DD on livestock farm

[neilo]

Yes a good dandelion!
It has been so dry here that they've been really slow the last 4 weeks, so herbicide was a while ago.

I think dd beet can work but I've learned a lot this year already. Most of it isn't actually drilling issues, timings and weeds more so. I'm pretty happy with spacings Tbh. Yes some are bunched and some gaps.

Being remote it isn't easy to react to herbicide need and I possibly should have tweeked the product I used but stuck with what i had in stock.

They have a very vigorous tap root, much more so than swedes for example, so why wouldn't they dd?

I will report yield and ewes fed per ha later in the season. If the weather warms up this week I expect to see a lot of growth...

You will see a lot of growth now. Beet seems to emerge, put a few leaves out, then sit there doing little while it drives a tap root down. Once it’s done that, the growth is quite amazing and yours will get to meeting in the rows before you know it.
Mine has looked to be doing bugger all for the last week, but it’s visibly altered in the last few days, despite no rain.

On the herbicide, I have always used a pre-emergence spray, which has been iffy (at best) when it’s dry after drilling. New agronomist advised 2 early post-emergence sprays instead, at around half the price. It seems to have worked every bit as well, but was perhaps harder on the beet? The last 2 years the (expensive) pre-em spray has done very little and i’ve Had to go in post-em several times anyway.

 

[scholland]

You will see a lot of growth now. Beet seems to emerge, put a few leaves out, then sit there doing little while it drives a tap root down. Once it’s done that, the growth is quite amazing and yours will get to meeting in the rows before you know it.
Mine has looked to be doing bugger all for the last week, but it’s visibly altered in the last few days, despite no rain.

On the herbicide, I have always used a pre-emergence spray, which has been iffy (at best) when it’s dry after drilling. New agronomist advised 2 early post-emergence sprays instead, at around half the price. It seems to have worked every bit as well, but was perhaps harder on the beet? The last 2 years the (expensive) pre-em spray has done very little and i’ve Had to go in post-em several times anyway.

I'll reply with my herbicides tale of woe when I'm at a computer keyboard tomorrow [emoji31][emoji31]

Next year Kyleo will be used I think.

Been an interesting experiment so far.

 

[scholland]

You will see a lot of growth now. Beet seems to emerge, put a few leaves out, then sit there doing little while it drives a tap root down. Once it’s done that, the growth is quite amazing and yours will get to meeting in the rows before you know it.
Mine has looked to be doing bugger all for the last week, but it’s visibly altered in the last few days, despite no rain.

On the herbicide, I have always used a pre-emergence spray, which has been iffy (at best) when it’s dry after drilling. New agronomist advised 2 early post-emergence sprays instead, at around half the price. It seems to have worked every bit as well, but was perhaps harder on the beet? The last 2 years the (expensive) pre-em spray has done very little and i’ve Had to go in post-em several times anyway.

So the herbicides....

We went for 1 pre em and 2 post emergence sprays as that fitted in to spray can sizes for the area we planted.

We had an infestation of field horsetail from a road verge at one end of the field which pretty much no selective herbicide seem to touch so a small area was glyphosated and re planted. Not a big area.

Then we had some IRG volunteers appear from I presume seeds when the field was proto plus 2 years ago. They have needed laser to fix them. Apart from those 2 issues the field is pretty clean.

We now have a better supply of advice and chemical supply so will go for a slightly more relaxed (not so pre planned) herbicide approach next year. It takes a moment to get product here so I it is best to be organised but problems do arise so plans need to change!
We also applied foliar boron and manganese.

Next year I plan to Kyleo/glypho a field then wait the (I think) 28 days, not sure if a low rate of glypho can go on after kyleo? Then low rate glyphosate right before sowing. Then 2 post emergence sprays. I think that will cover most bases. Laser for any grass weeds.

I possibly should have planted later which would maybe have allowed herbicide to work better but then the plants would have been very small during the drought/gales/salt. Best of the growing conditions were in late April and May.

It has now rained pretty steady for 3 days, excellent!!! Hoping for decent temperatures and good growth next week!!

 

[Yale]

What happened with the DD barley?

@hendrebc

 

[hendrebc]

What happened with the DD barley?

@hendrebc

Looks great
Ill take some pictures to show when i get up there
Stuff gone strsight into grass has more or less failed from what i aaw when i had a quick look a week ago but i expected that. Was still a good experiment though. Will try again but do a few things differently

 

[JD-Kid]

good looking beets have heard of a few doing it here but not in wide rows just drilled on each one so closes over faster. less weeds trying to keep spray costs down a bit less yield but. makes up for it withs cost saving
some just doing early spray then shutting the gate
drilling in to. stubble as cover for young plants to protect from wind etc
grazed in paddock or lifted with root bucket on tractor to feed out

 

[JD-Kid]

I had a email a few years ago and lost it but it was on planting beets. doing. DD we have a prob here with spraying smaller areas. tractor too wide in tires and cost of chopper to come and spray too high so thicker planting might. slow down some weeds
think better if done after a 2nd crop were a lot of weeds controlled in earlier programs
a few of the chem's were. a bit off label in there use
beet bucket is like this

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Here was some airseeded beet in the sand country - have been fishing back through pictures I switched to the hard drive

Was taken after a 34° day, on its 5th week of no measurable rainfall - crop did pretty well in spite of it.
I will try and grab a picture of it now, unless it is eaten....

