Harvest started early at Halls Farm, Guyhirn, near Wisbech, Cambridgshire yesterday (Monday 20 July), as arable farmer Charles Allen got going on 27ha of Advance oilseed rape.
Keen to clear land as quickly as possible before drilling the next winter wheat crop, Mr. Allen chose Advance, a British-bred conventional variety marketed by DLF-Trifolium, because it is short and early, yet produces high yields with high oil content.
The seed was drilled after minimum cultivations into heavy silt soil on the banks of the River Nene, on 15 August last year. It established well, soon covering the ground with its large leaves. Nitrogen fertiliser was applied in two dressings, the first with added Sulphur.
The crop was sprayed with pre-harvest round-up exactly two weeks ago and was fit and ready for combining right on schedule.
“It is definitely an early variety and is proving easy to combine, which is exactly what I wanted,” said Mr. Allen. “I don’t know what the yield is yet, but the amount coming off the fields is certainly as good as I was hoping for.”
