Recent content by Bignor Farmer

  1. Bignor Farmer

    Reinventing the wheel

    Machinery manufacturers are the ones who do well out of capital grants. Farmers who have paid full price lose out. SFI reduces production/food security and probably can’t be contained within budget. Surely there is a decent argument for area payments, let Farmers decide how to spend it and...
  2. Bignor Farmer

    New limits to SFI.

    They should just come up with a scheme that hands the money out equally based on the amount of land that you farm 🧐
  3. Bignor Farmer

    Straining hinge joint mesh in tight places?

    If it’s a one off then bodge up some boundary strainers and pull them together with ratchet straps. Just clamp the wire with 2 decent pieces of steel, bolt together really tight and weld some hooks on or drill some holes. If you’re likely to need them again then buy the proper Kit, money well...
  4. Bignor Farmer

    Winding up sheep netting

    This is how we do it. You should be able to make something out of any hydraulic rotating implement. I think it would work just as well horizontally. We find it easiest to pull out all of the netting and pull it in rather than trying to move the digger along the fence. You can make perfect rolls...
  5. Bignor Farmer

    Capital grants - Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2024

    Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place then? I can’t see any? This is the livestock section; Livestock FETF103 - Robotic silage pusher Expected average cost of item (£): 17,000 Percentage paid towards item: 50% Grant amount (based on a quantity of 1) (£): 8,500 Score: 60 Item must: be a...
  6. Bignor Farmer

    Capital grants - Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2024

    I think the government has bugged my farm. There’s a load of stuff I’ve paid full price for over the last couple of years. I could do with a grant to help with some sheep handling kit and it’s been taken off the list! Someone should do a freedom of information request to find the basis for...
  7. Bignor Farmer

    Longevity of autumn residuals

    We had to write off a crop of winter oats sown after spring barley and avadex after a relatively dry summer. It took a while to work out what was going on but you could clearly see the overlaps from the avadex applicator. That was cultivated with a big dump of rain week or so after drilling.
  8. Bignor Farmer

    Hedge Cutting and Cross Compliance

    Cross compliance no longer exists so presumably we’re no longer obliged to stop hedge cutting at the end of Feb? Just the legal obligation to make sure that we aren’t disturbing any nesting birds? Have I got this right?
  9. Bignor Farmer

    SFI options and Agricultural Property Relief

    It will be a strange situation if we enter into a government scheme solely to incentivise “Sustainable Farming” and are told by another government department that it isn’t farming! However, I suspect that’s exactly how the civil service works.
  10. Bignor Farmer

    Joining rolls of stock mesh together

    It’s either knots, crimps or gripples.
  11. Bignor Farmer

    Sunflowers?

    We had an enquiry about making a “film” in our sunflowers a couple of years ago! We’ve also seen some sheepish adults appearing from the sunflowers to get back to their cars.
  12. Bignor Farmer

    Sunflowers?

    They certainly will… Establish them like a crop of maize, plenty of muck underneath and about 80Kg/haN. You’re basically limited to Pendamethlin so important to chose a clean field and hopefully have a bit of moisture in the ground. Sit back and watch them grow.
  13. Bignor Farmer

    What’s stopping me ………

    I think that’s a bit of push myself. What about growing a crop of wheat/barley, being careful with your herbicides and try to broadcast an AHL2 mix into the standing crop in mid-late June? It’s very moisture dependent, so a bit of a risk, but far more compliant if it works. If you have a...
  14. Bignor Farmer

    Tree fell on fence

    I have informed them that they are dangerous, they know themselves that they are dangerous and they know that I intend to fence the boundary. Believe it or not, their preferred option is to keep claiming on their insurance for my fence repairs. Madness but there it is 🤷‍♂️
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