9 minute read
Yields up in an historic harvest
Wheat generally performed well this season considering the heat and lack of rain most areas experienced.
Harvest for many was early, dry and hot, but crops generally did well this season. Alice Dyer gets a harvest round-up.
Yields up in an historic harvest
Record temperatures, combining at 5am to get the morning dew and months without a drop of rain will make the 2022 season a memorable one for many.
But despite the obvious challenges, many growers were left pleased with the amount of grain that went into the shed this harvest.
With most of the AHDB winter wheat Recommended List harvest results for treated trials now published (September 9), how varieties performed in the challenging conditions is becoming clearer.
Despite the lack of rainfall, some areas saw very high yields and as of September 9, the average yield of control varieties – Skyfall,
KWS Siskin, KWS Barrel, LG Skyscraper and Gleam – stood at 11.5 tonnes per hectare, 0.64t/ha ahead of the five-year average.
Living up to its name, newly recommended Group 4 (hard) variety Champion topped the results at 106%, followed by other Group 4s (hard) SY Insitor on 105% and newly recommended KWS Dawsum on 104 %.
Gleam, Graham and KWS Cranium were on 103%, but LG Typhoon has underperformed in 2022 on 98%.
Soft Group 4s
Highest yielding of the soft Group 4s in 2022 at 103%, was LG Skyscraper and newly recommended RGT Bairstow.
In the quality bread wheats, the top-yielding UKFM Group 1 bread wheat variety is KWS Zyatt at 101%, well ahead of Skyfall (97%), RGT Illustrious (96%), and Crusoe (94%).
In UKFM Group 2, KWS Extase is highest yielding at 103%, two points ahead of newly recommended variety KWS Palladium, while Mayflower sits at 97%.
Reflecting the low disease pressure year, the average yield of control varieties in untreated trials was 9.67t/ha, 0.91t/ha ahead of the five-year average.
Quality bread wheats are coming out on top for the 2022 harvest, with KWS Extase performing very well at 124%, followed by newly recommended varieties KWS Palladium (117%) and Mayflower (116%). RL yield results in brief
rWinter wheat: As of September 9, the average yield of control varieties was 11.5 tonnes per hectare, 0.64t/ha ahead of the five-year average. rOilseed rape: Winter OSR yield results for RL control varieties was almost 0.5t/ ha above the four year average at 5.72t/ha. rWinter barley: Average yield of the RL control varieties in the treated trials is 9.72t/ha, just below the five-year average of 9.81t/ ha, while wide variations in yield have also been reported in commercial crops. rSpring barley: The average treated yield of control varieties is 8.08t/ha, almost half a tonne above the fiveyear average. Despite the heat and drought, spring barley trials have performed surprisingly well in 2022. The highest AHDB RL yields were in Scotland. rWinter oats: Final winter oats RL harvest results show good yields in treated and untreated trials.
The final average yield of treated control varieties was 9.7t/ ha, 0.58t/ha ahead of the five-year average of 9.12t/ ha.
However, there was a lot of variation between trials, says AHDB, and high levels of crown rust were reported in some trials. Mildew levels were relatively low. rWinter rye and winter triticale: The average yield of the control varieties in the winter triticale trials just exceeded the five-year average and was below the long-term average in the winter rye trials. Quality was variable in both crops. Source: AHDB
Pleasing performance from oilseed rape
JLast season was relatively kind to winter oilseed rape, both commercially and in trials, with plenty of moisture around at drilling and flea beetle pressure relatively low in many cases.
In north east Lincolnshire, grower Peter Hewson harvested some of his highest ever yields.
Mr Hewson, who farms near Wold Newton, cut 80 hectares of the August-drilled crop in ‘perfect conditions’ during the third week of July.
He says: “To get anywhere near five tonnes/ha on this wold farm is unexpected, so I am extremely pleased. We aim for big yields and are grateful when we reach them. This year fields averaged 4.7-4.9t/ ha, which is one of the highest yields we have had.”
With crops generally escaping attack from cabbage stem flea beetle, the farm’s five-year average for oilseed rape is about 4t/ha. Mr Hewson grew the varieties Acacia, Aurelia and Elgar and trialled a small amount of Campus.
Oilseed rape also produced above average yields in RL trials, where control varieties yielded almost 0.5t/ha above the four year average. The nine treated trials of control varieties Campus, Aspire, Aurelia, DK Expansion and Temptation averaged 5.72t/ha.
PETER HEWSON
Hybrids
In data up to September 7, the highest yielding recommended varieties were three UK hybrids - LG Aviron, newly recommended LG Auckland and Aurelia, all on 105%.
This is also in line with their four year average performances. In 2022, these highest yielders were closely followed by Ambassador at 104%. Newly recommended Annika was leading conventional varieties on yield at 102%, followed by Acacia at 101%.
Clubroot variety Crocodile continued to do well at 103%, while Matrix CL was the highest
Pink coloured straw is normally an indication of high levels of potassium.
