Northern Ireland-Spring outlook for farming.
This time last year the outlook for cereal farming was excellent, with unprecedented prices and an air of optimism not seen for years. As can so often be the case in farming, the situation changed rapidly due to very poor weather and a collapse in world grain prices.
However, in recent weeks cereal prices have started to rise and this has prompted calls from growers asking me if there is any money to be made from spring barley. Although this crop makes up the majority of our cereal area, it has always been the least profitable cereal to grow and this has been borne out by several years of benchmarking results across Northern Ireland. With this in mind I did a rough calculation on a likely break-even yield for spring barley, based on average inputs and an "off-the-combine" price for barley of £100/tonne.
You would need a yield of 6.1 t/ha (2.45t/ac) if it was grown on your own land and 8.6t/ha (3.45t/ac) if conacre at £250/ha was used. Only the most optimistic among us would hope to attain these yields. It is therefore reasonable to assume that a profitable spring barley crop will need to be grown on very "fat" land, needing minimal fertiliser inputs, or the grain price will need to rise considerably.
These facts may be shocking but are unavoidable if world grain markets remain stable through to harvest. They underline the need to select land for cereals with great care and not just take fields that are available.
DRILLING SPRING BARLEY
The key determinant of spring barley yield is sowing date. Local research has shown that one month’s delay in sowing often leads to a yield reduction of around 2t/ha. Sowing should take place as soon as a good seedbed can be created.
The chosen seed rate, calculated from the thousand-grain weight, should lie between 350 and 400 grains per square metre. The lower rate should suffice for March-sown barley drilled into a good seedbed. In poorer conditions, or if sowing late, the higher rate is preferable.
DISEASE CONTROL
Mildew and Rhychosporium are the diseases most likely to be present in winter barley during March. Only where these diseases are at a high level and are actively invading the new growth would a fungicide be economically justified before GS 30-31 (T1 timing).
If disease levels require early spraying T0, use a reduced rate of an appropriate fungicide and follow up with a full rate spray at T1.
WINTER CEREAL NITROGEN APPLICATION
Normally one third of the total nitrogen (N) top dressing should be applied during late tillering (late February/early March in winter barley, mid/late March in winter wheat) and the remainder applied during early stem extension, Growth Stage (GS) 30-32, which for winter barley is reached in early/mid April and by winter wheat in late April/early May. Thick wheat crops (those with more than 1,000 shoots/m2) however, are at increased risk of lodging later in the season and nitrogen top dressings should be delayed till after GS 30.
POTATOES
Seed Preparation for Planting
Attention to detail during the handling and preparation of seed prior to planting can result in an increased early tuber yield, while optimising fry colour and skin quality.
As seed arrives on farm, growers are urged to have a sample hot boxed to determine the presences of diseases and overall sprouting vigour. Seed should be treated with a fungicide pre-planting with the aim of reducing disease transmission and maximizing marketable yield.
A number of systems are available for pre-sprouting including tray and bag systems. Systems must ensure adequate temperature control and ventilation (to control sprout growth and protect against frost) and light (to control sprout growth). Seed of early potato varieties should be set up in sprouting boxes with the aim of promoting apical dominance i.e. producing one strong sprout per seed tuber, one stem and a small number of large tubers early.
The opposite holds for maincrop potatoes where multiple sprouting is encouraged to produce many tubers which can increase in size over a longer growing season.