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Well, it's half eaten... and I didn't fancy a mud-trudge.

 

[scholland]

good looking beets have heard of a few doing it here but not in wide rows just drilled on each one so closes over faster. less weeds trying to keep spray costs down a bit less yield but. makes up for it withs cost saving
some just doing early spray then shutting the gate
drilling in to. stubble as cover for young plants to protect from wind etc
grazed in paddock or lifted with root bucket on tractor to feed out

The other bit we did is at narrower Row spacings but it got very badly hit 2 weeks ago with gales. I did prefer the narrow spacing but not sure I'll get a fair comparison this year.
Away a few days but looking forward to getting back at the weekend and having a look at the beet as we've had rain and nice warmth...

 

[JD-Kid]

The other bit we did is at narrower Row spacings but it got very badly hit 2 weeks ago with gales. I did prefer the narrow spacing but not sure I'll get a fair comparison this year.
Away a few days but looking forward to getting back at the weekend and having a look at the beet as we've had rain and nice warmth...

the hammering with wind is some thing that puts me off trying beets the yield is good tho and likes salt so should. grow here just needs a dead cover crop to protect it from wind
spraying other prob. for here so it's. finding out how as much of the spraying can be done pre drilling or if at times spraying would match other work in area with chopper
one. thing I would be interested in is like a rotospike or rotary hoe set up to do strip tillage in sprayed out paddocks to maybe more chance of. getting a better crop but. never say die. with. DD it will work if. can crack. a few factors to get the beets growing

 

[scholland]

Considering the dry weather the beet is motoring. Really impressive roots but some rain would really help. Swedes and kale that we drilled early June are dead.

View attachment 688580

 

[scholland]

the hammering with wind is some thing that puts me off trying beets the yield is good tho and likes salt so should. grow here just needs a dead cover crop to protect it from wind
spraying other prob. for here so it's. finding out how as much of the spraying can be done pre drilling or if at times spraying would match other work in area with chopper
one. thing I would be interested in is like a rotospike or rotary hoe set up to do strip tillage in sprayed out paddocks to maybe more chance of. getting a better crop but. never say die. with. DD it will work if. can crack. a few factors to get the beets growing

Don't think the wind did that much damage on its own, the worst damage was from salt.
How much wind the tops can stand in the winter we will see.

 

[hendrebc]

My direct drilled spring barley. Straight into 30odd year old permenant pasture sprayed off a couple of days before so the grass was still green when it went in. Has looked great from the start this is by the gate so is a bit thinner than the rest of the field. Its about half way between my knees and hip height. Started running to head this week.
@Yale @GTB

 

[Yale]

View attachment 691372 View attachment 691370
My direct drilled spring barley. Straight into 30odd year old permenant pasture sprayed off a couple of days before so the grass was still green when it went in. Has looked great from the start this is by the gate so is a bit thinner than the rest of the field. Its about half way between my knees and hip height. Started running to head this week.
@Yale @GTB

Looking good.

Next time rub your finger over the camera lens to get the dust off....

It’s easy to spot where it is,overlooking Ifor Williams in Corwen.

 

[hendrebc]

Looking good.

Next time rub your finger over the camera lens to get the dust off....

It’s easy to spot where it is,overlooking Ifor Williams in Corwen.

The protective screen is broken so the lens is knackered
Yep if you wemt there ylu can see the field easily. Its mostly green with loads of brown headed grass patches in it were dad did a major bodge job of spraying in the middle of the night because it was too windy in the day (several days on a row;amd he has the patience of a 2 year old) and he inevitably got lost in the dark

 

[Yale]

The protective screen is broken so the lens is knackered
Yep if you wemt there ylu can see the field easily. Its mostly green with loads of brown headed grass patches in it were dad did a major bodge job of spraying in the middle of the night because it was too windy in the day (several days on a row;amd he has the patience of a 2 year old) and he inevitably got lost in the dark

That is so funny.

So not only have you got the neighbours talking with the DD barley,they are scratching their heads with the overgrown grass bits....keeps them guessing.

 

[hendrebc]

That is so funny.

So not only have you got the neighbours talking with the DD barley,they are scratching their heads with the overgrown grass bits....keeps them guessing.

I told him to bloody wait
yeah it wont do any harm in wholecrop anyway might even make it better its pretty crap feed as it is. No one has mentioned the patches yet but i bet theres plenty of talk if you stop at the junction opposite the ifor williams shed as if you were going towards ruthin you can see the field plain as day so i bet everyone has seen it

 

[scholland]

Still no rain, its rained 20 miles north and in Orkney but not a drop here, hardly even a dew most mornings [emoji34]
Beet is surviving and looks better than our other forage crops by a long way, but I fear yield potential is being hurt.

 

[scholland]

This rape /irg isn't perfect but it's on pure white blown sand and hasn't really seen any rain. If this had been

cultivated we certainly wouldn't have a crop .