Ian Moseley (fertiliser manager for Wynnstay) was quoted in the Farmer’s Weekly as saying “Although the price of urea has collapsed, ammonium nitrate has stayed firm at £390/tonne for December.”  And saying of urea prices “It’s dependent on the Asian markey, which usually starts buying in January”.  He warned that if farmers delayed purchases, there was a danger that farmers could be left waiting for deliveries in spring, and talking of delivery said “If this suddenly gets pushed into February, then there won’t be enough stock or sufficient transport facilities to meet demand”.

Well it is the view of Farmingfriends that any fertiliser manufacturer or trader should take a beginners course in economics – simple supply and demand economics suggest that fertiliser manufacturers will have been producing product to maximum capacity to try and capitalise on the grain price 5 months ago.  Now that the global grain price has fallen to less than half what it was at its peak, then demand for fertiliser will also fall.  The fall in demand will be compounded by the fall in oil price, meaning that oilseeds will be in lower demand for biodiesel production (reducing fertiliser demand).

Farmers will look to reduce fertiliser application rates in the spring, possibly by as much as 25%.  We all know that ammonium nitrate doesn’t store well from one seaon to the next, so if manufacturers do not move product in spring 2009, they will be left with deteriorating stock.

So the prediction is that prices will fall for AN as they have done with urea due to falling demand, falling oil prices (reducing production costs and demand) and stockpiles of product at plants, docks and distribution warehouses.

The supply industry has been feeding the media, scaring farmers into making purchases at inflated prices since early summer, which can only be described as underhand – as they must have seen the price falls coming.  On this farm we predicted what was happening and have not bought any fertiliser yet for 2009.  It is clear that any farmers who haven’t yet purchased will be holding out for an avalanche of price falls.  We expect ammonium nitrate prices to fall below £200/t and comparing historic nitrogen and grain prices we could even see nitrogen sub £130.

The best price will come to those who wait!

• Arable Farming - The production of crops.
• Barley – A cereal crop grown mainly for malting and as an animal feed.
• Biodiesel – Fuel that has been produced using crops.
• Blight - A potato disease.
• Buteric Silage – Silage that is too wet and does not ferment properly.
• Canola – The American name for oilseed rape, an arable crop grown for the extraction of oil from the seeds.
• Chlorophyll - The green pigment in leaves.
• Chloroplasts – The leaf cells in plants.
• CO2 – The chemical formula for Carbon Dioxide.
• Dehusked – To remove the outer layer on grain.
• H2O – The chemical formula for Water.
• Hay – A mature grass that has been cut and allowed to dry in the field.
• O2 – The chemical formula for Oxygen.
• Oats – A cereal crop grown for animal feed and for cereal foods for human consumption.
• Oilseed Rape – An arable crop, also known as canola, grown for the extraction of oil from the seeds.
• Photosynthesis – The food making process of a plant which takes place in the leaf.
• Potato Cyst Nematode – A soil borne pest that affects the potato crop.
• Potatoes – An arable crop and root vegetable grown for human consumption.
• Silage – Grass that has been preserved by pickling rather than drying.
• Wheat – A cereal crop grown for animal feed and for the production of flour.

Soilman asked, “What varieties do you grow?”

The potato varieties we have grown on the farm over the years are:

• Hermes – these potatoes have been grown for a merchant that sells the potatoes for crisping.
• King Edward – these potatoes have been sold to the public for consumption as mash, chips or roast potatoes.
• Cara – these are table potatoes and have been sold to the public.
• Russet Burbank – these potatoes were grown to make chips.
• Cultra – these potatoes were grown for the table.
• Record – these potatoes have been grown for making crisps.
• Estima – these table potatoes have been sold to the public.
• Desiree – these are potatoes that are grown for the table.

If you are wanting to grow potatoes in your vegetable garden then visit TopVeg for excellent potato growing advice.

• Stones,
• Mud,
• Weeds,
• Grass,
• Foreign objects,
• Rotten potatoes,
• Green potatoes,
• Mis-shaped potatoes,
• Largest potatoes,
• Smallest potatoes.

Although grading potatoes can be a little bit monotonous for some people, the conversation at our grader is certainly entertaining. I suggested that I tape the conversations and include them on my website as a podcast or should I say “potato-cast”!!!

PotatoesPotatoes

An arable crop is a plant (cereal, fruit or vegetable) that is cultivated for food or other uses, on ploughed land.

How many arable crops can you name? Can you name 30 or more?

Have a go at naming arable crops in the contact form below and the reader who names the most will win a prize. As contestants enter I will let you know the score to beat. You may enter more than once if you wish! Enter by filling in your name, email address and listing all the arable crops you can name. Good Luck. Score to beat is…….33.

Click on the image below to visit Amazon.co.uk to find out more about this book or visit one of the Farming Friends Bookshops.

