Getting concerned

Mr Charisma · Nov 8, 2019

Flintstone said:
Sorry @lloyd butvi kind of disagree. There are heaps of previous posts here where people have said they’re going to hold off for BG chitting. There were indeed days where people could have drilled in early October too, and they chose not to.

I’m not criticising anyone, I’m just saying that the last there autumns certainly instilled a sense of confidence that all will be ok by waiting. Sadly, the dry spell never came. But, and I stand by this, if time could be rewound back to the end of September, there would be at least 50% more cereals in the ground than there are today of people realised what had been coming.

Not in Warwickshire / Worcestershire ,,,,,, from the moment that 45 mm dropped on us on the 25th we were buggered till the 2nd week of Oct , okay one or two tried combi drilling but I haven't seen anything in row that's been drilled since the 22nd

Some ground can cope with insescent rainfall some can't

lloyd · Nov 8, 2019

Flintstone said:
Sorry @lloyd butvi kind of disagree. There are heaps of previous posts here where people have said they’re going to hold off for BG chitting. There were indeed days where people could have drilled in early October too, and they chose not to.

I’m not criticising anyone, I’m just saying that the last there autumns certainly instilled a sense of confidence that all will be ok by waiting. Sadly, the dry spell never came. But, and I stand by this, if time could be rewound back to the end of September, there would be at least 50% more cereals in the ground than there are today of people realised what had been coming.

It's not all bad news .
Wheat and OSR prices are on the rise .
Doesnt worry me personally as this
land has several options come spring.
Lots of wheat planted into heavy rain
In this county during Oct looks terrible,
Its spot the good fields not the other way round.

Flintstone · Nov 8, 2019

bankrupt said:
Needless to say, I wasn't particularly popular.

I really don’t care about how popular I am! I just find it amazing how some farmers belligerently refuse to accept that their way isn’t perhaps the best way for their farms. Single pass drilling (not direct drilling per se) has developed and changed, and it works, and it offers much more flexibility during these kind of weather spells, as well as creating considerably better soils and huge cost savings.

I’m honestly at a loss as to why people seem so reluctant to adopt it.

lloyd · Nov 8, 2019

Flintstone said:
I really don’t care about how popular I am! I just find it amazing how some farmers belligerently refuse to accept that their way isn’t perhaps the best way for their farms. Single pass drilling (not direct drilling per se) has developed and changed, and it works, and it offers much more flexibility during these kind of weather spells, as well as creating considerably better soils and huge cost savings.

I’m honestly at a loss as to why people seem so reluctant to adopt it.

Tell us all how to deal with flea beetle and then we'll listen

bankrupt · Nov 8, 2019

Flintstone said:
I really don’t care about how popular I am!

Nor do I.

Flintstone · Nov 8, 2019

lloyd

the way to deal with CSFB is to simply not plant the crop in the first place!

teslacoils · Nov 8, 2019

Flintstone said:
I’m honestly at a loss as to why people seem so reluctant to adopt it.

I suppose memories of 2012 when several unnamed direct drills appeared in the area. They disappeared the year after. Again, nothing wrong with the drill. If I needed a new drill I'd get one that was suited for direct drilling. But in the mean time light surface cultivation then roll works most years that aren't this one. I won't be changing on the basis of this year. Fully expect most drills will be parked up round here for the forseeable. Last time we attempted spring drilling into a cover crop it was may before we could travel.

There's adequate evidence of yield incease from one pass drilling on soils where *lack* of spring moisture is the limiting factor. But the opposite where soil moisture / transpiration is more like here.

Going to the shop and laying out the £££ for a system that will grow me less crop ticks no boxes for me. I have neither the frame of mind, nor desire to cut the number of available drilling days.

We know we should be a grassland farm, and that's what we will eventually be. Was just hoping to do it in phases really.

lloyd · Nov 8, 2019

Good job you're not selling your farm Teslacoils as I think
you'd do yourself out of a sale.

