Let's all start growing Grain!?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118836551#Comment_118836551

That’s where people buy it from. Western seeds

farmerphil135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118835974#Comment_118835974

Never heard of that specific combo crop but we’ve often grown peas with other crops for wholecropping never dry harvested. Hardest thing is to control weeds and it can be difficult to harvest especially if chickweed is a problem. Anytime we’ve done it for ourselves we’ve undersowed it with grass

TheClubMan

A lot of lads have got land planted over the last couple of days in the sunshine. I have stock grazing down the land I want to plant barley in at present. When is the latest date I would want to have it sown by?

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118854024#Comment_118854024

I think it's goes wheat barley oats .we have planted barley mayday and wheat paddy's day. Used to be mad to be early in my younger days but your better off with acrop that's just sows and goes rather than a crop that gets a stunt from maybe late frost or cutting winds

jimmy G M

Where are lads getting/going to get fert for this extra tillage esp if not planned for?

Whatever about little or no fert on low intensity grass land, sowing grain and skimping on fert is surely false economy?

We had considered 10 acres of it here but considering the contractor charges, the scarcity of fert and the risks around harvest, I dont think we are going to bother for €400 ha. Not to mention the 10 acres of grass that we'd be down, meaning more fert on the remaining grassland....

Can anyone post accurate costing for establishment, growing and harvesting of say oats or barley here. Then we could work out the breakeven yield/price. Thx

roosterman71

The protein payment of €300/ha for beans, etc - is that only for land that wasn't previously in tillage?

This is the crop I'd be looking at myself if I was to try grow something. Uses less fert than wheat/barley and would leave N in the ground after. Probably a bit late for sowing now though

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118854647#Comment_118854647

Doing the sums on it at the minute and it's very dodgy. That's at 300 e a ton for barley.the only benefit is the reseeding is being subsidised but you would not know what to put should it be red clover instead of prg

Grueller

Agronomist with the local merchant here reckons barley will be at €400 a ton off the combine in the harvest. Make of that what you will.

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118855435#Comment_118855435

Glanbia forward price has dropped to 305 a ton for dried next December

blue5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118855435#Comment_118855435

Fookers always talk up the price this time of year, then go on holidays for the month of August and import a shipload of barley to dump on the Irish market around harvest time. Nobody can predict the price this year, try get it in writing off the agronomist.

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118854647#Comment_118854647

Hoping to have mine sowed in the next day or 2.

To put an idea on costs per acre;

Soil sampling €3.50

Roundup to spray off ley €35

Compound fertiliser €147 (3.5 bags 10-5-25)

Seed €42 (€610 per ton with a sowing rate of 11 stone (69kgs) per acre.)

Top Dressing €59 (1.5 bags nitrogen)

Herbicide, Fungicide, Growth Regulator sprays I don’t know exactly but I’m expecting somewhere around €100

Contractor charges based on FCI recommended rates;

Spraying x 4 times €72

Plough and sow with one pass €75

Rolling €13

Fertiliser application €10.5

Combining €60

Haul grain €25

Bale straw €50

Total inputs €692 per acre.

Assume a 3.5 ton yield at €300 per ton €1,050 for grain,

8 bales of straw per acre at €20 per bale €160

Total sales €1,210.

That leaves a €518 margin before the government support of €160 per acre (€400 per ha)

If yield suffers due to drought or other unforeseen circumstances you could easily lose 1 ton per acre and a few bales of straw which would leave margin at €200 or less.

If grain prices comes back to €200 per ton and straw at €15 per bale margin would be back to €128

If weather isn’t favourable there could also be big losses on straw as tedding, raking and reduction in bales per acre could come into play.

There would be some savings to be made on contractor prices if you can do some of the work yourself or negotiate a better rate from the contractor.

Land rental or value on your own land is another cost to be added on too depending on circumstances.

I will be keeping a track on the costs and keep this updated as the year goes on.

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856332#Comment_118856332

If the weather is bad and ya think ya won't get straw, you could chop it and claim €250/ha under the Straw Incorporation Measure too I guess. Would also improve P & K for the next crop

jimmy G M

That's brilliant detail there DB. Thank you for that.

nklc

3 guys in my area have 75 acres ploughed for barley, none of them have experience of growing tillage. Straw might be plentiful next autumn

limo_100

Hi was just wondering if people think my idea is mad 😮 have a suckler herd usually keep till 18-24 month old stores.I was thinking that next harvest and next spring we know that cattle feed is going to be expensive, and in all likely people will probably grow less silage and sell off there cattle in the back end so cut there stock for the winter and this will probably cause the cattle prices to slide and play into the factory hands. So what I'm doing is I'm going with the full amount of fertiliser on the good ground and make my usually 70dmd good silage for my store cattle, but I was also thinking what if I reseeded 12acres and sowed oats in with the grass and harvested into silage in July/ August then this high quality feed would mean I would have a very low meal bill next winter for the stores I will be hoping to sell this time next year because I am expecting beef prices to be expensive in 12months and if I plan correctly I can ride out the storm and hopefully keep the rewards or am I mad 😂 but also on the upside of everything being expensive at least I have improved 12 acres that haven't being touched in 30years maybe more

K.G.

Just reading through the conditions for the tillage scheme and it appears they are not allowing subdivision of parcells or plot s .another thing it's only on extra ground so if you had 10 acres tillage last year and you planted 20 this year even though you might be planting all new grassland you will only be paid on the extra 10 acres.also your available land for stocking rate is reduced in derogation if you join this scheme.open to correction on any of this

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118863108#Comment_118863108

but the whole crop oat will be only mediocre feed, no better than your silage.

mr.stonewall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118866249#Comment_118866249

Sub division sound very unfair. Some fields may have a side or corner, that not worth the hassle cost or time to till. Surely in this day an age a satellite image can verify the area in question

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118835974#Comment_118835974

Combi crop from what I understand is not allowed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118867901#Comment_118867901

I was thinking to growing 10 acres for finishing cattle but not for the scheme

Jack C

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118867197#Comment_118867197

From terms and conditions

 "Only full parcels, sub-divisions or where necessary plots may be applied on. Applicants cannot carry out the Scheme on a part parcel or plot."

Not completely clear but I'd interpret that as sub-divisions being allowed.

DBK1

Barley sowed this eve in great conditions, if there’s no rain tomorrow I’ll get it all rolled off.

A drop of rain then and a temperature rise would be lovely!

roosterman71

Whats the price of bean seeds?

K.G.

What's an acre of whole crop spring barley worth these days?1000 euro

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118995105#Comment_118995105

Mine yielded 3.2t last year plus straw so 3.2 x €315 (glanbia fwd price) is €915.

Add straw value of 8 bale per acre at €20 a bale is €1075 total. Minus combining costs I suppose. That's a guide I hope.

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118995363#Comment_118995363

You’d be also eliminating baling costs, seed barley cost as you sow whole crop at a lighter rate, spray costs, grain haulage costs.

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118995439#Comment_118995439

And adding costs of drawing straw from further away. Most wholecrop being sold around here is sowed full rate because it was sown to be combined and had a change of plan due to meal prices.

K.G.

Would 3 ton be standard enough,one time that was a great yield

newholland mad

A green crop has a much higher nutritient removal than a ripe crop which cancels out harvesting costs and the same sprayes are used except slightly less for the final spray,

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118995823#Comment_118995823

Around here (Wexford/ Wiclow border) be standard enough in a reasonably good weather year.