Today, (the 2^nd September) we intend to finish harvest 2021!

We’ve said this on several occasions over the last week but the continued dull weather with early morning drizzle has prevented us from crossing the finish line, but today is going to be the day come rain or shine with spring beans and cover crop seed plots getting the chop.

Who knew, on July 22^nd when we cut the rape, that harvest would drag on this long, somewhat different from last year when harvest barely stretched into August, finishing on the 7^th.

I don’t think we have had any notable highlights, with yields here and of my neighbours being average, but quality good. Some neighbours are still struggling to make progress never mind finish as the need to cut at 15% or below has been hampered by the afore mentioned weather and milling wheat still sits in the fields with combines having not turned a wheel in a week. With the benefit of Camgrain storage our quality has been captured and whilst final yields are unknown due to heaps of grain being “squirrelled away” in the barn to spread the logistics workload, it is in our control not out in the field being deteriorated.

One highlight was my “Boats” (beans and oats mix) trial that, those that have visited the farm will have seen. It yielded 5.64t/ha and when the proportion of oats and beans had been calculated produced a gross margin (£ output – growing costs) of £825/ha. Not bad for very few inputs and zero applied nitrogen. However, it took me nearly 2 days to separate the total field crop with my vintage 1950s dresser and demonstrated what a great job all of the operations team at Camgrain does dealing with everything the farmer members send to the store.

Crops this year produced a lot of straw, so much so that it’s hampered my direct drilling practices. I think this was because after the very slow growth in April due to the many frosty nights we didn’t apply much growth regulator (straw shortener) then when it rained in May the crops overcompensated in growth. The baler guys have been here and very efficiently baled and cleared the fields when weather allowed, working late into the night. Removal of organic matter is not a problem if done occasionally and it will be replaced by the mixed species cover crops that have been planted and are growing, albeit slowly, as they are in need of a proper rain!

Yes, although we have not had much decent combining weather, we have not had much rain either, only 60% of the expected August average. East Anglia has also had the lowest number of August sunshine hours at 127.1 since 1968 (how many of you will remember that year?) the upside is of course that working conditions around the store sites will have been a little easier with less need for constant supplies of water and sunscreen.

On farm, thoughts already turn to harvest 2022 with OSR and companions up in the row and cropping plans being made for the cereal crops. My wheat seed sample was taken to the NIAB lab yesterday to be assessed for germination, vigour, and disease levels.

Finally, a big thankyou to the whole Camgrain team for not only managing intake from farm as you do but outloading to keep customers supplied and the office and IT support that help it work so well.

Wishng everyone a safe a secure end to harvest.

David White