Rosemary's Diary

Rosemary’s FARMING Diary

Photo by Grace Morton Yields and quality of combinable crops have been both variable and down in yield as predicted earlier in the season. Too much wet for far too long and then very hot and dry which baked the soils and the growing crops, resulting in a very early harvest, starting in some parts of the country in June. Around here it was odd fields at end of June and July.

We started on 20 July with the oil seed rape, on 22 July, we moved into the winter barley, and then the oats, following on with the winter wheat on 28 July and continuing until 12 August. There is no more ready to harvest now as this was sown in the spring and will possibly need another week of sunshine before it is ready. We have baled some straw for winter feed and bedding for the cattle, some has gone to our local pig farm, we have also chopped some straw behind the combine which allows us to start cultivations ready for next years crop. We have ploughed a small acreage and mini tilled the rest. No two seasons or indeed years are the same in farming. We Are obviously trying to avoid unnecessary costs, not only with the preparation with next years crop but taking into account the environment. We are told more needs to be done environmentally regards the way we farm. We shall possibly be planting trees, not cereals, who knows - coupled with the consequences of exiting Brexit. It’s being in a state of the ‘unknown’ as well of course the implications of Covid 19 in our midst. I think this year (the last 12 months) have been the most challenging that anyone can remember with the lack of windows of opportunity for preparing and sowing seed for harvesting this year were fast disappearing last autumn. Those of us who managed to sow a large percentage of winter cereal must consider ourselves very fortunate and thankful we have been able to harvest (albeit much lower yields generally) but at least we have some grain in store to sell. There have been some fields which have given good to average results but as I speak to people yields and quality have been dramatically affected by the weather. Costs for harvesting have been lower with the dry conditions which has been a welcome plus, also less impact on the soil structure with ground conditions being so dry Today we have had some very welcome rain, which will help the grass to grow and chitting any weeds etc. It will also give the oil seed rape a good start. Hopefully getting it away from pests. We are keeping fingers crossed on this one. How the daylight hours are drawing in. I hope we shall have most of the combine harvesting finished by the end of August, there may still be the winter beans left. The combining hours are usually much reduced in September when we get heavy dews each morning. The small birds have been busy in the garden, owls, kestrels, pheasants and French partridge to name a few. Also, the butterflies and the bees. Our vegetable garden is a bit like the fields – our runner beans are the worst I’ve ever grown and the broad beans were very poor. I find the wildlife very interesting. On the 12th July I saw the first deer in the distance at 5am in the morning, we haven’t seen any for many weeks. It is early morning when you see most of the wildlife species. In the last month we have had foxes, including two cubs close to the house, rabbits are making a comeback, a pair of hares, French partridges, pheasants and the Canadian geese are back. The flower gardens have been quite spectacular, with roses, geraniums, hydrangea to name but a few. Which I think helps brighten up the day with so much going on which is beyond our control. I am sure we all live in hope that there isn’t a second spike with Covid 19, allowing some normality to return to the way we live.