Crop Updates: September 2024
Our regular round-up of the issues affecting crops around Scotland summarises how crops are developing and what weather and other issues are affecting them. The update provides information on the progress with key fieldwork activities as well as news on the pest, weed and disease problems being noted in crops. The health issues being seen in crops are a key part of the topical update and lets growers and agronomists adjust management practices appropriately.
12 September 2024
General Comments
Virus reports in potatoes seem to indicate that it is mainly PLRV in crops (2/3) and PVY in about one third of diagnoses. Seed tests coming in for wheat indicate some high microdochium and fusarium loadings which is to be expected after a wet summer. New season winter barley and winter oilseed rape are emerging well in moist soils with slugs being the most commonly reported problem.
Regional Comments
ORKNEY
The surface has only just been scratched of the spring barley harvest in Orkney this year. Many crops are 7-10 days from cutting and several have received glyphosate to speed up the process and to even up variations across fields. With ground conditions already soft and weather forecasts unsettled, stress levels are beginning to build. The poor weather has also been reflected in grass growth. There isn’t so much of it around and poaching is evident. Some farmers who typically feed store cattle on grass have held off as it’s creating too much mess. The local store cattle sale last week was larger than normal as farmers are cashing in early.
CAITHNESS
Spring barley harvest has been patchy with most growers now having made a ‘start’. Yields continue to be satisfactory, and some straw has been baled up. Winter crop was sown in great conditions with some crops already making their way through the ground.
MORAY
The wet and miserable weather over the last week has brought harvest to a standstill in Moray, where hundreds of acres of spring barley sit ripe in the fields whilst frustrated farmers look on. However, as always there are plenty of other jobs to keep farmers occupied such as establishing cover crops and preparing and sowing winter barley ground. Newly sown winter oilseed rape is emerging well but there is high slug pressure in many crops. Quality of spring barley that has been harvested has been good overall with low nitrogen levels and moderate screenings whilst yields have been good too. Hopes are for a spell of dry weather now to get back on track.
ABERDEENSHIRE
With changeable weather over the last couple of weeks hairst is not as far on as growers would like. Those with bigger acreages are now shifting to cutting to get a few more acres combined and accepting that the drier bill will be higher than usual. Moisture contents of above 20% are not uncommon. Early comments so far suggest that yields are good, and nitrogen levels are lower than ever before (probably due to the wet winter flushing residual nitrogen from the soil). Some farmers have commented on high screenings in Firefoxx, but it’s unclear if this is widespread, or individual farm issues.
Winter wheat yields seem to have been slightly lower than average but appear to be due to thin and washed-out parts lowering overall yield. Winter crops have been sown – where they can – as growers are keen to get crops in ground fast in case there is a repeat of last year. Everyone appears to be working to an end-of-September deadline for winter barley and winter wheat. In general, winter oilseed rape is emerging well, and the changeable wet weather is keeping flea beetle at bay, but slug pellets have been essential this year.
BANFF & BUCHAN
Harvest is becoming very much a stop-start affair with farmers snatching any combining opportunities they can. Some areas are doing better than others. Lingering fog has caused some issues with localised rain showers also creating problems. With many crops now sprayed off and very ripe, a spell of settled sunny weather is desperately required particularly as the days get shorter. Progress is being made with the wheat harvest although grains are quite small, no doubt due to the poor summer and high levels of disease prevalent at grain fill.
Encouragingly, those spring barleys that have been cut seem to be running well and quality is good. Unlike last year, where grain was cut at very low moistures, grain driers will see plenty of work this year. The delayed harvest is having a knock-on effect for next year’s crops, with autumn sowing now being held up where winter crops are following wheat or spring barley. Oilseed rapes are now all in the ground, having emerged very quickly and some earlier sown crops are looking very healthy. Potatoes are being lifted with growers keen to get crops harvested before ground conditions become compromised.
FIFE
Harvest has not progressed much since the last crop protection report due to mist and rain. Winter wheats are a little over 50% harvested and some early spring barleys were harvested last Friday and Saturday. Spring barleys are ranging from fully ripe in a week to 10 days from harvest due to the drawn-out seeding period this spring. Winter oilseed rape fields for the 2025 harvest are growing well due to the warm moist conditions; any pre-emergent weed control that was applied seems to have worked well. Sowing of early winter wheats has started following vining pea and oilseed rape crops as people wish to have the crop well established where available to avoid any later season weather issues. A lot of winter barley seed remains in the bag due to rotation issues where spring barley harvests have held up proceedings. Anticipating a settled spell of weather over the next couple of weeks materialises, harvest and autumn cultivations will be caught up on.
STIRLINGSHIRE
Harvest has been stop-start due to the weather. A couple of good dry days then back to rain. Harvest has also been delayed due to a foggy start that is taking a while to burn off, and with there being little wind, it has delayed drying. Despite this, harvest has continued with a majority of the winter wheats now harvested; what remains is getting a little black. In the fields there is straw sitting in bales and in the bout. Time is precious so combining has been the priority with tidying up the fields second. Nothing has yet been sown bar the winter oilseed rape which is now at its fourth true leaf. Some crops are a bit yellow which will be a consequence of being sprayed for volunteer cereals. However, they are greening up. In the remaining fields of winter wheat and spring barley there are some patches in the fields where the crops have gone down. Not in large areas. Spring oats are standing well and both winter and spring beans have turned black but are standing well.
LOTHIANS
Weather woes continue and what dry days there have been, have not always been good ‘drying’ days, with often windless conditions and dew and haar reluctant to lift. 80mm rain through August and 35mm rain in September to date, has been typical for the more western parts whilst further east in the region of 60mm has fallen over the last six weeks. Farmers have sought every opportunity to catch up, often having to wait until early evening to start. Wheats have understandably been very slow to dry (spring barley less so), exacerbated by autumnal temperatures. Straw and hay prices continue to firm, and grass cut for silage still remains on the ground for many unfortunately. Unable to combine, farmers have taken the opportunity to establish wheats early behind rape to help mitigate the knock-on effects of an increasingly late harvest.
LANARKSHIRE
Harvest continues to prove challenging for many farmers across the district as bad weather continues, with few dry spells in between. Despite this most winter crops have now been harvested. However, the same can’t be said for spring crops. Some spring barley has been harvested but much still hasn’t ripened and will likely be getting a spray of round up. Furthermore, straw yields are said to be low due to lack of growth from poor weather through summer. The weekend’s brief dry spell showed how many farmers still had crops of silage needing cutting, as many across the district took the chance to get second and third cuts in.
AYRSHIRE
As with many in the country, Ayrshire has been really struggling with poor weather in the last few weeks. August has been extremely wet, with some areas getting 200mm of rain; about five times more than August last year. A break in the weather last weekend saw combines and choppers out in force to get a start to the spring barley harvest and to get much needed second and third cut silages in pits. Grain yields tend to be higher than expected, despite later sowing and poorer growing conditions and straw yields have been better than expected. Forage crops overall are patchy, with wetter and more compacted soils causing poorer growth. Maize is not doing as well as last year. Both could do with more sun. Temperatures are fluctuating a lot, but the forecast of dry, warm weather at the end of next week should see more spring barley harvested. Autumn is definitely in the air, despite the lack of any kind of summer.
Posted by SAC Consulting on 25/09/2024
