Insight Focus
Warmer weather has brought signs of spring to the farm. The UK government recently pulled funding for environmental schemes, leaving uncertainty about the future of farming support. Concerns of a potential drought, with significantly lower rainfall than usual, threaten both yield and profitability.
What’s Happening on the Farm?
Sugar beet is finished, and the factory has closed down for a rest. My dear old dad always said it needed “stress leave.” I hate sugar beet mud, so I’m pleased to see the end of the campaign.
Early signs of spring have appeared, and at one point, we were apparently warmer than southern Spain.
For better or worse, this breathed a sense of purpose into the farm, especially as the days get longer. In my head, we should work with the daylight. Another sign of spring was the first fair of the year, held in my local town—welcomed in by the farming of yesterday.
Having finished delivering sugar beet, our lorry now moves on to transporting other grains to their destinations. This continues through the spring until grain harvest, when we start again.
Last week, we were visited by a couple of Canadian farmers and their wives, on a farming trip courtesy of Bayer. Unsurprisingly, they face many of the same issues we do, but agriculture is viewed more sympathetically there. They can even use double-strength neonics on virtually anything, despite their canola being imported into the UK/EU. Hmm.
Not strictly “on farm,” but I read that ABF recently published its annual results. My local processor is part of that business, and it was mentioned that British Sugar may be spun off from the parent group. This could be an opportunity for the processor and grower to do something interesting. Negotiations for the grower price for harvest ‘26 must be starting soon.
What Stage are the Crops at?
Wheat/Rye/Spring Barley
Spring can be seen, particularly in the rye we grow. With the warm temperatures, it appears to be “doubling” in size—it does have to do this at some point. As with wheat, the late-drilled rye has received its first applications of nitrogen. I argue that this increases the accuracy of application versus a solid product.
We use a version that includes sulphur. With the loss of acid rain, we now must apply sulphur for the efficient use of nitrogen.
All our spring barley is planted—much earlier than last year. The vast majority has also been rolled, which helps herbicide efficiency and makes me feel happier. Late-planted wheat and rye will also be rolled to encourage tillering and speed up harvest, as soon as the risk of frost has diminished.
OSR
Nitrogen is on, and the crop is starting to grow quickly. It hasn’t liked the hard frosts we’ve had over the last four weeks or so, but this has probably not affected yield. If we get frost during flowering, that will be a very different matter. A fungicide and growth regulator will be applied as soon as the risk of frost has passed.
Sugar Beet
Seed for harvest ’25 has arrived in a timelier manner than last year. Land is being prepared as I write, after we have applied FYM. Subject to weather, we expect to start planting early next week. Then we will worry about (in no particular order) aphids, hares and skylarks—all of which attack a very small beet plant at the earliest opportunity.
What are your Biggest Concerns?
Jackie and I took a holiday over Christmas, which, for reasons best left alone, involved us traveling around the UK.
I attended a lecture on climate change given by a friend of mine. After two and a half hours, I deduced that all is not going well.
New Year’s resolutions have now all been forgotten, so I can launch into agricultural policy. Last week, the government pulled funding for environmental schemes and said that there may be something in 12 months’ time—they’d go away and think about things.
During the same week, the government also announced plans to sack any bureaucrat who wasn’t doing something useful. From this, I deduce that DEFRA will be closed down and English farming will go bankrupt. Someone sent me a photograph of farmers protesting in London recently—I imagine this is only going to get worse.
From a farming viewpoint, our main fear is drought. Unlike much of England, we have had considerably less rainfall than normal, although, weirdly, soil moisture content is at the high end of the expected range. This suggests evaporation has been low. Looking at grain prices—which are, arguably, below the cost of production—and the potential for yield loss through drought, the outlook is not enticing, especially when the government has said it “doesn’t care.”
And on that happy note, Cecelia and I will go see if we can find something for her to chase.
