DD into late sugar beet ground

[dontknowanything]

Drilled some Pedders No.3 with added brassicas into some Sugar Beet ground yesterday. It was lifted at the end of February, in fairly damp, but not soaking, conditions. Drill was a CO8, normal duett coulters. Look like it has worked very well, depth control is a bit of a lottery though. Wish I had a Dale to do it with! I rolled it afterwards as well.

 

[JNG]

The ground is in reasonable nick, any reason you did not plant a cash crop?

 

[dontknowanything]

Yes. Field has to have a double cereals break, and we've found in the past that spring peas after late lifted beet are usually disastrous.

 

[dontknowanything]

Oh I should also say that I subsoiled the headlands - they were so hard you couldn't get a spade in.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Yes. Field has to have a double cereals break, and we've found in the past that spring peas after late lifted beet are usually disastrous.

Beet GM has to carry those two years then?

 

[dontknowanything]

Beet GM has to carry those two years then?

Ordinarily it would. But we rent the field to plant breeders afterwards, and they pay enough to leave it fallow after the sugar beet. So the cover crop is 'free'

(hence the reason it has to have a double cereals break)

 

[martian]

This is what you're planning to graze? Watching with interest!

 

[dontknowanything]

Yes, that's the one. Although after today I'm going off cows

 

[The Ruminant]

Yes, that's the one. Although after today I'm going off cows

Why??

 

[dontknowanything]

embryo transfer + abortions =

 

[BSH]

Sorry to hear your bad news, rotten luck. Hope the rest of your calving goes a bit better.

 

[dontknowanything]

Sorry to hear your bad news, rotten luck. Hope the rest of your calving goes a bit better.

looks like I lost two in the autumn but only just noticed. Had 4 healthy calve so far though, waiting for one more.

 

[dontknowanything]

Got a bit of capping now after 21mm of rain last week.

 

[dontknowanything]

 

[dontknowanything]

stubble turnips looking nice

I din't mix the seed well enough... there are stripes with tonnes of brassicas and stripes with hardly any. Made me scratch my head for a few seconds

closeup

not much nodulation (if that's a word) on the vetch compared to our peas

I'm a bit worried I may have made a mistake sowing buckwheat in the spring, as there's no frost to kill it before it sets seed

 

[martian]

Combine the buckwheat.Should get nice and tall!

 

[Andy Howard]

Good idea and then sell it back to pedders! Really cheap cover

 

[dontknowanything]

Vetch really going fast now. Just cut a sample to check DM levels

 

[dontknowanything]

2000kg/ha DM, at 13%

 

[dontknowanything]

Grazing started today, very worried I have too much to get through in 10 weeks.