Bycott Farm Diary August 2023

I hate to sound like a scratched record but, this last quarter has been dominated by Mother Nature once again. Like many parts of the country our weather here in North Devon has been challenging for arable farm businesses. The Spring was extremely wet and June very dry, which might have been good for cricket but put paid to some of our crops.

However, let’s start on a high note. Our Winter Barley yields were the best ever, and our Winter Oats were also some of the finest we’ve ever had. Wheat was disappointing though, the wet Spring resulted in poor rooting which was topped off by the heat of June. Our yield was close to half of what we had anticipated.

Since harvest we’ve been busy in the field. Drainage and boundary maintenance has been carried out and compost applied ready for the coming season. All the fields have been cultivated and a Summer cover crop has been planted.

We’ve currently got one block of Spring Oats yet to harvest, this should take place during early September. These crops were planted two months later than usual due to the weather, however, they’re looking quite promising, so fingers crossed.

It will be a quick turnaround, the field will be harvested, cultivated, composted and drilled in a very short window, before we’re out late in September planting Winter Oats, Barley and Wheat again…