Latest News / Events

Following the completion of our cereal harvest for 2022, we have now begun establishing our winter cover crops. 380ha of cover has been established, which will assist with helping the soils retain nutrients and preventing nitrate loss into the underlying aquifer. Recent rains have improved our grass production quality and yields; they have also improved
Read More ⤍

We completed our cereal harvest this year on 15 August – an early end to a dry harvest, with Spring Barley averaging about 10% above our 5 year average yields. However, late drilled Spring Barley on heavy land has fallen off a yield cliff, coming in at 40% below our 5 year average. Spring Beans
Read More ⤍

The rainfall we received in May and June seems to have only given temporary respite for our crops. This week we have entered into a serious drought, with further hot conditions forecast. This will put pressure on our still, actively growing crops – grass, lucerne, sugar beet and maize. We have started our cereal harvest
Read More ⤍

Good News! Good rainfall amounts in May have helped all of our crops. However, the season has been somewhat strange… We believe a combination of cold nights and dry conditions has led to crops accelerating through their growth stages and reaching ear emergence 10-14 days before we would normally expect. We hope that although this
Read More ⤍

We’re in the last spring period and so far, moisture levels from rain have been very low. April was just below 12mm and we have had less than an inch of rainfall so far in May – our winter cereal crops have suffered and yield potential now will be 10% below our 5 year average.
Read More ⤍

This spring started with a warm March, which has helped our crops develop. Spring establishment of our vining peas, dried peas, spring beans, spring barley and sugar beet have all progressed well and on time. Dry weather this month is causing concern as the recently planted crops start to suffer moisture stress – we need
Read More ⤍

The weather over the last few days feels like Spring! Crops are showing good signs of growth. However, the oil fields are a different place, with the impact of the tragedy in Ukraine.  Severity of supply of our required crop inputs and the impact of rapidly increasing costs – particularly fuel – must be a
Read More ⤍

Our sugar beet harvest is nearing the end with 85% of the crop harvested, giving us an average yield in excess of 86 tonnes a hectare (34.8 tonnes an acre). Spring barley drilling is going well with over 45% of the crop now in the ground. We will soon be drilling the remainder of the
Read More ⤍

Pat Frith retires after 43 years. Pat started with Blankney Estates on 17th April 1978, having previously worked and completed his apprenticeship at Walter B Lincoln at Eagle, before joining the Crop Driers Farm workshop under Colin Toy. 43 harvests later he has completed an extraordinary period of long service and commitment to Blankney and
Read More ⤍

Our sugar beet harvest continues and we’ve caught up with our lifting programme; the sugar beet factory situation has improved and we now have 45% delivered, with an average yield of 83.4 tonnes a hectare – 33.7 tonnes an acre. Spring barley drilling started in November and we now have 30% of the crop established.
Read More ⤍