Claydon drill

cornishking

Member
Arable Farmer
We used new 7 inch shares, tempted to try the 9's
Crikey! why didn't i think of that earlier, that might just work. I must admit i was getting pretty despondent about the crops but after i combined some conventionally grown wheat yesterday i do feel better about the system. I'm averaging around 3 ton per acre of wheat. His yesterday ran about 2 ton. Loads of ears just nothing in them, the hot dry spell in june/july really took its toll. My Hutchinsons Agronomist has said there are a lot of wheat crops like this in the West country
 
Crikey! why didn't i think of that earlier, that might just work. I must admit i was getting pretty despondent about the crops but after i combined some conventionally grown wheat yesterday i do feel better about the system. I'm averaging around 3 ton per acre of wheat. His yesterday ran about 2 ton. Loads of ears just nothing in them, the hot dry spell in june/july really took its toll. My Hutchinsons Agronomist has said there are a lot of wheat crops like this in the West country
You might find the rows band of seed is no wider as the splitter boot spreads about 7 inches no matter how wide the A share is.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
upload_2017-8-12_21-8-13.png

Cut the end off this then put an elbow pipe in either side

http://tillagetools.ca/products/seed-boots/
 

Flintstone

Member
Location
Berkshire
I've read this with interest.

All local farmers around here have had major brackling issues, regardless of drill type this year.

I've just finished my barley and it has done 2.65 easily, and I'm pleased with that.

I think it's too easy to jump on the machine as opposed to the season when it comes to blame for crop issues.
 

cornishking

Member
Arable Farmer
I've read this with interest.

All local farmers around here have had major brackling issues, regardless of drill type this year.

I've just finished my barley and it has done 2.65 easily, and I'm pleased with that.

I think it's too easy to jump on the machine as opposed to the season when it comes to blame for crop issues.
Was that winter or spring barley? I suppose I was just making observations about my own crops and others that I combine for my customers. I've always been told never to stop asking questions and try to improve on what I have done. I have been growing crops using direct /strip till for 5 years now and this is the first time I've seen barley down so far.
 

Douglasmn

Member
I grew 1 crop of spring and winter barley with a Claydon drill, and both crops stood nicely and were a pleasure to cut. I find non-ploughed fields easier to cut because the combine and cutterbar sit more stable. That said, germination for spring barley in heavier ground was a bit patchy unfortunately. I wouldn't blame flat crops on the tillage system though. Find flat crops everywhere this year.
 

icanshootwell

Member
Location
Ross-on-wye
Hard to say really. I know of 3 members who are selling Claydons due to buying no till drills. Hardly a step backwards, is it? I'm sure there are some who bought them thinking they would fix everything but they haven't lived up to expectations. I don't think they are a cure for blackgrass/other weeds & my slug pellet usage has certainly gone up!
I think the cure of black grass is the rotation you have(y)
 

David.

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
J11 M40
But surely 9 or even 12" sweeps seriously undermine the minimal disturbance case for these drills.
I have just had OSR put in with a hybrid, both on some stony brash and on some tougher(for us) ground, that you would not willingly plough into rape.
The jury is still sitting...
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
I think the cure of black grass is the rotation you have(y)

I didn't really have a blackgrass problem before either but it's not getting worse anyway. Sterile Brome is my main enemy here and that's not getting better but this is only year one of the new system. A reduced are of winter cropping will help that as there is so much more opportunity to control it outside a cash crop.
 

juke

Member
Location
DURHAM
What sort of rotations are you all running , our only white winter straw crop this time is first wheat, with the exception of one field of winter barley going in but that's after a spring crop so shouldn't be too dirty... Everything else is either beans ,osr or a spring cereals, we seem to be getting on top of most grass weeds and getting decent yields by doing this. I was wondering how many of you are continuing on with 2nd and more wheats n if that's where people's problems are arriving from
 

juke

Member
Location
DURHAM
we drilled some zyatt this week using the leading disc and 9inch share looked like it was blowing out to the full width of the share, certainly more tilth over the 7 inch blade
 

James W

Member
I'll bet Jeff Claydon sells 3 x 3m machines for every one 4, 4.8, 6 & 8m that leaves his yard - there will always be the smaller ones more likely to be traded. There's also the issue of hp requirement. Lots of Hybrids being pulled by tractors much bigger than they need to be but the drill works best at 12 kph & we've all got horrid bits of ground where establishment is hardest. @Flintstone swapped his 3m one for a 4m fairly quickly once he realised he could pull it better than he thought originally. My 6m doesn't take much pulling 70% of the time & you can hear the engine revs drop as it cruises along in auto on the lighter land. The other 30% of the time she's on her knees begging for mercy...
Claydon is fine in medium land early , but if you are in heavy clay late with blackgrass and slugs then ...
 

juke

Member
Location
DURHAM
Can't comment on the black grass as we don't really have that problem , but long as it's half dry the claydon manages just fine in heavy northern land in October , that I would guess would be the equivalent of down south drilling in December
 

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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