Be ready for when conditions improve
WINTER crops t hat had never looked as well have suffered badly from the heavy rain and flooding over the last few weeks. Up to now, the well-established crops contained few bare patches. However, this might all be about to change with the recent weather.
Persistent floods and water lying on established crops for long periods of time will damage them and lead to bare patches. Flooded fields are now a common sight across the country. January has seen rainfall at more than 60pc above the mean for the last three years.
While Met Éireann records for most weather stations in 2013 show a 7-10pc lower rainfall than the mean in 2012, the current weather is more than making up for it.
With most land now heavily saturated, a very early spring i s unlikely. Nevertheless, conditions can change quickly, so we must be prepared for improvements in s oi l conditions by having seed and fertiliser at least booked, if not in store.
Winter barley acreage is well up on 2013, but the winter wheat acreage is not near the level expected, considering the good autumn planting conditions. The high costs of growing winter wheat and poor returns relative to other crops has significantly curtailed the planting of this crop.
This is likely to have an even greater impact into the future, especially when the mad prices for conacre are factored in.
When weather permits, one of the earlier crops that should be considered is beans. This is a minor crop with few merchants or co-ops offering contracts. It is important to have your contract in place before sowing and with a projected harvest price of around €200/t and an achievable potential yield of 2.5t/ac, this crop will compare very favourably with 3.25t/ac crops of spring barley or wheat.
The variety used may be dictated by the contact provider. It is essential that pre-emerge weed control is used as there are very few options for postemergence weed control in beans. A combination of Lingo and Pendimethalin or Nirvana is a good tank mix option, depending on weed spectrum. Pendimethalin inclusion improves t he control of polygonums and meadow grass. The target sowing rate should be 20–30 plants per square metre and seed should be planted at least three inches deep.
Most farmers will now be aware that nitrates regulations have been updated. A full copy is available on the Department of Agriculture website. While there are some very welcome changes, particularly in the increased levels of phosphate (P) allowed in some cases, there are still significant restrictions on farmers. To maximise output, farmers must become familiar with these new regulations and maximise the use of nutrients allowed.
The main changes affecting arable farmers can be summarised as follows:
The P availability in organic fertilisers is reduced to 50pc when this organic fertiliser is applied to index 1 and 2 soils. There is now an allowance of 20kg/ha of P for maize crops grown on index 4 soils.
CARE
Of particular significance is the allowance of an extra 20kg/ha of P on index 4 soils used for cereal crop reduction where the soil pH is greater than 7. This allowance goes some way to recognising the inability of some soils to release P and make it available to crops. These are soils typically found in the Athy and south Kildare area.
The nitrogen permitted on winter barley and spring wheat has been increased by 20kg/ha to 180kg/ha and 160kg/ha, respectively. This is now more in line with good agronomic advice. In addition, for those arable farmers with stock, the first 300kg of concentrate used per dair y cow or livestock equivalent is now discarded and not counted when estimating the P allowance on the farm.
Particular care should be observed if your farm contains watercourses. A 2m uncultivated and unsown zone alongside watercourses identified on the 6” OSI maps (1-10,560) must be maintained. It will now also be permitted to use a non-selective herbicide after October 15 on 25pc of the land harvested for specific crops.
These are cereal crops grown for malting, seed or human consumption. Where preharvest control is prohibited, there will no longer be a requirement to establish green cover on 25pc of the area in these crops. While relating this 25pc to field size may be problematic, it is a step in the right direction.
Familiarity with t hese changes is important to develop your business. A nutrient management plan is now even more essential to maximise your returns. Soil sample results are required to capitalise on some of these changes, but are imperative in any case to minimise your fertiliser costs.
Finally, for those of you who are interested in entering a farm awards competition, t he Farming Independent is running a competition for the top farmers in eight different categories, including tillage and agricultural contractors.
Applications are now open and details can be found on www.farmeroftheyear.ie.