Could you handle a proper drought ....

[DrWazzock]

Basically I'm on strike

Looking at the state of our crops I’d say this will be at best a break even year or if prices stay low we will make a loss, notwithstanding a massive price rise which looks unlikely. We got everything drilled but the heavy land had not and will not recover from the slumping is it has had. The wheat is poor, thin and stunted. We would probably also have been better off not bothering. The sheep on grass are doing well … so far but the arable is a waste of time really this year and we are going through the motions to try and recoup some of what we’ve spent. Driving over rubbish crops with the sprayer doesn’t do much for morale. The sand looks the best at the moment but can be prone to June burnout. All the “best” heavy wheat land has simply been knackered by the rain.

 

[bobk]

Looking at the state of our crops I’d say this will be at best a break even year or if prices stay low we will make a loss, notwithstanding a massive price rise which looks unlikely. We got everything drilled but the heavy land had not and will not recover from the slumping is it has had. The wheat is poor, thin and stunted. We would probably also have been better off not bothering. The sheep on grass are doing well … so far but the arable is a waste of time really this year and we are going through the motions to try and recoup some of what we’ve spent. Driving over rubbish crops with the sprayer doesn’t do much for morale. The sand looks the best at the moment but can be prone to June burnout. All the “best” heavy wheat land has simply been knackered by the rain.

I'm trying reduce losses ,

 

[DrWazzock]

I'm trying reduce losses ,

Not too difficult if you haven’t planted anything. Here we have the dilemma of how much to spend on extremely variable plant populations and vigour across a fieid. We’ve already lost money on the OSR. That’s locked in due to herbicide spend and fert on crop that looks like it will do well to reach the top of my wellies. It’s pitiful. Winter barley looks the best. Drilled before it got really wet though again the heavy patches are crap. Wheat, well it’s 50/50. Don’t feel much like spending big on fungicides. Not much leaf to hit in some areas. I’m desparately trying to reduce costs and overheads. Dumping surplus machinery, reducing farm vehicles to minimum. Probably overdue a rationalisation anyway. This situation has concentrated minds. Worst year I’ve ever known on the arable side. Sheep look much better particularly with record high prices. So it’s not all loss.

 

[teslacoils]

Be great. Best years here have come from a 25 to 35 percent reduction in our already relatively low normal rainfall.

If we regularly got 400mm a year it would be ideal.

 

[Bossfarmer]

Not too difficult if you haven’t planted anything. Here we have the dilemma of how much to spend on extremely variable plant populations and vigour across a fieid. We’ve already lost money on the OSR. That’s locked in due to herbicide spend and fert on crop that looks like it will do well to reach the top of my wellies. It’s pitiful. Winter barley looks the best. Drilled before it got really wet though again the heavy patches are crap. Wheat, well it’s 50/50. Don’t feel much like spending big on fungicides. Not much leaf to hit in some areas. I’m desparately trying to reduce costs and overheads. Dumping surplus machinery, reducing farm vehicles to minimum. Probably overdue a rationalisation anyway. This situation has concentrated minds. Worst year I’ve ever known on the arable side. Sheep look much better particularly with record high prices. So it’s not all loss.

why not go all grass and sheep?

 

[Will Blackburn]

A bit hypothetical , but if it goes really dry how would you cope ? I'd be fine as I've written off this year .

A proper European drought? No crops and sky high prices, you can handle that?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

A bit hypothetical , but if it goes really dry how would you cope ? I'd be fine as I've written off this year .

Working on it Bob .

Most of the pressure comes from what you spend and what you expect as a return on that,, few see it as "risk" and that's what bites them.

First tip: when someone slips in the phrase "increases production" then it's time to increase your distance; agricultural droughts are largely due to shifting focus away from minimising losses and risks, toward increasing production

First year up here in the big yellow country, we have had 59mm since the start of July and 35mm of that has arrived this month, it could easily be turned into a drought by a proper farmer with a tractor or lots of sheep or big debts

I bet they'd blame summer for it

 

[Kiwi Pete]

7 to 8 years would be interesting to consider, to help you get through those 7-8 week patches of grimness that show up more often than that

"If" production is merely a surplus and you don't have one due to things outside your control (ie no income) then what have you got to spend over time?

If you can't sell things made of air and water for profit then what's your business about?

 

[Farmer Roy]

7 to 8 years would be interesting to consider, to help you get through those 7-8 week patches of grimness that show up more often than that

"If" production is merely a surplus and you don't have one due to things outside your control (ie no income) then what have you got to spend over time?

If you can't sell things made of air and water for profit then what's your business about?

7 - 8 weeks

 

[Kiwi Pete]

7 - 8 weeks

I was talking about the "grimness" which seems to come every 3 weeks and stay for a month

 

[som farmer]

one might struggle through, but not by farming as normal, you need to follow other countries solution to drought. Different crops etc.

 

[PSQ]

7 - 8 weeks

Things are tougher in OZ?
Why didn't you say....

When they sent your Great Grandparents over for "Hard Labour", they forgot to explain it was for them, and every future generation.

