Ploughing and planting is bogged down by the rain

0 Many farmers are already weeks behind planting schedule after recent wet weather With less than a week left in April, Scotland’s arable farmers are struggling through a stop/start spring. While last week’s sunshine allowed some ploughing and planting, more rain in this week’s forecast could put a dampener on progress.

Many farmers failed to plant their planned areas of winter crops last year due to the poor weather and with spring only just arriving in recent weeks, growers are realistic about the yields of grain and straw from crops planted this late in the year.

Ian Sands, chairman of NFU Scotland’s Combinable Crops committee, who farms at Townhead, Balbeggie, in Perthshire, said: “Personally, I can’t remember starting spring sowing so late. We drilled 170 acres last week on the lightest land, but we had to stop to let more land dry out.

“Spring sowing is well behind in most parts of Scotland – up to three weeks in our area. There are still fields to plough that have been too wet after potatoes. The seed drills started again last week, in far from ideal conditions, but time is moving on. It is now late enough to know there will be an impact on spring barley yields and farms with heavy clay land will still have a long wait for it to be dry enough.

“On a whole, the winter crops that people got sown are looking OK, if a bit backwards in growth stage for this time of year. However, many did not get the winter crops in that they wanted. It has also been difficult to get fertiliser on due to it being too soft to put tractors on the land.”

Pete Grewar, of Grewar Farming, who farms in Perthshire, the Black Isle and Easter Ross, said: “Winter-sown crops are looking relatively well – if you choose to ignore what the date in the diary is!

“I did get all winter crops sown but spring barley is at least two to three weeks late in getting sown in the Black Isle and Easter Ross, but it is drawing to a close. However, spring barley is at least three weeks late in Tayside – with 50 per cent still to go in. Tattie planting is just starting now, the latest start in Tayside for 20 years.”

Cameron Maciver, of Wester Coltfield, Kinloss, said: “Here in Morayshire, we have probably luckier than further east or north.

“The recent improvement in weather has seen a lot of ploughing and spring barley sowing. We are probably three weeks behind and there is still a lot to be done. That means there could be problems complying with greening’s three-crop rule because of the late spring.”

Iain Wilson, of Tulloch Farms, Laurencekirk, chair of the SAYFC Agriaffairs Group, said: “Winter crops have certainly greened up but only really started growing last week.

“Spring sowing only started last week – exactly a week later than the date on which we finished sowing in 2017.

“The weather over the next week or ten days will dictate if our cropping plan can stay as planned or if spring oats will end up having to be sown on the lightest land to allow us to get them sown in April. There is not the same rush for spring barley.

“We are well behind on applying fertiliser and some sprays have been missed out altogether.”

Also at Laurencekirk, Andrew Moir, of Thornton Mains, said: “Winter crops in the main are good with only the oats, which has suffered from ‘frost heave’, giving cause for concern as yields will be compromised.

“I did get all winter crops in, bar two hectares, and I am nearly completed spring sowing. However, lots of farmers are barely started in my immediate area and have serious acreages to sow due to not getting winter crops in.

“Realistically, yields will be down come harvest – we can’t be sowing this late in the spring and not have repercussions down the line for grain yields and straw. I have always been taught that 10 to 15 April is optimum time for spring barley in Aberdeenshire so it is not disastrous if it all happens now but the forecast for us this week is back to rain.”

In the Borders, Neil White, at Greenlaw, Duns, said: “Sowing begun last week but the heavier land lower down still has a lot of moisture just below the surface and seedbeds are varied.

“Some people are trying to hold off until ground dries a bit more, but things are already behind ideal timings. Lighter ground is breaking down nicely and crops seem to be going in well.

“Fertiliser is mostly up to date, but tramlines are deep and very wet.”