Destroying Cover Crops. Flail or cultivator?

[Whynot]

We have 100ha of cover crops, a rye vetch mix which needs ploughing before drilling into Maize. We have the slow/expensive option of flailing which is last resort as we currently only have 3 m read side flail and would probably need to invest in front topper.
We are demoing a Dal-bo Maxicut, which is a 6m Cambridge roller looking piece of kit with knifes on.
Any other ideas?
We are willing to invest as will have 160ha ish to do for foreseeable future!
BTW, I’m not interested in DD ing I go 4ft cover crops!

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Hire a wide batwing topper

 

[Dave W]

Flail on front. Plough on back. One pass job done

 

[bobk]

Flail on front. Plough on back. One pass job done

Have you got one of them setups ?

 

[Dave W]

Have you got one of them setups ?

As it happens...........













No

 

[Mursal]

Leveling harrow with plenty of weight on, cuts them clean ............

Edit:
Not sure about the rye, do a test patch, see does it die off.
They wanted us to go with linseed for a environmental cover, oh how we laughed.
Just went with the bit of mustard ...........

 

[Wooly]

Should have grazed it with sheep !

Why do arable farmers always like doing things with expensive machinery that requires labour and fuel ?

 

[Flat 10]

Leveling harrow with plenty of weight on, cuts them clean ............

Edit:
Not sure about the rye, do a test patch, see does it die off.
They wanted us to go with linseed for a environmental cover, oh how we laughed.
Just went with the bit of mustard ...........

What do you mean levelling Harrow with weights on? Surely it just bungs up? You must also need hard soil or it would just uproot everything no? Or am I totally missing the point?

 

[Mursal]

We have to sow 50% oats 50% mustard (or linseed) mix put in every April, so its still there the following year.
We give it 2 rubs of a leveling harrow to get rid of the top growth.
If you just cultivate the stubble is very long.

It may not work for you but it works well for us, the weight is to keep it in contact with the crop, it was to light and running over the top, instead of cutting them off. It wont be as good as a flail, but we're happy

 

[hendrebc]

Cows.
Crimp roller? Heavy flat roller even?
Did you not have enough snow in march to flatten it?

 

[Marsh lad]

This is what I do , works really well 3 metre flail mower on the front 3 metre terradisc on the back can do about 8k with it.

 

[icanshootwell]

We have 100ha of cover crops, a rye vetch mix which needs ploughing before drilling into Maize. We have the slow/expensive option of flailing which is last resort as we currently only have 3 m read side flail and would probably need to invest in front topper.
We are demoing a Dal-bo Maxicut, which is a 6m Cambridge roller looking piece of kit with knifes on.
Any other ideas?
We are willing to invest as will have 160ha ish to do for foreseeable future!
BTW, I’m not interested in DD ing I go 4ft cover crops!

What you should be doing is, rolling the cover crop with wide rolls with fitted sprayer to desiccate the crop, or spray with wide sprayer after rolling, then strip till drill straight into the top.

 

[Tim Howard]

What you should be doing is, rolling the cover crop with wide rolls with fitted sprayer to desiccate the crop, or spray with wide sprayer after rolling, then strip till drill straight into the top.

Does doing that not mean that the organic content and carbon is lost to the atmosphere instead of it adding carbon and nutrients to the soil.

 

[Lincsman]

We have 100ha of cover crops, a rye vetch mix which needs ploughing before drilling into Maize. We have the slow/expensive option of flailing which is last resort as we currently only have 3 m read side flail and would probably need to invest in front topper.
We are demoing a Dal-bo Maxicut, which is a 6m Cambridge roller looking piece of kit with knifes on.
Any other ideas?
We are willing to invest as will have 160ha ish to do for foreseeable future!
BTW, I’m not interested in DD ing I go 4ft cover crops!

Could have saved a fortune doing nothing in the first place.

 

[robot Jerseys]

Dd the maize straight in to it. The 4ft rye makes a lovely weed suppressan. Tried some last year just with a 750a. Plenty of videos on YouTube in the states showing it with crimper rolers etc

 

[icanshootwell]

Does doing that not mean that the organic content and carbon is lost to the atmosphere instead of it adding carbon and nutrients to the soil.

No, by ploughing, the carbon is lost in the atmosphere, but keeping the residue of the previous crop on the top will increase top soil and worms etc. By not ploughing you will increase soil nutrients and carbon in the soil.

 

[michael N123]

Electric fences and mob graze it tightly with as many sheep possible wouldn’t the shite be better than chopped up green stuff or am I wrong?

 

[michael N123]

I crimped roller thing for front of the tractor? Photo stolen from DD magazine

 

[Dead Rabbits]

We have 100ha of cover crops, a rye vetch mix which needs ploughing before drilling into Maize. We have the slow/expensive option of flailing which is last resort as we currently only have 3 m read side flail and would probably need to invest in front topper.
We are demoing a Dal-bo Maxicut, which is a 6m Cambridge roller looking piece of kit with knifes on.
Any other ideas?
We are willing to invest as will have 160ha ish to do for foreseeable future!
BTW, I’m not interested in DD ing I go 4ft cover crops!

Planting a cover crop is really the way to go, but allowing it to get so tall and not no-tilling is an expensive headache in my experience.

Plant your corn, then dessicate directly behind the planter would be the way most do it here. Unless you are killing it before knee high, any tillage makes a mess of high biomass covers

 

[icanshootwell]

Electric fences and mob graze it tightly with as many sheep possible wouldn’t the shite be better than chopped up green stuff or am I wrong?

100 ha, thats a lot of sheep to mob graze. plus time is against him i would imagine, im guessing its for spring planting, if its Autumn, mob grazing is good, i put cows and calves on kale mix, turn them in about end of July, graze till late Sep, heavy disk 3 times, then drill, lovely seed bed and very cheap establishment costs.