Insight Focus
- Heavy rains break drought in the UK.
- Neonicotinoid insecticide use approved for sugar beet.
- Beet plantings to start soon, once weather dries out.
What’s Happening on the Farm?
So having forecasted a drought, we have had some 160% of normal rainfall since I last wrote. This brings an end to drought as far as winter crops are concerned and spring crops have had some 140% of normal rainfall, which means we have not done much on farm. Now catching up.
Neonicotinoid insecticide approval has been granted and sugar beet seed has been arriving, which will give us circa 6 weeks protection from aphids. This will be helpful as aphid arrival is currently seen as the 3rd week of April and we haven’t planted a seed yet.
All winter crops have now had their first dressing of ammonium nitrate and we are starting second applications – I still hold the view that we will turn drier and warmer than normal which argues for having the N in the ground rather than the bag.
We have had the results from our first carbon audit which, if I’ve understood it correctly (not a given), says that we dump 3,000 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. At $200/tonne we will be going broke soon. We are also quite short of worms, apparently. The fact the auditors went worm hunting in soil that was as dry as it is at harvest seems not to be an important factor. As the farm manager asked, how is it that an airline can purchase carbon credits and they do nothing but exhale carbon, at least we inhale it at night and feed people.
Also a number of off-farm meetings, one with British Sugar. The grower was unusually keen to get there, a farmer will do anything for a free breakfast.
Crop Stage
Oil seed rape is now starting to grow with strength, it never surprises me how this crop takes-off when it starts growing.
Wheat and rye are following OSR, but a little behind.
The State is supporting the reduction of nitrogen use this year and, in summary, it argues for a drop of 50kgs/ha. It hasn’t mentioned that the nitrogen in the soil this year is some 50-75 Kgs/N below normal (no idea why but our samples follow the pattern). We could be anything up to 100 kgs of N short which amounts to a loss of 4 tonnes/ha in yield. And prices are in free-fall (I’m a farmer so I am always long my crop, before any cynic asks).
Spring barley, where it has been planted, is emerging and looks well. We still have much to plant.
Sugar beet is in the box waiting for some dry weather.
Big Concerns
The supply of food. Just as an example, the French sugar beet area is likely to be down to a 14-year low with weather risk on top. At what point does government start to worry about feeding its people – obviously in the UK we are ok as our Minister has instructed us to eat turnips. Watch the BBC comedy “Blackadder”. Regrettably, our sheep got to the turnips before we did.
Ambitions for the Year
Cat fed, see last time, so I’m back trying to raise prices for our crops and their yields.
