Cornish mixed farmer Ashley Jones won bronze in the prestigious Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) competition with his winter wheat crop, which yielded 92% of 13.9t/ha, despite a challenging growing season.

The Saltash AHDB Monitor Farm host finished third in the competition for best percentage of potential field yield for cereals, and topped the regional awards with the highest yield potential percentage in the West.

Mr Jones farms at Smeaton Farm, a 190ha mixed arable, beef and sheep farm, which is part of the Duchy of Cornwall estate, alongside his father, Richard.

See also: Step-by-step guide for a tailored approach to crop nutrition

Despite growing cereals in the milder, wetter climate of the South West, Mr Jones puts his achievement down to his broad rotation, site selection, variety choice and use of the latest chemical actives.

Yields

The award-winning YEN crop from the variety Skyscraper yielded, on average, 12.9t/ha, with 92% of 13.9t/ha. This yielded well, despite the wet autumn, late spring drought and the south-west peninsula’s greater threat of septoria and barley yellow dwarf virus.

A total winter wheat area of 20ha was planted on the farm. Armed with a trick or two up his sleeve, Mr Jones entered a 3ha Skyscraper plot into the competition, run by independent crop consultant Adas.

The crop was sown on 24 October using a plough and combination disc drill establishment system. A two-year red clover grass ley preceded the wheat, which was cut for grass silage and provided some sheep grazing.

Due to the wet autumn of 2019, the drill was unable to make a pass any earlier in the season, and a minimum-tillage approach was not appropriate, given the high moisture content of his clay-over-shillet soils.

“We went back to a plough-based power harrow combination due to the weather, which overall led to better establishment,
even on the headlands,” says Mr Jones.

He used a rate of 300 seeds/sq m, placed at a depth of 40mm, which is standard for a mid-October-drilled wheat at the farm.

“I am a firm believer in high seed rates,” he tells Farmers Weekly. “I find it is better to have too many plants than not enough.”

Rotation

A broad rotation and site selection are also paramount factors to successful crop production. “Mother Nature, rotation and site selection are big players in yield,” he explains.

Maize forage and grass clover leys are integrated into the 100ha of arable land, acting as powerful break crops to reduce grass and broad-leaved weed pressures. Consequently, blackgrass and brome are unfamiliar sights, with zero populations present on the farm.

The break crops also help to limit disease pressure, which is particularly important given the South West’s milder and wetter climate, in addition to providing a nutritional feed for the 50-cow suckler herd and flock of 150 Suffolk Mule ewes.

Additionally, the red clover’s nitrogen-fixing properties boost soil nitrogen levels for following wheat crops and promote soil organic matter levels. “

We grow red clover leys as a greening break crop, where about 10ha of arable land is planted to two-year leys each year.

“We find our finishing beef cattle respond better to forage-based protein than bought-in pellets and it’s a cheaper alternative to purchased feeds,” he says.

Nutrition

A total of 300kg/ha of nitrogen fertiliser was applied to the crop, with an extra biosolid application before cereal drilling. Both farmyard manure and a further biosolid application were used before clover establishment.

Perhaps the biggest adaptation to Mr Jones’ normal nutrition programme was the addition of 125kg of muriate of potash (MOP) at flag-leaf emergence.

Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are often used up in crop development over winter, so supplying additional nutrients during the all-important flag-leaf emergence can help enhance grain fill and lift yield.

“Speaking to other YEN growers who were strong believers in using MOP, we decided to give it a try – but it’s difficult to say whether it was the reason for winning a prize,” he says.

Soil testing – carried out every four years by Soyl – also proved beneficial. The entire farm is now mapped, enabling variable-rate P and K applications to be used.

“Variable-rate applications have had a very pronounced effect on crops, with huge fertiliser savings. Inputs are now only used where required, benefiting the farm business, crop and environment.”

Furthermore, micronutrient foliar sprays play an important role in fine-tuning crop growth. Two products are used, at a rate of 1 litre/ha each – a multimix spray containing manganese, magnesium, copper and zinc at T0 and T1, followed by a magnesium spray at T3.