Blankney Farm Update – 7 January 2022

Our sugar beet harvest continues and we’ve caught up with our lifting programme; the sugar beet factory situation has improved and we now have 45% delivered, with an average yield of 83.4 tonnes a hectare – 33.7 tonnes an acre.

Spring barley drilling started in November and we now have 30% of the crop established. Drilling will continue into January and February, until we have cleared the sugar beet crop.

Our grain maize crop was successfully harvested at 8.48 tonnes a hectare – 3.43 tonnes an acre. This crop has passed all its mycotoxin tests and has been sold at £232 a tonne. A great result. However, it is a risky crop to grow, so the ambition of growing it needs caution.

Our winter crop programme after forage maize has worked well and the winter oats have both helped scavenge for nitrogen and has helped bind the soil, preventing ‘run off’.