The first part of the 2023 harvest is turning out to be a ‘snatch and grab’ operation for cereal and oilseed growers.
Teagasc tillage specialist Shay Phelan has confirmed that all winter barley crops are now fully ripe. But crops of winter oats and oilseed rape are not far behind them.
“There might be the odd crop of winter barley in the north-east that has not reached full maturity. But the bottom line is that the vast majority of crops are ready for the combine now,” Phelan said.
“And the weather isn’t helping at all. The forecast is very changeable for the next few days. So it will be a case of farmers taking every opportunity that presents itself to get out into fields.”
Harvest challenges
According to the Teagasc representative, barley yields have been in the range 3-4.5t/ac up to this point.
“Thankfully, crops at the lower end of that range are very few and far between. For crops harvested up to this point, I would estimate an average figure of 3.5-3.75t/ac,” Phelan said.
“But the bulk of crops have yet to be harvested.”
Meanwhile reports of brackling, lodging and heads falling to the ground within barley crops are now coming in, particularly from growers in the midlands.
“These crops need to be harvested now. Any further delays will result in significant yield reductions,” Phelan added.
Crops of winter oats and oilseed rape are fast reaching full maturity.
“Again it’s a case of getting these crops harvested as soon as possible,” Phelan stated.
“Some oilseed rape growers have been surprised at just how quickly crops have developed over the past fortnight or so. As a consequence, a small number of crops that should have been sprayed-off at the beginning of July were missed.
“It’s standard practice to desiccate oilseed rape crops three to four weeks before the combines go in. So the coming days will tell the story of how crops that didn’t receive a glyphosate application actually perform at harvest.”
Phelan explained that in a number of cases, the changeable weather has prevented growers from baling and lifting straw from crops that were harvested over a fortnight ago.
“Technically, this could be a breach of the nitrates regulations. But it’s a further example of the pressure that is fast mounting on cereal growers at the present time,” Phelan said.