The importance of SOM ?

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Interesting yield map for this harvest - WW yield calibrated against weighbridge (not my field but we cut it)

3 fields knocked through into 1 - area between the lines long term arable / root rotation and the areas north / south of the line long term grass ploughed out in 2014

soil type is consistent


Any better proof needed that bag / bottle / tillage arable farming has been destroying soils ??



upload_2015-10-8_15-14-43.png
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
I know its a generalisation and there will be many factors involved

However there is a big difference between 16t/Ha and 7 though ! the arable area has been managed well so will have adequate Ph, and indices etc

I find it hard to believe that the entire field will drop to the 7t level for quite some time
 

Daniel

Member
We have a 10ha field that had a milking parlour/cattle sheds at one end of it and was permanent pasture, a third of the way down the field there was a barbed wire fence across and the far end was rotated with short term grass and all the standard cropping.

The parlour end of the field was used a sort of hub from whence the cattle made their way off to whichever fields were in grass that summer, so it was constantly poached and plastered in muck.

12 years after the dairy cows went and 7 years after the lower intensity beef herd went the yard end still out yields the far end, the catch crop established on it is also much thicker at the yard end.

Don't have a yield meter so it's all based on what the crop looks like it it's significant enough that only today we were talking about getting soil samples done.
 
We have a 10ha field that had a milking parlour/cattle sheds at one end of it and was permanent pasture, a third of the way down the field there was a barbed wire fence across and the far end was rotated with short term grass and all the standard cropping.

The parlour end of the field was used a sort of hub from whence the cattle made their way off to whichever fields were in grass that summer, so it was constantly poached and plastered in muck.

12 years after the dairy cows went and 7 years after the lower intensity beef herd went the yard end still out yields the far end, the catch crop established on it is also much thicker at the yard end.

Don't have a yield meter so it's all based on what the crop looks like it it's significant enough that only today we were talking about getting soil samples done.
Be interesting to have a full soil analysis done - one from each side of the fence as it were.
 

sleepy

Member
Location
Devon, UK
We have a 10ha field that had a milking parlour/cattle sheds at one end of it and was permanent pasture, a third of the way down the field there was a barbed wire fence across and the far end was rotated with short term grass and all the standard cropping.

The parlour end of the field was used a sort of hub from whence the cattle made their way off to whichever fields were in grass that summer, so it was constantly poached and plastered in muck.

12 years after the dairy cows went and 7 years after the lower intensity beef herd went the yard end still out yields the far end, the catch crop established on it is also much thicker at the yard end.

Don't have a yield meter so it's all based on what the crop looks like it it's significant enough that only today we were talking about getting soil samples done.

I have a field like that, index 3.5 plus for everything, used to grow a hell of a crop of brambles until I ploughed it.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
I often wonder what cattle wormers do to the earthworm population. Most are persistent and powerful. How long do they take to biodegrade? I often wonder if all that muck is really that good for soil life.

Mixed farming and grass in rotation,,particularly clover leys have been known to be beneficial since the 1700s as per Turnip Towshend's 4 year rotation. Just good old mixed farming.
 

Badshot

Member
Location
Kent
I've some els corners coming out after two terms this November, I pulled the mole plough through them and there was one hell of a change on hitting the arable. Just grass and flowers. No muck, livestock or anything at all. Pity I don't have yield mapping as I think it might be interesting.
 

Badshot

Member
Location
Kent
I often wonder what cattle wormers do to the earthworm population. Most are persistent and powerful. How long do they take to biodegrade? I often wonder if all that muck is really that good for soil life.

Mixed farming and grass in rotation,,particularly clover leys have been known to be beneficial since the 1700s as per Turnip Towshend's 4 year rotation. Just good old mixed farming.
Sheep wormers stop the muck breaking down.
 

rob1

Member
Location
wiltshire
I often wonder what cattle wormers do to the earthworm population. Most are persistent and powerful. How long do they take to biodegrade? I often wonder if all that muck is really that good for soil life.

Mixed farming and grass in rotation,,particularly clover leys have been known to be beneficial since the 1700s as per Turnip Towshend's 4 year rotation. Just good old mixed farming.
I know a few years ago panacur was meant to be bad for worms as it was a slow release wormer
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
the grassland wasn't even grazed for at least the last 10years I know of, very low input, a cut of hay some years but basically un farmed set-aside and enviro schemes
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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