Out & About Autumn 2021

H arvest 2021 is finally under way starting two-three weeks late. In comparison we had almost finished this time last year. By the middle of July, we are normally well ahead, but this year is a very different story. At the time of writing this in the first week of August, we haven’t even started the wheat yet. With frequent rain showers we are almost at a standstill. We have been unable so far to finish combining one field yet because we have had to abandon it due to the rain Therefore, we have taken every opportunity we have been given - sometimes changing counties from Berkshire to Hampshire in one day and even combining some of the crops at a high moisture to bring back into the shed for drying. This is not ideal, but in the current situation we have no choice. With all this in mind we are preparing for all the crops to be ready at the same time. This is going to put on additional pressure at an already busy time. You will see several operations in one field at the same time as we try to catch up. For instance, we will be simultaneously combining, grain cart, baling and even doing some drilling. Ideally, we would have sown the OSR by now (oil seed rape) to combat the pest cabbage stem flee beetle, however this is not possible because we still have crops in the ground from this season

Berkshire Farm Girl

ELEANOR GILBERT is on a mission - she wants to educate people about farming the 21st century. She is just beginning her second year at Harper Adamrs Agricultural in Shropshire and continues to juggle university life with farming. This summer’s unseasonal wet weather has presented its own particular challenges and the harvest season is not proving to be easy.

which are unfit to combine, making it very hard to fall back on cultural methods before we rely on chemicals. Long hours are going to be required during any hot days

we get to ensure we can get the harvest in for the country. We will be snatching every chance we have around this unpredictable weather. It looked like a promising but

late start, with crops yielding well, especially OSR, but farmers are now desperately worried and anxious as they watch their crops ripen at a sluggish pace because there has been limited sunshine and a cooler climate followed by regular rainfall. We have had to make sure all spare parts, fuel and supplies we need are ordered in advance and within plenty of time since there are delays in shipping as the pandemic and Brexit have affected the global supply chain. We have even resorted to moving our own grain to the mills as HGV drivers are

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