Scots harvest slow – but yields looking good

Weather conditions are making it a slow job. With only about 25 per cent of the crop cut, it looks as if most of the Scottish spring barley crop will now be combined in September.

Traditionally England has been well ahead and this year it is now reckoned that half the UK spring barley acreage of 260,000 hectares has been harvested.
In a normal season in Scotland, the Borders, East Lothian, Fife and Angus would be a week ahead of the North-east but this year, the percentage combined appears to be much the same in all areas according to Ian Keith barely trader with Frontier.
Of the crop taken so far, the all-important nitrogen percentages are well within malting barley specification. Mostly 1.4 to 1.6 per cent according to Keith, although he has seen samples as low as 1.2 per cent and up to 1.9 per cent. "All perfectly usable and acceptable," he commented.
With yields, the Home Grown Cereals Authority is currently reckoning the Scottish crop is averaging close to 6 tonnes per hectare, well above the English average of 5.3 tonnes per hectare.
• After several years in the red, the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs has turned the financial corner posting a profit of £70,904 for the year ended 31 March 2011. However, the organisation – which now has approximately 3,500 members- has warned that level of profitability is not sustainable and for the current year they are budgeted to make a small profit of around £10,000.
Commenting on the upturn in YF accounts, chief executive Penny Laird said: "We are very conscious we need to be providing a service for our members, they need to feel they are gaining something from membership."
Key factors in the financial turnaround were the reduction in staffing where £56,000 was saved through dropping the post of national events co-ordinator and not filling the development manager position.
It have also saved £6,000 by dropping their membership of CEJA, the European junior agricultural organisation.

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