Founder's harvest update: Average yields, small grains and an absent August…
A blog by our co-founder, Andrew Huxham, on harvest this year.
Historically, harvest in Sussex usually begins around the third week of July with winter barley often cut before. This is the third harvest in a row to have had a very early start, so does that mean this is the new norm? As temperatures plummeted to below 7 degrees two nights ago and we received 50mm of rain in the last week it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be an early finish. In fact I think we’ve missed August completely and moved straight to September.
Most arable farms in Sussex have finished winter barley and many have also finished their oilseed rape. Many have now also started wheat and it is quickly becoming apparent that we will have neither the quality nor the quantity of crops we did in 2022. OSR yields were disappointing for both early and late drilled crops, so the saga on optimum drilling date continues.
Malting winter barley crops can be cleaned to make spec for high value contracts but when you are removing 40-50% to reduce screenings and increase specific weight there isn’t much left on the high value contract fixed 12 months ago!
We grow skyfall and zyatt milling wheat, the zyatt has looked nothing short of appalling all year but it is yielding better than I expected. While specific weights have been on the low side 74-76, the high screenings of 6-8% will be more of a problem, especially if the grain is destined for a mill next to the river Avon. For those that do not have the ability to clean the best option will be a boat if any premium is to be achieved.
What appears very different to the dreaded 2012 harvest is the screenings are not very light, They’re really just small grains rather than pinched. When we started wheat we spent a while experimenting with how to clean our wheat, twin apriators did an ok job but 2.3mm screens on a rotary cleaner is being much more effective. The result is milling wheat at 80 kg/hl with <2% screenings through 2.25mm. And the “tailings” are actually 72kg/hl of lovely looking small grain wheat… so we’ll be selling that as well! I think anyone with the ability to clean and up-spec will be rewarded this year, especially if the weather continues and Hagbergs become a topic of conversation as well as specific weights and screenings.
I hope the weather improves soon, all our wheat is now fit and I’m using seven different weather apps every hour to try and spot an opportunity to cut some more!
Andrew Huxham / andrew.huxham@graindex.com