Oilseed rape sowing nearly finished with metazachlor and clomazone going on as a pre-emergence herbicide. Soil conditions are bone dry as is normal this time of year, seed will sit in the soil until rain appears. And rain is starting to fall with the earliest drilled oilseed rape just starting to germinate.
Wheat will follow the oilseed rape, aiming for 350 to 400 plants per meter. Will use liberal amounts of pendamethlin. Have just bought some Syngenta Defy nozzles, hope to see an improvement in weed control as a result, will let you know how this works.
Sunflowers are looking good and harvest will start in the next week or so. The price is firm with offers coming in around 3,000UAH straight off the combine.
Maize is looking very sorry for itself and various reports are cutting crop yields as I write. I have seen a lot of maize written off and cut for cattle feed so at least they can get in a winter wheat crop in; I just hope they have checked the herbicide carry over.
Soya is looking variable with the “I can’t believe it’s not GM” soya still very green even after the dry summer.
The government have left it to the local administration to impose restrictions on moving and exporting grain thus creating a grain embargo by default and thereby not contravening any IMF/WTO rules. Sneaky!
The regional administration is on our backs suggesting ways in which all our problems will go away!
Getting reports of grain being stolen, to be honest I would worry if we didn’t get reports of stuff being stolen.
It’s a hard place to do business and sometimes it feels easier to just throw in the towel and bugger off somewhere else to make a living.
I always fancied Canada, any jobs going in Canada, anyone?