The very wet autumn followed by long cold spring have made themselves felt in agricultural landscape. We are pre-harvest with patchy uneven crops on the turn at the same time. The winter sown crops are clearly behind and very uneven, especially the winter oilseed-rape. Harvest should be under way, but crops are still green. The oilseed-rape will be desiccated [sprayed to kill off the green material] on a crop by crop basis to try to optimise the harvest of the majority of the crop, but some will over-ripe and shed and yet other areas will be under-ripe.
![]() Winter-wheat uneven ripening 30th July |
![]() Winter oilseed-rape uneven ripening 30th July |
![]() Spring combine-able peas ripening 30th July |
![]() Spring barley ripening 30th July |
The practical implication is that the harvest workload is accumulating into a peak work load going into September. Farmers should cope given descent dry weather, long days, and ample equipment capacity. Last year’s wet autumn meant that about 10% of land was not planted before winter and has been put into spring crops. Its a very finely balanced race against the clock to get through the harvest workload to establish new crops before condition deteriorate in the autumn/winter.
![]() 30th July –extensive headland damage from deer grazing into the crop due to the long slow spring |
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This year is the first time i have ever seem ripe wild cherries in pickable abundance