Pink straw sparks potassium concerns
JAlthough the exceptional weather made for a rapid harvest, lack of rainfall and early crop senescence meant potassium offtake from straw was significantly higher than usual for some crops, with pink coloured straw normally an indication of high levels of the nutrient.
Frontier’s national crop nutrition technical manager Edward Downing explains: “If you get rain it washes some of the potassium off the straw and back into the soil before harvest and baling, but in dry years that does not happen and you tend to see more potassium taken off the field.
“This year, unfortunately, straw potassium offtakes are going to be more than normal, and quite significantly more.”
In replicated trials in 2018 when pink straw was also widely seen, offtake was 50-100% more than the RB209 Nutrient Management Guide average figures.
Mr Downing recommends sending grain off for nutrient analysis - results will help identify actionable steps for fertiliser strategies for this season. Farm harvest saw earliest ever finish in Berwickshire
JDry weather and a lot of sunshine was the recipe for a successful harvest across much of Scotland.
For Annabel Hamilton and her father Will, who farm 1,130 hectares near Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, the usual midSeptember end to harvest was brought forward three weeks this year, with the last crop of spring oats combined on August 21.
Ms Hamilton says: “This is by far our earliest finish date and one of our easiest harvests ever. Usually we are drilling cereals and combining at the same time, but this year all the cereal drilling will be done without having to juggle in combining. We also normally have to dry everything but a quarter of our wheat was just under 14% which has been a luxury.”
Oilseed rape yields
With his OSR escaping attack from flea beetle, Peter Hewson says his crop yielded well above the farm’s five-year average.
yielding of the herbicide-tolerant varieties at 98%, followed by LG Constructor CL at 95%.
Interestingly, AHDB saw a trial damaged by clubroot in southern Scotland, similar to the case recorded in north east England in the previous season. At these sites, there was no recorded history of the disease.
ANNABEL HAMILTON
averaged just under five tonnes/ha despite two fields of oilseed rape being affected by clubroot, which has been prevalent this season. Autumndrilled Conway spring oats achieved the highest ever yield on the farm at 9.2t/ha, while spring-drilled Conway oats averaged 6.5t/ha.
Ms Hamilton says: “LG Diablo malting spring barley has been a top performing crop this year, averaging 9.2t/ha, which is extremely pleasing, with plenty of straw in the swath.
“For wheat we grow a large percentage of Grafton and Graham as they are early varieties, allowing us to have an early entry into OSR after wheat. Graham has outyielded most of the other varieties apart from LG Spotlight this year.
Sunshine
“We don’t block crop wheat varieties and each variety is selected to a specific field, allowing Grafton and Graham to reach just under 12t/ha and LG Spotlight reaching 12.5t/ha.
“It has been incredibly dry here and all crops just seem to have been enjoying the sunshine. There is a local farming saying that ‘Berwickshire does well in a dry summer’ and most fields performed surprisingly well. The only exceptions have been the shallow soils on the cliff tops.”
Business Development Manager
Agriconnect is a business unit within the Arc network, a global events, data, and media platform. Arc is a fast-growing global events, data, and media platform with a varied portfolio content led portals, magazines, and events. Agriconnect’s mission is to empower, inspire, and connect people and business in agriculture by creating trusted content and connections that help the industry thrive. Since 1844, the brands of Agriconnect have been the trusted source of information for farmers and with brands like Farmers Guardian, events, like LAMMA and Farm Business Innovation, and digital platforms, like FG Insights, Agriconnect continues to bring together the British farming community.
THE ROLE:
• We are now looking for a motivated and driven salesperson to join our Sales team. • The main function of the role is to develop business through growth in revenue, yield, and to increase customer numbers.
You will be required to identify new opportunities and influence companies’ media buying habits within the agricultural sector.
Due to the ever-changing nature of the industry, this person will have the ability to spot new avenues and exploit market trends. • Hours: 35 hours per week – Mon – Fri • Location: Preston – temporary hybrid remote • Salary: Competitive, dependant on experience.
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:
• Own, support and fully develop specific market sectors • Conduct sales presentations by telephone, email or face to face to existing and prospective clients in order to develop existing business and generate new business wherever possible. • Advise existing and new customers on the most effective solution to meet client needs within the Agriconnect portfolio. • Continually seek and develop new sales & opportunities. • Ability to accurately forecast future sales • Keep abreast of all current trends, activities and relevant news within agriculture and specific sector • An interest in agriculture • Highly motivated & driven, with an ability to meet ambitious performance goals • Be enthusiastic and motivated to continually explore new opportunities, whilst possessing a natural inquisitive nature • Excellent communication written and interpersonal skills
We offer an excellent package including:
• A competitive basic salary • 25 days holiday increasing to 27 after two years • An extra day off on your birthday • Free life assurance • Contributory pension scheme • Employee assistance programme Arc has ambitious plans for growth, and this is an opportunity to be part of our continuing success story whilst enjoying a fabulous work/ life balance.
We strive to create a culture that is open and respectful, where differences are valued and celebrated. We want everyone to be able to reach their full potential, so we are committed to cultivating a company that promotes inclusion and belonging.
