Winter barley harvest started for us on 15 July – a Friday. I was once told you should never start anything on a Friday!

Thankfully, after a bit of time setting up, we ploughed on through the weekend without any major problems and completed the harvest in good time before the height of the heatwave.

The barley required desiccation 10 days previously due to the large number of wheat volunteers.

This year I think they helped with the moisture content rather than being the hindrance they normally are.

See also: Why BYDV-tolerant barley may prove itself in disease hotspots

About the author

Jack Hopkins

Arable Farmer Focus writer

Jack Hopkins is farm manager on a 730ha AHDB Monitor Farm in north Herefordshire on predominantly silty clay loam soils. Cropping includes wheat, barley, oilseed rape, spring oats and peas, plus grassland that supports a flock of 1,000 ewes and 25 pedigree Hereford cattle.

Read more articles by Jack Hopkins

The bulk of the winter barley area was made up of Orwell, which has yielded an estimated 7.1 t/ha.

Although slightly above average for us, it is a little disappointing given how the crop looked. Specific weights of 65kg/hl have definitely helped with the yield.

The rest of the area was made up of Kingsbarn, which yielded 0.9t/ha more, again with a specific weight of 65kg/hl.

Both crops were treated the same, receiving 100kg/ha of soil applied nitrogen and 20 litres/ha of foliar nitrogen.

The only real difference was the hybrid received a T2 to dry up some rust, whereas the conventional only had a T1.

Up next is our oilseed rape, which has only just been desiccated for 14 days at the time of writing.

We are experiencing some blustery showers with overcast conditions so it is unlikely we will be combining through the night to maintain moisture – which has pleased the team!

Changing the subject, I recently decided to delete the Twitter social media app from my phone.

I will be honest and say that I was more of a taker than a giver to Twitter, but recently have found myself wasting time scrolling through endless posts for very little gain.

At this time of year it is almost harder as reports of good yields or progress through harvest are at your fingertips and when it’s not going quite same at home it can get you down. 

I know social media also has its positives and engaging with the public is one of those, and I take my hat off to the guys who have embraced it.

But for me, I think it is one of those things I can do without.