Goldfinch outperforms Group 2 mainstay on fenland farm

Harvest Stories: George Smith

After outperforming KWS Extase, the long-time mainstay Group 2 wheat variety, fellow Group 2 RGT Goldfinch is likely to be the variety of choice for fenland farmer George Smith in the coming season.

Farming 80ha of a mixture of black peat, skirt fen and clay Grade 1 soils, George chose to grow RGT Goldfinch after attending a RAGT demonstration day.

“I was impressed how clean it was,” he explains. “At the time, it was supposed to be a Group 1 milling wheat variety, and I was thinking that I could potentially grow it with lower inputs and still get a good premium.”

With another job off the home farm taking priority last autumn, none of George’s 70ha of wheat was drilled before November, making RGT Goldfinch’s BYDV resistance less of a draw.

“We usually drill late – most years not starting until the end of October, so the BYDV resistance is of less relevance to me,” he says.

All the 60ha of KWS Extase and 10ha of RGT Goldfinch were drilled within around 10 days and then treated the same during the season. With low disease pressure, a decent T1 fungicide was applied, followed by a cheaper flag leaf spray.

“The Goldfinch was definitely cleaner,” George says. “The Extase, while not dirty, had more septoria and yellow rust in it by the end of the season.”

In a difficult season, the Extase’s 5t/ha yield was well back on George’s usual average of around 8.75t/ha. In contrast, Goldfinch coped better with the dry conditions and was much closer to that typical yield, albeit in a field that followed spring beans, he says.

With the Goldfinch achieving 11.7% grain protein, with a 324 Hagberg Falling Number and 76kg/hl on just 125 kg/ha of applied nitrogen, he’s hopeful it will qualify for a low-grade milling wheat premium, as Extase with a similar quality did last season.

Assuming that it does qualify for some level of premium, George is starting to plan for a larger area of Goldfinch next season.

“With the way our rotation works, we will have a smaller area of wheat next season overall – only around 32ha. It doesn’t make sense to have two varieties for such a small area, so I’m thinking I will grow all Goldfinch.”

“I’m going to struggle to make any money this year, so if I can grow a variety with good disease resistance, spend as little as possible and still get a decent result, that will help me through the year.”