The winter Barley harvest has come and gone. Excellent weather conditions allowed growers to harvest in timely fashion, as crops ripened quickly with the high temperatures. A long window of dry weather saw much of the crop harvested with ample time to gather straw for those who chose not to chop it.

Bordeaux appears to be amongst the higher performing winter barley varieties so far, also displaying excellent grain quality. Keep an eye out for this variety. Moisture content for barley was ranging from 15.5 - 19% predominantly throughout the harvest. Straw prices remain strong, with growers selling for €15 - €20 per bale depending on area and demand.

Winter wheat crops have also been ripening fast. Recent cooler conditions and rainfall have slowed down ripening, but the harvest date is fast approaching. There is strong potential for winter wheat crops this year.

After receiving heavy downpours in recent days, some heavy crops of spring barley have been flattened. There is also some late tillering being spotted by our agronomists in many fields of spring barley. If you are considering pre-harvest glyphosate, apply on spring barley crops at 30% moisture; at a rate of 720-1000 g/ha depending on the greenness of the crop.

Pre-Harvest glyphosate cannot be applied to a crop destined for the food chain such as milling oats or malting barley. It is also not permitted on seed crops.

Oil Seed Rape

Drummonds will be offering a range of the highest performing Oilseed Rape varieties to their growers for the 2021 growing season. PT303, PT279CL and DK ExStar are consistent varieties that perform exceptionally well under Irish weather conditions.

See below for further information.

The principal mixtures which Drummonds are promoting are:

 For further information about planting oilseed rape in 2021 - CLICK HERE.

Be on the lookout for slugs, flea beetle and pigeons grazing your crops. Shotholes in the leaves are a result of slug damage. Slug pellets may be necessary.