Co. Down agronomist Richard Owens has confirmed that the winter barley harvest in Northern Ireland is complete with many growers now pushing ahead with winter wheat crops.
“Barley yields were disappointing for the most part with crops ranging from 2.5t-3.5t/ac,” he said.
“Brackling was a real issue in winter barley this year with ears dropping to the ground.
“Moisture contents came in at 16% to 25%. In many cases, growers have had to factor-in a fairly hefty drying cost, in order to get grain down to 15% moisture.”
Most barley straw produced in Northern Ireland has been rounded up. But quality is poor.
Some farmers have taken the decision to chop up barley straw and plough it back in. This will be at their own cost, as there is no Straw Incorporation Measure available in Northern Ireland.
“Some growers are also lining the bottom of their silos with chopped straw. This will catch a lot of the effluent coming off the very wet grass going into pits at the present time,” Owens told Agriland.
Arable in Northern Ireland
Turning to wheat, Owens said that crops are yielding well; 3t to 4.5t/ac. But here again moisture levels are very high at 18% to 22%.
“Drying charges are adding significantly to growers’ costs across the board this year,” he commented.
Meanwhile, winter beans are turning out to be one of the success stories in Northern Ireland for 2023.
“Crops are looking well at the present time,” Owens confirmed.
“The Protein Aid Scheme, offering £300/ha for beans, has really encouraged farmers to push on with the crop.
“Beans require no chemical nitrogen while also providing a tremendous entry point for first wheats within an arable rotation.”
According to Owens, the first of this year’s spring barley crops in Northern Ireland will be desiccated within the next 10 days to a fortnight.
“The heavy rains of recent weeks actually brought on a lot of later sown crops, which were looking very poor up to that point,” he said.
“Some crops actually went down some weeks ago. This was a direct result of the heavy rain and strong winds. But it’s not the end of the world, as the crops in question were actively growing at the time.”
Silage
Meanwhile the area of crop silages grown in Northern Ireland continues to expand.
“Winter rye is proving popular with dairy and beef farmers. Crops are extremely high yielding with silages performing well from an animal performance perspective,” Owens said.
“Livestock farmers, for the most part, do not have rain drying facilities available to them. So the prospects of putting in rye during September and harvesting it as a crop silage the following July is attractive.
“Another arable silage alternative that has taken off this year is the combi-crop option of peas, spring barley and spring oats.
“Because of the peas, the crop does not require bagged nitrogen. The peas also represent a very valuable protein source at feed out, particularly for young stock.”
Looking ahead, Richard Owens believes that dedicated arable farmers in Northern Ireland will want to push ahead with a significant acreage of winter crops over the coming weeks.
“But those dairy and beef farmers who grow smaller acreages of cereals have found the harvest of 2023 a difficult one to cope with. And the jury is out on whether they will go again with a cropping option for 2023/2024.”