Late summer Drainage schemes going in at pace ahead of Autumn arrival

As we arrive at the late autumn and winter months, it is normal to see a transition in the weather and a steady ‘wetting up’ of the soils after the summer months.   The big difference in 2023 in contrast to the previous couple of years has been that soils have remained very wet throughout the summer months with some soils remaining at field capacity – meaning that land drains have continued running throughout the whole of the summer.  This is unusual to say the least and is a stark contrast to the ultra hot summertime we experienced in 2022.

Farm investment in land drainage has continued at pace for our teams and results have been very quick this year as land drains have began running as they are installed in the fields.  Typically this investment  has been geared around replacing tired and worn out schemes from the 60’s and 70’s – where yields have started to fall away and profitability from these areas has therefore not been where it typically might be expected.

In seasons like this one, owning well drained land can be the difference between getting a potato crop or sugar beet crop off the land (or not).  In the same way, land drain presence can also ensure that autumn crops that are planned in for drilling do actually get planted.  So pay back on drainage in a season like this one is unquestionably more dramatic that in a typical year.

To find out more about how our schemes can help to improve your farm, please get in touch.