FEATURE
FARMER FOCUS
CLIVE BAILYE R & R... Harvest 2021 was the second in succession where the combine saw no rapeseed through its 12m header. At least this time it was planned, as not an acre was planted following the 100% loss of our 2020 crop. This we redrilled with linseed after finding most of the stems were infected with CSFB larvae in the spring. The 2020 loss underlined and reinforced the importance of our low stakes approach to growing this high-risk crop. At the point of redrilling the area with spring linseed less than £25/ha had been spent, with farm saved seed and herbicide being the only input to that point. I have spent as much on over winter cover crops in the past, and although OSR is not exactly the best of cover crops with its lack of mycorrhizal fungi association, at least it had been capturing important sunlight and water helping build organic matter from its August drilling date until its destruction in April. Up until 2020 we had got away with things as far as CSFB was concerned, and we had been getting decent yields at low costs. I had seen growers further south and east lose crops to the beetle following the neonic ban but until that point crops in our area seemed to escape relatively unscathed. I had started to wonder if our more diverse farming system, which at that point had used
no insecticide at all for 10 years, could be the reason. Had IPM built us higher beneficial populations that were keeping the beetles and other pests under control? Was improved soil health leading to improved plant health, making the crop less attractive to pest attack? It could have been a great story, but sadly the 2020 loss didn’t have the hoped for happy ending. Stopping growing OSR is an easy decision to make, but what to replace it with is a whole lot more complex. There is not exactly a great choice of consistently viable break crops, and importantly markets for them, suited to UK growing conditions. Our cropping is already quite diverse and depending upon markets and suitability of land break crops have included winter beans, spring beans. spring oats, spring linseed, lupins, millet and even peaola (a pea and spring OSR companion crop). All have their pros and cons, but all are far less consistent than the cereals. These break crops have yields which are far more weather dependant than agronomic genius, they suit our low input, low risk approach meaning that even in years where yield are disappointing the margins are rarely negative. Our farm business has really focused hard on minimising fixed cost structure and a big part of that involves spreading labour and machinery over as long a season and as large an area as possible maximising use of available resources. The OSR crop was valuable in getting a good
Rye (right) vs Wheat (left) making use of limited moisture better
30 DIRECT DRILLER MAGAZINE
ISSUE 15 | OCTOBER 2021