Gadget · Nov 8, 2019

Mr Charisma said:
Since 22nd sept I have only 7 days with no recorded rainfall I think , I will check later when I'm by my calender

We have had 4 days, my rainfall is recorded midnight to midnight though and some days we have only had a fraction of a mm.

teslacoils · Nov 8, 2019

lloyd said:
Good job you're not selling your farm Teslacoils as I think
you'd do yourself out of a sale.

Unsure. Expect I'll make plenty of £££ from grass.

DRC · Nov 8, 2019

Flintstone said:
I really don’t care about how popular I am! I just find it amazing how some farmers belligerently refuse to accept that their way isn’t perhaps the best way for their farms. Single pass drilling (not direct drilling per se) has developed and changed, and it works, and it offers much more flexibility during these kind of weather spells, as well as creating considerably better soils and huge cost savings.

I’m honestly at a loss as to why people seem so reluctant to adopt it.

And yet locally, it’s only the plough combi drill users that have drilled anything. One neighbour with a new Claydon last autumn and another that min tills, haven’t planted a seed.

bobk · Nov 8, 2019

silverfox said:
And yet locally, it’s only the plough combi drill users that have drilled anything. One neighbour with a new Claydon last autumn and another that min tills, haven’t planted a seed.

I would imagine anything sown will be looking a bit sad after all this rain

quattro · Nov 8, 2019

Not having anything to do with bg are you never going to get rid of it to get back to drilling abit earlier??

DRC · Nov 8, 2019

bobk said:
I would imagine anything sown will be looking a bit sad after all this rain

Yes, bound to be, but no one was to know the amount of rain to come after drilling.
just pointing out the opposite of what flintstone is saying, is what’s happened around here . He’s on flint obviously .

Wombat · Nov 8, 2019

quattro said:
Not having anything to do with bg are you never going to get rid of it to get back to drilling abit earlier??

Its a balance for me, BG is one of those things you have to live with. Its too good a survivor to erradicate. If you go to early then it will just multiply to the point you cannot live with it. Normally for me middle of Oct is a good balance for killing some but giving the crop a fighting chance.

yellow belly · Nov 8, 2019

the longest dry spell here since 23 September is 3 days and they were too dull to let the top dry before 3 pm
4 more days in September would have seen me finished
I am not an advacate of delayed drilling of wheat to beat black grass
delay till the spring if bg is bad enough to get through a strong september planted crop with avadex plus liberator
it takes 3 years for land to recover from wet October planted crops by which time there is another wet time

200 feet lower and south of here is a different matter even on heavy land
more than 2 inches of rain a month makes for poor harvest
4 inches a month makes for no winter crops worth growing
when we get less than 20 inches we have the best harvests so far 2019 has given 32 inches27 since june the 1

Bossfarmer · Nov 8, 2019

Gadget said:
We have had 4 days, my rainfall is recorded midnight to midnight though and some days we have only had a fraction of a mm.

View attachment 842730

what do you use to record rainfall? you surely didnt measure all that by hand?

Bossfarmer · Nov 8, 2019

silverfox said:
And yet locally, it’s only the plough combi drill users that have drilled anything. One neighbour with a new Claydon last autumn and another that min tills, haven’t planted a seed.

hence why no till/min till is less popular in scotland, we get a lot of wet autumns up here

Bossfarmer · Nov 8, 2019

w

yellow belly said:
the longest dry spell here since 23 September is 3 days and they were too dull to let the top dry before 3 pm
4 more days in September would have seen me finished
I am not an advacate of delayed drilling of wheat to beat black grass
delay till the spring if bg is bad enough to get through a strong september planted crop with avadex plus liberator
it takes 3 years for land to recover from wet October planted crops by which time there is another wet time

200 feet lower and south of here is a different matter even on heavy land
more than 2 inches of rain a month makes for poor harvest
4 inches a month makes for no winter crops worth growing
when we get less than 20 inches we have the best harvests so far 2019 has given 32 inches27 since june the 1

what altitude are you at?

yellow belly · Nov 8, 2019

400 ft so we are similar in day degrees to the vale of York and crops planted on the same day as Scotland get harvested later due to day length

Getting concerned

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Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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