Maize monitor: countdown to harvest 2007

FORAGE maize harvesting is now in full swing in the southern counties and activity is building – in some cases prematurely – as far north as Cheshire.

Further north there is still a case for being patient, unless crops have been badly frost-damaged. The high price of cereals strengthens the case for waiting, as this will mean increased starch content.

SOUTH AND SOUTH WEST

Harvest is around 50 per cent complete across the southern counties, with the more easterly areas further ahead that the far south west.

David Bright (based in Hampshire and Wiltshire) says variation of maturity within fields is making it more difficult than usual to pinpoint optimum harvest dates.

"It is a delicate balance because with cereals prices so high you want as much energy as possible in the maize, but you don't want to risk the crop being too dry and therefore less palatable," he says.