Judging by the forecasts last week the harvest looked as if it was going to proceed with the help of a prolonged dry spell. Unfortunately the broken spell seems to be upon us again and all we can do is grab any chance of harvesting we can. I think quite a lot of farmers with hay on the ground will be disappointed with the forecast given early last week given how the weather has

Judging by the forecasts last week the harvest looked as if it was going to proceed with the help of a prolonged dry spell. Unfortunately the broken spell seems to be upon us again and all we can do is grab any chance of harvesting we can. I think quite a lot of farmers with hay on the ground will be disappointed with the forecast given early last week given how the weather has turned out. Most hay crops are quite heavy due to the delayed cutting and also secondary growth and all crops will need some excellent days to bring them into peak condition for baling.

Winter barley is finished up and the winter oats harvest is well under way. Yields seem to be back a little from last year and straw volumes are reduced. Some early sown winter wheat were harvested last week in the south and initial reports are that yields are back about a half a tonne on last year. We will have to wait and see if this trend follows through the later sown crops. Much of the winter wheat and spring barley won't be ready to harvest until later this week at the earliest but many crops are still about ten days away.

There is still a chance to apply preharvest glyphosate to some crops before harvest. Use the thumbnail test to assure accurate application. After picking a number of sample grains at random through the field squeeze the grain between your finger and your thumb nail. If you cannot make an indent then the crop is too advanced for glyphosate application. If the grain splits open then its too early. But if the grain shows an indent from the thumb nail then the crop is at the correct stage for the application of glyphosate. Rates of application will vary depending on the situation and also the concentration of glyphosate used. Most growers will use a 360 g/l of glyphosate formulation. When using 360 g/l formulations, apply 1.0-1.5 l/ha where desiccation of the crop is required. Increase this to 2.0 l/ha where a low level of scutch is evident. Increase to the higher level of 4.0 l/ha where a high level of scutch is evident.

The continued wet weather has left all fields at near full soil water capacity. When ground is this wet it is more open to compaction from combines, grain and straw trailers and other equipment. Generally speaking most of the compaction damage is inflicted by the grain trailer. The heavier the axial load the greater the compaction damage. Most trailers are fitted with road type tyres which operate at high pressure where as low ground pressure tyres are desirable in the field. For many the job in hand is getting the harvest completed as quickly as possible but with a little planning it should be possible for growers to minimise compaction on the fields. Without using a specific field grain trailer fitted with low ground pressure tyres the best most growers can do is to minimise the travel through the field with full trailers. The best advice is to no more than two third fill the trailer with grain on the move in the field and then finish filling the trailer on the headland. Many combine operators may see this as a bad compromise as it will reduce the combining work rate in the field but where the conditions warrant it should be strongly considered. Tyre pressures should also be looked at on combines and reduced as much as the tyre manufacturer recommends.

Crops such as oilseed rape are very sensitive to compaction as it is considered a lazy rooter. Where substantial compaction damage was inflicted at harvest then growers may have to consider ploughing rather than the min-till option for establishment for this crop to ensure optimum yield next year.