The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Having a field day
Pressure now on for Craig Norrie of Banchory Farm to repeat the feat
Disbelief and cynicism were the main reactions to the report in The Courier last month that Fife farm manager Craig Norrie was aiming to match the wheat yield of 7.13t/acre which was recorded in his combine at the 2017 harvest.
Farmers who insisted on staying anonymous called to say that Banchory Farm’s reported yield was impossible, or the combine’s yield meter must have been wrong.
Farm agronomist Trevor Dodds and seed specialist Douglas Bonn heard similar reactions, which has added to the pressure to prove that the results can be achieved.
Under the Yen project every detail is recorded and measured to ensure results are accurate.
“All the local farmers saw the story in The Courier and they asked me if it was true,” said Mr Dodds.
“And I said yes, it was. And then, of course, like all farmers they were very inquisitive and asked how it had been achieved.”
Mr Dodds said the timings of agrochemical and fertiliser applications had coincided with breaks in the weather to achieve the outstanding yield.
“If you’d been here at the end of April last year you wouldn’t have said the crop was especially brilliant, because everything was so dry,” he said.
“The fertiliser didn’t get in till the middle of May then it got some rain and the crop took off.
“We were fortunate that we got enough sunshine after all the rain, and the bushel weight was 82kg/hectolitre, which is very high for wheat.”
Mr Norrie is now focused on sowing this year’s Concerto spring barley and completely unfazed by the disbelief that his 2017 achieved the outstanding results.
“I think it’s because most people aren’t getting yields anywhere close to what we got last year, so they think it can’t be true. Some folk suggest the combine reading is wrong, or the field size wasn’t accurate, but that’s not the case. Everything has been checked.”
“Everything has been checked. CRAIG NORRIE