Farmers are nothing if not resilient and versatile – and both qualities have never been more required than in the past few months.

Late-sown spring crops did not break performance records, but have protected the soil. Nature tends to reward patience. 

Land-sown last back end is a different story. The weight of rain it has carried has hammered the land down and the flat-lift has seen some exercise. Our cultivation policy is flexible.

See also: Farmer Focus: Maize chopping and autumn drilling has begun

About the author

Andrew Wilson

Arable Farmer Focus writer Andrew Wilson is a fourth-generation tenant of Castle Howard Estate in North Yorkshire. The farm supports crops of wheat, barley, oats, beans, sugar beet, potatoes, and grass for hay across 250ha. Other enterprises include bed and breakfast pigs, environmental stewardship, rooftop solar and contracting work.  

Contact:

Email: wilsonbrickyard@gmail.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpudSlingsby

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Our combinable harvest is complete except for April-sown spring beans, which are not yet ripe.

Spring oats stand out as the success of the season. The spring barley varied according to sowing date, but the quality was better than expected.

The difference in grain nitrogen content between the peak of 2023 and lows of 2024 is significant, but baffling.

The wheat yields look better if I work them out on harvested rather than sown area, but finished up somewhere near expected, with lighter, drier land performing much better than the normally reliable heavier stuff.

Cover crops are sown, but mostly into dust and are struggling to flourish this year.

I have confidence they will pick up with a drink, provided temperatures stay at current levels. 

We’re yet to start harvesting root crops, but I don’t expect much over a breakeven performance from them.

Dry matters in our potatoes are at higher levels than I would like, and as a result we have left a few crops green for a bit longer in the hope of rain to ease the concern of tuber damage reducing the value of the crop further.  

This season has once again highlighted the lack of return growing potatoes, be that from higher disease pressure, costs, and now the weather magnifying the headache. It will be interesting to see how our markets respond with contract prices this winter. 

As far as the beet goes, the writing is on the wall. Next year’s price is a bit uninspiring, but huge areas of land going into sugar cane in Indonesia may well plummet world sugar values below viability level for us.  

In the meantime, we best get some corn drilled and spuds lifted.