Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
urea spreading date cut off fast approaching
- Thread starter 4course
- Start date
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Yes. Costs about £40 -£60/tonne more.
Not good for the soil micro-biology though.
Fallen victim to the belief of "Blueprint Farming"...
A common failing with ALL bureacrats. No conception of the realities of weather
From Torygraph today... Off thread but worth wider coverage.
Farmers claiming benefits told their farms are ‘hobbies’ and to get jobs
New system does not work for farmers whose incomes vary widely over agricultural seasonsEmma Gatten, ENVIRONMENT EDITOR30 March 2024 • 10:09am
Farmers claiming benefits are being told their businesses are “hobbies” and that they should seek paid employment.
The older benefit system calculated on a yearly average is currently being replaced by Universal Credit, under which households are assessed on their monthly income.
But farmers say their income varies wildly over the year because of agricultural seasons, meaning the system does not work for them.
When monthly income works out as effectively lower than the minimum wage, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) can require claimants to look for alternative paid employment.
‘Absolutely broken’
Jess Evison and her husband Harry, who keep sheep on a small farm in north Yorkshire, told the Telegraph that they would stop claiming around £900 a month of benefits because they were effectively locked out by the new system. This money includes support for one of their three daughters who has special needs.“We went to our first meeting and to have my partner come out and be told that, despite working 60 to 80 hours a week he would have to find paid employment, and that our farm is classed as a hobby,” she said. “He’s a tough Yorkshire man, my other half, nothing much bothers him. But to see him come out of that, he was absolutely broken.”
Farmers say they are also missing out on benefits in other months when their income spikes, making it appear as though they are over the threshold.
“Some months, obviously, it’s going to look like we’ve had loads of profit if we’ve been to the market selling stock, but in reality that is not profit,” said Mrs Evison. “I get where the Government’s coming from because everybody should be earning minimum wage. But farming doesn’t work like that; you have a good three months and then you might have a really bad nine months.
“Having a little bit of help from the Government via Universal Credit or via tax credits just helped put something on the table.”
She added: “We will manage, but there will be people that don’t manage that are falling through the net.”
‘Soul-destroying’
Safi Roberts told the BBC that her husband’s lamb and dairy farm in Shropshire would only see a profit spike a couple of times a year because of its seasonal nature.“When we went to the job centre they actually said to him that it wasn’t a viable business and the Government wasn’t supporting unviable businesses anymore,” she said.
“For a man who worked 60, 70 plus hours each week to hear that, I think it’s soul-destroying mental health wise.”
New system ‘not suited to farming’
Rachel Coates from Dodd and Co accountants said Universal Credit was “not suited to farming”.“If you’re a joiner or a builder your payments are pretty static, they know what their monthly income is. But for farmers, it doesn’t work like that,” she said.
The problem is so widespread that the National Farmers Union has approached the DWP in a bid to resolve the issue.
Nick von Westenholz, NFU Trade and Business Strategy Director, said: “The NFU is aware that some farmers are facing significant problems as a result of the migration to Universal Credit.
“We are currently engaging with the Department for Work and Pensions to try and ensure that farmers are not worse off under the proposed new system.”
The DWP said they recognise spikes in self-employed earnings do not necessarily entail “extra” earnings, and where a self-employed claimant reports a loss, the value of the loss is taken into account when assessing earnings in future assessment periods.
A spokesman said: “The Universal Credit system recognises that self-employed people like farmers can experience periods of low earnings. Income levels are taken into account on a monthly basis to ensure benefit payments are maintained at a fair and continuous level.
“A range of support is available to the farming community including free business advice through the Future Farming Resilience Fund.”
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- Location
- East Yorkshire
Only temporary reduction of microbes hence the slow release effect as microbes rebuild. Is there a long term effect? Our yields have increased a) after switching to liquid N 10 seasons ago and b) adding inhibitor last 3 seasons. Don't know why, just is a fact on our crops.
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Never tried liquid ferts, because we also have banks on grassland to do, where only a spinner can possibly work.
Started switching to DD 5 years ago and at the moment, the very last thing I want to do is damage my soil microbes in any way. That is the point of it all really. Though by the looks of your avatar you also do DD.
Could it be that not disturbing the soils, slows down the leach losses of it?
But every farm is different. And it’s all a balancing act.
Nearly
Member
- Location
- North of York
How are we expected to know what to do if they don't tell us?
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
They could put it into the script of the Archers, of course!
My Dad swore he’d never’d known how to farm if he hadn’t listened to the Archers.
- Location
- Northumberland
I fear it's t'other way round and the best way to steer ag policy would be to pen a few scripts.
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
final n went on winter barley today (UAS liquid ) ………. that’s going to look fishy in the crop records isn’t it
Restrictions don't apply to UAS if I recall.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
UAS containing urea applied to the soil is included.
Liquid fertiliser injected or incorporated within 48 hours doesn’t require an inhibitor, eg potato placement, or seedbed ahead of cultivation/drilling
Urea N20 (eg Nufol) for foliar application using conventional spray nozzles also doesn’t require inhibitor
Liquid fertiliser injected or incorporated within 48 hours doesn’t require an inhibitor, eg potato placement, or seedbed ahead of cultivation/drilling
Urea N20 (eg Nufol) for foliar application using conventional spray nozzles also doesn’t require inhibitor
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Thank you for correcting my post. Noted.
Those rules aren't law. Yet. Just "enforced" by Dim Jim and his crew.
I can't imagine that Labour have a manifesto pledge on something as trivial as this anyway, though I'm happy to be corrected.
We all know what a manifesto's worth truly is anyway.
Do remember who is lobbying the government for urea's demise - the sellers of higher profit margin AN....
I can't imagine that Labour have a manifesto pledge on something as trivial as this anyway, though I'm happy to be corrected.
We all know what a manifesto's worth truly is anyway.
Do remember who is lobbying the government for urea's demise - the sellers of higher profit margin AN....
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Quite simply because the weather this year won’t have allowed many to get in on before midnight today.
Simples!
On top of which the rest of the word don’t give a feck about it!
So why should we?
Play this from 8.08 to 10.25
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I know about out the hypocrisy, and the flawed science arguments; and about the corruption behind the lobbying of the Government, who need CF to keep making the fizz, to make the tonic to go in their G&Ts.
But we seem to be where we are, and I'm making the assumption that all the available concessions were already won through NFU lobbying.
But we seem to be where we are, and I'm making the assumption that all the available concessions were already won through NFU lobbying.
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- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Feck the NFU.
They do not and did not represent me!
It’s all very well for those who did manage to get their unprotected Urea on, but not for everybody, especially those who cannot afford to buy another lot of Urea, but protected for the rest of this season.
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- Location
- Spilsby Lincolnshire
Is it law or Red Tractor advisory???? I think you will find it is only For Red Tractor, I feel we have been mislead very badly, I believe the product is a Sterilant, and harmful to operator, if this was an ag- chem it would not be allowed a MAPP number, or am I the only idiot who has mis understood?? Look at the MSDS for these products they are shite! (But I may be wrong, looking for correct opinions not a slagging off!!)final n went on winter barley today (UAS liquid ) ………. that’s going to look fishy in the crop records isn’t it
yes it’s just a Red Tractor thing - NFU claiming to be saviour of urea as this is better than a law. ( a bit like their claims that NROSO is better than a pesticide tax ) ……… a myth to make us all grateful for them stopping something that hadn’t happened
so not law BUT a fail on a red tractor inspection which as we all know is a compulsory licence to trade combinable crops. ……….. so don’t go writing down dates after march 31st would be my advice
do they sponsor anyones conference?