Bycott Farm Diary June 2025

Those of you familiar with this diary will have become used to my regular heavy rain updates. However, it seems we’ve gone from one extreme to another. The UK has already enjoyed over 507 hours of sunshine this spring, which is why the farm is looking as good, if not better, than it has ever looked.

In my previous diary, I mentioned we’d hosted Mzuri and Väderstad on the farm over a couple of days last September. We drilled winter wheat with the Mzuri and winter barley with the Väderstad. Both crops are looking exceptional, it bodes well for harvest. We applied liquid fertiliser during early February. Disease control over this spring has been relatively easy, due to the lack of rainfall and our ability to keep on top of the job.

Spring oats were planted during the first week in April, they are looking very good. We decided to go again with wild bird mixes. During early May we planted new strips on the headlands and field corners.

There must be twenty hares in residence on the fields here at Bycott, which is always a joy to see. Now and again, we’ve seen a large number of deer travelling across our fields at certain times this Spring.

Looking ahead, we’re considering the use of variable rate fertiliser for next season. I think we’ll be moving away totally from continuous wheat rotation. On the remaining block of fields, we’ll be reintroducing break crops in the form of oats, which we’ve had great success with.

Recently, it was nice to be invited by the Bateman product development team to take a look at a project they’re currently working on. Whilst I can’t disclose what we were looking at, I can say that I am excited by what lies ahead. This could be a real game changer and will bring huge benefits to the farmer and the environment.

I think we’ll be starting harvest during late June (fingers crossed). Wishing you all a stress-free, safe and happy harvest!