Ben Lowe: Don’t let me get ‘hangry’ amid uncertain weather

I wonder if Irish girl band B*Witched has ever been quoted in the farming section of The Press and Journal?

I’m not blaming myself, let’s “Blame It on the Weatherman”.

As I write, the yard is still damp from some unforecasted showers that hit us this morning. Keeping us all in the yard for yet another day.

The next couple of days don’t look great either, with some fog suddenly appearing in the weather apps. Is it just me that looks at four separate forecasts to decide what weather we may get?

A farmer I used to work for as a student would always refer to the harvest as his war and liken the combine to a Spitfire aeroplane.

I always remember the comment that you wouldn’t have your Spitfire unfuelled and not ready for action when the enemy turned up and surprised you, so why is the combine not ready to rock?

Important to keep ‘piece box primed’

It serves as a reminder to always be ready for the next chance to get a little bit more grain in the shed and move closer to the end of harvesting our year’s work.

Mind you, it’s as important to keep the piece box primed and full of food as it is to have a full fuel tank.

At least then I’m a bit less “hangry” and the trailer drivers get an easier time.

So far this year, it seems all the good weather comes at weekends.

This is a relief to us and must be nice for the general public out there enjoying the weather – and not in a machine cab.

So far, our yields have been bang on average and I am delighted.

Both winter barley and oilseed rape came in almost identical to our five-year average and our wheat looks to be doing similar.

‘This year has felt very challenging’

Let’s hope the spring barley, which is mostly a week away from combining, doesn’t let the side down.

This year has felt very challenging, with weather and a distinct lack of sunlight.

So, to not be pulling down our averages feels like a bit of a win in my book.

What’s been even better has been the grain quality and moistures making handling in the farmyard far easier.

There have been no piles of grain left lying about waiting to be go through the dryer.

Straw quality and yields have also been good.

We have been round baling ourselves this year. Craig, the baler man, is very aware he’d better do a good job as he will suffer the consequences when rolling out 100 bales a week through the winter if they are too heavy, or have any hint of mould from damp straw.

Farmers seem to be looking to capture rewards from a buoyant market.”

We are baling the same as we always do, which is most of it, as we need it for our pigs and bed-and-breakfast cattle,

But it is very apparent the rest of the country has really stepped up the amount they are swathing.

Farmers seem to be looking to capture rewards from a buoyant market.

We have the first of next year’s crop in the ground, with the oilseed rape being sown in a two-day weather window.

This year was a bit different as we have bought our own drill to go along with the new tractor from our Highland show purchase. This feels like another step forward for us.

We have been lucky to work with several very good contractors who have modern machines, with good operators.

330 new piglets a week

To be able to stop and start when we want to, and try to hit the optimum sowing windows is very exciting and should help de-risk our business and, hopefully, make our establishment’s operations slightly cheaper.

The pig side of the farm continues uninterrupted at harvest, with the whole team keeping every animal looked after fed and watered. It’s not an easy job, with 330 new piglets arriving every week onto the farm and staying with us for six months until they are 120kg-plus (265lbs or more) in weight.

It’s a hurry with the slurry

One of the extra jobs we have at this time of year is making sure all the sheds are empty of slurry before our Nitrate Vulnerable Zone closed period stops us spreading any of it to land from October to February.

Manure is so important to our arable business, allowing us to close the loop and reduce the amount of fertiliser we must buy in by at least 50%. This is not only a big saving but lets us produce grain and pork very efficiently.

Here’s to a busy month ahead in the glorious conditions that an Indian summer will, hopefully, bring to the north-east over September. Stay safe.

Ben Lowe farms near Ellon, with his wife Harriet, running an intensive pig and arable enterprise. He also works as an agent with agronomy company Agrovista.