Page 4 - Parish Magazine June 2018

FARMING NEWS FROM THE BALLARDS
BallardS farm neWS
At last the warmer weather arrived and we planted all our spring barley and oilseed rape. It chitted and came through quickly and looks good. Unfortunately it became colder
a g a i n a n d a l t h o u g h w e s h o u l d n ’ t s u g g e s t i t w e c o u l d d o w i t h a fe w s p e l l s o f w a r m r a i n a s the surface has dried so quickly due to the hot weather and more recently the wind.
The cattle have all been let out into the surrounding fields, we have to check them daily to make sure they are all there, well and have plenty of grass. When they look as if they are getting short of grass we have to check the fences are secure in the next field before we move them on. We have almost completed our first cut of silage. The intention is that some of the fields that were cut will be grazed by the cattle on rotation through the summer. The rest of the fields we hope will grow enough grass to be able to take a second cut after harvest – in late summer.
To be able to market our products we have to belong to The Red Tractor Scheme to show we adhere to standards of food safety, animal welfare, hygiene and environmental protection. As part of the conditions we have to sample our soils regularly. This is good husbandry and we would want to do this anyway. The samples are collected by walking across the field in a “W” pattern digging samples of soil with a small corer. The soil from each field is put into a box and posted to a laboratory in Bracknell for analysis. There are three main things we need to know about our soils which change gradually over time mainly due to the cropping, fertiliser and farmyard manure applied. As gardeners know the pH is important and if the analysis gives a pH below 6.5 the soil needs liming. The other two important results are the phosphate and potash levels which will need to be high enough to promote good crop growth. We apply farmyard manure and this provides much of the nutrients removed by the previous crop. However, if the analysis shows the levels are low we can apply either triple super phosphate or muriate of potash.
The wheat crops are looking good at the moment. As the wheat grows, each of its new leaves emerges from the top of the stem. The final leaf, the flag leaf, has now emerged and will be shortly followed by the ear. The amount of grain produced by the wheat plant is determined by the health of the last three leaves to grow, as well as the ear. If disease destroys the green tissue the yield will be compromised. Research has shown that the ear contributes 25% of the yield, the final leaf (flag leaf) 40%, the second to last leaf 25% and the third to last 10%. Because of this we carefully time fungicidal sprays to protect the leaves and ear from disease.
With all the crops growing well we are now dependant on some sun and rain over the next few weeks.
2 THE NEWS JUNE 2018 www.thenewseec@gmail.com