A friend recommended Sylvester barley

The Ilkan Tila farm in Lapua wanted last year to sow a feed barley variety with: high yield potential and strong lodging resistance. Jaakko Ilkka contacted a former study colleague in the seed sector — the recommendation was Sylvester.

The farm Ilkan Tila Oy in Tiistenjoki, Lapua, is a beef cattle farm. A generational transition took place last summer. Farmers:

• brothers Jaakko and Heikki Ilkka
• parents Kimmo and Leena Ilkka

The farm has:

• all cattle breeds represented
• 1000 finishing cattle places
• plans to expand next summer

Cultivation:

• 900 ha
• mixture of owned, rented and contract fields

About one third of the land is in grass, the rest in barley, wheat, oats and a small amount of peas.

“Everything goes to feed our own cattle,” Jaakko Ilkka says.

Strong straw needed for rich soils

Sylvester BOR is a high‑yielding feed and starch barley with excellent lodging resistance — exactly what Ilkka was looking for. He mentioned this to his former university colleague working at Siementila Salo in the Tilasiemen chain.

“My friend recommended Sylvester, so I looked into it and it seemed like a suitable variety. Our soils are rich and fertile, so strong straw is important — especially on fields where grass is established under the barley,” Ilkka explains.

Boreal’s varieties were already familiar on the farm. Another factor was lateness — important with large field areas. Five barley varieties were sown altogether.

“When you have this much field area, you don’t want all fields ready for harvest at the same time.”

Sylvester lived up to expectations

Sylvester was sown in mid‑May on 100 ha. Emergence was good thanks to rainfall at the end of May.

“Rich soils tolerate drought, and we didn’t suffer from it — after mid June there was plenty of rain.”

Fertilisation: starter phosphorus + Yara Y3. Two crop protection sprays with growth regulator and micronutrients. Harvest took place late August.

Yield: “Combine readings averaged 6,000–8,000 kg/ha. Sylvester also stood very well — as promised.”

Plans: sow at least the same area next summer, if not more.

Sylvester barley — cultivation details

Variety: Sylvester BOR barley
Farmer: Jaakko Ilkka
Area: 100 ha
Soil type: organic / rich soil
Tillage: autumn ploughing + harrowing + sowing OR spring cultivator + direct sowing
Sowing dates: 13–14 May and 17–18 May
Seeding rate: 550 seeds/m²
Fertilisation: 30 kg starter P, 370 kg Yara Y3
Crop protection: 2 sprays (herbicides → fungicides), both with growth regulator + micros
Harvest dates: 15–16 Aug and 21–23 Aug
Moisture at harvest: 20–25% (crimped grain)
Yield: 6,000–8,000 kg/ha (moist)
Grain quality: hlw 61–63 kg (moist)