Harvest 24 feels very like harvest 23, and the mood of Northern Ireland’s farmers isn’t great. Broadly speaking, bad yields, bad prices and bad weather are leading to lots of frustration.

On a positive note, winter oats have yielded better than ever at over 7.5t/ha. I was glad to get them off the field as I watched the variety Husky get closer and closer to the ground.

Both Mascani and Husky yielded similar, but the straw from Husky is much more like barley, while Mascani, as usual, is a dull, damp mess. Spring oats are taking a battering from the constant wind and rain.

See also: Advice for growers dealing with ergot this harvest

About the author

Richard Orr

Richard Orr farms cereals and potatoes in a reduced cultivation system in County Down, Northern Ireland, with his wife and two children. He is a cereals and oilseeds sector council member and focuses on soil and plant health. He also keeps a small number of cattle, pigs and sheep.

Read more articles by Richard Orr

A mad dash on a Sunday three weeks ago saw good winter wheat progress, but looking back, that was a blessing to have cut what we did, as we haven’t combined anything since.

In my last column, I said I would be disappointed if it didn’t do above average. Well, I’m disappointed – 8.9t/ha is the average so far.

Quality and bushel weight is great, but as you watch it feed into the combine, the crop was just too thin. As a relatively new combine driver, I find the insight harvesting the crop first-hand extremely valuable.

I’ve been walking the fields and assessing soil with the trusty spade, and I’m rather pleased with what’s going on below ground.

Given the challenging season, I’ve found little to no compaction in the soil, even where the combine has travelled.

This lead me to investigate closer on our drilling trial plots. Structure is good in all three plots.

Direct drilled is the driest, and some compaction is present in the ploughed, but none of the plots show any significant issue with compaction yet pre-harvest.

As I look across to the neighbouring winter oats fields, which are full of rows of sodden straw three weeks after combining, I ask myself – is chasing the straw prices worth it?

We all could do with cash flow but the soil is number one in my books. I’ve harvested several fields and caused little to no damage to the soil.

However, I will have to pass over that same wheeling from the combine with the tractor at least three more times to dry and bale the straw. How much abuse can the soil take?