United Kingdom
July 16, 2024
Farm manager, Ed King, has first-hand experience of the flexibility benefits of growing Hyvido hybrid winter barley for anaerobic digestions (AD).
Responsible for around 2,200 ha, which forms roughly one third of a larger estate, primary crops on the estate include winter wheat, the Hyvido barley, winter rye, spring barley, peas and forage maize.
Around 800 ha of forage maize are grown, along with around 300 ha in total of the Hyvido hybrid barley and winter rye – which was split for 2024 harvest as 170 ha of Hyvido hybrid and 130 ha of rye. All three crops are grown as wholecrop feedstocks to feed a 6 megawatt AD plant run by a separate business located on the estate.
“We supply the feedstocks for the AD plant, they then take it from there,” explains Ed. “We’re paid on a dry matter and tonnage basis. We then take back the solid and liquid digestate.
“Hybrid barley works really well for us. It’s a buffer crop that gives us flexibility in end use. The main aim is to grow it for forage, but if carryover silage stocks from the previous season are high, or if forage yields are high, we can opt to harvest some of it for grain. With rye, we don’t have quite the flexibility – there are fewer markets.
“Forage maize suits the business as well because it allows us to grow a cover crop before it and to apply solid and liquid digestate to it. It elongates the rotation.
“We have stony brash soil, so by growing forage barley and forage rye we also have crops we can cut early, before drought stress arrives.”
In addition, Ed says harvest of the Hyvido hybrid barley, which is around mid-June, falls about three weeks earlier than the wholecrop rye harvest, so this helps to spread workloads.
“The early start in June also allows us to sort out any soil structural issues and to drill a cover crop. The early harvest allows enough time for the cover crop to grow to benefit the soil.
“On our heavier land, we also harvest before the black-grass has seeded. Hybrid barley followed by another hybrid barley gives us a good opportunity for clearing up black-grass,” he adds.
Although they can be higher, maize fresh weight yields on the estate typically average 36 t/ha, Ed says, with both the Hyvido barley and the rye for wholecrop also yielding a similar amount.
When it was last harvested as a mature crop in 2022, the Hyvido hybrid barley yielded 9 t/ha of grain, which is comparable to the business’ winter wheat yields, Ed says. However, the hybrid barley was cheaper to grow, requiring less fungicide and growth regulator and less nitrogen fertiliser, he points out.
At the start of the season, hybrid barley drilling starts around 20 September, just before the rye. SY Kingston is currently the Hyvido hybrid barley of choice, and has been a fixture on the estate for at least five years. “It’s always delivered in the field for us. We’ve not really got any reason to change.”
With the use of digestate and cover crops, Ed also believes soils have definitely improved. The farm is also experimenting with reduced tillage. he concludes.
Benefits of growing Hyvido hybrid barley in AD situations
- Ideal ‘buffer crop’ to grow for wholecrop alongside forage maize to spread risk – e.g. in case of a poor maize harvest
- Can produce similar fresh weight yields to forage rye
- Earlier harvest than forage rye and maize spreads workloads and provides an early AD feedstock supply
- Its early harvest can also fall before summer drought and before black-grass seed shedding, and allow an extended window for fieldwork and following crop establishment (e.g. cover crops)
- Flexibility to harvest Hyvido as a mature grain crop if AD feedstocks are already plentiful
- Drilling before rye and winter wheat can spread machinery use and autumn workloads
- Suppression of black-grass, ryegrass and certain species of brome from its hybrid vigour
- Lower growing costs than winter wheat
To find out more about Syngenta Hyvido varieties or to book a free enquiry with your local Area Manager regarding the best varieties for your farm, visit our website by clicking here!
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