Crop Watch
Crop Watch October November 2023
As the favourable conditions continue for the fifth month in a row all I can think of is when will this fairy tale eventually end? With annual rainfalls in our region generally forming a similar [...]
Crop Watch August 2023
Harvest can only be described as resembling a prop forward at pre-season hill sprints….slow and steady with frequent stops! Despite the holdups, we have managed to get 7 or 8 cutting days out of the [...]
Crop Watch July 2023
With winter barley crops now ripe for cutting the first combines raced into fields to make a start to the 2023 harvest campaign. However, this soon had a ring of Liz Truss about it and [...]
Crop Watch June 2023
Well, my early morning rain dances have finally paid off, however the god of rain must have been less than impressed with my performance with a mere 15mm overnight rather than the predicted months’ worth [...]
Crop Watch May 2023
Well, the warmer weather has eventually turned up here in Yorkshire, it's not quite the Mediterranean days we dream of more floating around the mid-teens with an occasional 20 degree thrown in for good measure, [...]
Crop Watch April 2023
April started off carrying on the trend from its predecessor March, wet and cold. This has caused the ever-growing backlog of spray jobs to swell even more, with spray plans ever changing from the originals [...]
Crop Watch March 2023
Well, the season has got off to a gentle stroll rather than an Olympian sprint. In my last article I mentioned the door of winter was still left slightly ajar, well it soon blew open [...]
Crop Watch February 2023
February and March are always some of my favourite times of the growing season, not only do we get to see crops gently recover from their winters snooze but more importantly it marks the start [...]
Crop Watch January 2023
It's been a mixed bag here in North Yorkshire in terms of weather since the start of the new year. Early January saw plenty of rain arrive helping fields reach capacity, rivers rise out their [...]
Crop Watch September 2022
It's as if someone upstairs was listening or my rain dances worked, the rain eventually arrived here in North Yorkshire 2 weeks ago and was the much-needed booster shot some of these oilseed rape crops [...]
Crop Watch August 2022
Who would have thought it that in my August article I’d be saying harvest is all but complete! The later sown winter wheats were cut last week while all that’s keeping the combines from an [...]
Crop Watch July 2022
And they're off! The gentle drone of combines are echoing around the North Yorkshire countryside. The last week has seen around 50% of my areas winter barley safely gathered up in store while balers make [...]
Crop Watch June 2022
The sunny weather and high temperatures have arrived here in Yorkshire this week and for the most are truly welcomed. Not wishing to jinks the season but dare I say it though a little drink [...]
Crop Watch May 2022
With the rugby season now complete, with the final game for Yorkshire against Lancashire yesterday, it feels like the crop walking season is following suit and should be drawing to an end over the next [...]
Crop Watch April 2022
The start of April provided us with a mixed bag of weather, meaning spray windows were very few and far between, leading to a backlog of jobs. As we approach Easter however conditions have been [...]
Crop Watch March 2022
And they're off! The chequered flag has been raised and the army of fertiliser spreaders can be seen littering the fields around Yorkshire. Conversations are still happening on farm about how much nitrogen rates can [...]
Crop Watch February 2022
Up until now you could still have confused the weather for early spring, however, today has provided us with a swift reminder that we are still in the grasp of winter. A high of 4 [...]
Crop Watch January 2022
Weather and ground conditions remain extremely favourable here in Yorkshire, the last week has been sunny in the daytime with plenty of hard frosts creeping in on the evenings. I have still not been brave [...]
Crop Watch November 2021
The final curtain looks to have been drawn on autumn sowing here in Yorkshire, with the odd exception following sugar beet crops. With conditions still seeming unseasonably favourable I have no qualms with these last [...]
Crop Watch October 2021
It finally feels like we are onto the last leg of the 2021 autumn sowing campaign, and as back ends go, this must have been one of the kindest to date. Odd showers here and [...]
Crop Watch September 2021
Harvest is all but completed here in North Yorkshire, with the last few stragglers near the Whitby coast soon to be mopped up by the end of the week. With the new rugby season underway [...]
Crop Watch August 2021
Well harvest in is full swing here in the Ryedale valley of North Yorkshire, 6 continuous dry days has meant that the army of combines are all out doing what they do best. I write [...]
Crop Watch July 2021
July is always a mixed bag for an agronomist’s working calendar. It is usually a mix of crop trials, agricultural shows, finishing off beet and maize sprays while hopefully trying to squeeze in a small [...]
Crop Watch June 2021
And just like that it's almost another crop walking season under the belt, although it’s not exactly been a walk in the park! Crops overall are looking full of potential, that coupled with pleasing future [...]
Crop Watch May 2021
Well, what can I say it looks like my 4 am rain dances earlier in the month served their purpose. Like Johnny's drop goal in the 2003 world cup the rain came just in time. [...]
Crop Watch April 2021
Well, 2021 keeps dishing out the surprises to us, as the country eases itself out of lockdown winter crops refuse to follow suit and have shown little signs of progression this last 2 weeks. Can [...]
Crop Watch March 2021
Well today it feels like spring has finally sprung with temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius topping the mercury today! (20/03/2021). Conditions are just about right and many of my growers will soon hear the echoing [...]
Crop Watch February 2021
Fields are dry, the sun is shining, and fertiliser applications are a go! Wishful thinking, this is as believable as me lacing up the boots ready to face Wharfedale at the weekend. A few frosty [...]
Crop Watch January 2021
Happy new year! I hope you all had some form of rest and normality over the festive period. Like many of you, I was happy to see the back of 2020 while filled with excitement [...]
Crop Watch November December 2020
I think chalk and cheese is a fitting phrase when comparing last autumn to this. Despite the extremely wet October, November has been relatively dry allowing most of my clients to get all their [...]
Crop Watch October 2020
Drilling has progressed well in Yorkshire and the North East with most clients now 80% complete of the planned winter cereal acreage. For a short period following the heavy showers the direct drills were parked [...]
Crop Watch September 2020
Harvest is all but finished here in North Yorkshire, the last few stragglers of spring barley are to be mopped up while spring beans are just about ready to cut. In all yields are [...]
Crop Watch August 2020
Harvest is well under way here in North Yorkshire albeit at a snail’s pace. The 2 weeks of warm windy weather at the beginning of the month allowed most to make a start however [...]
Crop Watch July 2020
July is always my favourite time of year; you finally start to see the early results of a hard seasons work. It has to be said that not all the sites are pretty, and [...]
Crop Watch June 2020
Things are looking a little rosier and I predict a few surprises this harvest. The recent rain has been a blessing on many crops within the North Yorkshire region. Unfortunately, the rain was too [...]
Crop Watch May 2020
At the beginning of the month a wise farmer told me if there is no rain in the first week of May there will be none for the rest of the month. After a [...]
Crop Watch April 2020
Well what a shift in seasons, 8 weeks ago when on farms we joked about the horrendous conditions the land was in with the comments of ‘you wait it will be bone dry in [...]
Crop Watch February 2020
The last few weeks of January leading into early February have allowed many people to finally carry on with some winter sowing. I’m not sure what it’s like nationwide but on my farms more [...]
Crop Watch January 2020
First off I'd like to wish everyone a happy new year and all the very best for 2020. To date the year has started on a much more positive note than its predecessor. The [...]