The recent spell of hot dry weather has been enjoyed by many during the coronavirus lockdown – however, a prolonged dry period during the spring can cause knock on effects for both our livestock and crop farmers.

Across the county, many farms have reported good yields for their first cut silage, setting them in good stead for filling clamps and winter feed requirements. A cut of silage is often followed by an application of fertiliser or dose of slurry – feeding the next crop of grass. The slurry or fertiliser needs rain to help the nutrient reach the root, but sadly that rain has not yet arrived. Those farmers who have managed a second cut of silage in June have been horrified with a drop in yield and some farmers will be waiting a long time before they think it is worthwhile spending out on mower and forager cost for their next cut.

For the arable farmers, the 2020 growing season was off to a good start. Spring drilling increased dramatically due to lower acreages being planted in the autumn, but conditions were near perfect, and the seedbed was warm and moist, meaning seeds germinated and got up quickly. However, the prolonged dry spell in April and May came at just the wrong time; this is when we see crops racing through growth stages, one of the most of important being ear formation. The ear forms safely inside the stem of the plant’s tillers – here, the ear is safe from bugs and pests and it stays warm, enabling the grain sites to form. Once the ear is set, it is unable to form new grain sites, so in essence the yield potential to some extent has been fixed. The plant assumes that whatever weather is occurring at this important stage will continue. In wet years this is good as there are lots of grain sites, but in dry years it limits the number of sites, working on the assumption that there won’t be enough moisture to feed extra grains all the way through to harvest.

That said, crops have emerged from this dry spell looking very healthy and bearing up well, but rain cannot come soon enough. If the dry weather continues then we could see additional risk of yield loss if we start to see tillers dying off. Situations like this are humbling – we are reminded that in the farming industry, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of soil and (hopefully) the fact that it rains!