8l/ha of Prosaro and 0.6l/ha of Amistar. The wheat has been coming under pressure from septoria in the past few weeks so keeping on top of spray timings and the intervals between sprays has been key to keeping it at bay.
The spring beans received a first fungicide and trace elements during flowering. They received a generic formulation of Signum (0.7kg/ha), EPSO Top (3kg/ha), Phosphite (1.5 l/ha) and some sulphur. The beans look really good and the weather has suited them lately. The crop has a small amount of chocolate spot developing lower down the canopy, but the fungicide should now stop it from progressing. This is likely to be the only fungicide that David applies to the beans.
David applied the first (and likely only) fungicide to spring beans recently.
The winter barley is much taller than usual this year, despite a robust growth regulation programme and some crops have lodged in places.
June is typically a good month for assessing and marketing crops, and he has been reflecting on what worked well on the farm over the season.
Wild oats
David says that grass weeds and wild oats constantly require attention and rogueing has been required in certain fields on the farm. David says that while the farm would usually forward sell a good proportion of its grain, sales are well back this year given where prices currently sit for grain. He adds that there has been a lack of opportunities to hedge wheat on the futures market at profitable levels. The farm will carry more stock to store this year and see how the market plays out over the coming months.
Villierstown,
Co Waterford
Pádraig’s holidays may have to be cut short as the Integral winter barley is ripening in quicker than expected on a very early site, with a harvest date in the first few days of July expected. He will keep a close eye on the weather forecast and inspect the crop just before leaving before making a decision.
The Belfry hybrid barley is a sea of heads at present, and Pádraig thinks this year has suited the hybrid variety.
The winter wheat looks decent and received its head spray recently. This consisted of Patton Flex (0.75l/ha), Zoxis (0.75l/ha), and NTS Trio (1.2l/ha).
The winter oats should be ripe about 10 days after the winter barley. They look quite good and he says they remained very green for a long time.
The spring beans received their second fungicide of Cobalt (0.75kg/ha) and NTS Trio (1.5l/ha) at the end of flowering this week. Pádraig says it’s an unreal crop, with only a small amount of chocolate spot entering the crop recently.
Pádraig's winter wheat has remained quite clean this year and is now starting grain fill.
In one field of beans, he ploughed and sowed the headlands after the main area of the field was sowed, and it has a better establishment and more uniform crop than another field that was ploughed all at once. He says he will do this in future when possible, as soil can be quite tender when working in February.
The spring barley received its T2 fungicide last week. It was due a week previous but the heavy rain and wind prevented spraying.
The barley is lush enough, and he is happy that he made the decision to plant the barley at the earliest opportunity, as later crops are suffering.
Harvest
Pádraig has entered the maximum allowed area into SIM, including some spring barley. He is looking forward to the harvest as he says he is not disappointed with any field so far, which can be a rarity. He hopes the same will be true once the trailers are on the weighbridge.
Mountrath Co Laois
Preparations are well underway for harvest in Laois, and Stephen has been getting stuck into some combine maintenance recently.
The winter wheat looks very good, and it has remained clean throughout the recent wet weather. It received its T3 fungicide of Protendo, Globaztar, and Mirror recently.
Stephen says it just needs some decent weather during grain fill now to maximise its potential.
The winter oats look fantastic, but there is a fear that they could lodge, as they are currently 5’ 8.5” tall.
He says they are “a wicked crop” and that he has put the oats in the Straw Incorporation Measure, but he may remove them if the straw market is very good.
The winter beans are showing the effects of the very dry weather in May.
Moisture stress
While the bottom 18” of the plants have good pods, there is then 18” with no pods – as the flowers aborted due to moisture stress.
Some newer flowers are present at the top of the plants and should set pods, but Stephen thinks there will be a yield penalty of between 30 and 50%. Two fungicides have been applied, and he may apply a third if required.
The spring beans have only received one fungicide so far. They are now taller than the winter beans and Stephen says they look mighty.
There is a wild oat problem in one field of spring barley as the spraying window for Axial Pro was missed as Stephen did not think the problem was as bad.
There is also some variation in development in fields that received pig slurry before planting, while those that received chemical fertiliser are uniform.
Stephen does not think this will affect harvesting.
Otherwise, the barley looks good, except it is slightly shorter than other years.
The May-sown spring oats are due their first spray shortly. They look quite well considering the ground they’re in, and are growing rapidly.
Dunsany, Co Meath
Spraying opportunities have been limited this week in Meath with the broken spell of weather, but David has worked between the showers to ensure the correct timings are met.
The T3 fungicide spray applications on winter wheat were completed in between the thundery downpours. The wheat received 0.8l/ha of Prosaro and 0.6l/ha of Amistar. The wheat has been coming under pressure from septoria in the past few weeks so keeping on top of spray timings and the intervals between sprays has been key to keeping it at bay.
The spring beans received a first fungicide and trace elements during flowering. They received a generic formulation of Signum (0.7kg/ha), EPSO Top (3kg/ha), Phosphite (1.5 l/ha) and some sulphur. The beans look really good and the weather has suited them lately. The crop has a small amount of chocolate spot developing lower down the canopy, but the fungicide should now stop it from progressing. This is likely to be the only fungicide that David applies to the beans.
David applied the first (and likely only) fungicide to spring beans recently.
The winter barley is much taller than usual this year, despite a robust growth regulation programme and some crops have lodged in places.
June is typically a good month for assessing and marketing crops, and he has been reflecting on what worked well on the farm over the season.
Wild oats
David says that grass weeds and wild oats constantly require attention and rogueing has been required in certain fields on the farm. David says that while the farm would usually forward sell a good proportion of its grain, sales are well back this year given where prices currently sit for grain. He adds that there has been a lack of opportunities to hedge wheat on the futures market at profitable levels. The farm will carry more stock to store this year and see how the market plays out over the coming months.
Villierstown,
Co Waterford
Pádraig’s holidays may have to be cut short as the Integral winter barley is ripening in quicker than expected on a very early site, with a harvest date in the first few days of July expected. He will keep a close eye on the weather forecast and inspect the crop just before leaving before making a decision.
The Belfry hybrid barley is a sea of heads at present, and Pádraig thinks this year has suited the hybrid variety.
The winter wheat looks decent and received its head spray recently. This consisted of Patton Flex (0.75l/ha), Zoxis (0.75l/ha), and NTS Trio (1.2l/ha).
The winter oats should be ripe about 10 days after the winter barley. They look quite good and he says they remained very green for a long time.
The spring beans received their second fungicide of Cobalt (0.75kg/ha) and NTS Trio (1.5l/ha) at the end of flowering this week. Pádraig says it’s an unreal crop, with only a small amount of chocolate spot entering the crop recently.
Pádraig's winter wheat has remained quite clean this year and is now starting grain fill.
In one field of beans, he ploughed and sowed the headlands after the main area of the field was sowed, and it has a better establishment and more uniform crop than another field that was ploughed all at once. He says he will do this in future when possible, as soil can be quite tender when working in February.
The spring barley received its T2 fungicide last week. It was due a week previous but the heavy rain and wind prevented spraying.
The barley is lush enough, and he is happy that he made the decision to plant the barley at the earliest opportunity, as later crops are suffering.
Harvest
Pádraig has entered the maximum allowed area into SIM, including some spring barley. He is looking forward to the harvest as he says he is not disappointed with any field so far, which can be a rarity. He hopes the same will be true once the trailers are on the weighbridge.
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