Harvest is over here in the east, and as expected, it has been dry and hot ever since! Too dry for the rape, and the potato land is too hard to lift without damage. We won’t be drilling any wheat until it rains, which I hope it does soon or we will have to consider re-drilling some of the rape.
Since my last blog, my eldest has returned from Australia, with some money left, and is proving really useful to have about on the farm. Well trained by someone else! Nothing is too much trouble with the animals, but our tractors are still a bit out of her league. It is great to have her home; she has learned a great deal and had a fantastic time. I did a gap year, have always been an advocate, and am pleased we encouraged her to go. Many life lessons learned. I would encourage everyone to take the chance; you are a long time at home on the farm! Shame she is of to uni just before we really get into the spuds.
Harvest was a mixed bag, poor second wheats, reasonable first wheats and good rape on the clay. Spring beans were better than expected after they nearly died in the heat of June. On the fen, wheats were excellent though Hereward suffered hagberg loss in the early rain; left us just at 250ish. Mustard was okay, but relatively the best yield and quality for some time. We have set up a growers group to supply Colman’s on a single contract. EFFP have been assisting us and it has been and is an interesting exercise.
Costs are a frightening degree higher, both fertiliser and fuel. You all know where prices are in combinables (I wish we had more lambs to sell). I think margins will take a kicking this year. I also turned down potato contracts at £110; enough said. Rent reviews for the autumn should be interesting. On rents settled at Easter, these may now be looking pretty expensive.
We have purchased a sumo trio cultivator. This has been excellent for establishing rape and producing seedbeds in one pass, perhaps with a subsequent press pass on some of the heavier ground. We are rolling everything pre-drilling as it is so dry. I know this as our house built on oak beams on the clay has moved 35mm against the conservatory on a metre concrete foundation so all the doors won’t open. Also, the sewer runs under it, an issue I resolved this morning. Chairman back in the **** again.
I have a raft of meetings in November I am looking forward to; hopefully all will be drilled and gathered before then. In this break between harvest and drilling, I have been with George to see Barclays Bank and we are meeting Dame Suzie Leather next week, who is Chair of DEFRA’s Food Policy Council about food security. We also meet the NFU about cost and responsibility sharing. We are lucky Richard Elliot has been selected for the advisory group Chaired by Rosemary Radcliffe.

Richard Elliott chats to Rebecca Marshall and Stephen Wyrill at the Dairy Event.
Stephen your Vice-Chairman is at the Dairy Event and Livestock Show for both days with Rebecca Marshall our National Adviser, whilst Gemma Bumford our new National Adviser is there on the first day. I hope you will take the opportunity to visit the stand in Cattle Shed 6 Stand 587.






