Blankney Farm Update – 29 May 2025

We’ve had some rain!

So far, we’ve had just over an inch of rain – mainly at night – which is most welcome.
Our sugar beet and maize crops have improved almost immediately and now look well.

Our winter cereal crops really did struggle during this extremely dry period. From the 1st March
to the 23rd May, we only recorded 26.3mm of rain.

In 1976 we recorded 84mm of rain in the same period; we’ve had the driest spring since our records began in 1948.

The damage to yield prospects is irreversible, so we won’t be expecting anything other than a poor winter cereal harvest.

Spring barley is now a major concern for us. The crop is extremely short and we are worried about secondary growth and high nitrogen levels – making it feed quality only.

We are now busy establishing our SFI Farmland bird habitat mixes.

Grass and lucerne harvesting is going well, although yields are down because of weather.