Direct/Strip-till drilling photo gallery

sjt01

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North Norfolk
Our first drilled maize is up. Strip tilled into sprayed off lucerne (never very complete as the leaf area is tiny compared to the amount of root)
20220504_160230.jpg


Also pleased with the winter beans, that @Will 1594 and his boss saw being drilled, and were sceptical about emergence! (Sabre tine drill from @Bob lincs )
20220504_155705.jpg
 
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cquick

Member
BASE UK Member
Certainly possible, but hardly an easy solution once you factor in the vacuum system, electronics etc. Also lots of weight and length out the back.
Certainly didn't want to put in all that work/cash in the first couple of seasons when we weren't sure we would even get a crop!
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
Yes. Makes it a slow and tedious job, so I've bought a maize drill for next year's crop. Will be going through after the subsoiler on the same rows.
Also going to try some strip till maize with the same principle, although after a rye/vetch silage crop.
Would you not be better planting seedlings instead. I presume you are looking for a specific fairly low density and getting good germination can be a challenge.
 

cquick

Member
BASE UK Member
Would you not be better planting seedlings instead. I presume you are looking for a specific fairly low density and getting good germination can be a challenge.
I imagine plugs would be harder to direct drill?
Also definitely more expensive and would need far more specialist kit than what is available to us. Also no irrigation. The soil was surprisingly moist though! For comparison, the max-till maize ground around me is far drier.

Population needs to be approx 1 per square meter. The legs are spaced 1.2m apart, and a buzzer goes off every 80cm to tell the chap to pop a seed down each chute.
Like most things DD, it's about cost control. Sure i'm taking a risk in poor establishment etc, and yields might not be exceptional, but by putting in 20% of the cost/effort i'm getting 80% of the reward.
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
I imagine plugs would be harder to direct drill?
Also definitely more expensive and would need far more specialist kit than what is available to us. Also no irrigation. The soil was surprisingly moist though! For comparison, the max-till maize ground around me is far drier.

Population needs to be approx 1 per square meter. The legs are spaced 1.2m apart, and a buzzer goes off every 80cm to tell the chap to pop a seed down each chute.
Like most things DD, it's about cost control. Sure i'm taking a risk in poor establishment etc, and yields might not be exceptional, but by putting in 20% of the cost/effort i'm getting 80% of the reward.
You probably couldn’t direct drill plugs without designing a new machine but we are striptiiling then planting everything from cabbages to courgettes it’s an extra pass but we’d struggle to plant seedlings at the speed needed to clear a strip.
 

Spencer

Member
Location
North West
Mzuri drilled? Looks awesome. I am definitely less afraid to drill wheat at 33cm rows now, although the combine may say otherwise
Yes, all drilled with ProTil.
Found in places on heavy land with a lot of cover, 5” can peel it back and put seed underneath which folds back and sometimes struggles to emerge. Single shoot opener, everything just comes straight up 👍🏻
 

E_B

Member
Location
Norfolk
Yes, all drilled with ProTil.
Found in places on heavy land with a lot of cover, 5” can peel it back and put seed underneath which folds back and sometimes struggles to emerge. Single shoot opener, everything just comes straight up 👍🏻

Yep, also found that, wheat after grass on clay definitely had poor emergence due having to sink the dual coulter in deep to get soil cover, but then it is under too thick a wad of soil to make it through. More shallow and you get peeling like you say.

Wheat after oats drilled with the Erth Agriseeder:

PXL_20220511_164639765.jpg


Droughting out in the lightest patches, plus I striped it with Origin AN, but certainly can't complain about the emergence.
 

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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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