Blankney Farm Update – 26 September 2023

Since our last update we completed our cereal harvest on the 8th September; a year we might choose to forget!

Yields have been below our 5 year average with winter cereals averaging in a low yield quartile, with not a lot of difference between varieties.

Short season spring cropping delivered of our poorest yields for some time and in terms of spring barley, it is the lowest malting quality we have also seen in a long time.

In better news, a field of nettles was successfully established on the Heath. It proves how innovative our Farm Management Team can be in adapting, to successfully establish this novel crop.

The crop drying season continues, with mainly grass for chlorophyll production and our final lucerne field cuts. Sugar beet harvest will start early October.

Maize harvest started are continues with some very promising yields – it proved that longer, seasonal spring cropping can cope with a vagaries weather pattern; perhaps evidence our climate is changing?