Autumn crops look strong and spring sowing is going well

The winter has been fairly kind to arable farms in the North of England and spring sowing has progressed well, with autumn crops looking strong despite some disease threat, according to independent agronomist, Patrick Stephenson.

The region’s spring cereals acreage is slightly down on the average this year, largely due to the favourable weather during the autumn planting period, said Patrick.

“I would estimate that spring planting has fallen by ten to 15 per cent,” he stated. “Growers were keen to capitalise on the prediction for strong wheat prices. It was understandable that many opted for a second, or even a third, autumn wheat crop, especially as drilling conditions were very favourable and the weather for the previous harvest raised few issues. Nevertheless some areas, including Cumbria for example, had the misfortune to experience high autumn rainfall levels.”

Some low level disease had been observed in cereals by mid-March, he added.

Patrick Stephenson, independent agronomist

“Both septoria and yellow rust were visible in autumn-planted wheat crops, with brown rust and net blotch in a number of barley fields. I would recommend that producers stick to their disease spraying programmes, because these infections can cause serious yield losses and affect crop quality.

“In terms of spring cropping, soils were in good condition with exception of some localised areas, perhaps. This meant that drilling went well in the North and I have heard few complaints. Even the melting snow did not stick around for long and in general the season got off to an encouraging start.”

Wheat prices have dropped back in recent months, while some input costs have risen sharply, he observed.

“The good news is that the price of nitrogen has decreased by up to £200/tonne, although many arable producers had already bought their fertiliser in advance and paid top prices to secure their supplies.

“However, the average market figure for pesticides, including fungal treatments, has risen by about 20 per cent. This is an alarming development that will have a negative effect on the bottom line. I would estimate that it will cost roughly £180 to produce one a tonne of wheat.

Autumn crops looking strong despite some disease threat

"At that level, profitability will be highly sensitive to market shifts. In my opinion, what has been described as the ‘honeymoon period’ for wheat is over.”

The potential benefits of biological treatments to combat pests and diseases have been widely promoted, but Patrick feels that the scientific evidence may fall short of some of the manufacturers’ claims at present.

“The main issue is a lack of consistency with the results,” he stressed. “It is a question of deciding where they might be appropriate and where they might not. One biological fungicide is designed to boost the plant’s natural defences and stimulate fungal resistance, for example. This appears to have worked well in some cases, but we need to learn much more about the performance of biological remedies, before making any major claims for their efficacy.

“We are seeing the dawn of a new era in protecting crops from pests and diseases and several bio-pesticides are in the pipeline, but we are not quite there yet.”

Oats are becoming a slightly more popular option among the range of cereals, but there are pros and cons associated with the crop, he said.

“Oats offer an excellent break opportunity, as they are not susceptible to the damaging take-all fungal disease that affects other cereal species. Weed control is not always straightforward and marketing oats can be problematic. Even growers who have secured a contract might find that crops destined to be sold on October 1, for example, might not be able to be moved until the following January. The payment will still be made, but on some farms this scenario can cause serious storage problems, especially on mixed units which might require the building for livestock.”

A new product to help in the fight against blackgrass has proved helpful, but Patrick described the issue as a 'campaign, rather than a battle'.

“The launch of BASF’s Luximo product has provided a new mode of action for tackling blackgrass; it is recommended for use alongside cultural controls. Residual herbicides worked well on most farms last autumn, but blackgrass reduction programmes must be ongoing because the weed poses a real threat to crop yield performance,” he said.

While excessive drought is normally confined to southern regions, lack of moisture caused problems for growers in some of the northern counties last year, he noted.

“We have come through a fairly dry winter and growers who produce crops which require irrigation and need to use extraction licenses have expressed some mild concerns. Cereals are less vulnerable if they encounter low rainfall situations. Farmers have long memories and the very dry spring and wet summer of 2012 have not been forgotten; hopefully that pattern will not be repeated,” said Patrick.