The winter wheat harvest at Lower Drayton Farm in Staffordshire was off to a good start this week, with Zyatt milling wheat yielding 10t/ha at a specific weight of 74kg/hl.

Richard Bower, who farms 300ha near Penkridge, cut about 20ha of the crop, starting on 3 August, with moisture coming in at 16%.

With unsettled weather on the cards, he decided to cut while the weather permitted and is really pleased with results so far – particularly straw yields, which are averaging 5t/ha.

“The straw is looking phenomenal and has already been pre-sold to a local carrot-growing specialist, who will cover the veg with straw over winter to protect crops from frost,” he said.

See also: Harvest 2021: Wheat harvest under way in Berkshire

A further block of Graham second wheat was also cut, yielding 8t/ha, but with rain forecast, combining has now been forced to a stop.

Mr Bower said compared with a usual year, he is a good 10 days behind on the wheat harvest. Yet he started cutting wheat before his oilseed rape, which is still a week behind.

“In previous years, we have finished wheat harvest by this year’s start date,” he said and added that the cold spring set crops back and restricted plant growth.

Sheep grazing 

The Zyatt was drilled after potatoes in mid-September using a Kuhn disc drill. This followed a pass of a subsoiler directly after the potato harvest.

During the first week of March, Mr Bower made the decision to graze off 40ha of wheat with sheep from a local farm to trial if this would reduce potential disease pressure. 

After the success of the sheep grazing, which not only reduced disease build-up, but also helped stimulate crop growth and provide sheep feed and crop nutrition, he will now implement this across the whole of next year’s wheat area.

Two applications of digestate from a local anaerobic digestion plant – for which Mr Bower grows maize – were made in mid-March and April across his medium loam clay soils.

Following the wheat, the next crop to combine will be 20ha of oilseed rape, followed by spring barley.

Potato and carrot lets are also integrated into the rotation at the farm, 20 miles north of Birmingham. Making the most out their location, Mr Bower opens the farm to the public and has a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, which he says is his most profitable crop.