Crop Watch East: Crops still standing despite heavy rain, says Brian Ross

Brian Ross - Frontier, Suffolk (Click to contact) As I write we've just endured 39mm of rain in under an hour. Fortunately, there was no wind, so the fear of flattened corn hasn't materialised as yet. Winter barleys are turning rapidly. On light land crops have burnt out in patches, but on the heavier soils they're ripening naturally. I've no idea how yields will go, as the ears are quite full, but tiller numbers are lower than last year. Spring barley is very thin after the prolonged period without rain just as it was tillering, although it looks better than it should in many fields in this area. Late N uptake may cause problems with malting quality. The interesting crop this year that I have on several acres is red wheat, which offers a large end price, provided the specs are met. Initially, like spring barleys, it emerged... [read full story]                    

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