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Get Ready for Winter! A look at markets and conditions for which winter crops to consider drilling this year (Courtesy of Jonathan Coombe)
By Rob Wyborn, St. Catherines Seeds
Autumn 2021 brings a fresh start. Improved growing conditions for current autumn and spring drilled crops, fresh seed stocks across the board and grain values rising due to high demand. Wheat and barley are still regarded as the best performing and most important crops on farm. Popular crops such as wheat and barley benefit from being versatile together with breeding developments to improve yield and disease resistance. Milling wheat, used in food products from biscuits to bread continues to do well on these 18
shores, where we consistently produce a high-quality milling product. Diverse uses for malt see the annual output of nearly 2m tonnes simply increasing. More uses for cereals in animal feed and Food and Drink manufacturers are finding that wheat can provide a rich source of starch and glucose. Not forgetting the increasing demand in Bioethanol markets, which continues to evolve, with plant-based ethanol being used as a petrol alternative. The increasing markets for Linseed may just interest a
greater number of farmers, with increasing demand to grow this under contract. This is proving a popular replacement for oilseed rape with its early sowing and harvesting benefits. It goes without saying that close attention should be made of the recommended list of winter cereals for your particular region. The AHDB Recommended list (RL) provides an expansive list of varieties by region, that are proven in terms of performance and disease resistance. For a more detailed list of recommended varieties in Scotland, take a look
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the Scottish Recommended Lit for Cereals 2021/22 from pure. SRUC.ac.uk On heavy soils, the most profitable (and sustainable) rotation will be two wheats after a break crop, followed by spring barley. Others may even return to continuous wheat/cereals, but caution must be taken to avoid the Take-All effects on rooting and yield. It is perhaps more challenging on lighter soils where second cereals tend not to perform so well. The key to minimising the financial impact is to look at the
