- Location
- Northumberland
No worries. I was being a bit belligerent too.
In the spirit of reconciliation, I may have jumped in a little quickly...
In the livestock game, it's a quandary to know what inputs to lock into, either physically or forward. For me, straw is a must as it simply wouldn't be available at the quantity I need later in the year, never mind quality or price. To be any use for finishing cattle (slaughterhouse cleanliness requirements), it has to be stored inside, and keeps the muck more concentrated. Pay-off for straw sheds is short imo. Feed barley tends to be scarce after the autumn as well. Fert is usually bought forward, for exactly the "avoid spring" logic above, but I've found this more difficult to do with AN than urea. I'm a urea fan anyway, but even in the North, it's a bit hopeful planning to be able to sow it into June and July onto grassland. This time around, I've AN coming next month (hope 28th), bought Nov. If it arrives early in the month, I'll have to turf some straw out.
One flaw in the cost/benefit exercise of extra sheds - no matter what it was planned for, stock men would fill it with stock!