Arable Crops PuzzlesArable Crops, Puzzles

Barley In The Field

The barley has been successfully harvested this year and the grain is safely stored in the new grain store.

Barley Grain In Storage

Our Winter barley had a good harvest but the Spring barley was more difficult this year.

The wheat has been successfully harvested this year and the grain is safely stored in the new grain store.

It has been reported that the yields are down nationally, but our wheat yields are reasonable this year, although there is a problem with the straw staying green.

Arable Crops Grain Shed Grain store Harvest WheatArable Crops, Grain Shed, Grain store, Harvest, Wheat

Having only harvested 5 acres since the last disaster with the unloading spout we were now broken down again – and in glorious harvesting weather.  We’d all had enough that night and called it a day.  I went spraying potatoes at 6.30 on Thursday morning and then loaded the Land Rover up with blocks of wood and hydraulic jacks ready to try and repair the wheel hub.  Luckily we found a second hand hub about 30 miles away which we had to remove from a fire damaged combine before returning home with it.  We had to place the wooden blocks under the front axle and then dig out the soil from under the wheel to relieve the weight of the combine that was resting on the wheel.  The wheel came out relatively easily and so the next job was to jack the combine up so that the new hub and the wheel could be refitted.  The wooden blocks were continually sinking into the soil because the machine had got stuck in a ‘wet hole’ in the field.  After several attempts of jacking and then chocking we were able to get the combine to a height at which the wheel could be refitted.  The wheel and the hub are both very heavy so we needed to use the forklift which was also sinking in the wet soil.

Harvest recommenced at 4pm after another hard day’s work of repairs.  The forklift, wooden blocks, tools, chains, straps and the old wheel hub were abandoned there in the field while we moved onto the next (hopefully drier) field.  The combine was altered to harvest wheat and we got started about 5pm and by 8pm the 8 acre field was completed.  The grain was 14.7% moisture which is dry enough to put into the grain store without having to dry it down any further.  Hopefully the wheat harvest will continue on Friday and we keep our fingers crossed that there are no more mechanical problems.

Written by Steve @ Farming Friends 

Arable Crops Canola Combine Harvester Farm Machinery Harvest Oilseed Rape WheatArable Crops, Canola, Combine Harvester, Farm Machinery, Harvest, Oilseed Rape, Wheat

Tomorrow will see the last couple of acres of winter barley finished, but we still have 16 acres of oilseed rape left to harvest.  The early drilled wheat is ‘fit’ and so tomorrow we will decide whether to try the rape again or go to the wheat.  The rape is most at risk of been lost to shedding as it has been ripe for sometime now, whereas the wheat is only just ready for harvesting and so would not come to any harm for a week or so.

Silage fields are now dry enough to cut, but the mower is currently having bearings replaced which were damaged by the floods.  Hopefully the mower will be ready by the time we have a window inbetween cereals harvest to make the silage.

On a slightly more embarrassing note, what I have failed to mention in this harvest report is what we have been busy doing this morning.  Last night at about 6pm I was driving the combine when I did the thing that all combine drivers fear most - I hit a tree with the unloading spout (the bit that sticks out of the side of the combine to transfer grain into the trailers).  It was the last strip of the field along a hedge side and I was concentrating on the pool of water/wet hole and the likelihood of bogging down, but unfortunately this had distracted my concentration away from the fact that the spout was in the out position and that I was going the wrong way round the field.  There was a huge bang and the emptying auger shaft was bent and the tube was broken back in one place and dented in several others, just when the sun was shinning and the newly aquired terra tyres were doing their bit.  The quote for a new one was in excess of £3,000, and although we are technically insured we decided to try and repair the damage, as after the recent floods we thought the insurance company may not be too receptive to our latest accident!  After some inventive engineering, grinding, bashing and welding by my brother until late on Monday night and then again on Tuesday morning, the repair was successful and we were back to the field by 2.30pm.  Needless to say that news of this sort spreads rapidly around the neighbours and we had several visitors today to see how the repair was going (or more likely they came to wind me up!)

My day started at 6.30am with spraying potatoes to protect against blight, helping repair the combine spout and then at 3.30pm I started round baling 29 acres of straw which I got finished at about 8.20pm.  One of the belt joiners on the baler has started to rip and so that must now be repaired.

Next job – SLEEP !

Written By Stephen @ Farming Friends

Combine Harvester HarvestCombine Harvester, Harvest

Our combine harvester is working very hard at the moment. It has been harvesting;

• oilseed rape / canola,
• barley,

and will soon be harvesting

• wheat.

When the combine harvester leaves the farm yard I am always reminded of the Combine Harvester Song by The Wurzels.

Arable Crops Barley Canola Combine Harvester Farm Machinery Harvest Oilseed Rape The Combine Harvester Song The Wurzels WheatArable Crops, Barley, Canola, Combine Harvester, Farm Machinery, Harvest, Oilseed Rape, The Combine Harvester Song, The Wurzels, Wheat