Dry Weather Stunts Grass and Crop Growth – Farmers Guardian – Helen Brown
Lack of rain and cold weather across the UK so far in April was causing issues for grass growth and crops ...
With the Met Office reporting some areas have seen barely any rain this month.
Helen Brown, Hutchinsons arable and grassland agronomist and farmer in Cumbria, said grass was growing “really slowly”.
But it had allowed good conditions for spring barley drilling and she had been recommending where people were ploughing to plough right in front of the drill to avoid losing too much moisture.
Her other concerns included pre-emergence herbicides, which had poor efficacy in dry conditions.
Richard Roberts, a dairy farmer in North Wales, said the dry weather had followed “horrendous January rain” combined with frosts hampering grass growth. He is having to supplement the cows, which was adding extra costs.
Merseyside farmer Olly Harrison said his OSR was “not really doing much” and had only just begun to come into flower, with beans “barely poking out of the soil”.
“As for wheat and barley, they are so short so there is not going to be much straw,” he said.
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