We were lucky to wrap up the harvest a few weeks ago before this run of mixed weather. There is still alot of crops still to cut northwards as you drive to Belfast.As usual Winter Barley is harvested in the long summer nights of late July which are now a distant memory. After winter barley it was time to harvest Oilseed Rape which because of bad weather it became necessary to hire in another combine, a huge beast with a 30 foot cut. Pictures of both combines working can been seen below
The winter wheat crop was next on the agenda followed by some oats. Overall the 2011 harvest was very good as yields and quality were above average.
Rapeseed Oil
After we harvest oilseed rape it needs to be dried down to 7% moisture . This is costly, as not alone does it take alot diesel but there is considerable weight loss so if you you dry a tonne of seed you end up with less than a tonne of dried seed. It is then cleaned before it is stored for the winter in one of our barns.
We have just started pressing this year's crop of oilseed rape and are delighted with it so far. Has that golden yellow colour as it is pressed and after the settling and filtering process it should prove to be top quality. It takes 3 weeks from pressing to bottling.
New sowing technique for Oilseed Rape
We began sowing next years oilseed rape crop a few days before we harvested this year's crop in August. We purchased a new machine to sow oilseed rape this year. It is designed do break up any soil compaction in the field. By driving large and heavy vehicles across fields we compact the underlying soil into a hard pan which makes it difficult for roots to penetrate. By breaking this pan directly under the seed, it is easier for roots to go down deep into the ground. Oilseed rape needs to get a good strong tap root established before December because it will be hit by frost and pigeons during the winter months. By having a deep root theplant will recover fully in the spring.
