A COMBINE has already been out harvesting – but before you get too excited, the Devon crop it harvested is for crimping.

That meant that harvest came early on June 15 in Cullompton, Devon, where beef and arable farmer, Roger Adams, took what is thought to be the UK’s first cereal harvest of the year.

Harvesting winter barley, he was crimping the crop to feed to his beef, bringing it in at moisture content of around 45%. By crimping, he said he was not only able to compile a ration with a high cereal content which can be safely fed to his beef, but was also able to maximise use of the land after the early harvest.

This means he will immediately sow the harvested ground with Westerwold ryegrass, which will be ready to cut as silage by mid-September.

Mr Adams, who farms at Honeypark Farm with his son, Craig, said the early-cut barley was drilled at the end of last September and was well established before the cold snap hit the South-west of England.

“It got off to a ripping good start before the weather turned bad last winter,” he said. “But, it recovered quickly after the cold and late spring.”

Although he hasn’t weighed the crop he says he is confident yields are high and is expecting a freshweight of around five tonnes/acre (12t/ha). Even when the high moisture of the crop is considered, this will produce a high dry matter yield per hectare.

It was processed through a KC 600 bruiser/crimper – which flat-rolled the grain before applying preservative, Crimpsafe 300. This allows the crop to be stored in a clamp without any specialist facilities.

“The barley goes straight through the bruiser and into the clamp, where it is rolled, compacted and sheeted in just the same way as silage,” said Mr Adams.

Ian Hall from crop preservation specialists, Kelvin Cave, said the reason barley harvested for crimping produces such a high dry matter yield per hectare is because it comes in from the field in peak condition.

“It is usually harvested before there’s any disease, shrivelling or loss of grain,” he pointed out. “With the right preservative, a quick and controlled fermentation is achieved and the crop’s nutritional value is retained for long-term stable storage.”

Mr Adams will use the crimped barley to grow and finish the 400 head of beef he keeps on the 400-acre family farm. It is used in a home-grown ration which also includes grass and maize silage, dry rolled wheat and beans.

“Feeding a home-grown ration obviously saves us having to get the cheque book out to buy any cake,” said Mr Adams. “Feeding a total mixed ration means we can make sure the beef are all off the farm before they are 20 months.”

What is crimping?

It involves rolling early-harvested cereals through a crimping machine to expose the carbohydrate and protein, and the application of a preservative. This ensures a controlled fermentation and maximum nutrient retention once stored in an airtight clamp. A range of modern preservatives allows crimping at grain moisture contents of 15% to 45% although the most digestible crimped grain, giving the best animal performance, is harvested when moisture is above 25%.

Crimped grain must remain sealed for at least three weeks and can then be fed throughout the year.