Maybe it's a record. On 20 June, the harvest of winter barley started in the southwest of the Netherlands. So early into the country with the combine. That can't be a good sign, can it? However, the first sounds show something different.
In 2014, the winter barley harvest also started very early. Barley was already growing on June 24 harvested. This year some arable farmers exceeded that by 4 days. The first barley arrived at CZAV on June 20 within on the Zeeland island of Tholen. This concerned a plot of barley sown very early, before mid-September, which has developed well. Barley was also harvested in Belgium on June 20.
Barley from light soil
More barley was harvested by arable farmers during the week. Mainly in the south (Zeeland and Limburg), but also in Flevoland, a single plot has been threshed. “The barley that has now been harvested mainly comes from plots of light soil that have dried out somewhat,” explains CZAV's head grain manager Rien Fieman. “Yields range from 6,5 to 9,5 tonnes per hectare, depending on whether the barley has dried out. Hectoliter weights are at an average level of 62-63. That is better than last year and in line with trading standards.”
Predictive value
Does the barley harvest also have predictive value for the coming wheat harvest? According to Fieman, this line cannot be continued immediately: “The wheat still has at least a month to go. Anything can still happen. We do know that in dry years the quality never disappoints. On the light soils we see that there is damage due to drought. I expect a good harvest for the yielding clay soils. Summer grain, especially on light soil, can also be disappointing due to drought.”
Given the drought, this was a stroke of luck
Due to the drought, grower Nils van Tilbeurgh from Oud-Vossemeer had expected less, but the barley yield is not too bad for him. “Over 10 hectares I arrive at an average yield of 10.4 tons per hectare and a hectoliter weight of around 60. Given the exceptional drought, with very little rain having fallen here in recent months, I am not disappointed with that.” Over the past 3 years, the grower achieved a barley yield of around 10 tons on the light clay soil.
Another striking feature is the exceptionally early harvest time; Van Tilbourgh started on Tuesday, June 20. “I sowed extremely early and was able to harvest extremely early. Even for the longest day, you just don't do that.” Now that the winter barley is gone, we have to wait until he can harvest grass seed and winter wheat. “I see many drying spots in wheat. I expect a less good yield here, because the development of the grain took place exactly when it was hot for days. With barley there was a little more moisture in the soil at that stage.”
Harvest resumes
CZAV expects to receive winter barley again in the first half of this week. “We had some rain in Zeeland on Saturday. It dried out hard again on Sunday," Fieman said. "We are now seeing some action in the country again. Arable farmers would like to harvest the barley on Monday and Tuesday. The forecasts for the second half of the week are less, so they are now making haste. ”
What does the yield do?
Past year yields were approximately 20% lower for CZAV customers than in previous years. This was partly due to a low hectoliter weight. Also in Germany the yield level was considerably lower. A lack of hours of sunshine was largely the cause. The main harvest of winter barley throughout the country has yet to start. If it remains changeable, with regular showers, this could have a negative impact on the hectoliter weights.
First wheat signals
In the south of France, farmers have now started harvesting winter wheat. The first reports about the quality are positive. A big difference with the north of the country, where the grain filling has not yet been completed. Analysts think the heat is taking its toll on wheat. The French soft wheat harvest is estimated at 35,5 to 36,5 million tons. This means a hectare yield of 6,85 to 7,10 tons/ha. The five-year average is 7,10 tons/ha. If 2016 is not included, the average is 7,52 tons/ha.
Cover photo: Vincent Coolbergen (@VCoolbergen).
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