WARNING ABOUT WINDROWING

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31001, 5 March 1966, Page 8

WARNING ABOUT WINDROWING

Grain crops, particularly barley, are being damaged in Mid and South Canterbury through being harvested when out of condition.

High humidity and damp weather during the last two weeks have caused problems in the latter stages of the harvest, but some farmers have become impatient and put their headers into crops which are not fit to harvest. As a result, the grain has been over-threshed and damaged. Quite a number of crops have been windrowed, and becaus’ of delays in harvesting

through waather conditions, sprouting has occurred.

The field officer for the Canterbury Malting Company (Mr J. P. Malcolm) this week urged farmers not to put their crops on the ground in the prevailing conditions. It was much safer, he said, to leave them standing. Mr Malcolm is well aware that farmers have been windrowing their crops in order to deal with second growth, but he says this second growth is not as bad as they think. “People are windrowing crops when they have no need to, and it is sprouting.” he said. Mr Malcolm urged farmers who still have grain to harvest to adopt a policy of: when in doubt, leave standing.