 

[suffolksmallholder]

I took on board the history gathered from the old fellows who worked the land where I used to live. Some had stories from pre 1939. Even telling of a visit to London in 1914 on a charabanc just before the start of WW1. Unhitching the carters horse whilst he was asleep and pushing the cart complete with sleeping man into the village pond. He prized his shiny leather boots so had to unlace them to wade out catch and re harness the horse to the cart, all barefoot of course. Ooops, off the main story. Sorry
Animal stocking was very water dependant as piped water was unavailable pre the above date.
One particular piece of permanent pasture could support 12 coos and their calfs. The area totalled 40 acres.
There was a man made pond about 50m x 50m which I was told had a 6” rotating wheel, like a mill-wheel on which were attached pint dippers. The wheel may have been 8’ as the actual water level in the big pond was 6’ below the ground surrounding.
There was a wooden shoot that ran into a ditch and this in turn ran into a small pond. The wheel was rotated, the dippers tipped the water into the shoot which in turn filled the ditch which then filled the small pond and the animals could drink.
This also meant the water stored was kept clean and the sides of the main pond weren’t trashed.
There were two shallow ditches dug across the pasture, working the contours to divert the water into the main store.
These earthworks are just visible if one knows what to look for but whether I am the only person still alive who knows why and what they were there for I’m not sure.
Y’all who run sucklers will know how meany head you could run on a mains watered 40 acres but the datum in a real proper drought starts around twelve. 25” annual rainfall FYI.
SS

 

[Bury the Trash]

I took on board the history gathered from the old fellows who worked the land where I used to live. Some had stories from pre 1939. Even telling of a visit to London in 1914 on a charabanc just before the start of WW1. Unhitching the carters horse whilst he was asleep and pushing the cart complete with sleeping man into the village pond. He prized his shiny leather boots so had to unlace them to wade out catch and re harness the horse to the cart, all barefoot of course. Ooops, off the main story. Sorry
Animal stocking was very water dependant as piped water was unavailable pre the above date.
One particular piece of permanent pasture could support 12 coos and their calfs. The area totalled 40 acres.
There was a man made pond about 50m x 50m which I was told had a 6” rotating wheel, like a mill-wheel on which were attached pint dippers. The wheel may have been 8’ as the actual water level in the big pond was 6’ below the ground surrounding.
There was a wooden shoot that ran into a ditch and this in turn ran into a small pond. The wheel was rotated, the dippers tipped the water into the shoot which in turn filled the ditch which then filled the small pond and the animals could drink.
This also meant the water stored was kept clean and the sides of the main pond weren’t trashed.
There were two shallow ditches dug across the pasture, working the contours to divert the water into the main store.
These earthworks are just visible if one knows what to look for but whether I am the only person still alive who knows why and what they were there for I’m not sure.
Y’all who run sucklers will know how meany head you could run on a mains watered 40 acres but the datum in a real proper drought starts around twelve. 25” annual rainfall FYI.
SS

any farms using progressively more substantial amounts alongside mains water getting more expensive around here have put in boreholes over the years .

 

[Lowland1]

Drought is very overrated. At least a proper one is kncking sheep on the head with a drawbar pin in Australia has put me right off them.

 

[som farmer]

we had a major archaeological dig here, stayed for months, it is absolutely amazing, how our forebears managed water. Think they must have had a religious fervour that made them dig ditches, they are everywhere.

one place they excavated, where 'science' told them 2 ditches met, they found the hobnails of a pair of boots, a pagan thing to do, carried on digging there, and found another set, 200 yrs older than the first, indicating ditches were very important. On the 'radar' there are 100's of ditches shown up, no sign of them now, either piped, or gone.

on pipes, we have found loads of different types. The most 'different', withy branches laid in a trench, still looking sound, been there ?100's of years. Stone drains, big stones on smaller ones, creating a tunnel, some still working. In one place, stones placed like a herring bone pattern, horse shoe drains, placed on slate, or clay bottoms, 1700's, plenty still working, then onto clay drains, round, hexagonal, and 1 place, 2in pipes, that locked together.

on a couple of places, drains will quickly silt up, those 'interlocking' pipes were found there, an attempt to stop silting up ? That site was part of an old mill pond, dating back to the saxon times, listed in the doomsday book, stonework still visible in one place. Never had much luck draining that, till l dug a ditch through, that worked, part is now a pond again.

dug a ditch through another ground, we have replaced the pipes three times, where they silt up, shallow ditch sorted the problem.

all interesting stuff, but a sting in the tail, large areas of our farm, are on the HEFER map, and there's b-all you can claim on the SHINE features.

history is absolutely fascinating, when it applies to your own farm, apparently this has been in continuous use, for 3500 yrs Many field names, are the same today, as they were on the 16century tithe maps, they reckoned the really interesting stuff, is under the farm buildings, l can agree with that, when we want to dig a hole, in the yard, you never know what you might hit, and some places you fail, flag stones on edge.

 

[som farmer]

any farms using progressively more substantial amounts alongside mains water getting more expensive around here have put in boreholes over the years .

we have a spring and reservoir, which became more unreliable, so put in a borehole, exactly where the archaeologists had found a deep cutting down, with steps, so they could get water for some houses, deserted in the plague. We went deeper than that, but it was the quickest return on money invested, l have done, costs covered in 6 months !

 

[bluebell]

How would farmers manage with a proper drought? how would the general public cope? 1976, a long time ago? again as ive said time and time again from 1976 to now id imagine the population just local to me has tripled and nationally gone up by 15 million and counting plus, with all that, people use alot more water, than say 40 odd years ago? and just judging locally with water leaks in the mains a disaster awaiting?

 

[ford 7810]

This country couldn’t handle a drought a proper drought 6 months 12 months without a drop any more than it can handle rain all day every day. no dredging, no waterway maintenance, and water storage either, and with sewerage running in the rivers what hope would they be. there’s hosepipe ban after a month. but I love a drought here Last year end of June just starting to burn on rocky places or somewhere like that , sheep shading under trees, but they drink a lot of water.

 

[topground]

Hasn’t rained here for 4 days. No earthquakes but has the drought started?