A Rutland grower completed his winter barley harvest on 19 July, achieving yields that peaked at 8t/ha, in a tricky year.

Charlie Binley of Pridmore and Son, Morcott, near Uppingham, cut 33ha of Kingsbarn barley destined for the seed trade.

Initial yields came in at 7.15t/ha with moistures between 12.7% and 13.7% on 18 July, before climbing to 8t/ha with a moisture between 14% and 15% on 19 July. The farm’s average yield for Kingsbarn seed crops is about 7.4t/ha.

See also: Farmer Focus: Harvest set to be condensed into a few frantic weeks

The field was cut using a John Deere T670, with a 9m draper header, which lays the crop headfirst into the combine.

Hear from Charlie in the video below about how harvest has gone this year.

Charlie has seen increased efficiency of up to 10%, when combining cereal crops, compared to the farm standard header.

The barley was made up of 90% female plants and 10% male plants, which cross-pollinate to produce hybrid barley seed.

These plants can be identified in the field by the male plants being taller. Straw will be baled and sold to a local beef cattle farmer.

Growing a seed crop means extra attention to weed control, which is why the crop was drilled at the end of Septmber using a Vaderstad Rapid to help reduce grassweeds.

It also received the pre-emergent herbicides triallate, diflufenican, flufenacet, picolinafen and pendimethalin.

Charlie was pleased with the weed control and commented that they had not needed to hand rogue the field for wild oats or volunteer triticale, which can sometimes be a nuisance in the rotation.

The 688ha farm’s Fido triticale, which is grown for seed, will most likely be cut this week.

Feed wheats Dawsum, Extase, Cranium and Insitor are also in this year’s rotation, but are still a fair way off harvest.

This season’s spring crops are Skyway spring barley for malting, Carrington blue peas for seed and spring beans.

Cranium winter wheat will follow the barley, but won’t be drilled until mid- to late October, to allow any barley volunteers and blackgrass to germinate.

Charlie normally starts drilling in the second week of October and says he may start a week earlier this season, but no sooner, to avoid potential blackgrass problems.